Garden Tools: The Walk-Behind Planter

       I purchased this walk-behind planter several years ago at an estate sale for $15. It came with a full set of planting templates and instructions.  Seed planting depth is adjustable, and a chain drags behind the hopper to cover the seeds, followed by the back wheel, which compresses the soil for better seed/soil contact. Templates range from the tiniest seeds to large beans.  Was it a bargain? I'm still debating this issue.
       For years I've successfully planted sweet corn with this, though I've often filled in skipped spots with hand-planted seeds. (You don't know it's skipped until nothing comes up there, of course.) This year I've planted the Three Sisters for the fist time so I didn't use the planter for corn. I've used it for peas several times, but, again, it skips. Since I plant wide rows for peas, with three or four rows spaced four or so inches apart within each of these rows, some skipping isn't a huge issue, especially when I plant a dozen or more of these wide rows like I did last year. That was more than a quarter of a mile of rows! No, I don't usually plant this many peas; this was part of my soil-improvement project for the traditional garden space. I would never have attempted this without the planter.
       I usually broadcast carrots in wide rows, but these have always needed much thinning and weeding, so I tried the planter this spring. I don't think using it was an improvement. I still had to weed and thin, and, in addition, felt frustrated that it didn't work better and wasted a lot of seeds. The same was true with beets. I wound up with clumps of beets followed by two-foot bare spots. I attempted some transplanting, which worked, but was tedious in the extreme. I thinned them and am still harvesting reasonable crops.
       If the soil isn't well-prepared (ie, tilled or hoed), the furrow blade doesn't work worth a hoot. Seeds wind up either uncovered or barely covered. Care must be taken at ends of rows, as the planter usually dumps far too many seeds when you start and stop. I'd say it's a useful tool for a large garden, but not worth even the $15 for something small. Have you tried using one of these? What are your experiences?

Stop and Smell the Roses, For the Gardeningaholic

       I'm so focused on getting gardens planted and keeping up with the weeds that I often fail to take the time to enjoy what I've done, and the bounty growing around me. This year I noted almost in passing when the heirloom roses put on a spectacular show. The other roses soon followed suit. I looked, but very literally, did not smell. Now that the roses are fading, I'm regretting not having paid them closer attention, and I've come up with what may be a way of rectifying this in the future.
       Yesterday, I started to collect flowers and herbs for potpourri. If I get enough to make it worthwhile, I may offer this at a farmers market. In the meantime, I have an incentive to get up close and personal with some of the beautiful and aromatic plants in my yard.
       So far I've collected only a few rose petals and buds, but the experience could become addictive. Imagine separating the delicate petals, each so lovely, so delightful to smell, so velvety to the touch. I look forward to gathering other treasures; violets, calendula, lemon balm, lavender, wild strawberry leaves, and many more as the season progresses.
       There's more to making potpourri that throwing a few nice smelling dried leaves into a bowl. Usually, a potpourri has a theme like woodland, which might include wild strawberry leaves, pine needles, cedar chips, rosewood and sweet violet root as a fixative. A citrus blend could include lemon balm, basil, thymes, mints and bergamot leaves. I expect there's an art to mixing, but experimenting should be fun. I was surprised to learn that after combining everything, the mixture is sealed in a container to "cure" for six weeks in a dark place. Six weeks? A little patience will be called for here, in gathering as well as waiting to smell and enjoy the final product. Of course, I could just enjoy the aromas of individual favorites like lemon balm and basil while I savor the wait.
       Are you tempted to try this too? It could open you eyes to some of Nature's wonders while helping you to stop and smell...a lot more than the roses!

Pecan Guild "Finished"!

The pecan guild early this spring, before the weeds took
over. That black thing is a black locust stump wrapped in
pool liner to kill it. Pecan tree is in cage at top of photo to
stump's left.

