Wilton Gardens
Gardening in Central Virginia.
From the Garden
--- Finally Catching Up ---
Somehow, some way, I seem to have caught up with my gardening items! There are still a hundred things to do, but nothing is 'mission critical as of last month'. The vegetable garden is properly weeded and I am finally getting snaps (string beans), squash, zucchini, green peppers, onions and a few cherry tomatoes. I actually picked my first real tomato last night, although it will need a day or two of ripening still.
So, it would seem that having to put off the planting of my tomatoes by a month has delayed my ripe tomatoes by about 3 weeks. That seems to indicate that an April 15 to 21 planting date is right on the money. Unlike squash/zucchini, tomatoes need that extra time in the ground to set fruit at the right time.
I still have no real observations regarding the heavy pruning that I did to my bushes this year. One looks like it was hit with round up (and it might have caught a bit of mist in one of my nearby spraying), but the rest all appear to be doing great. The ones that ...more...
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July 16, 2008
--- Round Up the Bermuda ---
Wow! My prayers were answered at last! I received a little under 3 inches of rain from Thur to Sunday this past weekend and they are calling for a bit more tonight. It even looks like more chances for the coming weekend. My need for rain is greater then ever this Summer. I have a ton of quality plants over at the rental house (1699) that I do not plan to move until this Fall or next Spring. And, I really cannot water the daggone thing (without bugging my renters a bunch!) In addition, I have several new beds at Wilton, not to mention all of the late plantings that I had to do because of the extremely wet April. Many of my plants have not had time to really build out their root systems for a hot/dry July/August. So, I am very pleased with this turn of events.
Another good thing is the Wire Grass battle. My number one enemy is Wire Grass (also called Bermuda.) To kill Bermuda grass/Wire Grass, I have found that you absolutely must start a Round Up program on July 4. Basically, every t ...more...
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July 07, 2008
--- Dealing with Dry Weather ---
Well, we have hit the dry Summer again and, as always, any spotty rain seems to pass us by. I have begun to seriously wonder if the location with respect to the city and the river has anything to do with it, as the rains always seem to slide to the north of us and occasionally to the south. For better or worse, I have gotten used to Mother Nature’s sucker punches and am already working to rebound from it.
Today, I picked up a bunch of topsoil (although from this point forward, I will be using pop's aged manure) from Southern States and laid about an inch down on the problem areas (primarily the Garage Bed and the New Hosta bed). I am currently watering these areas and plan to lay mulch (from the dump) down over the weekend. This will hopefully let the ground become soaked and then seal it for a period of time with the mulch (which will prevent it from drying up as quickly.)
In addition, on each of these areas I am laying down soaker hose beneath the mulch. I am planning to simply ...more...
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June 27, 2008