SNAILS AND SLUGS

Don't you love a weather pattern that encourages slugs and snails? It appears the garden gods are against you! There's nothing snails and slugs like so much as damp conditions!
The best way to deal with slugs and snails is probably to trap them. They hide in debris and dark sheltered places, so the idea is to trap them at their own game. You can use boards, grapefruit halves and flowerpots to accomplish this. The snails and slugs will hide under and inside these traps. You have to then remove them from their hiding place and destroy them. Perhaps you can use a tub of ammonia solution or salt water to dump them into.
The other thing that works quite well is diatomaceous earth sprinkled around your vulnerable plants. Here is an explanation given by the University of Vermont Extension:
"Diatomaceous earth (silica) is a naturally occurring mineral made from fossilized remains of marine organisms. These fossilized particles are extremely small in size and have sharp edges. In theory, when insects come in contact with diatomaceous earth, these sharp edges cut and remove the waxy cuticle on their exoskeletons, which leads to their dehydration and death."
You can usually find diatomaceous earth at any garden center. I would say this is the way to go. However, it wouldn't be practical to put it everywhere, so perhaps this in combination with traps would be a good solution for you.

GARDENING CHORES FOR JULY

JULY

Order spring bulbs now for the best selection

Fertilize plants growing in containers

Direct seed kale seed for fall harvest

Sow a fall crop of peas

Pinch basil plants to promote bushiness

Side dress vegetables with nitrogen

If your vegetables are not yielding as much as you'd like, plant some high nectar flowers in the vegetable garden to attract more bees and other pollinators.

Pict the zucchini while it's young and tender.

Put nets over blueberries to protect them from birds. While you're there, give them a little fertilizer as well.

Remove fruiting raspberry canes after you've harvested the berries.

Control the growth of strawberry runners. If you don't trim them back to where you want them, they will be all leaves and no berries!

Dead-head (prune off) all your spent blossoms

It's a good time to sow seed of biennials and perennials

Cut back delphiniums when they are finished flowering. A complete
fertilizer at this time may encourage a second blooming.

Chrysanthemums will give a better fall display if fertilized a
bit now. You can continue pinching them back until mid-July for more blooms.

Try planting a clump of moisture loving Japanese iris where it can catch the water dripping from your air conditioner!

Madonna lilies should be divided as soon as the flowering period
is over.

Oriental poppies may be moved. Summer is the only time of the
year they can be divided successfully. Dig up the roots and cut them into 2 inch pieces and replant them in their new location.

Dahlias require little artificial watering in a normal season,
but should be soaked once a week during drought

Water your roses at least once a week

Floribunda roses will flower all summer if the old flower clusters
are snipped off regularly

This is the time for transplanting iris. Trim back foliage and only replant healthy, firm rhizomes. Set them quite close to the surface!

In fact, this is the best time to divide spring blooming perennials.

Start cuttings of coleus, geraniums, begonias and other plants
you want inside for the winter.

The snow-in-summer should be pruned hard as it makes such rapid
growth at this time

When you trim deciduous hedges(ie,privot)be sure the sides slope out toward the bottom to be sure that sunlight reaches the base of the plants.

Wisteria's may be pruned now

Be sure that you dead-head all your daylilies. They will attempt do make seeds if you don't do this. You want them to build stronger roots. Daylilies will bloom more profusely next time if you remove spent blooms. Dead heading will also give you the possibility of a "re-bloom"!

This is a good time to attack Poison Ivy! Using discardable plastic gloves, cut the stems and paint the open wound with an herbicide on a HOT, SUNNY day!

Have you got Hosta's? Are there slugs chewing them? Try this solution, if you haven't already.
Combine 9 parts water to 1 part common household ammonia and spray it on the hosta just before dark. When the slugs hit this, they will dissolve!

When you weed, grab the flowering ones first so they don't go to seed and spread! Then go after the tallest ones that are just taking over your other plants. Pick on the little guys last.

Watch for tomato hornworm and hand pick them.

COMPOSTING AGAIN

After having been gone a month, my composting has suffered. Being at someone else's house means I didn't have that step to deal with, so I need to get back into the habit of saving stuff for the compost.
I have a little container that sits next to the sink. ALL vegetative matter goes in there, assuming it is not cooked or greasy in any way. I also add egg shells (cooked or raw), coffee grinds and tea bags. I just throw in the little coffee filters with the grinds and the entire teabags with strings, etc. go in. I also put in paper towels that I use to wipe up spills and dry my hands. They break down nicely. Then there's the paper from the shredder. When the little bin gets full, I take it to the compost and dump it in.
It's amazing how composting cuts down on the amount of trash that gets collected! We pay for individual collections and in the summer that drops dramatically! I don't compost in the winter because I can't get to the compost bins due to snow. I've thought of a worm bin...but not too seriously.
If you're not composting...try it! Next year your garden will be SO happy!

