By Jennifer Langille
Some days in July it was quite a challenge to keep up with garden chores because of the intense heat we had.
While the sun baked the earth and the plants were photosynthesizing like mad, the weeds were growing on, the tomatoes needed pruning and supports for tall plants needed to be put in place.
Getting a start early in the morning and chasing the shade seem to be my best strategy.
My Master Gardener training inspired me to be adventurous in the vegetable garden, so I tried a few new-to-me crops and some new varieties this year.
For the first time, I am growing leeks. They have a delicate sweetness and are a nice alternative to onions in a stir-fry.
I thought I’d give rutabagas a try. ‘York’ is sizing up nicely with pretty purple shoulders. It’s a variety known for its long storage.
A tender, compact cabbage called ‘Caraflex’ is forming beautiful rosettes and is a nice size for one or two meals.
Strawberries are available as
- June-bearing (one early crop in June)
- Ever-bearing (two smaller crops, one in June and one in early fall), and
- Day-neutral (fruit production throughout the season).
I planted one bed with ‘Sable’ strawberries, a June-bearing variety.
To develop vigorous, healthy strawberry plants with robust root systems, you are supposed to remove both the runners and blossoms for the first two years. This applies to all three types. It hurt me to do so this year!
Casting furtive glances around for garden police, I secretly left two buds to ripen. When I bit into them, the juicy, sunny sweetness almost brought tears to my eyes.
Despite my best efforts, past attempts to grow peas have resulted in disappointing, wormy pods.
This year I grew “Super Sugar Snap” peas, an edible podded pea. They were worm-free, abundant and delicious. We ate most of them raw, right off the vine. Sophie adores them. This variety is a keeper for me.
Corn and squash, potatoes, kale, Swiss chard, tomatoes and peppers are all doing well.
The garlic was ‘given the shove’ one week early this year because I needed the space to plant more spinach and other crops. The variety ‘Responder’ has been a winner this year as it is slower to go to seed.
With all the heat this summer, the garlic didn’t suffer any by losing that week. It is curing now a and will store well and last throughout the winter.
After recharging the soil with some compost, the spinach, beets, lettuce and more flowers are beginning to fill up the empty spot.
Here are freshly sown beets and lettuce, which will sulk a bit until the temperatures get cooler.
I do not have a large space dedicated to growing vegetables, so I am using techniques to maximize space and improve soil health. This requires a little more planning, but it saves time, and increased yields make it worthwhile.
I practice intensive planting and ‘jam’ plants together closely to create a solid leaf canopy, or a living mulch. This decreases evaporation, and means that less watering is needed.
I love this image in Jean-Martin Fortier’s book, The Market Gardener. It shows the beneficial microclimate and wind protection created by close spacing.
Vertical gardening using trellises, poles or other supports also save space. Just be aware that vertical structures cast a shadow, so plant sun-lovers on the appropriate side of the structure or use the shade to plant shade-tolerant crops.
Yellow pole beans and scarlet runner beans are twining beautifully up to the heavens. They are so prolific that I freeze most of them. Did you know you don’t have to blanch beans to freeze them successfully?
In this heat, it’s one less step I am happy to skip and don’t miss doing. Give it a try.
It is my goal to have no bare soil since it quickly grows weeds, erodes and compacts. That’s why I cover my soil with a layer of biological mulch, typically (free!) grass clippings or leaves. These also provide organic matter, nutrients, and feed the microbes in the soil.
Unless there is rain in the forecast, the drip irrigation system runs automatically twice a day for 20 minutes.
I buy all of my seeds from Veseys Seeds over in PEI. I have always been happy with their products and customer service.
Overall, July has been a very successful month in the vegetable garden and my labour saving techniques have certainly saved me a lot of aggravation in this heat.