       Picture fireworks lighting the night sky! The Pecan Guild is weeded and planted! The accompanying photo shows the "before." It'll be awhile before I have an "after"! The area involved is about fifty feet square, with several black locust stumps and hardly anything desirable growing in the guild-to-be except a pecan tree that measures no more than two feet tall. The task took about five days of work, not consecutive days, and not exclusive projecting on those days, but pretty near.
        The pecan tree remains in its chicken wire cage from last winter, and is in the center of the garden. I put in a wattling fence on the west side in an attempt to keep the dogs from overrunning the newly cleared area. Stinging nettles, motherwort, and lamb's quarter were among the plants that I pulled. Yes, I know they are herbs or edible, and I'll have them elsewhere. About the only volunteer plant I left was mullein. There are thyme and violets I planted last year, and narcissus that have been growing out there for a hundred years (at least). I added chamomile, canna, calendula, more thyme, comfrey, blue stavia, lavender, nasturtiums and some other flowers. I'm expecting blues, yellows, orange and red flowers, for what I hope will be an impressive view of colors from the kitchen window. I've never planted much in the way of flowers so I'm quite excited about this, as well as having completed a major task on my to-do list.
       I also strung climbing strings today for the trellis outside the kitchen window and planted morning glories, moonflowers and a couple of climbing beans. The colors for this happen to be red, white and blue.
       To top off the day, I pulled weeds in the Evergreen Garden and transplanted cinquefoil and wild strawberries. The wild strawberry plants are as big as my June bearers, although the berries themselves are small. Things are shaping up! Tomorrow, I hope to finish planting the vegetable garden. The Three Sisters are looking good!.All I need out there is sugar beets and more cucumbers for ground cover and (so I've read) raccoon repellent.
       As for now, my spouse informs me that the pizza dough is threatening to escape from the bowl and take over the kitchen, so I need to take care of that. Then a Saturday night movie with my dh, a lovely end to a productive day!

Garlic Mustard Invasion

Kind of pretty, you think! There are hundreds of square
feet of this stuff here. Where it grows, nothing else does.

       Both the leaves and root of this plant are edible, yet I spend hours, even days, every year trying to get rid of it. Why? Because garlic mustard is so vigorously invasive that it will crowd out every other growing thing if it isn't controlled. One plant sprouting in new territory will produce hundreds of seeds. Within a few years, the garlic mustard will have multiplied to carpet the earth, springing from the ground in March, before the native plants appear.
       This is a biennial. Actually, it's a attractive plant during its first year; the new leaves look something like violet leaves, but lighter green. The second year, though, the leaves darken and it bolts up to two feet high and looses the prettiness when its small white flowers go to seed. The seed pods look like needles ready to spike the existing flora. They are certain killers of biodiversity.

On the lower plant you can see how the root changes
directions.

       Pulling this stuff is an art. The root is long and stubborn, and if you don't pull just right, the stem will snap at the base. New growth will form there and produce flowers and seeds, but these may be so low to the ground (often six inches or less) that you'll miss them on future inspections. To get the entire root, I often loosen the soil with a shovel. Then I grasp the plant with one hand and follow the stem to its base with the other. At the base of the plant, the stem usually takes a right angle turn before going underground. This is where the "snap" occurs. I grip the root where it enters the ground and pull firmly straight upward. If it breaks, I go dirt diving with fingers or shovel. Because this menace is so out of control here, I do this for hours at a time. Then there;s next year's crop to deal with, that carpet from last year's plants that I didn't find the time to deal with last year.

Nearly all the green here is garlic
mustard. If I don't get rid of it, next
year it will look like the first photo above.

       Mowing does not eliminate the problem, because the plant may still flower. I've used (shudder) Roundup in a desperate effort to control the weed, but seeds are viable in the soil for five years, I've read, and the plant keeps reappearing. I don't want to use this poison on an annual basis! I tried vinegar as an herbicide for the first time this year with mixed success. I believe my main problem there was that I didn't saturate the leaves as well as required. Also I've read since that experiment that vinegar works better if you add one ounce of dishwashing soap per gallon of vinegar. I'll try a second spray. I would not recommend vinegar on second-year growth, unless it's applied soon after the plant pops up in March. From my limited experience, I'd say it would take so much spray that you'd be further ahead just pulling each plant. Also, to be effective,  vinegar needs to be applied on a warm, sunny day. In March? In Michigan? This could present a problem. Much of the new growth is in wooded areas, so there may not be enough sunlight. When I can find the time, I'll go after more of the first year plants with my trusty action hoe.
         Pulling, spraying and burning are the only ways to get rid of this stuff. Burning isn't recommended for the average homeowner, and spraying must be done repeatedly to be effective. Even that much vinegar isn't good for the environment! Besides, if the plant has already started to go to seed, you have to remove the seed heads or you've wasted your time, money and energy. Once pulled, what do you do with it? Bag it, label it "invasive weed" and put it in a landfill? This is conventional wisdom. I have a problem with putting biodegradables in landfills. Burying, I'm told, doesn't work. Nor does composting. Seems like composting should work if it's a hot compost. Burn after it dries? With its garlic taste, would you want to feed it to livestock, assuming they would eat it? Can you think of other options? Has garlic mustard invaded your neck of the woods? Are there any groups sponsoring cleanup parties? Are you participating in the fight against this invasion?