LET'S SHARE OUR GARDENING!

You know, I think it would be great if we ALL added to this blog. There's SO much common sense and tons of great gardening ideas out there. How about EVERY TIME you visit, you comment SOMETHING?
I will still moderate the blog to be sure we don't get any "unsavory" stuff added, but I think that would be a lot of fun. I'll add stuff, or help answer your questions and comment on your comments...but let's make this OUR blog, instead of just mine, OK?
Here's to our gardening future, together! :-)

I'M HOME!

After a month in the great Pacific Northwest helping my daughter recover from ACL surgery, I'm finally back home in New Hampshire. I must say the bright sunshine and definitive summer weather is pretty nice. Even when the weather is warm in Redmond (WA), there is still the threat of rain at almost any moment. I'm basking in the sunshine!
My favorite guy has done a marvelous job of keeping the gardens under control. At this time of year, the weeds, be they wildflowers or grass, or whatever can be a huge task! So, I'm happy!

GOOD GARDENING TECHNIQUES FROM THE FELLS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

Tried and True Gardening Hints, from "The Fells"

Planting: distress the root ball; superphosphate; first week, water every day with lightly fertilized water; create a dam around the plant

Transplant: cut back; manure; shade with milk crate; water the same as above

Fluffing soil: use a “soft claw”; looks great; retains water; avoids washouts

Stepping stones: every 30” for ease in weeding

Composting: the most important thing you can do!

Sprays: dish detergent&water: caterpillars can’t breathe; hand-pick red beetles; beer for slugs; buy prepared sprays for small gardens

Staking; Manure makes stronger scapes: avoid staking; peonies and delphiniums must be staked

Deadheading: Take your morning coffee out and do it!; leave those you would like seed from; if you don’t deadhead, plant’s energy goes into making seed;

cut scapes to the ground and they may bloom again.

Weeding: The single most important job to make the garden look its best, and so plants will get all the food and be healthy, hardy, and gorgeous.

Tools: try soft claw, “L” claw, little rake, knee pads, scissors, clippers

Clean Tools: Take pride in shiny tools!; longer lasting; Tie with a piece of brlght ribbon to make hunting for them easily.

Dry Leaves & Twigs: Rub between hands and/or break them up and return them to soil then & there!

I took these from the Lyme Gardeners email list. They sounded just too good to pass up! I'm hoping they don't mind that I'm sharing them. Credit also goes to "The Fells" in New Hampshire.

Garden Chores for June

Here I am out in Seattle again. My daughter is recovering from ACL surgery and I'm helping out with children and household necessities as much as I can.

The weather here has been absolutely perfect. Warm and CLEAR! All the marvelous mountain ranges are out for all to see.

At any rate, June is here and that means a new set of things to do in the garden. Here they are!

JUNE

Plant your window boxes

Prune spring flowering shrubs when they have finished blooming

Thin seedlings

Use balanced, organic fertilizers around flowers

Be sure to fertilize your annuals with liquid fertilizer. They'll thank you for it by blooming continuously!

Stake tall perennials and tomatoes

Use a pine needle mulch for blueberries

Be sure your lawn mower is set to cut the grass HIGH

After the iris are done blooming they can be divided

Gladiolus corms can be planted

Dead-head (prune off) spent flowers from plants and shrubs

Remove rhubarb seed stalks as they form.

Cutting back perennials such as dianthus, veronica and other similar shrubby varieties, will possibly produce a second blooming. How great would that be? They'll also look better!

You may still plant container grown shrubs

Plant broccoli seed for fall harvest.

If you have a water garden, there's still time to plant water
lilies.

House plants can soon be moved outside to a shady, protected spot.

These same houseplants can be lightly fed with half strength
fertilizer.

Mulch perennials and roses to keep down weeds and conserve moisture.

Look for Jap. beetles either early or late in the day and shake them into a bucket of soapy water. The reason you don't do it mid-day is because they'll out run you!

Any annuals can be safely set out now.

If you have an amaryllis, now would be the time to move it outside.

Pinch the leading stems of your chrysanthemum's to encourage them to
be bushier and have more blossoms. Continue doing this every 6 inches
or so, as they grow.

If you have apple trees, hang red sticky-ball traps to control apple maggot flies. Small trees can get by with 2 balls. Larger trees should probably have 4-6 balls.

Stop cutting asparagus when the new spears get pinkie-finger thin. Let them grow into ferns instead. It will feed the roots.

Side-Dress Veggies to give them a little boost

Have you got Hosta's? Are there slugs chewing them? Try this solution, if you haven't already.
Combine 9 parts water to 1 part common household ammonia and spray it on the hosta just before dark. When the slugs hit this, they will dissolve!

Are you remembering to turn the compost every once in a while? You should also wet it down if the hose is close by.