[gardeners] In the garden
George Shirley (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Wed, 12 Aug 1998 21:08:51
Went out a little after 7 pm to see what I could get done in the garden.
Managed to get the last of the tomato plants out and in the trash can. (We
never compost tomatoes or their relatives, got enough disease around here
as it is.) Also cut the heads off the Golden Amaranth and hung them to dry,
should be able to stomp the grain out in a few days.
Pulled the basil, green and purple, that had bloomed and have a 10-quart
pail of leaves and blooms in the dehydrator now. Still have about as much
left that hasn't bolted yet and there appear to still be some coming up
from the spring seeding. Guess that seed had been shaded to much to
germinate and is now making a stab at growing.
Tomorrow the epazote comes out, all but one plant that will be used for
seed. The chamomile, an annual here, is gone, pulled the last plant today.
The hyssop died when the weather got really hot and sticky as did the
borage. My Florence (bulbing) fennel started out great and died before it
bulbed. I had high hopes for the bronze fennel as it was doing very well
and now I only have one plant left that I am babying along. Oh well, some
herbs just don't do well in this zone.
The store ginger I bought and planted last year is really thriving this
year, even in its 5-gallon bucket. Gonna plant it where the bronze fennel
used to be. The hidden ginger isn't doing well at all, to hot for it where
it is and I may move it to a high shade area and see if it does better.
The front flower bed is a mass of purple torenia. The Shirley poppies came
and went in the early spring along with the violas, followed by calendula
and then some stuff I forgot to ask Miz Anne whut it wuz, and now the
torenia volunteers are taking off like rockets. The nicotiana is holding
its own and makes the front walk smell really good at night. Not so good
that I'll fight the skeeters for smelling rights though. We've got the
little Asian Tiger mozzies here and they hurt me like a wasp sting. I hate
putting the deet on and that's the only thing that slows them up.
Think I'll go watch something on the TV now. Happy trails.
George