"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better" Albert Einstein A brutally hot day today. Thanks to all the dedicated volunteers who came despite the weather. We appreciate your dedication to the garden! Garden Reports: Compost Central: Kristy Hardy We had a hot and humid day to turn compost. Irma helped me for the first time this year and her help was greatly appreciated. Each week this season we have seemed to have at least one person come to help at Compost Central. We are only turning one very large pile that was in bin 4 and most of it moved to bin 3. There were Lots of greens from the garden that we added. Last week we added the compost that had already been cooking from the county compost bin to bin 4 as both bins were low in temps around 90 last week. Bin 4 was 120 yesterday. There was no spotting of Mr. Bubbles, our black snake. After Denise saw the rat a couple of weeks ago in the pile and Bill said this was supposed to be a record year of mice carrying ticks, I am grateful to have Mr. Bubbles around. If there are a lot of greens next week, we might start another pile. Children's Garden: Sandy Chernin After yesterday’s drenching thunderstorm, almost everything in the Children’s Garden was lush and vigorous. But an exception to this were the gourds. Over the last few weeks, two varieties of gourds succumbed to disease (possibly bacterial wilt). The Ten Commandments variety never had really taken off, and the Tennessee Spinning plants succumbed one by one in the last few weeks. For now, the Autumn Wings and Luffa varieties are strong and spreading over the trellis. However, there is some evidence of what appears to be new flea beetle activity. As gourd plants are most vulnerable when they are young, am hoping that remaining plants will survive. Otherwise will need Plan B for this trellis area… In Mrs. MacGregor’s Garden, the remaining Cippolini onions were harvested and several marigold plants removed in order to give the peanut plants room to spread. The last of the white icicle beets were harvested. The cotton plants have some bolls forming. The one Sungold tomato plant is thriving, but each week, the fruit that was expected to be ripe and ready the next week, seems to disappear! Wondering if they have become tasty treats for visitors?!? Elsewhere, the cardinal vines are robust and making their way up the tower. The purple hyacinth vines have almost covered the tunnel. Lamb’s ear has responded well to deadheading and thinning, looking much healthier this week. One of the lion’s mane plants is standing tall in front of the tunnel making quite a statement as it flowers. And the sunflowers are just peeking up behind all of the common milkweed, readying to burst on the scene in a few weeks. Thank you to Ada Louie for helping with weeding and pruning! Conservation Garden: Maria Wortman The many hydrangeas in the Conservation Garden have bloomed well this season. They loved the plentiful rain we had on Monday. We found a pretty pink lacecap hiding behind the huge black cherry over near the fence. If you happen to take a look at it and have an idea of what variety it is, please let us know. It was installed before we came to this garden. Wanna see a red azalea blooming in July? Just take a walk down to the Conservation Garden to view the delicate and airy Plumleaf azalea, Rhododendron prunifolium. It’s a native deciduous azalea that’s one of the last to bloom. Its native range is along the Georgia-Alabama border. It does thrive in partial shade, but we think that the large trees have grown so there’s now too much shade for it to show off to its best advantage. The Black-eyed Susans are adding a happy, eye-popping splash of color. Our state flower is so dependable and perky. It’ll make you smile when you pass it. Shade Garden: Carol Martin - meets Thursday morning It was just plain hot & sticky in shade. A small cadre of the shade crew worked for about 2 hours. The T-storms we had on Monday with localized downpour in vicinity of Laytonsville which flooded streams & roads made it to the Demo Garden. We watered anyway as no appreciable rain is in near forecast & the temperatures are going to be scorchers. Did a little cleanup, some dead heading & even attempted to transplant some sedges. They are pretty tough, but if they don't make it we can replant later. Therapeutic Horticulture Beds: Bob Loesche With inches of rain on Monday, the TH beds were green and perky. The primary tasks today were deadheading and weeding, especially along the fence in Bed 4. Bed 1: The zinnia, artemisia, and African blue basil all continue to grow nicely and are available for use. Virginia and I persist in our obsession to grow celosia where the delphinium used to be, and today we moved a few baby plants that we found in the area. Bed 2: The echinacea continues to bloom well. I did some careful deadheading and I think we'll still have a couple of weeks of flowers. The achillea are starting to decline but remain vibrant enough to be able to continue to contribute (sounds like Master Gardeners of a certain age. . . ). Bed 3: The gomphrena are absolutely bursting with beautiful red, button-shaped blossoms that would be perfect for TH projects. Come and grab them! The verbena and agastache also continue to bloom well, and the rudbeckia on both sides of the fennel are now in full flower, especially the plants on the south side. Speaking of fennel, it