Ounce of prevention...........

While I'm still working on getting all of my seedlings in, (which has been slowed by SNOW, yes it was a very memorable Memorial Day)  most of you probably already have most everything in.

Here's some tips to make July a little easier on you:

Don't forget that you can succession plant peas, corn, radishes, greens, etc.  Seed what you think you will eat for a week, then reseed in a week.

IE:  10 foot long row:  seed 5' greens, 1' radishes, 1' cilantro, 1' carrots, 1' green onions and 1' whatever else you like in your food.

The carrots will take longer to grow than the others, but at least it will discipline you to not planting them all at the same time.

Mulch  get your mulch down NOW before the weeds really dig in.  If you already have weeds, try disturbing their roots as much as possible, then lay down mulch.

my favs:  landscape fabric, chicken feed bags, straw, newspaper, grass clipplings and leaves

Tenders  The temps still been dropping quite low, even in the valley.  If you don't have row covers you can use contractor's plastic to make a mini green house for shelter....this also creates a hot house affect, which you might want to do to build up those heat-units needed to ripen your goodies. Try to have the plastic not touch leaves....might damage the cellular structure on the leaves. 

You can also use  plastic milk jugs for individual plant cloches....just cut out the bottom and you've got an instant mini-greenhouse.

Heat units kind of follow the hole quantum theory thing......it's an accumulative effect.....got to get so many in order to get those fruits (veggies) to ripen.

If you are covering consistently, remove every so often so the plants can breathe!!!

Trellising now is a good idea too.  If wind wips up and you dont have plants staked they might get toppled over.

Get those plants Caged In NOW!!  It suppose to heat up here (really, it is) soon and your plants are going to GROW FAST due to all this moisture we've experienced lately.

Speaking of water - while we have been getting a lot of moisture, usually by now we're needing to water deeply for the increasing demands of the growing plants.  Watch soil closely because it will dry faster than you think. 

Water less often, for longer periods to encourage downward root growth. 

To prevent mildew Don't water at night or too early in morning

Temperatures Planting

Check your temps before planting tenders:

  Tomatoes:  soil temp 55-60 degrees    

                   ambient air be at least 55.

  Peppers:     minimum night temp of 53-55

  Cucumbers:  Soil temp 70    night  60

  Squash & Pumpkins:  soil temp of 62-70

                 These guys do NOT like their roots disturbed!!!

  Basil:  after danger of frost is past

Better to transplant on a cooler day as transplanting stresses plants...so does really hot, sunny weather.

First couple of days after transplanting water thoroughly, then start to taper off.

Do not fertilize when transplanting.  Wait a week or so once the seedlings have acclimated to their new home.

Spring Miscellany

Spring has definitely sprung in the Wenatchee Valley.  This means it's time to get busy in your garden if you haven't already.  Here's a list of information that I find pertinent and might be useful:

Average last freeze  April 11           Average last frost    April 24

Plant root crops the last quarter of the moon, leafy crops between the first quarter & the full moon

Locally, potatoes are traditionally planted the week of Easter, tomatoes the week of Apple Blossom (if you live in the valley - those of us up higher need to wait until Memorial Day)

Plant root crops when lilacs are in bud

Plant cold hard veggies when lilacs begin to leaf out

Plant frost tender veggies when lilacs are in full bloom

Protect those flowers & seedlings you just couldn't wait to plant with cloches.  Homemade cloches can be made with milk jugs.

Careful not to over water this time of year.  Even if the surface looks dry, most soil still has a lot of moisture in it still.

When turning over your soil, add compost or fertilizer before you plant your seedlings

Get your mulch on early before weed seeds see the light of day.  Some of my favorite mulches are newspaper & straw, straw, grass clippings & my new favorite:  landscaping fabric.

Get more crops:  Succession Planting.  Examples:

                     April 15  plant snap peas (70days)       harvest June 25

                     June 25  transplant peppers (60 days)  harvest Sept 1

                     Sept 1    Plant kale (55 days)              harvest Oct 15

Soak pea, bean and corn seed for 24hours before planting

Plant the following flowers to encourage beneficial bugs:

Alyssum, aster, calendula, daisy, delphinium, marigold, mint, petunia, phlox, statice, sweet william, yarrow.

Wannt more thyme, oregano, marjoram, lavender?  Pull one stem gently away from the main bush, cover the part of the stem running from the bush to the leaves with dirt......wait a month and roots will have grown on the stem, cut at base and transplant.

SEEDS!!!

It's like Christmas a month later.......

My seeds have come in. 

One of my favorite times....even more so that actual gardening.  Everything is full of hope and promise.  My creative juices start flowing - trying to figure out how to plant everything and fit it all in.

Not worrying yet about frost, water, heat, pesky pests!

Snow

So, snow has swept over the entire valley now.  Snow is actually a great insulator.  If you have any plants  that you didn't get mulched with leaves or straw, pile up some extra snow around them to protect them for the really cold weather.

Jot down thoughts from this last year - what varities grew well, how you had your garden plan this past year so you can rotate next year, how well your timing worked in putting plants in.

This past year was an odd year for growing, tomatoes struggled, pupmkins small, but had a plethora of greens, peas and beans.

One of my favorite aspects of gardening is how it is always changing.  Each year the weather differs, trying new