Be Patient with Impatiens

A pot of impatiens at the corner of my Bluebird Gardens home getting some rain.

Be Patient with Impatiens

If I spend any money on annuals, it's on impatiens, Latin for Impatients. I especially love the double ones, which look like small roses.

This year, a friend gave me a start of her pink Impatients so I planted them in my favorite garden spot, a pot that lies at the walkway corner to the front of my house. We often think about doing creative things with plants but one can also be creative with pot placement. In this case, I lie the pot on it's side and plant it so the flowers seem to be spilling out of the pot.

These little pink plants almost didn't make it. 

The first little sprig was consumed by a rabbit; I saw it hopping off when I was rounding the corner. Could have been Peter Rabbit, didn't see him close enough to identify.

Then we had record hot summer temperatures in Missouri, something impatients don't like, particularly if someone forgets to keep their soil moist. Guilty, but not by design, I thought I was watering them. They needed more.

Finally we had a break in the weather and a summer rain storm cooled everything off. It was just what the flowers needed to bloom.

This turned on its side flower pot keeps getting picked up. Please leave it as you found it!

Impatiens prefer shade so I have this pot in a shady area where I can see it daily.

Whenever I spot it, I smile at the memory of a contractor doing work at the house. Whenever he would walk by the pot, he would pick it up and "set it right," thereby dislodging the flower roots.

I finally convinced him to leave the pot alone but I don't think he was ever convinced I had it sideways by design!

Charlotte

Water on Wheels

A plastic pot on wheels helps me move rain water from my rain barrel to my potted plants.

Water on Wheels

This is such an easy fix and "a wonder for people who haven't thought about it." Or so a friend tells me!

When we have rain barrels collecting rain water, we may need a way to get the rain water to plants. Watering cans are a traditional choice. For my deck plants, I use something better, a large plastic planter on castors to move rain water from my rain barrel around the deck.

The rain barrel is too heavy to put on castors so I settled for a large plastic pot I can easily move. Adding the castors makes moving the plastic pot full of water easier and I can reach the plants at the far corners.

I use a shallow round planter with a hole as a lid to prevent wildlife and bees from falling in.

A smaller, plastic coffee can helps me scoop out the rain water. See those little bottles sunk in the pots? I pour the rain water into those bottles so the plant roots are kept moist.

Then I use a shallow round planter with a hole in it as a lid to keep wildlife and bees from falling in.

A Missouri spring peeper decided to go for a swim in the bottom of the planter on wheels.

Works beautifully. Well, apparently except for frogs.

How do you get rain water from your rain barrels to your plants?

Charlotte

More Best Summer Watering Practices

Summer is a challenging time for gardeners in Missouri, although relaxing inside from record hot temperatures is a welcome relief!

More Best Summer Watering Practices from Bluebird Gardens Quilts and Gifts

Missouri is headed into August 2016 already breaking record hot temperatures so it's hard to imagine how hot our traditionally hottest month of the year will be. Frankly I would rather not even think about it.

July 2016 was punishing enough. There were days when going outside felt like walking into a baking oven. Days after a rain were so humid one would get soaked just standing a few minutes in the shade. Plants would almost immediately wilt after being watered. I tried not to look until evening, when temperatures would break and plants could revive. 

To try to help plants survive these conditions, the following are a few more of my best watering practice suggestions, all ones I have tried and found to work:

Cardboard over gravel driveway shows how well cardboard holds water. 

Cardboard and Newspaper Mulch

1.     Use cardboard or newspaper to mulch. I have tried both and they appear to not only keep the soil moist but they also keep plant roots shaded from the sun. Then when I water, the cardboard in particular seems to hold splashed water and provide some soil moisture a little longer.

I have checked the cardboard a couple of days after it was watered; worms were staying moist right at the gravel surface. Not that I am volunteering my worms but keeping a spot covered in cardboard would be an easy way to get fishing worms. Just saying.

Wet wood chip mulch encourages the growth of mushrooms.

