Answer:
Hi Danielle
It’s always the right season to put some time in the garden. You can do what I did this week.
I went to Ron & Cindy Simon’s Nursery in Scituate and got a great deal on Summer and Fall Blooming Perennials. Ron told me it’s been a tough summer to keep the potted plants watered, so he is eager to get rid of left overs. The six inch pots are going two for $7.99. I got 4 Chrysanthemums for less than twenty dollars. These mums are a little different though. Montauk Daisies look like regular Daisies, but they are bigger and tougher and bloom all fall, and they are mums. Ron says we should cut them in half next July to keep them from getting unruly next fall.
Also I found some yellowish hearty perennial flowers (forgot the name). And also a red mum that looks like no mum I have ever seen. I will get pictures of these to post when they bloom next month.
And yes, you can plant fall peas, lettuce, and spinach. Hopefully we get some rain soon. We would hate to have these fall flowers wilt and fade too.
Happy Digging, Tim

Have a question for the Garden Team? Ask them here!

Bob and Joe did some research and found this is Bottom End Rot and sometimes happens to early ripening tomatoes. They confirm that the latest tomatoes, this week of July 28, 2010, the tomatoes are no longer showing BRE. That’s good news.. after last year’s blight, the last thing we need is another bad tomato year.

Our North Attleboro Gardening Weather Watcher, Terry O’Neil, has posted a picture of his early season pumpkin. Nice one Terry! But guess what? Look what I have yup, a Ripe Pumpkin in July! What is our secret? Luck. His grew from seeds left from last year’s Jack’O'Lanterns.

My trick is to plant on the first day of spring, March 21 ish. The best pumpkins I get are from the early planted seeds. Even when I buy saplings from the nursery and put them in in May, the ones from seeds in March do better.

I have a pumpkin question, should we prune pumpkin suckers the same way we prune tomato suckers? Lats time I asked questions in the blog, we got no answers.. but I am trying anyway.
What about Hydrangea, what to do with the over grown huge heavy blooms? After years of letting them go, this summer I chop chop chopped.

Half went into vases, half to the compost pile at Go Green Landscape Supply. Another option is to stake and tie them, to keep them from bending to the ground.

The Rose of Sharon are all in bloom, early. With August fruit and flowers in July, does this mean we should plant Mums in August? I am tempted. The pansies in the pots are baked, I need something to put in there. Any suggestions? What is the name of those fall blooming daisies.. I am getting them in the ground this year.

Now, I know caterpillars aren’t as complicated as children or puppies, but so far, I’ve failed completely in butterfly rearing. First of all, they ate through the dill stem in about two hours, sending me back to the garden in the dark feeling around for the right kind of dill. Second, they’re finicky. They wouldn’t touch the basil, carrot greens, or oregano, instead craning their heads away from my offerings like a one-year-old faced with a spoonful of strained peas. Third, like heck they stay put! I found one half way across my dining room floor before I (by “I” I mean my husband) got smart and built a box with a viewing window.

Here’s when things got sad. I found one, not sure if it was Henrietta or Sinclair, hanging off the outside of the box. Those of you who have reared caterpillars are shaking your heads at my stupidity, but I ripped it off the side wondering why it was sticking so firmly to the box. YES, I KNOW THIS INFORMATION IS ON THE INTERNET, but I didn’t know last weekend. Duh. Henrietta was starting to pupate and I interrupted the process. I tried to put her back on a leaf, apologizing profusely, but she wouldn’t attach. Now, she’s laying at the bottom of the box. Sinclair, seems to have attached himself to a stick in the “J” formation so he may be on his way.

Here’s my question for you butterfly pros. Should I assume Henrietta is dead, or as I told my son tonight, is it possible she’s just sleeping, meaning in the early stages of pupating?

What an ordeal!

Keep An Eye Out For Late Blight In Your Garden

In order to keep your plants safe, the experts say it’s ESSENTIAL to apply fungicide PRIOR to infestation. That means now is the time to treat your plants. The Maine Organic Farmers and Growers Association offers some organic options. The Cooperative Extension Services also provide good fact sheets Here’s another helpful link from the UMass Extension Office.

–Amy

Thanks Paul!

Last week we received a number of ‘Ask The Gardener’ questions that we need some help with. Perhaps some of our readers, like you, may be able to help us answer some of these questions. If you have any help for us, please post a comment below for us all to read.

