Avant Gardening with Sturtz & Copeland

Last week I harvested and dried my garlic which was planted last fall.  I knew it was ready for harvest by the leaves which bent over and started yellowing.  At that point I stopped watering them for about a week and then pulled them up and laid them out in the sun for a few days.   All this drying helps them store better and not get moldy.  I ‘ll have it now for a whole winter for use.

Now about Carrot Flowers - Some of my carrots from seed produce flowers each year and this renders the root hard and flavorless.  I found out it happens when spring conditions are just too cold.  The purple and white carrots are more susceptible to it.  Anyway, they are very pretty and one of the best to have in your garden to attract beneficial bugs that help keep the pesky bugs in check and we all know what a  problem bugs are this year!

Well if it isn’t one thing it’s another - This week I needed to break out the organic BT pesticide to battle the cabbage loopers on my nice Broccoli and Kale plants as I was noticing holes in the leaves and the telltale little black droppings from the loopers.  In addition I noted that my warm season veggies like cucumber and squash was at long long last putting on some growth now that it is staying warm overall.

Now onto the topic of watering - I’ve been doing frequent shallow watering on the little seedlings.  When they finally do grow up, I’ll water less frequently but give them a really good soaking - Maybe twice a week in normal summer weather.

Hi - Connie here,

This week in my garden I took action against the Leafminer in my Beets, Swiss Chard and Spinach.  First, I picked off all the effected leaves and threw them in the trash. To identify  the Leafminer, look for brown trails in the leaf.  In bad cases it looks as if the almost the entire leaf has browned.   I sprayed thoroughly with Spinosad.  The only organic insecticide with systemic action.   Funny _ I never had Leafminer in my garden until a few years back.  Now these crops get it ever year.

Where has the Spring gone?  It seems like just the other day when Connie was out in the garden planting her radish seeds and now this week she has harvested her first bunch of the season.  It’s best to harvest them when it’s still cool.  Hot, dry  weather conditions can make them quite spicy and less sweet -  not to mention pithy.

Connie thinned her beets to about 4″ apart.   There’s no reason to discard the thinnings as beat greens are very tasty and be cooked or eaten fresh in a salad when they are so small.

Many of you may know Connie Smith the General Manager at Sturtz and Copeland.  She’s an avid gardener, (needless to say)  and has happily agreed to let us peek into her garden on a weekly basis and write about what she is doing in it.  Here’s her latest post:

Last week in Connie’s Garden - Connie had already worked her own compost in and began growing more organic food.   She has planted everything she cold.  Including lettuce, radish, spinach, onion and more.

This week Connie is simply sprinkling the newly planted areas when it seems dry and watching for seedlings to emerge.  The Arugula and Radish are already up!  She also watered her blueberry shrubs with soil acidifier and gave them kind words of encouragement!