What's happening in the garden this week
June 2-June 8: Summer beckons, tomatoes are in and watering begins
An American Chestnut
I had my Johnny Appleseed moment. I planted a couple of (very) tiny chestnut seedlings out in our far field. These came to us via the American Chestnut Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to restoring this beautiful tree to our landscape. The chestnut, which was once one of the glories of the North American forest, was lost over the course of the 20th century because of an imported fungal blight. Scientists have been creating a population of genetically diverse chestnuts that are resistant to this disease and getting them out for planting. We received three seedlings from a local network, planted two of them and gave one to our neighbors. This is a long game marked right now only by two small white plastic protective tubes in the ground.
Tomatoes are planted (finally!)
I planted my tomatoes in straw bales along the north edge of the vegetable garden. They should get plenty of sunlight and won’t shade out other plants. This is about a month later than I used to plant tomatoes in Washington, DC, but we’re in USDA zone 5b so it was worth the wait, I guess, though the tomatoes have been ready for weeks and the weather was unseasonably warm in late May. They hopefully will take off now. In case you’re interested, I planted the following varieties: indeterminates Polish, Kellogg’s Breakfast, Black Krim, Upstate Oxheart, Grand Marshall, Moskvich and Stupice (the latter two will hopefully set fruit within two months; the others will take a bit longer), and Supersweet 100 (a red cherry tomato). A couple weeks ago I planted six dwarf tomatoes: 2 Modern Roman paste tomatoes and one each of Rosella Purple, Sweet Sue, Big Green and Eagle Smiley (a yellow cherry), in garden beds. I planted a second Eagle Smiley in a 10-gallon grow bag because I, just like when we host a dinner party, I feared we wouldn’t have enough.
(For more on the dwarf tomato project, take a look here. The tomatoes aren’t dwarfs, just the plants, which makes them suitable for small gardens, patios and balconies. I’m growing them in beds this year to see how they do compared with my days of planting them in grow bags in my driveway in Maryland.)
Peppers and eggplants, too
I got my peppers and eggplants in the ground as well. I started them indoors back in late March, grew them under LED lights for several weeks and moved them outdoors about a month ago. They’ve been growing on the outdoor table, or underneath it during hot sun or rain, all the while getting acclimated to the outdoors. This is the same hardening off schedule I use with tomatoes. I’m growing six peppers – two Shishito, two Jimmy Nardello and two Joe’s Cayenne (seeds given to me a couple years ago by fellow avid gardener Rich Matheny in Maryland). And I’m growing four eggplants – two Black Beauty and two Listada de Gandia.
Bush beans
With the weather having turned warm and the soil warming up as well, it's time to get summer beans into the ground. I planted three rows of bush beans in an area of one bed where I had been growing Pak Choi and Tatsoi, which are early spring vegetables. I’ll sow another couple rows of bush beans in a week or so after the last of our broccoli rabe is harvested to make space, and a couple more rows a week or so after that. This is a good example of succession planting: As you harvest early season vegetables, plant your heat and sun-loving summer vegetables into the space they’ve left in the garden bed. This way the bed is always in use. I’ll do the same by planting fall vegetables into space vacated by summer plants later in the summe. Bush beans planted: Maxibel Haricot Vert and Eureka
Pole beans
Unlike bush beans, which produce quickly and then give up, pole beans will grow all summer and into the fall. I like to plant both bush and pole bean varieties. Each is on a different schedule and has different requirements. Bush beans take up space in the bed; pole beans grow best vertically, either up a tower, cage or, in our case, a trellis suspended above the bed. I planted two varieties of pole beans this year – Marvel of Venice, which is a new one for me, and Blue Lake, an old standby. I saved the Blue Lake seeds from a prolific output of beans grown in our garden about four years ago.
Water, water water
I have to remind myself every year to keep up with watering the vegetable beds. We’re supposed to get a little rain today but I gave everything a good soaking this morning because the beds seemed dry. A simple test is to stick a finger about an inch or two into the soil. If it feels wet or even a little damp, it’s probably okay. If the soil is dry, water. Unless you have an irrigation system or soaker hoses, it’s best to water vegetables by hand with a wand or hose so that you can direct the water to the ground around the plant. Wetting the leaves can lead to the spread of disease, especially when it’s humid. Watering in the morning is ideal for the same reason, plus it’s a wonderful way to start your day. It doesn’t take long once you get it down.
Previous updates:
What’s happening in the garden: May 26-June 1