continues to grow taller and the seed heads are growing even fuller. See photo. Come and harvest it now, because soon you might need a step ladder to reach the seed heads. The pinwheel zinnias have also burst into bloom and would provide a nice alternative to the cut-and-come-again zinnias in Bed 1. Bed 4: The molucella toppled over a bit with all the rain, and also attracted many small black flea beetles. They may simply have been taking advantage of the little pools of water in each flower cup, and we hope they won't hurt the plants. The gailliardia and achillea continue to bloom well. The monarda is also still flowering, although the quantity of flowers is on the small side. We consider this year's modest output a down payment on more robust production in future years since monarda is known to spread rapidly. Finally, we were surprised to see the all-yellow flowers of what we thought was rudbeckia--see second photo. At first we thought that perhaps we were given dahlia plants, but sleuthing by Virginia suggests that plant is rudbeckia laciniata 'Goldquelle'. In any event, it's quite lovely. Bed 4 1/2: The gomphrena here are blooming so well that they deserve their own mention. They are quite distinct from the gomphrena in Bed 3--these have pink tufted flowers rather than tiny balls, and they are on longer stalks reminiscent of the verbena. But, as above, they are quite attractive and we encourage THer's to use them. Finally, we received an invitation for THers to harvest the holy basil that is flowering in the middle of the Demo Garden. You can find it up against an X-shaped bamboo trellis, opposite the keyhole garden. It may be taken out at some point soon, so please use it while it's here. What a day in our garden. The storm the night before left its mark. We removed 4 wheel barrows of fallen plants to clear the pathways. In addition it was a hot and humid morning. The Lord Baltimore Hibiscus is blooming and beautiful. We saw an abundance of skippers and a Monarch passed through. If Common Milkweed attracts Monarchs, we should see plenty this year. 100 Square Foot Garden: Linda Taveira dasilva The Battle of the Bulge (Bugs) has begun. It was deceptively tranquil in the garden. We went about harvesting beautiful red beets. The last of the spring lettuce was cut and pulled. The herbs as usual were sheared and the tomato plants and tomatillo were full of large green fruit. The peppers and cucumber plants are promising a mature harvest by next week. We were wowed about the size of our squashes. The newly planted Japanese mustard had germinated and the leaning Tower of Pisa (beans) was so full of flowers that Italian architect Diotisalvi (Hope) had to shore it up with steel cables (green string) to keep it upright. But.....something seemed a foot. As we expertly went about weeding and cutting, a rustle in the weeds alerted us to movement alongside the fence. The backside of paws , perhaps a scout (rabbit) was spied in rapid retreat. Then our attention was turned to Susan who upon entering our enclosure of covered greens was ambushed by hiding Japanese beetles! A cry was heard for the soapy bucket! While the battle of the soapy bucket was commencing a closer inspection of our summer squash revealed that squash bugs had also infiltrated to the rear. A MASH unit was quickly erected and Dr. Darlene demonstrated surgery and how to patch up the wounded patient (plant). Unfortunately as she had just left the theater another severely injured plant was discovered and junior resident Heidi and assistants attempted the same. Dr. Darlene had to be called back, a testament to how dastardly our enemy can be. A third front opened up with harlequin bugs and stink beetles teaming up on the cucumbers. The fighting was fierce with many of the enemy fleeing. The smoke begins to settle. Finally, in clearing the enclosure netting of all combatants (blasted with water) and replacing the line of defense (the net) our side sustained an injury. Hope, caught unaware, was viscously (really) stung on her hand (the trigger finger no less) and had to leave the field of battle sucking a plantain leaf for comfort. We hope she makes a full recovery as this could be a long and costly war. Vegetable Garden: Mary Anne Normile Yesterday's rain, aided by the efforts of watering volunteers, have helped keep things growing in the vegetable garden. However, the bugs have also been extra-prolific and destructive. Tending: -- Squash bugs--several generations' worth--devastated the compact Patio Star Zucchini in the tall raised bed, which we removed. Things have been ultra-busy lately with the addition of the annex garden and vacation and travel absences, but we still need to find time to patrol for bugs before they destroy productive plants. --We removed and gave a new home to the marigold plants that were threatening to overtake one of the small raised beds. This space will be available for replanting next week. --Thinned some of the summer squash plants in the squash bed (Bed L?), and Lily replanted them in the squash bed and in the annex garden. Gave them a good drink, but don't know whether they will survive transplanting in the hot weather expected this week. --The cucumbers planted in Bed L look like they may have been attacked by cucumber beetles--Darlene found nymphs on the underside of cucumber leaves. We should be prepared for succession planting of cucumber plants next