Iris and Peony update

Well, since we did get good rain last night, we may have iris stalks blooming.......only time will tell. We have had extreme spring heat and ferocious winds at Earthworks over the last week along with parched soil. All bad. The peonies that did open were smaller than usual and fell apart soon after. After last nights rain and wind, I am sure they are looking crappy.  The worst year yet, after what was a  promising start a month ago. I encourage you to order iris & peony off the website at www.earthworksgardens.com
If you pick them up, I will payback the shipping. Even w/o the iris blooming, the rhizomes are perfectly healthy to bloom the next year. Without water, they did not have the energy to bloom this year. Should be extra good next year.....I think I need a well out there......water please. Folks sometimes ask, why do you do so many different things? Two reasons: one, I am crazy. reason two, if all I did was iris and peony.......it would be a disastrous year. This way I have the perennials, bakery, summer bouquets, classes, vegetables, berries and the like to carry the farm. The ups and downs of the farmer gal, I know there are several out their that can relate!

Rain! It rained!

Earthworks received a blessed 2.3" of rain last night and into this morning. We really needed that. Sadly, I can hear the weeds growing here at my desk......1.5 miles away. Only thing left to plant is 2 types of winter squash and re-sowing sunflowers & greens. Hopefully this year we will have produce all season long at our field location, weather....specifically rain cooperating. What do we sell besides plants, bouquets and bakery? Lettuce, mesclun mix, spinach, sugar snap peas, green beans, sweetcorn, peppers, cucumbers, eggplants, beets, tomatoes, raspberries, strawberries, cantaloupes & specialty melons, watermelon, summer and winter squashes, pumpkins, 8 types of dried beans for soups, dried bunches of flowers, broom corn, humongous sunflower heads for the birds. It's good to be diversified when you can. The challenge is each plant family has it's own insect/disease and cultural differences.

Serpentine Layering & the Squash Vine Borer

This is so easy........got a shovel? You can do it. Serpentine layering serves a specific purpose: to help prolong the life of a vine crop after the crown has been damaged, usually from feeding insects. A shovelful of soil every few feet over the stem is adequate. Roots will form under the new soil and help with water/nutrient uptake for the plants.

Above is the adult 'Squash Vine Borer.' No it's not 'kinda pretty.' They are night flyers so you will seldom see them, kill if you do. They typically victimize summer & winter squashes, pumpkins, and probably gourds too.

So here is their routine. The adult lays eggs near or on the crown of the plant. After they hatch, the larvae burrow into the plant and begin to feed. You will notice a brown/yellowish wet sawdust looking stuff on the plant.....good indicator they are present....it's poop man! A trained gardener can attack! Get a knife, bamboo skewer or open a paper clip....choose your weapon! The borer will always be traveling toward the stem tip, ahead of the poop trail. A gentle stabbing motion can often take care of them without to much harm to the plant.  If you are not vigilant, the plant may look like the above photo before you realize you have been had. This is where the serpentine layering can really help your plant survive. 

Often, just one stem may be affected. So if one vine suddenly looks bad, another key indicator. If you need to remove the entire vine or plant, slice it apart to kill all the intruders. Where do they come from? Well this is their territory too. But, if I haven't convinced you yet not to compost your garden debris or till it in.......here is another reason. The SVB winters over in cocoons from leftover plant debris. What a surprise! Till it under and plant them for next year? Why would you do that. Rake off, or for big operations, a spring tooth works to drag off material. It's rewarding to have a big garden bonfire just knowing how many bad insects you are killing.  You can use floating row covers to cover the crowns early in the season to exclude the SVB. Covers will have to be removed for pollination to occurr. Bt can also be injected into the crown to kill them. Be vigilant my friends!

Planting almost done

We are nearing the end of plant and seed installations. Yahoo. Rain.....you can start anytime!

Mexican Bean Beetle

How many insect pests are there? How much time do you have? Seriously, there is a pest for everything. Adults emerge in the spring from your garden or compost heap. Adults can lay 100's of eggs per season, in large clusters on the undersides of leaves. If you only have a few plants, check under the leaves for eggs and squish them. Once you see the adults, start dusting right away. Hand picking is really not an option, they are pretty quick. As you approach them, they scurry away......so tricky.

Most that I have seen are a darker brown than shown here. MBB is a 'Lady Bug.' There are over 400 types, and a few like the MBB eat plants instead of other insects.....so bad.
Insects can quickly defoliate bean leaves. You will need to repeat dusting until they are gone every week or so. If your plants have beans on them, pick all even the little ones before dusting. It's best to get control of them before your plants put out beans. Get your dust & be ready! Other predatory insects may help to control the larvae stage of these critters but not much for the adults.

Making a Toad House

You may have to double click on photo to read it. Toads are great garden helpers with eating insects.

But like everyone, they need a home. Creating little places for them to live will help encourage them to stay. I have tried the soil ridge a couple of times with success. The first time I heard about it...I was thinking 'yea right.' So I made a ridge, placed an old board against it, and forgot about it. Several weeks later, I remembered and took a look. I think I let out a little eek noise as I jumped backwards as 6 toads were all nestled in behind the board and staring at me. Give it a try, gardeners can use all the hlep we can get! 



Calculation for 1" of water

Plants need 1-2" of water per week. Some areas are lucky enough to get rain. =(
Here is the calculation to figure out how much water to apply to equal 1" of rain.
Adjust the speed of the water flow so you can fill a 1 gallon container in 30 seconds. Possibly you can indicate that on the spicket with a permanent marker or a twist tie. At that rate of water flow, it will take 30 minutes of watering to apply 1" of water to 100 square feet.