Mulch Garden Beds

2. Mulch garden beds. Dry leaves, pine needles, straw, bark, cardboard all work well to be a protective barrier. You don’t need more than 2-3 inches, the mulch will shade the soil and help hold in moisture. Keep mulch away from tree and plant trunks, a good 6 inches should do, or the mulch will burn the trunks.

With increased watering of mulch, don’t be surprised if you start seeing mushrooms you have never seen before.

Missouri Department of Conservation has a new mushroom identification book, usually available at any conservation department office for less than $10 each.

Deck umbrellas help break searing sun on potted deck plans at Bluebird Gardens.

In Gardening, Throwing Shade is Good

3. If you have tomatoes, peppers and herbs in pots, move them to shade. I also move any plants that seem to be struggling into shade, then check them in the evening to make sure they have moist roots and are recovering.

I also sometimes open my deck umbrella to give my potted plants a break.

Watering is essential but so is time for roots to take in nutrients and send them up plant stems. It can take hours for that process so plants may stay wilted for hours even if you have just watered them. Be patient but keep an eye on them. Double check roots to make sure they are staying moist if you're not sure.

Veggie Watch

4. To some people, only growing vegetables count. Vegetables also need regular, consistent moisture.

Vegetables need an average of one inch of water a week. It is better to water deeply 2-3 times a week but monitor the soil moisture level to make sure they are getting enough. 

Once I see this tomato wilting, I know I need to check my potted deck plants for water.

Water Monitoring Plant

5. If you don’t like putting your fingers in soil to test moisture levels, identify a plant that you can easily monitor for wilting. Once you see leaves droop, water.

Now using a tomato plant to gauge moisture levels is not the best idea. Tomatoes prefer even watering. The tomato plant in photo is within easy sight from my den sofa so by default is has become my bellweather plant to remind me to check potted deck plants for water.

I also check other plants for wilting.

Missouri brown-eyed susans in bloom without being watered during record hot temperatures.

Go Native

6. As you plan your garden for next year, buy natives. They are more conditioned to their native soil and have a higher chance of surviving.

Just a reminder, natives also need to be watered in a dearth, maybe not as frequently as non-natives but they still need some soil moisture.

Natives also need to be consistently watered their first year so their roots can be established. natives are low care, not no care.

What have you tried in your garden that has worked well to keep your plants watered?

Charlotte

Best Summer Garden Watering Practices

It has been too hot in Missouri to enjoy my favorite summer reading corner on my deck.

Every growing area has its own benefits and challenges. Trying to grow anything on the side of a Missouri limestone can be considered foolhardy, maybe even crazy. It certainly has its moments.

Trying to keep plants alive in Missouri's infamous summer has been a personal interest of mine. Not just because I want my plants to survive but because I have learned some hard lessons. Some of the preeminent ones are to be consistent and have patience. The following are some of my tried and true garden watering practices and why.

Best Summer Garden Watering Practices from Bluebird Gardens Quilts and Gifts

In addition to stressing people and pets, Missouri weather temperatures over 90F for several consecutive days stresses plants. In those conditions, plants stop making nectar and pollen, eliminating any possibility of flowers and fruit and frustrating gardening friends aspiring to have perfect lawns. Luckily that’s not me.

I do, however, want my plants to pull through these punishing conditions. Just a decade or so ago, I could predict within days when the hot weather would hit and when I could expect it to start ebbing. No longer. With our climate rapidly changing, weather patterns have become erratic, further stressing plants and challenging their ability to adapt. I have tried to design a low maintenance garden but when it comes to watering, there's no work around. Plants need water to survive.

As we head into the traditional Missouri August dearth, here are 6 out of 12 watering practices to help plants survive:

Bluebird Gardens blackberries burning up in record 2016 hot summer temperatures.

Water in Morning

1.     Water only in the early mornings. Although it’s more comfortable to be outside in the evenings, watering at night can encourage fungus, which further stresses plants. Some can even kill a weakened plant.

I have watered at night, especially with sprinklers, when my blackberry bushes appeared to be literally burning up but, note to self - don’t make it a habit!

