Too Much Water! by Carol King

The afternoon rains that have persisted over the last couple of weeks are a mixed blessing for gardeners. While we revel in the much need moisture, too much water can cause as many maladies as not enough water.

Here are some problems to be on the look out for:


Vegetables:

Early Blight on tomato

 Early blight in tomatoes is caused by the fungus Alternaria solani. Symptoms become prevalent during the hotter months. This disease produces brown to black, target-like spots on older leaves. If severe, the fungus also attacks stems and fruit. Affected leaves may turn yellow, then drop, leaving the fruit exposed to sunburn. Sanitation is the best control. Remove all diseased plant tissue on the ground. Avoid overhead irrigation. If the infestation is heavy, sulfur dust may help protect new leaves from infection. Follow label directions carefully, as sulfur can burn leaves when temperatures are high.

“Distract-itis” by Gardener Dave

“Distract-itis”

When doing our day-to-day gardening chores,
other needs often “jump up and bite us”
They keep us from making our normal rounds
and give us “distract-itis”

How many times on your morning “rounds”
to check beds for weeds and for water,
have you seen the signs of other needs
that you “must do”, or certainly “oughter”?

Most of these days I don’t even get
to those chores I first wanted to do,
for this bed chokes out a “Weed me first!”,
and that one nags “Aphids to shoo!”

This can go on, all through the whole day
and when the evening dark gathers,
I think of my list, and find that I’ve done
the “musts” and forgotten the “rathers”

Now I know this is a common “disease”
which plagues us, and makes us cuss
Most others agree - whatever their tasks -
big distractions are ever around us

So we must all sigh and just carry on,
and tend to those things that fight us
We all are victims of this “blight”
that I choose to call “distract-itis”

Cheers,
Gardener Dave

Espalier: The Art of Plant Training by Elaine Lockey

Espalier at Denver Botanic Gardens

Espalier, pronounced esp-al-ee-er or esp-al-ee-ay, is the practice of training and pruning a plant to grow on a flat plane against a wall, fence or building.  This can create a beautiful focal point in a garden, can save space in small areas, and help fill in space if you have a large wall or fence that you want to hide.

Espalier can be informal or formal and there are several common forms practiced.  Certain plants respond best to certain types of espalier as well.  Informal espalier can be as simple as a vine climbing up a wall to a pyracantha hedge that is pruned in a flat plane but is allowed to branch where it wants vertically and horizontally.  Formal designs can be like the French palmette verrier in which a plant, commonly a pear tree, is attached to a frame that helps to shape it into the desired structure.  This particular one looks like a box shape or candelabra. This enables the pear tree to grow wide but the height is limited.

Happy Fourth of July ! Natures' Fireworks

Photo by GayleL Art

Fireworks are commonly seen in the United States on the Fourth of July as a celebration of independence.

"And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there."
- The Star Spangled Banner, the national anthem of the US

So here are 10 sparkling shots of starburst fireworks in nature.

Thanks to the online magazine "Environmental Graffiti".

Happy Fourth to all you gardeners!

Saving Soil When Planting Large Planters by Caroline Reardon

Magnificent plant pots abound, from the local discount store to upscale greenhouses. Terra cotta, glazed, even plastic that looks like pottery—or not, in hot lime green, tangerine, aquamarine. These large containers make a strong statement massed on the porch by your front door or along the patio by the lawn chairs. And then comes the fun of choosing an artistic combo of leaf shapes, colors, uprights and vines.

What's Blooming in Your Garden? by Carol King

Here's what's blooming in my garden! What's blooming in yours? Email me your pictures at jeffcogardener@gmail.com and I'll post them also.

Black Eyed Susan

Tomato Problems? Try Flea Beetles! by Stan Ames

• Do some of the leaves on your tomato plants have holes in the lower outside leaves and the leaves are turning yellow?
• What should you do?
• Any other symptoms?
• Large green worms been seen on the plant? No?
• How about little tiny white or gray little bugs (Aphids)? No again!
• Blackish spots on leaves and the edge turning yellow? No!
• Just lots of little tiny holes in the leaves and they leaves are turning yellow? Right!

All of the symptoms mentioned lead to the diagnosis of Flea beetles! These pests chew little holes in the leaves! Inspect the underside of the affected leaves and look for very shiny little brown or black beetles about the size of a straight pin head. However they may have their feast and moved on to the next plant before you noticed the damage.

Belmar Farmers' Market by Grace Olson

The Farmers’ Market season crept into Jefferson County like a late spring, and is now suddenly in full bloom.  From Evergreen to Lakewood, the weekends are alive with smells of exotic cooking stations, shouts of face-painted children skipping through the streets, and the enthusiasm of those seeking a local connection to their land, food and community. In between the booths selling seedlings, scarves, fresh produce and stuffed chili peppers, Colorado Master Gardeners (CMG) add their voices to the festival-like atmosphere.

Why Aren't My Iris Blooming by Stan Ames

While manning the Master Gardener booth at the Golden Farmer’s Market last Saturday a woman asked me why her Iris do not all bloom.

I thought for a while and suggested they might be overcrowded or stressed from last year’s dividing activities. She said she had not divided any of her Iris, ever, and asked when to do that.  I said not until after the blooming was complete and not to cut back leaves until the divisions were made. She seemed satisfied with the answers and went on to get a nice big juicy breakfast burrito from the booth next to ours.  Imagine smelling that wonderful aroma all morning and not having enough time to buy one for yourself, much less eating one.  AND they were all gone when we broke down the booth!

Cactus Garden Tour by Kim Bone

Every year in early June the cactus arboretum at Timberline Gardens explodes into blossom. The dozens of cacti species put all their energy into this grand display. Learn the history of the collection and how the garden was built. Come see the grandeur on Saturday, June 18 @ 12:00 noon, for the Desert Bloom Tour.

Kim the Gardener 

Straw Bales Garden by Duane Davidson

(Click on Image for Slide Show of Process)

The idea came from an article in a gardening magazine. I was already changing the way I gardened in the back yard, adding raised beds and converting lawn sprinkler heads into drip irrigation distributors. Why not give a corner over to a small straw bale garden and see what I might grow there? My approach to gardening has always been about trying something new and learning from my experiments. The uncertainties of gardening make it fun for me. Introducing new elements only heightens the challenge.

The author of the magazine article had some specific reasons for creating her straw bale garden – aside from the vegetables she expected to harvest. She utilized a spot in her yard where the soil was so poor she had never grown anything but weeds in it. By the following year it was covered in a thick layer of rich compost "replete with fat and happy worms." She figured she could revitalize another plot with a straw bale garden each year, progressively improving her whole yard.

The Seed Cathedral by Elaine Lockey

photo by Heatherwick Studio

In case you missed it, art and horticulture combined for an amazing exhibit last year. Called the Seed Cathedral, the sculpture was composed of 60,000 fiber optic rods with seeds implanted on the tip of each one. The Seed Cathedral’s goal was to raise awareness of the global race to save seeds and the growing number of seed banks that safely preserve these seeds. Created for the 2010 World Expo held in Shanghai, it was designed by English designer Thomas Heatherwick. 

The structure was lit from within at dark and during the day the rods captured and funneled the sunlight highlighting the seeds within.  The structure also gently swayed in the breeze giving it life.  It was nicknamed pu gong ying or “The Dandelion” by Chinese visitors. How many seeds were in it? More than 217,000! Visitors could go inside it for a completely immersive experience.