New England June 2017

I just wanted to open our June thread. I'm still waiting for my tomato delivery from Territorial Seed.

Thanks QB!

I planted out the large tomatoes today - Super Beefsteak, Gilbertie, Roma and Campari - along with 2 Dunja zukes that I plan on covering.
Not sure why I'm holding back on the cherry toms.

My cherries are many times way more vigorous than my big maters.  But they are the only hybrid that I grow.....

I'm very disappointed in Territorial Seed for not yet shipping my plants.  I wanted to get them planted this weekend.  Still not in site.  They claimed I should have them by today.  Not so.  FedEx and US Mail both have come and gone.  If the don't come by tomorrow, I'll send a testy email to them.  When the promise shipment by the end of May, they need to comply.
In any case, when I was out shopping for groceries today, I made a stop at Lowe's and bought 3 tomato plants and one Lemon Thyme just in case I need them.  It feels good to know that I'll have something to plant if the others don't arrive.  Two are Better Bush and the other is Red Pride.  

These are what Red Pride looks like and the claim is they are flavorful Dets.

Good for you for taking charge of you sitch and buying back ups!

What are your temps up there?

I think it's still too cold here, which may be why I'm holding on to the cherry starts. All of next weeks forecast is 50's and 60's with some days not getting out of the 50's. Such strange weather. Hoping we don't get hail.

Meanwhile, I've been able to load up the weekly lettuce box a few times this year.



Pulled all the radishes last weekend and planted the pole beans which are sprouting now. And we are getting lots of new kale and collards, along with last years flower buds, for smoothies and such.

The lay-me-down toms I planted yesterday are standing up today, as are the transplanted zuke starts.


Onward ever onward...

It has been a strange spring....

I too am gonna yank the majority of radishes, turnips.  Weed beets and carrots.  

I have BlackSeeded Simpson bolting.  Will give it away, am swimming in it. 

My lettuces are good this year, however spinaches bolted really early.  One variety (Gigante de Inverno) bolted under the lights....

May go back to old farmer mentality on spinach...plant direct in the early early spring...."as soon as you can work the soil"

That's how I do spinach, SR... as soon as soil can be worked I direct seed.  It works well but this year they got eaten as soon as they sprouted.

Got the cherry maters planted - Black Cherry, Sun Gold and Super Sweet 100s.  A neighbor brought one half a bag of Moo Poo, organic, and I can't resist planting as much as possible with it sprinkled in the MM.  Now to plant a couple of cuke starts as an experiment since this will be the first cukes I've done from starts.  They are just beginning to get true leaves so I think that's when you plant them out, right?  I'll hold some back just in case it's a still too cold.  Maybe I'll put in a ground cherry, too, since all the starts have flowers already.

CapeCoddess wrote:That's how I do spinach, SR... as soon as soil can be worked I direct seed.  It works well but this year they got eaten as soon as they sprouted.

Got the cherry maters planted - Black Cherry, Sun Gold and Super Sweet 100s.  A neighbor brought one half a bag of Moo Poo, organic, and I can't resist planting as much as possible with it sprinkled in the MM.  Now to plant a couple of cuke starts as an experiment since this will be the first cukes I've done from starts.  They are just beginning to get true leaves so I think that's when you plant them out, right?  I'll hold some back just in case it's a still too cold.  Maybe I'll put in a ground cherry, too, since all the starts have flowers already.

Yep.  If they are hardened off, put them in.  My melons and cukes and squashes are in tomorrow.

I am getting some stuff in this year, but between the health issue, work, and cooler temps I don't have nearly as much done as I want. 

I never did find any onions to put in, major bummer.

I am using more containers this year so far. I am going to try some smaller cucs, the pickle making kind, "Wisconsin SMR 58 Pickling". The package says they come in "abundance" on "vigorous vines". OK, we'll see. They also say they are good for a second planting. I'll give it a try. It also says "mature in 60 days", so I wonder when I should plant the the second planting here? Any New England folks want to give me the scoop on that?

I am going to stick with my favorite big cuc, the Marketmore 76. I hope I can send out more pics this year of all the vines I hope to have.

I did find my favorite "Sun Gold" cherry tomato plants, I also found some heirloom Cherokee Purple, which I have not had in 25 years! Those used to taste so good on hamburgers. I also have some early girls, and some beef masters. We'll see.