A watering can simulating rain is less effective than a deep watering wand.

Use an Underground Watering Wand

2.     Water with an underground wand; best $20 I have spent in a long time. Underground watering wands are available at most home and garden, and hardware stores.

The 2-foot wand inserted into the ground around plants delivers water at root level. If the tops burn up, the living roots may bring the plants back next year.

Purple coneflower starts sprouting from plants that have burned up in Missouri's record temperatures.

I have found a number of trees, especially dogwoods, and perennials I thought dead from record heat growing back in the next years. Mark the location of what appears to be a lost plant and then check the same spot next year.

The deep watering wand also comes in handy when I want to chase friends off my deck. Just kidding, checking to see if you were paying attention!

Water Potted Plants More

3.     Plants in pots need water at least twice, maybe three times a day. The tendency is to sprinkle water from a hose for a few seconds but that will only wet the top of leaves. In record hot temperatures, the trick is to get water to plant roots.

One way to make sure roots get watered is to add plastic bottles with holes buried deep into pots. I prefer the bottles with larger openings, makes it easier to get a hose to the bottle to quickly fill it up. I also have the regular 3/4 inch openings, I just use those as target practice as I aim the hose.

Fertilize Less

4.     Because we are watering so much more frequently, seriously dilute any fertilizer you add. Potted plants do benefit from being fertilized. As we water more frequently, we also wash out the fertilizer we have applied. 

Many potted plants have time release fertilizer in their soil. Those fertilizers also tend to get washed out as we repeatedly water.

Fertilizer exposed to roots will burn and too much fertilizer will stress plants. Potted plants can use enhancing so adding compost is one option.  I now also only add a pinch of fertilizer to a gallon milk jug full of water and make sure it is well mixed before applying. 

Water the Young Ones

5.    No one wants to make a choice between what plants to water, it's reminiscent of having to choose between one's children. However, if you have to choose between new and established plants, water the new ones.

New plants, including ones in pots, haven’t established themselves yet and roots exposed to crisp, dry hot soil will quickly kill them. New plant starts in pots in particular need to be kept moist until you can get them in the ground.

Some herbs, such as rosemary and most mints, seem to thrive in hot weather in my garden so I don't worry too much about keeping their soil moist.

Also make sure the water is getting to the roots. Top watering does little good if the roots aren't kept moist. I will wiggle a finger along a pot edge to make sure water is settling into the middle of the pot. Newly-planted plants will get the watering wand snuck in close to their roots.

More than one inch of welcome rain August 1 2016 at Bluebird Gardens.

Pray for Rain

6. Even with all of the garden watering tips here, the best water for plants is rain. I do keep a close eye on the weather forecast and try to only plant when new arrivals will get a good rain soaking once settled in.

Although I also soak newly-planted plants well with city water, there's no comparison with how plants respond to rain water compared to city water. I now collect rain water in barrels so I can keep watering with the better of the two choices.

Coming up next, more best watering practices to survive this hot summer.  What are you doing to help your plants through these record hot temperatures?

Charlotte

Picking Homegrown Peaches!

My first homegrown peaches - well, the first ones I beat the squirrels to getting!

Picking Homegrown Peaches

Aren't they beautiful?

I was so excited when I first spotted them several weeks ago, growing tucked under a full branch of peach tree leaves next to some of my bee hives. It's the first year for this particular compact peach tree but I have grown them in the past on other trees. Only squirrels have beat me to them and walking through my garden scolding squirrels out loud has done nothing but confirmed my neighbor's assessment of who is the crazy person in the neighborhood.

I would check the peaches every morning, gently peeking under the leaves and counting to make sure none were missing. Squirrels were also apparently checking because several would scurry off as I got close to the compact, dwarf Stark Brother's peach tree. These are grown in Louisiana, Missouri so they have quickly acclimated to my mid-Missouri hillside garden.

Knowing in the past squirrels have been more successful than I have been harvesting the fruit, I picked them just a tad from being perfectly ripe. 

How did I know to pick them?

