A Big Dry Spell

I thought I'd share this article from a newsletter I received from Autumn Hill Nursery -- one of our favorite places to shop for great yard additions:

"This current dry spell has crept up on us after we enjoyed a wet spring, and with the soil as dry as it has become, we are fielding more calls than ever about plant problems.

Many of you are calling with dying evergreen trees such as cryptomerias, hollies, cedars and leylands.  Often the damage to these plants is done even before the plant shows signs of stress. While dead branches won't come back, you can often prune these out, bump up the moisture the plant can take up, and recover the lost growth within a year.

If you have stressed plants you may consider using soaker hoses. When the soil is this dry, hand watering with a garden hose is inadequate. The surrounding dry soil quickly wicks away the moisture before the plant can take up what it needs. Think about a paper towel soaking up a spill. Wrapping affected plants with a soaker hose is much more effective. For young trees or shrubs, wrap a soaker hose 3-4 times around the plant, making the radius larger with each circle. Run the soaker hose for 2-3 hours. This will prevent runoff while saturating the surrounding soil. It may be necessary to water 2-3 times per week while this dry spell continues.

Soaker hoses can also be used in the vegetable garden. Weave lengths of hose through the rows, and again let it run for a couple of hours. The ground becomes evenly saturated, and you will avoid fungus problem that can occur with frequent overhead watering.

Under the new outdoor watering guidelines, homeowners and businesses are stilled allowed to water daily between 4pm and 10am. Watering during this time avoids excessive evaporation from the heat from the mid-day sun.

A watering schedule that was sufficient just a month ago, may now be inadequate."

Autumn Hill is located in the Crabapple area of Roswell, and the ladies there are very knowledgeable.  You'll love this nursery, especially if you're shopping for roses!  

Garden Update

Finally!  Here are the pics of the new vegetable beds and surrounding area that we installed in our backyard this spring.  I remember how excited I was to be able to plant even more vegetables this year, and I had some pretty grandiose ideas about corn and watermelon . . . well, let's just say that there's always next year!

Here's what we do have planted and growing (quite well, if I do say so myself):

Cucumbers -- pickling types, of course, since I think they have a better flavor and because we have friends that beg for our pickles each summer

Green, yellow, & red bell peppers -- although I have to say that I struggle with peppers, and I have no idea why

Lima beans -- These are my daughters favorite, so the plant marker reads, "Lilla Kate's Lima Beans."

Squash -- What can I say about squash?  Ridiculously easy to grow, and very yummy.

Strawberries & Blueberries -- the kids' favorites

Several varieties of heirloom tomatoes -- Black Zebra, Chocolate Stripe, Kelloggs Orange, Sunset Gold, Black Cherry, Roma, Brandywine, Green Zebra, Red Zebra, Black Krim . .  . and a few more

Various herbs including a few varieties of basil, sweet marjoram, oregano, rosemary, creeping thyme, and lavender . . .

Oh!  We also have edamame, but that seed tray got mixed up with a tray of hollyhocks, so there are hollyhocks growing next to my squash and the edamame is mixed in the landscape!  Everything is progressing nicely, though.  Tomatoes have been coming in a few at a time for a couple of weeks, and this week has been the beginning of cucumbers. 

So in celebration of the plentiful summer bounty, I invite you all to send me pics of your own home gardens.  I'd love to see what you all are growing and to hear about what's working and what's not.  Just send them to jtucker@teamturflandscapes.com, and I'll publish them in an upcoming post.