Notes From The Potting Shed #11- Last Days of June

Yay, the gardens here have finally started growing. It was a cold June, with 3 frosty nights, very windy days, just plain out cool most every day. Now that we are in the 20°C region (68 F) daily, one can see the daily growth. Hoping I don't jinx things by saying... looks like summer is finally here. (As I get ready to post this, we have another rainy, grey day - sigh.)

The yard reno was booked to start this week, but the trip to Saskatchewan (that was supposed to be in May, hahaha) is happening now instead, so we've bumped the landscaper to mid-month instead. This means that my pollinator strip is not going to have time to do much of anything this summer, but with the cool season it has been delayed. I think that finding flowering plants for the pollinators this time of year will be a bit more of a challenge, but will plant it up for next year to be amazing instead. Everything for a reason, as they say.

I will post before and after photos of the work once it happens. Plus the finished potting shed reveal, plus the giveaway. Whew, all coming soon. It has just been one of those crazy things where nothing quite went as hoped and planned.

The fun part is that we are staying at a cohousing housing unit in Saskatchewan with the most amazing gardens I have ever seen... or have seen in the longest time! I have become very inspired, the ideas that I have garnered during this short visit! I am going to pack that strip full of flowers, add lots more vines and flowering shrubs than I had initially planned.

My lupins are blooming. I have several of them in this part shady location of the yard.

What to sow now...

If you have not yet sown rutabagas, this is the perfect time to do it. They like to be sown in summer so that they finish off their growth in cooler temps.

If you are on the west coast, this is when you sow your winter carrot crop! Some time over this week, you want to do it by the 8th, or so, or it becomes too late for them to size up. Truly. Try to do it asap! We can do this on the prairies, too, for baby carrots this fall.

Some other things you can still plant, if you have room...

• greens like mustard, lettuce, kale, arugula...

• green onions

• onions

• turnips

• chard

• kohlrabi

It's getting almost late for beans and cucumbers, but... if it has been too cold for you to get them in earlier, do it now. Nothing to lose by trying.

I'm super worried about whether my tomatoes will have enough time to ripen with this late start to sun and heat. They are paste bush tomatoes ( Martino's Roma and Heinz 2653) that should take 75 days from transplant to harvest, so there is time... if all goes well.

I've left my mizuna mustard for the bees. These flowers are edible, too.

Pretty, eh?

I fear that I may lose this entire bed of onions to maggots. These onions are all the fun, new varieties I wanted to try this year, so it is pretty sad. Two rows are gone, with more falling prey to them daily.

I have onions growing in two beds. The first one has nothing growing around the onions. In the second bed, the onions were planted amongst the lettuces and mustards a long time ago, when all the plants were small. The greens have now grown up and around the onions ... this bed has no maggots (yet, anyway)!

So, I am going to move in some more alyssum into the first bed, see if that helps. If it is not too late yet. I also popped in a trellis and planted a row of cucumbers. Just in case it really is too late to save the onions. Might as well use that space!

Insect netting firmly secured to the onion bed (which is planted with fall crops in this picture.

I've had onion maggots before, and sadly, there is little that seems to stop them. Nothing organic, at any rate. I do not like to use DE as it kills bees and other insects, as well.

I tried all the methods at acreage, finally gave up and covered them with insect netting on a hoop frame. That did the trick. That may be what we end up doing here, as well, though I am intrigues about this companion planting business that seems to be working.

These maggots come from flies that lay their eggs at the top of the onion, right at soil level. The eggs hatch, the larvae eat the onion, the tops start to yellow, wilt, and topple. Hard to stop a fly! That is why it is either a cover, or with any luck, this companion planting makes the difference.

Other things you can do now...

Feed your planters with a little bit of slow release fertiliser. This will help keep them blooming and happy all summer. It is a great idea for those of us who do not regularly remember to do liquid fertilisers. I am pretty hit or miss ; )

Weed and weed some more. Pull the weeds, use a hoe, dig them out.... gosh, it is never ending with this rain.

Pinch back your lanky petunias, and other flowers, now for a fresh burst of lush, bushy blooms in just a couple of weeks.

If your baskets are drying out, pop them into a bucket of water to soak for an hour or so. Add some liquid seaweed or kelp, if you have some, for added nutrients and root health. Do not use Miracle Grow, or a similar fertiliser, as that will likely burn the roots. This dunk is a pick me up for dry, tired baskets. They will look amazing in no time. Trim off any bits by pinching (or with small pruners to avoid green fingernails and sticky hands), that do not bounce back after the dunking.

Carrots covered with burlap sacks to keep them damp till they germinate.

Q&A's

Question - Can I really sow carrots in this heat? It is like 35°C (95°F) in my garden during the daytime.

Tanja - Yes, even in this heat. I promise that it will be okay. Though carrots can take several weeks to germinate, in heat like this, they will be up in 5 days or less. I like to cover mine with burlap sacks (doubled up burlap) to keep them damp until they germinate. If they dry out, the seeds will die. Soak the furrow, sow the seeds, cover with soil, water the bed, cover with burlap, water the burlap. Check daily to see if you have germination, or need to water. Remove sacks as soon as they germinate.

Question - What flowers would you recommend to plant with the vegetables?

Tanja - Great question! My favourite topic of all, hah! Sweet alyssum is by far my favourite, it attracts so many of the good bugs and pollinators. Calendula and marigolds are both a both a must. Cosmos, zinnias, sunflowers, and herbs like borage, dill, oregano, thyme, and basil are all great companion flowers for your potager.

Burlap Sacks

Mesh Tote Bag

Collapsible Hose

5 burlap sacks / Mesh Tote Bag / Collapsible 150' hose with 9 setting nozzle (love this!)

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Check out this gorgeous planter that my brother gave me for my birthday. Isn't it amazing?

Have A Great Week &

Happy Gardening ~ Tanja