One of the peaches had a bug spot, a sure sign the fruit was getting nicely ripe.

Not a good technique to use if you are a farmer but as a home gardener, it works for me. I also have a nice collection of paring knifes I can use to clean up that little spot.

Once inside, I added the three peaches to a brown bag with an apple to finish ripening.

My three little peaches in a brown bag with an apple to finish ripening, squirrel-free!

These three will once again be checked every day for ripeness.

So silly but it is such a feeling of accomplishment. Have you ever beat the squirrels to garden fare?

Charlotte

First Seeds Sale of Season

Spring seeds on sale at a local big box retailer. Score!

First Seeds of the Season on Sale

I wasn't at the store even looking for seeds but it was hard to miss the sign. Spring seeds were now mid-summer half price, the racks full of little envelopes with pictures of a wide variety of flowers and vegetables beckoning me to get closer.

Now I have a basket full of seed packs, some going back as far as the 1980s. I should clean them out but every time I shuffle through the packs, I can remember my mother giving them to me. Or a friend tucking one inside a book cover. Or maybe a find at an earlier seed packet sale, all promises of the garden I dream of planting, like this charming garden dreams throw.

I doubt most of those older seed packets will sprout but the good news is if you keep these spring 2016 seed packets in a cool, dry place, they should nicely sprout next year or longer. Most seeds have at least a 2-5 year life span as long as they are stored properly.

Although it's a little early to know how well some seed varieties are doing, I can never have too many zinnia and basil seeds. Zinnias are easy to grow, butterfly favorites and make wonderful cut flowers. Basil plants are even better than marigolds as bug deterrents so I now tend to drop a few seeds in pots with tomato plants to keep them from being bug-eaten.

Spring 2016 seeds are starting to go on sale mid-summer.

Check seed packet weight before buying and remember, you don't need to feed the whole country so only buy what you need. Then pick up a few more extra packs to give as birthday gifts and stocking stuffers.

Oh, who am I kidding, have fun. After all, the seeds ARE on sale!

Charlotte

Deterring Japanese Beetles

Japanese beetles on a Bluebird Gardens fruit tree will breed until mid-August, then disappear.

Deterring Japanese Beetles in Your Garden

In the category of non-welcome bugs, Japanese beetles are currently decimating gardens, turning edible plants and herb leaves into lace. When these invasive bugs were first spotted in Missouri, people were asking for traps to help catch them.

Pheromone traps have proven to be, for the most part, counter-productive. People tend to hang them like birdhouses when they should be located downwind, at the edge of the property, so pheromones aren’t attracting more Japanese beetles.

I still do the garden inspection early morning with a can of soapy water. Once I spot the beetles, I place the can under them and they fall in to drown.

A beekeeping friend has suggested making a spray out of their dead little beetle bodies but I haven’t tried that yet. 

After several years of catching Japanese beetles in soapy water, I have less beetles in my woods-surrounded garden. It may not work as well in developed areas with other nearby gardens but it is worth a try.

Charlotte

Deterring Deer in Your Garden

I tend to see deer in my garden more in winter than summer.

Deterring Deer In Your Garden

Deer in particular get a bad rap, especially since some have a taste for our gardens. Tulips and hostas seem to be a favorite treat, according to ladies I meet when I talk to clubs. I have tried all of the standard deer-repelling suggestions from placing soap and hair around garden beds to a fertilizer made from a Wisconsin sewer system.

My current technique is to keep deer at the edge of my woods-surrounded property with a salt block and periodic servings of corn. I don’t recommend that for more developed areas.

One husband sent me this email about a deer pen he built that did the trick:

“The most critical dimension is the width of 10 feet. Our pen is 65 feet long, but any length should actually work. The two long sides are made from cattle panels of ¼ inch wire mesh of 6 inches by 8 inches. Each panel is 48 inches tall and 16 feet long. These panels are attached to steel tee posts placed 5.5 feet apart to form two long sides that are 10 feet apart.

