Counting the garden's blessings last weekend was a good thing to do. Sometimes the agony of defeat drowns out the the thrill of victory and it gets all my attention. Nevertheless, there are shortcomings, mistakes, and abject failures that must be acknowledged, not only to give the impression of fair and balanced reporting, but to encourage reflection, atonement, and maybe, just maybe, learning a lesson or two for the sake of future wisdom.
What I'm not so thrilled about in the garden these days:
1. This scabby excuse for a beet green is the victim of spinach leaf miners. I knew they were almost inevitable and did mention them just after planting all the susceptible varieties in the same bed where they were attacked last year. The bed was covered with a white row cover with only a few bird-pecked holes in it. But I don't know if the miners came in through the holes or had been lying in wait in the soil. Beets and Swiss chard planted elsewhere in the garden, not under cover, have also fallen victim to this pest. Still, the plants are vigorous and we have enjoyed an abundance of blemish-free spinach leaves. So we continue to hope for well-nourished beetroots.
2. White beans have gone missing. There were 28 Ina's White Bean seeds in the package. Three were planted around each of eight poles in one bed and the remaining four at the posts for the shell pea fences. The latter may have been overwhelmed by cauliflowers and weeds, but the former had no obvious hindrances and no places to hide. One pole at the top of this picture has no beans, another has one. What happened? It seems that most of the others germinated and made it to the surface. It's unlikely that there were a few duds and they all happened to be planted right next to each other. A quick web search has just revealed that this could be the work of cutworms. No direct evidence has been presented, but I'm willing to say "Death to cutworms!" again regardless. Okay, beans are now to be planted within cutworm collars. Isn't learning fun?
3. The biggest parsnip flower is home to an intensive feedlot operation - aphids being the herd, ants being the ranchers. Having aphids on this flower is not really a problem. This item could be moved to the "Oh, Gross!" list if I had one. Last year I had to cut down the big seed parsnip because I couldn't avoid brushing past its umbels and being showered with black ants. This one is located so as to be easy to avoid touching. If the ants want to concentrate on the stalks of this plant, which is robust enough to continue producing seeds despite the feasting on its sap, this is fine. It's a sacrificial plant that isn't making much of a sacrifice. My main objection to this activity, besides the revolting appearance of it, is its contribution to the health of the ant colony. Like we need more ants.
4. Overly heat-sensitive greens get on my nerves. Very much like that one isolated incidence of frost that needlessly ruins everything, it seems to take only one warmish day to send garden cress or pak choy bolting into a seed-generating frenzy. Lettuce isn't much better. Mind you, it has been very warm for about two weeks now, so I could understand if they want to bolt, but this happened some time ago. We are trying shade cloth on a small patch right now. Results are inconclusive thus far, though germination and growth are definitely good. This pak choy is all over the place, growing long seed-bearing branches and dangling them over the adjacent beets and beans. I trimmed those ones today, thinking that half a million seeds will likely be enough for us.
5. It's starting to feel like Dry Gulch around here. Ennio Morricone music plays through my head and I expect to see tumbleweeds bouncing up the alley toward me. Yesterday's wind left me coated in grit. And cracks are opening up in exposed soil. This morning I noticed this fissure along a row of young beets. They weren't doing well to begin with and now their roots have been exposed. I did my best to fill the crevices with handfuls of purchased topsoil. It was a tricky operation with the beets clinging tenuously to the side of the the crevasse. We may have lost a few. Did this happen because I water them everyday? But I don't see how they could survive a hot day in the dry hard soil without a little surface moisture added. Could be the location is just too sunny. The beets in the big garden get more shade and they look much better.
Only five complaints this evening. Not bad.
1. This scabby excuse for a beet green is the victim of spinach leaf miners. I knew they were almost inevitable and did mention them just after planting all the susceptible varieties in the same bed where they were attacked last year. The bed was covered with a white row cover with only a few bird-pecked holes in it. But I don't know if the miners came in through the holes or had been lying in wait in the soil. Beets and Swiss chard planted elsewhere in the garden, not under cover, have also fallen victim to this pest. Still, the plants are vigorous and we have enjoyed an abundance of blemish-free spinach leaves. So we continue to hope for well-nourished beetroots.
4. Overly heat-sensitive greens get on my nerves. Very much like that one isolated incidence of frost that needlessly ruins everything, it seems to take only one warmish day to send garden cress or pak choy bolting into a seed-generating frenzy. Lettuce isn't much better. Mind you, it has been very warm for about two weeks now, so I could understand if they want to bolt, but this happened some time ago. We are trying shade cloth on a small patch right now. Results are inconclusive thus far, though germination and growth are definitely good. This pak choy is all over the place, growing long seed-bearing branches and dangling them over the adjacent beets and beans. I trimmed those ones today, thinking that half a million seeds will likely be enough for us.
I remain optimistic the garden will be just fine, despite these setbacks!
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