May 09, 2019
The leaves on my beans are turning yellow. I've never experienced this before so I ran to the internet for some answers. As usual I ended up with more questions than answers. Do you have any idea how many things can go wrong with your beans? I've always understood cold or wet soil being a problem but did you know they can suffer from a lack of nitrogen? As legumes they have the ability to capture nitrogen from the atmosphere and store in nodules on their roots, so I've always assumed that it would be available to them. I also learned that a manganese defficiency can cause yellow leaves. I'm what you might call a "fair weather gardener"..
I'm happy puttering along, playing the same three cords, with a fa la la la la attitude, until something goes wrong, then I just want to pull it up and plant another seed. It may be why I enjoy planting everything from seed. Every plant in my garden costs a fraction of a buck. I don't want to spend the time or money to nurture a plant back to health. If it can't make it on what I've given it, begone..
May 10, 2019
The artichokes are beginning to thrust their globes to the sky. No longer do I have to peer down into the center of the clusters of leaves to spot them. My problem now is to hold off picking them until they start to open. I usually pick them at about three inches in diameter because "that's big enough", but that has never allowed me to find out how big they will get. As a result my son always gets bigger chokes than me even though my plants are larger than his. This has got to stop..
The second planting of corn has grown quickly in this heat also, and it looks like it's time to plant another patch. I won't be using clear plastic this time because I think it would be too hot under it. I've got it on the newly planted melon mounds, but am going to remove it today even though they haven't sprouted yet. Cooking sprouts this time of year is just foolish. There is enough heat for germination without having to rush it..
May 11, 2019
I drug out my old weeping water wand and laid it along my row of peas. It's nice to be able to put water exactly where you want it, and soak the ground deeply. The fact that I can curve it into a half circle makes it great for watering the mounds. All the yard sprinklers can be in use all day long and I can still deep soak the melons, squash and cucumbers. I get to go into the garden every hour to move it, and so it feels like I've gardened all day long. When the corn begins to form pollen I lay it down between the rows and deep soak the patch. It's handy in the greenhouse also where trying to water with the orbital sprinkler invariably gets my shelves and tools wet..
Overhead watering replenishes ground moisture in large areas, keeping it from wicking away from your plants roots, and washing surface nutrients down to them. It cleans the leaves and increases garden humidity. It cools the garden down and refreshes the soil by dragging oxygen down behind it and pushing carbon dioxide out as it travels down. The soil microbes produce carbon dioxide as a byproduct of their activities and can be harmed by it's build up. They and the plants roots need water and refreshing oxygen..