week. --Provided support to two eggplants in the tall raised bed (thanks, Bill!), which so far have shown only minimal bug damage. --I saw several yellow jackets around the salad tables. Not sure whether they came looking for water or whether there is a nest nearby. Be careful working in this area! Planting: Planted two summer lettuces--Muir summer crisp lettuce, and Concept, a summer crisp-romaine cross, in the salad table. Direct seeded Eleonora basil in the space vacated by the squash bug hotel zucchini in the tall raised bed. Harvesting: -- Finally harvested the (mostly) beautiful Red Russian hardneck garlic. One head had still not formed cloves, while a few others were showing signs of having been left in the ground too long (one rotted, two others had some soft areas and clove separation). Note for next year: we need to put up a sign to instruct watering volunteers to not water the garlic bed a few weeks prior to expected harvest. --Barbara harvested three and a quarter pounds of Yukon Gold potatoes and 3 pounds of red Pontiac potatoes. --Also harvested beans, Swiss chard, holy basil, lettuce from the salad table, peppers, basil, parsley, zucchini, cucumbers, and onions. Watering: A big thanks again to all who have volunteered to water. A good rainfall due to Monday's spotty storms went a long way to restoring soil moisture. Another hot week is forecast, with the season's hottest day predicted for Thursday. Some areas are not covered by the irrigation system, notably the entire Annex garden, and will need supplemental watering. If you can help water, please sign up at https://www.volunteersignup.org/D4QDR. Please coordinate with other volunteers signed up on the same day on who will water which areas. Q&A: Per Bill, several gardeners have asked what can be planted in the vegetable garden this time of year? University of Maryland HGIC publication HG 16 "Planting Dates for Vegetables in Maryland" (go to http://extension.umd.edu/hgic/hg-and-ge-publications-number and scroll down to HG16) provides information on planting dates in our area for most common vegetable crops. Summer crops, including snap beans, beets, carrots, Swiss chard, as well as kale, kohlrabi, mustard, and many of the Asian greens can be direct-seeded now for fall harvest. Over the next several weeks, more crops can be direct-seeded: all types of lettuce, arugula, radishes, peas, turnips, spinach. Crops that have been started indoors--collards, kale, mustard, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower---can be planted out in August. Manna: Cindy Reilly A total of 62 pounds were harvested today! Beets, okra, peppers, greens, onions, cucumbers, beans, potatoes and zuchinni were among the goodies shared today! Special Projects: The Carols It was a quiet and very hot day in the special projects. We had some nice chats with random gardeners and overall a nice day with stops for water and shade. Straw bales: The eggplant is showing good growth and is flowering. It seems to have survived the flea beetles. Two squash plants from the keyhole were added. This week all the potatoes leaves are withered and squishy (Clearly an erudite gardening term). We will see if potatoes keep developing. Last week Edith noticed that one of the potato plants was missing. Upon closer inspection she found 4 small potatoes growing where the plant had been….hummm! New to this potato gardening but since we are next door to the potato plot, we have hopes that the good vibes will rub off on us. Last week Carol O added Milorganite liquid (very smelly) and it seems to have done the trick on yellowing leaves on the tomatoes. Even in the straw bales they still need some added fertilizer. The tomatoes are all bearing fruit but aren’t huge plants compared to the clearly thriving dwarf tomaotes in the keyholes. Some leaves were trimmed and a few bamboo sticks were inserted for added support until they reach the next horizontal bar. We did harvest some delicious (yes, we HAD to sample 2 to see if they were ready) Sungold for Manna and some chard. Some critter had nibbled on a few Sungold themselves that were close to the bale surface. The big excitement was rooting out the squash worms that were in the process of destroying the zucchini. Found the bugs both adult and nymphs eating the leaves and on further inspection saw the fras from the worm who was laying eggs in the stem near the root system. Darlene to the rescue with the help of an ice pick rooted out not one but two worms devouring the stems. Sometimes, if caught and eradicated in time, one can bind the wound and the plant will survive to fruit again. However, prognosis of this plant survival is slim since the damage was pretty thorough. We wrapped the stem with plastic wrap and stuck it a bit deeper in the bales, but we all have our doubts for survival Pallets: The lone cucumber plant, with a very anemic looking stem, in fact has three flowers with maybe 4 small leaves. A very large bumble bee (larger that the flowers themselves) saved Carol C from having to follow Bill’s suggesting of q-tip pollination. The Nasturtiums continue to thrive with only a little tending on removal of old dried leaves. Last week the remaining lettuces were harvested and the plants pulled out. The Window Box basil, happily growing in the bottom pocket was also snipped and bagged for Manna. A nice green/yellow/black caterpillar was found happily feasting on the parsley. Peggy