I am very careful this year so that I do not over do it and re-injure my foot. I need to remember that slow and steady wins the race. So far I may not have kept up with all my yard chores, and I am not yet satisfied with my gardens, but my health is continuing to get better each day. I will catch up, especially when the sun comes out on a more steady basis. I don't see the drought conditions we have been seeing in the recent past.

We had some sun yesterday until about 11 AM, then gray and dreary, and woke up to some rays until about 8:30 AM, then gray and the rain started between 4 and 5 PM. 

I hope Bea gets her shipment tomorrow, if not, I want a peak at the "testy" note she sends- You Tell'em Bea!

I got an email my order will be shipped today.  I told them to ship or refund, so its their choice.  They told me they had a very cold and wet spring which caused delays in getting orders out this year.  Mine was scheduled but did not make the cut last week.  We shall see what happens this week.
I really want my Sungold plant.  Like Bigrock, I love those maters and they didn't have any Sungold for sale locally.
In case my shipping order really does make it, I have revamped my planting ideas and Sungold will go out in the garden itself between the wild roses since its an Indetermnate and one of the Better Bush to a raised bed.

Here's the ones I bought local. Left to rt: lemon thyme, Red Pride and two Better Bush maters. They are hardening off yet. Our back garden is a very windy spot so I hope they enjoy gusty blows.

We actually had a beautiful sunny weekend!  It was lovely and my brains solar batteries got recharged. But now we're back to the rainy dreary cold weather for the next few days. *big sigh*  

I was actually eating sugar snap peas and strawberries by now in previous years.  No flower buds on the sugar snaps yet this year.  But this weather is probably good for the few things I did this weekend and this morning.  

Transplanted just sprouting pole beans out of the 3 Sisters garden since the squirrels ate the corn and squash seeds.  I put the beany babies with all the other sprouting pole beans so they can climb a trellis instead of climbing the corn.

I replanted my 2 baby blueberry shrubs.  Looks like either my mother (accidentally) or a raccoon pulled them out and they got dried out and brittle before I noticed.  So I soaked the roots over night and am hoping for the best. These are plants #8 & 9.  I planted and killed plants 1 thru 7 over the years, never to be seen again after the first year.  I really had hi hope for these two since they actually came back a 2nd year.  Drat!

All my tomatoes are planted out along with a few experimental zukes, cukes & ground cherry starts.  The leafy greens and lettuces LOVE this cool weather - no shortage there!  As long as I have those I'm a happy camper.

OH, and the directed seeded (my own seed) tromboncini squashes are sprouting.  
No sign of Delicata or butternut sprouts yet.

Hey Bea, please let me know if the Sun Golds do not come, I will send you some from here.

quiltbea wrote:I got an email my order will be shipped today.  I told them to ship or refund, so its their choice.  They told me they had a very cold and wet spring which caused delays in getting orders out this year.  Mine was scheduled but did not make the cut last week.  We shall see what happens this week.
I really want my Sungold plant.  Like Bigrock, I love those maters and they didn't have any Sungold for sale locally.
In case my shipping order really does make it, I have revamped my planting ideas and Sungold will go out in the garden itself between the wild roses since its an Indetermnate and one of the Better Bush to a raised bed.

Here's the ones I bought local.  Left to rt: lemon thyme, Red Pride and two Better Bush maters.  They are hardening off yet.  Our back garden is a very windy spot so I hope they enjoy gusty blows.

Oh, man!  I too love my Sungolds....I would take Rock up on his offer if no show on the Sungold...I put 2 in.  They are just so sweet, prolific and trouble free!

CC, sounds like you got it going on!  "My" squirrels ate the canna out of my decorative planter in the front garden....grrrr....and I feed and water them....really?  Peanuts=Canna.  My leaves are getting to their useful end...some of the lettuces are still good though.  Taking notes.

Get ready, New England....here it comes:

"Squash vine borer traps have been set out at 3 farms in MA and will go out in NH
over the next 2 weeks. This pest overwinters as pupae in the field and has historically
emerged in early June, sometimes with 2 generations per year...."

http://ag.umass.edu/sites/ag.umass.edu/files/newsletters/june_1_2017_vegetable_notes.pdf

Informative publication for your area!

Hark!  What's that I see...?


Covered the strawberry bed this morning from critters:
Comfrey growing just north of center on right side of photo.