"I used 12 foot metal gates for the ends just because they were available. They hang over a little , but the deer don’t seem to mind. The 10 foot spacing side to side has so far never allowed a deer to jump in. If they did try it, they would probably crash into the side opposite to the side they had jumped. Also, we put 18 inch high chicken wire around the bottom of the ends and both sides. It is just tied on the ends so that after moving the gates I can use a tiller inside the pen. This keeps out the rabbits and turtles.

We have had this setup a long time. It took some labor and material to build it, but it has been worth it. Now we can raise green beans, okra, lettuce, etc. without having it eaten.”

Do you think this will work? Have you tried it?

Charlotte

More Growing Tomato Woes

Blossom end rot can be fixed with even watering. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

More Growing Tomato Woes

Summer is a time when local farms sometimes share their extra produce, assuming conditions have been good for growing. This year, record hot and humid conditions have made tomato growing challenging.

Proper Fertilizer

Tomato plants taller than their growers usually means tomato plants may be getting too much nitrogen fertilizer. Nitrogen encourages the green growth that spurs plants to unnatural heights.A balanced plant meal requires nitrogen for growth, phosphorous for moving energy through the plant, and potassium for stress tolerance.  Our Ozark soil can provide nitrogen but the other two fertilizer elements usually need a boost. 

Soil testing through a local University of Missouri Extension office will help determine what is missing. A test costs $15 and includes not only what is in your soil but what you need to do to amend it.

Even Watering

The other delicate part of raising tomatoes is watering. Blossom end rot, where the bottom of the tomato starts to decompose, is usually caused by calcium deficiency, Calcium is usually present in soil but without water, tomato plants can’t take it up from the soil.

The best way to prevent blossom end rot is to regularly and evenly water tomatoes,. This means watering them every day at the same time with the same amount of water.

Tomato roots in open ground can grow to 5 feet deep. Tomatoes even grown in containers prefer to be evenly moist so with temperatures, and humidity, either at record levels or varying widely, requires careful monitoring.

I have sunken plastic bottles with holes in pots keeping my tomatoes company so that I can better keep the roots moist.

I also use a paint stick propped into the side and moved over an inch to check how wet the soil is before I water.

Temperatures Over 86F

Another challenge to raising tomatoes is temperatures over 86F. Tomatoes go into survival mode at 86F and higher so the tomatoes will not ripen on the plant. If temperatures remain that hot, pick the tomatoes while still green and allow them ripen in your kitchen.

Remove Suckers'

One last tip, remember to remove suckers or the growth in between branches. That will keep your tomatoes focused on growing the fruit we all enjoy as the taste of summer.

Charlotte

Tomatoes Dropping Flowers

A Beefsteak tomato at Bluebird Gardens with blossom drop from record hot temperatures.

Tomatoes Dropping Flowers

When I dream of my summer garden, or see a summer garden quilt throw, I look for tomatoes first. If there is one vegetable that represents summer vegetable gardening, it's these wonderful fruits that add color, flavor and good antioxidants to our salads and other food.

Our local newspaper asked me to call someone about their tomatoes. The gentleman was polite on the phone but clearly frustrated. His 6-foot high tomatoes in barrels at a 7 Ph level where flowering but then the flowers were falling off. He said something similar had happened to his potatoes last year.

Several Possible Factors

There are several factors that cause tomatoes to drop their flowers, starting with the impact of record high temperatures. Tomatoes, like most flowering plants, go into survival mode if temperatures are above 90F for five or more days in a row. We just set record temperatures for June in Missouri so the record hot temperatures may be a leading culprit.

Plant survival mode means most systems are shut down, including pollen production. It’s why a plant may seem to die in hot weather and yet reappear the following year. As long as the roots can pull through, most plants will survive.

High Temperatures and High Humidity

Tied to temperature is high humidity. Humidity that is too high prevents pollen from sticking to the stigma once it is released. Without pollen, there are no pollinators and without pollinators, there are no flowers that produce tomatoes.