confirmed that it was a swallowtail. Carol left him in the Butterfly Garden, introducing him to the fennel. We did not see the critter this week. We continue to refill the water bottles each week, but the pallets definitely need additional watering. Portulaca was planted in several side pockets and a marjoram plant was added to the top pocket and both are doing well this week. We will bring seeds for Radishes, mini cucumbers and Basil to fill in the gaps in the pockets made from the cooler weather lettuces and bok choi. Keyholes: Last week Onions, beets, carrots, basil, parsley and chives were harvested. One of the 4 tomato plants had lots of aphids, tiny brown critters, and egg masses on the leaves. Some leaves are starting to turn yellow and have some random small brown patches. Two other tomato plants showed some evidence of this but to a much lesser degree. Irene and Carol squished the uninvited guests, removed the discolored leaves, and jet sprayed the 4 tomato plants with water. As the plants are very tight with leaves we hope the thinning will promote better air circulation. Last week’s leaf thinning and jet spraying the aphids appears to have paid off and the four tomato plants are looking good. A little time was spent encouraging the mouse melons to grow up the bamboo trellis. As nothing was ready to harvest this week, we will probably have lots next week. Two very official looking mystery plants were discovered growing near the onion patch. We decided to pull out one and left the other for another week. It might be a ground cherry. The gutter garden continues to thrive and produced some flowers this week. We would love to have some experts drop by and identify the mystery plants. Our relocated volunteer giant red sunflower is huge and thriving in the corner of the bales, anchoring our plot with strong vertical lines. Thanks to all who have dropped by and helped the last two weeks! Tomato Beds: Dan Ward and Joslyn Read WOW! What a sweltering day. Working conditions were brutal on everyone at the garden. Most of the time was spent repairing the damage caused by the Monday storm. Many of the stakes were pushed over pretty far, so they had to be straightened and more stakes added to provide more support. Additional metal stake reinforcements were set up in the main tomato garden area with twine holding up the individual bamboo stakes for future support. We continued the normal routine of removing suckers from the indeterminate tomatoes. We removed some of the lower branches because of fungal growth on the leaves, and thinned them so that good airflow during these hot months. We adjusted the experimental 30% shade cloth in the annex tomato garden so that only 2 plants are now under it. Ideally 4 plants would be a good number but the piece of cloth was not large of enough. The tomatoes in the annex are growing like gangbusters and loaded with tomatoes. Though planted at the same time, the tomato plants in the main garden area are smaller and growing at a slower pace (probably due to the natural shade from the nearby tree) but all seem healthy (even the little one largely defoliated by a hornworm seems to be bouncing back). We harvested our first tomato of the year, a "Sioux"! Special thanks to all our colleague MGs who stepped in to help us get all this done in the Tuesday heat. Many hands make light(er) work! This picture is from an organic farm in Portland, Oregon. Don't we wish our tomato plants looked like this. They use green plastic to warm up the ground before planting and suppress weeds. It also keeps moisture in the soil. Tomatoes are cut so they develop two leaders and are suspended by ropes. They are grown in high tunnels for heat, as its a lot cooler there. BUG REPORT: Darlene Nicholson The squash vine borer is causing some major destruction in several vegetable patches this week. At this time we are seeing them mostly in large squash plants. We were able to cut out several from 2 different plants. We are hoping that we got them early enough to save the plant. The predicted super hot/dry weather this weekend won't help in healing the cut vines, but we can always hope. Please go to the HGIC link below and select Problems/Insects/vegetables/squash vine borer, to read more about this damaging pest. http://extension.umd.edu/hgic Comments:Lily, Bill and Susan This important message was shared to us by Susan Wexler who got it from Ellen Paul. Do not touch! "Terrorist plants, that is. It seems that Giant Hogweed - a non-native species that wasn't extremely vetted - has been found in MD now. It is an extremely toxic plant that can cause severe burns and blindness. We saw something on lower Bannockburn Dr. today that looks like it might be, and will be reporting it but meanwhile, if you see something that looks like this: https://extension.umd.edu/learn/giant-ho...DO NOT TOUCH IT. Report it. Plant Protection and Weed Management Section of the Maryland Department of Agriculture at (410) 841-5920. https://extension.umd.edu/learn/giant-hogweed Next week, our 10 at 10 will be some of our Portland, Oregon mg's who attended the International Master Gardener Convention. On August 1st, we will have our fruit team do their report. Here are some ideas we got from some of the tours from other demonstration gardens in Portland. Please don't forget to sign up to water! See you all next week!
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