Note: A friend suggested this site: http://www.wildflowers.org/pastissues/?id=178
    

Three Sisters - Beans and Borers

Beans in the Three Sisters

       After a lifetime of planting corn and beans in separate rows and pumpkin and squash in isolated hills, I’m enmeshed in my own preconceptions. Lame as it is, this is my excuse for not noting before that beans that are ready to harvest in 60 days will not be accessible in a Three Sisters planting. This is so obvious that I’m embarrassed to admit I fell into the trap, but this morning the light went on in my head when I read the planting directions on green beans. For the Three Sisters, dry beans are the sane choice.
       Have you tried to find dried beans where you buy your other garden seeds? My search turned up zilch. I do have dried kidney, navy and pinto beans in the house, but will they sprout? More to the point, are they bush or climbing? I’m guessing bush. So I went ahead and planted the green beans, figuring this is an experiment anyway. I’ll get seeds from the Three Sisters beans and I already have rows of green beans that I planted in case I ran into a snag with the Three Sisters project.
Note: Try Seed Savers for a selection of vining beans!  

Controlling Squash Vine Borers
       On a related subject, I’ve done more research into controlling squash vine borers. For the past two years I’ve lost most of my squash and pumpkins to these pests. One recommendation for saving the plants from the borers is to cover the vines with dirt at two feet intervals. Again, getting into the Three Sisters to do this will be awkward, and, I’ve found in the past, not particularly effective. A better solution, it seems to me, might come from learning about the life cycle of this menace.
       Naturally, I found a great Internet page with information about this, but when I went back later to link it to my page, I could not find it. It was a Minnesota extension site. I’ll recall as much as I can to share here.
       The squash vine borer is a wasp (or wasp-like) insect that is dark-colored except for its abdomen, which is red with black spots lined up on the top. It emerges from the soil (in Minnesota and probably here in Michigan too) in late June to early July, at the time squash and pumpkins start to vine. Look for it while you are in the garden. Since it flies during the day, you may spot it. It helps that it buzzes loudly during flight. Alternately, place some water-filled yellow containers around your garden. The yellow attracts borers; the water drowns them. If this happens, then you know you have a potential problem. I believe the article said that the wasps lay a single egg at the base of their favorite plants about a week after they themselves come out of the ground. Two weeks later, the egg will hatch and the little beast will enter the plant and start feeding. More than one may enter the same plant.
       Your first indication of trouble may be wilting leaves on a hot day. Look for entry holes into the plant near its base and for a sawdust-like substance. You could simply pull up and destroy any plants that react like this, assuming that not all your plants are wilting. To try to save the plant, slit it open the along the ribs and kill the interloper/s. Cover the cut area with damp dirt and keep it well watered while it recovers.
       You may be able to avoid all this hassle if you use floating row covers starting in late June and leaving them on until mid-July. Leaving them on permanently will mean the bees won't have access to the blossoms and you won't get a crop. The covers must be securely anchored to keep the wasps out.
       Another source suggested discing in the fall and tilling in the spring to disturb the new crop of wasps. Discing apparently exposes them to birds. Mmm! Lunch!
       The borers aren’t fond of Butternut squash, or melons, watermelon or cucumbers so if you are planting only these, you may not have a problem even if the borers are in residence.
       All this assumes you want to avoid using chemicals, which are, of course, available if you are so minded.
Note: I haven't tried this, but I've heard that wrapping the stem at the base with aluminum foil can, ah, foil the worm when it comes out of the ground looking for a home.

Drawing - Original Screen Print Cards - Closed

Purple Iris.  Three 4-1/4x5-1/2 inch screen prints.

