WE SURVIVED JUNEUARY IN THE GARDEN

We Survived

by Sandy Robson

June-uary in the Garden!

Well June-uary was rather nasty for the garden this year. It hit only 9˚C overnight in mid-June for goodness sake—and I swear my tomato and cucumbers plants were giving me the evil eye—the sun returned for most of July and in August, the temperatures have remained high.

So, it has been a busy season with a long (and hopefully pleasant) To Do List for we keepers of gardens. There is the ongoing tidying up by deadheading blooms, mulching, and judiciously pruning and staking shrubs, annuals and perennials as they continue to grow. It’s also time to give a little nutrient boost to the vegetables, berries, herbs and other plants that are working so hard to produce.

In late spring, I always start a big batch of comfrey tea and let it percolate (“get stinky”) before watering it down and applying throughout the summer months… although I do stop fertilizing perennials by mid-August. You can also choose from a wide variety of commercial fertilizers that are tailored to the specific needs of plants from fruit and vegetables, to roses and evergreen shrubs.

Next up is the dreaded Pest Patrol! In that department I try to go as low impact as possible, and prefer trying out non-toxic, organic sprays and powders for my arch enemies in the garden. Yes aphids, I am looking at you! This year I am having success with a mixture of castile soap, baking soda, olive & peppermint oils added to warm water for spraying on my roses, honeysuckle, and even a Japanese maple that has been invaded. And I am experimenting with a 50/50 mixture of baking soda and icing sugar sprinkled around the base (not touching the stem

though) of my artichokes to combat the ants that were “farming” a lovely crop of the afore mentioned aphids amongst the leaves…. and so far, so good!

For those of you who jumped on the 2020 Victory Garden trend, harvesting fruits and veggies will be an ongoing task throughout the summer months and into fall. Cool weather crops like spinach and peas— and at least they were happy with the cooler spring weather—will be harvested early in the summer, while warmer weather crops (tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, beans and squash) are looking for as many sunny & warm days as they can find before they set fruit and settle into ripening! With rapid growth during summer, keeping up with the picking will help keep the plant healthy and productive for as long as possible. August is also time to put in fall crops: beets, carrots, turnips, cauliflower (start indoors and transplant in beginning of September), as well as a final seeding of arugula, lettuce, spinach and other leafy greens for your late fall salads!

APHID SPRAY RECIPE

To 4 cups of warm water in a spray bottle add:

1 Tbsp olive oil 1 Tbsp castile soup (I use Dr. Bronner’s) 1 tsp baking soda 10 drops of peppermint oil (although if your cats like to loll about in the garden, use rosemary oil instead)

Note: ALWAYS do a test spray on a few leaves of any plant and wait 24 hours to ensure there are no ill effects!

Don’t forget to keep up-to-date with changes to local watering restrictions as the weather gets hot and dry. The RDN has a handy interactive map you can see at: rdn.bc.ca/watering-restriction-map.

Happy gardening!

opposite

summer harvests and shared community garden

above

comfrey tea

inset top

aphids

left

raised vegetable beds