The garlic needs help up off the tomatoes now that the winds have calmed a bit:

Sugar snap peas - no flower buds yet:  url=https://servimg.com/view/17528927/2154][/url]

Pole beans and overflow lettuce: 
I have no grids this year due to hip surgery but I'm feeling grateful to have a garden at all. Especially since I never got around to adding compost to half my boxes this spring... Just planted and hoped for the best.

Poor poor seedlings...they've been flooded so many times I'm surprised they are still alive:
Zinnias, Marigolds, Lupine, Cosmos

I got word that Territorial Seed cancelled my order with all the mess going on back and forth so no Sungold for me this year. I will just transplant the ones I have and enjoy them.

The rain has finally stopped so a good day to transplant a bit later today.

CareC.....Your garden is looking healthy and lovely. At this point you probably don't need the grids anyway, you're so used to having one foot spaces.

QB ... Sorry to hear about your cancelled order.

CC ... Thanks for the photos. I really like what I see. Good healthy looking plants. I see you have a white plastic garden chair just like I have. BTW you have done very well considering you had the surgery.

Hooray for me. I got my tomatoes and lemon thyme transplanted in the late afternoon today. Temps in the high 60s and I did it in the dappled shade of the garden. Now I have 3 tomatoes and 1 thyme to tend and I will love every minute of it.
I didn't want to get my camera dirty, so didn't bring it along with me. I'll take photos tomorrow.

I also saw a 2nd mamma goose with a smaller clutch of about 4 babies. The babies are smaller than the 1st pair which were out there as well.
Such fun to watch this season.

quiltbea wrote:Hooray for me.  I got my tomatoes and lemon thyme transplanted in the late afternoon today.   Temps in the high 60s and I did it in the dappled shade of the garden.  Now I have 3 tomatoes and 1 thyme to tend and I will love every minute of it.  
I didn't want to get my camera dirty, so didn't bring it along with me.  I'll take photos tomorrow.

I also saw a 2nd mamma goose with a smaller clutch of about 4 babies.  The babies are smaller than the 1st pair which were out there as well.
Such fun to watch this season.

Hooray for transplanting! It feels like a big accomplishment when I finally get those plants out and in. I love dappled shade.

CC, your garden looks real!  I am gonna plant my pole beans this weekend....40s tonight, I don't even have my cukes or squash in...

QB, glad you got your plants in!  Really, I would PM Rock for a Sungold!!!!

bigdogrock.......Thank you for the offer of a Sungold but I don't want to bother anyone to take such trouble to mail me a plant.  It must be difficult for the average person to ship live plants.
I'll order again next year. and yes, from Territorial Seed, but earlier in the season and ask for earlier shipping so I can get them here in a timely manner and just take care of them myself until they need to get in the ground.  I'll plan better, against bad weather situations that might arise at nurseries.  I'm sure they did their best with what problems that arose this year.

In the meantime, I'm happy with the few I have.  It means I can still garden.  Hooray for that.

News!   We have a 2nd mamma goose with 2 little ones, smaller than the first set of babies and no mate with her.  

above is the 2nd little family.


See the much larger clutch of the first family with both a mom and dad.

Look how tiny those new babies in the first photos are...they're like walking eggs!

QB, don't give up on your Sungold.  The nurseries around here bring it in all season.  I've even seen it at the end of the season on the $1 table for six packs.  Keep calling all your local nurseries.  Maybe they will even call *you* if/when some comes in.

It was 35 when I got up this morning.     I'm sure my toms and cukes hate me.  
Storm comin' tonite but there's beautiful sunshine at the moment.
  I was out all morning walking and then getting my hands dirty.

OH...I've been meaning to ask you guys...I think Racoon pulled out my 2 blueberry bushes.  They were dried out and the leaves were all brown by the time I found them.  I let the roots soak overnight and then replanted them.  Any chance they will regrow? Should I cut off all the dead stuff or just leave it alone to lick it's wounds for a while?
The greenery down below is not part of it.

Its just wonderful out today with sunshine and its hit 80 but it doesn't feel that hot.  A nice breeze out here by the river.
I saw the First Family of Geese swimming in the river around noon today.


I tried to add some photos of my container garden, but it won't let me for some strange reason. I'll be back later with them.

I'll try again....

L to R:Lemon thyme and leaf lettuces and Right is a Better Bush mater.


L to R above:  A Better Bush and a Red Pride mater.
This is the beginning of my container garden this year.  Its late getting transplanted but better than never.


Here are my 2 pots of leafy lettuces.  I sowed some radish seeds in among the lettuce pots today hoping that this time they grow.  The first ones were a bust.