Leading tomato pollinators are native bees, especially bumble bees. These little hoodlums of the bee world literally shake the plant, releasing pollen all over the stigma and themselves. When high temperatures shut down pollen production, they also put bees out of business.

Next, two more factors that can impact successful tomato growing. Any guesses what they might be?

Charlotte

Pinching Chrysanthemums

This is what happens when I forget to pinch my mums earlier in the season, early flowering!

Pinching Chrysanthemums

July 4th is a mile marker for my chrysanthemums. It is the last time in the season that I pinch my mums back to make them bushy and delay fall blooming.

This year, I started pinching my mums back regularly every month or so. When temperatures in June became too hot to spend much time outside, I didn't pinch them so that several mum plants were actually blooming USA Independence Day weekend, several months ahead of the desired bloom time around Halloween.

Mums flower early when the plants are not regularly pinched back through July 4th weekend.

I tucked pinched-off mum branches into nearby soil to root new plants.

I usually prefer to plant low maintenance flowers but I don't mind having to pinch mums every few weeks. They are well worth the effort to add flowers when fall comes around.

Charlotte

Getting Deck Garden Ready for Summer

My little deck garden ready for a hot Missouri summer - sort of.

The official beginning of summer is my cue to make sure my little deck garden is ready for the growing season.

I have been growing herbs and favorite vegetables in pots for many years. Trying to grow anything on a Missouri limestone hill is enough of a challenge without teasing plants trying to find soil in hot weather conditions.

My herbs, mostly in the center, grow quite well in pots as long as caterpillars don't find them. I keep an orange tree, left, grown from seed for about 20 years as a butterfly smorgasboard. Last year, black swallowtail butterfly caterpillars denuded the tree late spring.

Cucumbers, peppers, eggplant, onions and tomatoes are in pots along the perimeter. I tend to end up with more tomatoes than planned because i keep finding volunteers. Not having the heart to kill them, I transplant  them to their own growing spots, including some of my pots full of flowers. At one time, tomatoes were grown as ornamental plants.

And yes, that's a banana tree in the corner, an office auction win. It's still a juvenile so I don't expect to see any fruit any time soon. It spends winters in my dining room, just in case.

Charlotte

Help Pollinators By Not Pulling Plants

Beards tongue plants have spread through one of my flower beds. Bumblebees love them!

How to Help Pollinators By Not Pulling Plants

Do you have plants taking over a garden corner in swaths? Leave them. Many pollinators, such as hummingbirds and bees, depend on large swaths of plants for nectar and pollen.

I know there’s a tendency to want to keep everything nice and neat but that doesn’t necessarily help pollinators. For example, turf grass takes out a potential source for cover and pollen for ground-nesters. Some 80% of all native bees make their homes in the ground.

If you know you have a nest in the ground, plan a flower bed around the nest to protect the pollinator home and minimize family members walking over it getting stung, You can use those extra plants that you want to thin out of another flower bed.

I am not saying you shouldn't think out flower beds; sometimes it's necessary. Just thin out flower beds later in the season when temperatures are more bearable and you have a better plan for where the extra plants will live.

Next, how to help pollinators by not using pesticides.

Charlotte

Help Pollinators by Properly Watering Garden

Water Plants Underground

Planting milkweed and other native plants is a popular way to help pollinators but our temperatures are too high for many plants. 

If you see milkweed and other natives you planted earlier dying in these hot temperatures, keep them watered with an underground wand. Surface watering usually evaporates in these hot temperatures so concentrate on getting the water underground. Deep watering will help keep roots alive and the plants may make a recovery next year.

Water Early Morning

I know it's tempting to water when it's cool in the evening but it is better to water early morning. That way plants get a good drink before the heat of the day and sun helps control any fungus that moist soil may attract.

Hot Temperatures Mean No Pollen

If you also see the plants stop flowering, that's a survival move. Plants will stop producing pollen when temperatures are higher than 90F for several days. Some people discard the plants because of the lack of flowers but if they make it through hot conditions, they may grow and bloom again next year.

Next, how to help pollinators such as butterflies, birds and bees by not pulling plants.

Charlotte