ig it garden blog mary jasch plant seeds and plants in veggie garden

June 2009
Planting Fever

June 24
I am so psyched about my garden that I haven’t taken time to put up the blog, so please see below. Also see photos in individual entries on the right. Today I bought a 50-foot roll of chicken wire, the last I’ll need. I finish the third side of fence today. I plant more Tithonia for a show and in front of the pole beans, some white and blue Browallia (VV).

Discoveries:
Why burdock is such a monster
Two big garter snakes living under a hunk of marble
Moss along a northeast facing stockade fence just like it’s supposed to be

So what am I going to do about these things?

Well, burdock roots pull out much easier in shade so I discovered its long tap root. In other areas - all over the garden - I do the best I can. I’ll have to whack it back if it sprouts. Eventually it should die, I think, if it’s not allowed to photosynthesize.

The snakes: I’ll let them live in my garden although I may move the marble. The marble pieces come from a 6-foot table I once had. I put it in the pen years ago when I moved here because it was too heavy for my home's 1860s’ floor. I thought it would be cool for the dogs to lie on. Now I have something in mind for it and the slate I laid in there for the “patio” I was making my dogs!

The moss –I’ll replant it somewhere.

June 23
Dug along the fence on the third side (south) this morning, shook out the soil, cut the chicken wire and settled it in the trench and up the stockade and chain link fence. I snipped the outer edges with wire cutters so I could wrap the loose ends around the wire fence that Lance installed against the stockade fence and also the chain link fence.

Now, if any critter dares to enter and eat my plants I will have to learn to shoot. That is, if we haven’t yet lost our Right to Bear Arms. Is the Constitution of the United States of America an Endangered Species?

Finally I backfilled the trench and did the fun part – plant. In front of the fence: Trombetta di Albenga Italian summer squash seed (RG), Kentucky Wonder pole bean seed (FM), 1 Beefsteak tomato plant (I grew from Thompson & Morgan seed I found) and Tithonia seed. In front of that: 4 Jalepeno and 4 Red bell pepper plants (VV). Still some empty space here.

June 22
Spent three hours today digging along the eastern fence, laying chicken wire in, backfilling and planting. Plus, while drinking my coffee, I look at all the seeds and also Mel Bartholomew’s book, Square Foot Gardening, which has a chart of planting times for seasonal crops of most seeds. Also, Renee’s Garden seed packets have blurbs about which seeds are good for a summer/fall crop.

Today I plant to climb on the fence: 4 Striped German tomato plants (CR), Autumn Gold & Spookie pumpkin seed (RG), and Chelsea Prize English cuke seed (RG). In front of them: Bright Lights rainbow chard seed (RG), 4 chocolate pepper and 4 cayenne plants (VV).

I must hurry and beat the weeds.

June 21, Sunday
Found two rolls of wire fence in my garage from the previous home owners: one chicken wire and one with 2x3 welded rectangles with fence posts in it. Lance helps me put it up and, to let in more light, he saws off part of the stockade fence that overlaps the chain link. We dig and pitchfork soil along the fence. I make all beds along the fence line 2 feet deep so I can reach in without having to step on the soil.

I plant to grow on the north stockade fence (facing south): Sunny Supersett crookneck squash (RG), 3 Sun Gold tomato plants from Farmer Rich (Catalpa Ridge), Spanish Musica pole beans (RG). In the foot away from the fence: 2 Ping Tong Long eggplant plants (CR), Profumo di Genova basil seed (RG), 4 Blue Jay bell pepper plants (Valley View farm stand), 2 Big Bertha pepper plants (CR).

June 19
Yesterday I visited Burpee at Fordhook Farm in Doylestown, PA. It was just what the garden guru ordered. I am psyched about my garden even though it just looks like a pen of weeds and dirt. I start in the northeastern corner, dig a 13-foot trench near the fence and lay in pieces of hardware cloth that Lance gave me. I backfill it and plant a patch of Silver Queen corn (Ferry Morse bought at Home Depot) with each seed a foot away in each direction.

by Mary Jasch

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