June 18, 2017
I found a wilted corn patch today. 90ð temperatures and full sun all day so I shouldn't be surprised. Watering is becoming an every day necessity now, and I'm glad the plants can tell us when they need it. I wilted zucchini last year. I'm relearning soil moisture because proper watering is based on plant needs..
My soil is extremely porous now that it's been mulched for 20 years so most of my plants can't be over watered. The lettuce leaf mulch doesn't look any better now that it's dried out so I went ahead and put another layer of lettuce leaves over it because I had a whole wheelbarrow full of them and it was too far to push it to the compost pile. I won't be winning any Better Homes and Gardens awards this year, but if they have an " ugly mulch" contest I'm a shoo in..
June 19, 2017
This year I'm learning first hand why you should get your peas planted February 2nd. I missed that time and the next planting because of soggy soil, and now the heat is wilting plants full of pea pods trying to grow the peas inside. I'm going to put the shade tunnel on top of the pea trellis so they can get partial shade. Meanwhile my weeping water wand is in use every day, all day long. It's particularly valuable between the corn rows because the first planting of corn is beginning to pollinate..
Overhead watering can hinder pollination so I'm even using the water wand around the melon and squash mounds. It's flexible so I can curve it into a half circle and tuck it under the vines. I like to use it down the fence lines because I don't want to water the weeds and grass on the outside of the garden. Tomatoes are not supposed to like overhead watering so I should be using it on them also..
June 20, 2017
It's time for me to stop picking asparagus because half the stalks are coming up under a half inch in diameter. It's the sign that the roots are running out of energy and the stalks need to develop into ferns, to collect the solar energy, and send it down to the roots. The ferns will get five feet tall and soak up sun all summer long. They provide an excellent place to grow summer lettuce if you planted the row in a north/south direction..
Afternoon shade will be on the east side. They will want an inch of water a week all through summer, and are one of the only crops, other than artichokes, that I will soak only once a week. I've learned that everything else that wants an inch of water a week prefers it in quarter inch doses every other day, and I oblige..