       In celebration of reaching 600 likes and as a reward to my wonderful readers, I've come up, finally, with an idea for a contest. Inspiration came to me when I was watering the irises. They'd make a lovely subject for a painting, I thought. Then the light went on in my head. Years ago I made screen-printed greeting cards, including some with irises. I still have some and I'd like to offer them as prizes in a drawing.
       I'll offer the single winner of the drawing a choice of one set of cards out of three sets. Each 4-1/4 x 5-1/2 inch card is a numbered and signed print. I'll include envelopes, but you may want to frame them rather than mailing them.

Day Lily. Set of 3 prints

       To enter drawing, comment here or on any website post, NOT on my facebook status page. Drawing will be June 15. Winner will be selected by random drawing and will be announced here, not on facebook. Winner will have 24 hours to respond to tell me their choice and provide mailing information. My email is patricia@patricianworks.com.

Rose. Set of 3 prints.

       I haven't had a lot of success in selecting contest prizes that meet with reader approval. I'll be crushed if this idea doesn't get a positive response! So comment! Please! If there is interest, more cards will be offered in subsequent drawings. And, by the way, read and like my status and website. Good luck, and thanks for your support, even if you choose not to enter the drawing.

Went Out to Plant a Few Seeds....

       This morning's project was to plant a few rows of Early Contender, our favorite green bean. We ordered these bush bean seeds before I committed to planting the Three Sisters. But I'm not sure how that experiment will go and I'd like to ensure that we have beans we like. So, I went out at nine to start planting and came in at twelve-thirty after planting a grand total of (about) 150 beans.
       Where did the time go, you may ask. Go ahead, ask!

 Beans and cukes will be in upper left corner.

       Do you ever entertain fantasies about starting a project, finishing it without distractions and going on to the next project? I do this all the time, entertain the fantasy, that is. This morning, for example, there were the cucumbers. Cucumbers and beans are companion plants. I've never had a satisfactory cucumber crop, so I thought it would be a good idea to try them with the beans. Even better, I should build trellises for the cukes. But before I did that, I planted some on the hugelkultur's west side because, upon checking my Master Gardener's basic book, I learned that they like some shade, and the west side of the hugel is shaded all morning and maybe some of the afternoon, and the trailing vines, I'm thinking, will cover the very steep slope and provide living mulch. Then right on the other side of the fence, there's the path (alongside the barn) that I finished clearing a few days ago. It too needs mulch. Cucumbers are a deterrent to raccoons so I'm all for planting them here and there to see if that will help. Recall that I saw coon tracks in the garden a few days ago.
       Then I had to search up and collect posts I'd cut and not used for the tomato trellises. That process was interrupted by the happy news that one of the dogs had caught and killed a mole! This mole (I hope it's the one!) has been tearing up my yard for years. Not just the lawn, which, as you might guess, I don't care much about, the the gardens too. The darn thing was twice the size I thought moles are, about five inches long. Well, of course, I had to bury the darn thing--in one of the trenches for the water pipeline my dh is putting in. Naturally, while I was at it, I had to throw in more than the few shovelfuls it took to cover the body. Every few helps, you know.
       So back to the cucumber trellises. And the beans. I haven't actually planted any cukes with the beans yet, but the trellises are up, some more rocks are ready to move out of the garden, and more weeding is done. Come to think of it, radishes are supposed to "help" cukes so I should plant some of those too. Will the trellises support the cukes? Darned if I know. I've never built trellises before, except for the ones I finished a few days ago for the tomatoes. No pictures yet. Sorry, dh transfers photos for me as my computer doesn't have the software. What I constructed are a combination of ideas from photos I've seen, involving black locust posts and sisal (that's binder twine, for you non-farmers).
       If this post seems a bit disorganized, it's no wonder; my mind feels about as organized as my morning. I hope to get the rest of the Early Contenders and the cukes (and the radishes) in this afternoon, but the temp is supposed to reach 80 and that's really too hot for me. I may have to resort to working in the shade (sigh) pulling weeds.
       This business of counting seeds, I don't usually do this, but I counted the sweet corn seeds that went into the Three Sisters hills. That was 650. A lot, yes, but we've never harvested enough in the past because of the raccoons and deer. Even if we keep those critters out and the entire crop comes in, that wouldn't be too much. What doesn't go into the freezer for corn-on-the-cob flavor later, will be dried and used for cornmeal. But I digress. Knowing how many seeds I plant and what I harvest from that planting is useful knowledge, and sort of entertaining as well, so I'm going to try to keep track.
       Okay, enough said. Back to work.