Pam Chaplin: We have a woodchuck that just loves our bush beans. We have a fence all around the garden and the devil avoids the trap that we have set. Any other suggestions?

Rozetta Hughes: I have a ten year old kousa dogwood that has flowered for the past four years, this year we have not had a flower. The dogwood looks very good.
Why no flowers???

Nicole Inglis: What should I do to keep my roses blooming all summer? How should I prune them to keep them blooming?
Thank you.
Nicole

And we have advice from Muriel:
Hi, Tim Kelley… Really enjoy your “take” on TV… and appreciate your sharing your interest in gardening…
I learned this a few years ago and thought you might like to share it with your listeners (as well as apply it to your garden)!
Keep up the good work.
Muriel Thomas, Centerville, MA
http://www.papillonsartpalace.com/secrdets.htm

Here Comes The Sun!

Question:

I just planted outdoors two tall – about 12-14 “- sunflower seedlings I grew from seed. The next day i saw that one of them was knocked over near the ground, the stem almost severed. I watched for a couple days, and the leaves stayed green, so I thought it might be salvageable, but then, after a couple days, I saw that all the leaves were gone! The same thing has happened to me other years with sunflowers. Other plants, right next to it were not harmed, and the other sunflower I planted at the same time, also was not harmed.
Is there some critter – bird or squirrel, or ?, that’s especially fond of sunflowers?
And, how can I protect them?
I have several more that I want to plant outdoors.
thanks.

Ann,

Thanks for your question. I’ve grown quite a few sunflowers because of my involvement in a Children’s Garden in my town, so I can offer a few thoughts. First of all, sunflowers prefer to be directly sowed from seed rather than transplanted. You don’t have to give up on your transplants, just stick some seeds in at the same time. You can also germinate your seeds for a few days indoors to get a head start. Just wrap your seed in a damp (not soaked) paper towel and seal in a plastic zip lock bag. Maintain moisture and after a few days you should see a small root curling out of the seed. Pop in the ground and watch it grow.

Now, to your question about something eating your small seedlings. This could be cut worms, slugs or some other garden pest. Start by planting more seeds than you need. The critters won’t eat everything. You can also protect your shoots by cutting the bottom out of paper cups and putting them over the seedlings. When the plants are as tall as your hand remove cups and watch your sunflowers flourish. Don’t give up. There’s really nothing more delightful than watching a mammoth sunflower sway in a late summer breeze.

–Amy

My local YMCA branch in Freeport, Maine has a lovely hedge of mature high bush blueberries right next to the parking lot and I thought…I can do this at home.

I chose three high bush (cultivated) plants, 2 Bluecrop and 1 Patriot, and 5 low bush (wild) blueberries. I went with Brunswick on the low bush because they’re supposed to provide a dense ground cover. I think blueberries are a great bet in New England because they’re extremely hardy, provide delicious kid-friendly fruits, require little maintenance, and hold their own in the looks department. The leaves turn bright red in the fall which should look just great against our white fence.

The key to happy blueberries is acidic soil…requiring a ph of 4. to 5.5. A more dilgent gardener would have tested the soil before planting, but I decided the blueberries would be ok because they’re planted in the same stretch of soil as my acid loving Rhododendrons. I did, however, augment the soil with an organic compost that’s well suited for berries.

Other great options for front yard foundation plants might be gooseberries and currants. Or, if you’re hoping to keep animals (or neighbors) at bay, you might try growing a thorny hedge of blackberries or rasberries.

This latest adventure reminded me to question my preconceived ideas about gardens. Somewhere along the garden path, I decided food plants belonged in the back yard. Nonsense. Another advantage to front yard edibles…the deer are less likely to go there.

I just went out to Wal-Mart and bought $60 worth of tomatoes, basil and peppers to plant this weekend. As soon as the rain stopped and got a little warmer, I wanted to there before the weekend rush came in and picked over all the plants. Do you think the ground is warm enough this weekend to plant the tomatoes and peppers?

Answer:
Hi Terry O
You are very smart getting to the nursery ahead of the bog crowd.
Sounds like you are ready to launch.
Yes, the ground is warm enough, this is the warmest spring on record. The low this morning was 60°!
Our forecast is for summer warmth a couple days this week. But, believe it or not, we have frost potential next Monday or Tuesday. Seeing as that is after Memorial Day, the time we are suppose to plant tomatoes and peppers, go ahead and plant. You can not be held responsible for frost in June
Best, Tim

Have a question for the Garden Team? Ask them here!