Dear Helen: Some of my pea plants (Green Arrow) grew to only about 60 cm high, wilted, and turned yellow. The ones that grew normally began to wilt and discolour after the first picking. How can I prevent this happening again? I鈥檇 like to re-seed for a late crop.
D.S.
There is a virus called pea enation that causes leaves to be marked in white or silver around mid-summer. The vines slowly turn yellow and die. Pods at the time of infection are misshapen and lumpy, but the peas within them remain edible.
Though it鈥檚 good to be aware of enation, your pea planting is more likely afflicted with one of听the many root rots and wilts that can cause problems. When these issues are involved, young plants sometimes grow poorly. Or, they develop normally until harvest time, when they wilt and wither.
Cool, wet soils and periods of heavy rain set plants up for root rots and subsequent wilting. Planting early, while the weather and soils are still cold and wet, can cause problems in the planting.
Moving the peas from year to听year in the garden is always a good idea. The soil needs to be well aerated and drain freely of excess moisture. Amending the soil with compost before planting helps to boost the soil鈥檚 populations of beneficial (disease-fighting) organisms.
Mulching pea plantings with compost is also helpful for keeping the vines healthy and producing for as long as possible. Avoid mulching early, in cool, moist conditions. Wait until warmish weather. I try to place compost alongside the vine bases just as they begin to flower. Then, the soil needs to be kept consistently dampened, but not wet.
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Dear Helen: Our Magnolia grandiflora bears healthy leaves and has good new growth, despite being damaged in the winter. The tree is a bit more than three metres high with broadly spreading, lanky branches that are mostly bare except at the end portions. Is it possible to re-shape the tree to create a more compact, less gangly shape?
G.K.
Magnolia grandiflora (southern magnolia) is a large-leaved evegreen native to the southern United States, where it grows up to 25 metres high with a dense, conical habit and creamy white flowers in late summer.
In our cooler climate, the tree听more commonly grows to 10听metres, with a more open, shrubby habit. It is often trained against a wall, fence or wires. A听more dense habit and conical outline can be encouraged on trees in the open by shortening lanky young branches in the spring, as new growth begins appearing. You might consider experimenting with a few branches at first, and observe the听followup new growth, before doing a grand pruning of the whole tree.
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Dear Helen: When should garlic be fertilized? I can鈥檛 find any information about this.
M.B.
As with my other food garden plantings, I incorporate a natural-source, slow-release fertilizer into the soil, along with a layer of听nourishing compost, prior to planting. For garlic, that鈥檚 in late September to early October.
Natural-source fertilizers are sold pre-mixed at some garden centres and farm supply stores. Their nutrients release over three or more months. I mix my own, using seed meals (four parts by volume) like canola, alfalfa or cottonseed for nitrogen, lime (one part) to counter the seed meals鈥� acidity, bone meal (one-half part) and rock phosphate (one-half part) for phosphorus, and kelp meal (one part) for potassium. Kelp meal is also a fine source of many trace minerals.
For the lime I use half dolomite and half calcium carbonate (marking lime). A 鈥減art鈥� can be a scoop, or a recycled sour cream or yoghurt container.
As the garlic tops begin growing in the spring, I weed the planting, cultivate lightly around the plants and mulch with compost.
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GARDEN EVENTS
Pruning party. The Fruit Testers of sa国际传媒听are hosting a free summer pruning event on Saturday, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in听The Walled Garden at Royal Roads University, 2005 Sooke Rd. Follow the signs to the Mews pay parking. Bring secateurs for some hands-on experience on espaliered and听young trees.
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Picnic in the gardens. The Horticulture Centre of the Pacific, 505 Quayle Rd. in Saanich, is opening its gardens to the public for a summer evening picnic with live music on Wednesday, July 26, from 5 to 8 p.m. Admission is by donation. Bring your own picnic or order ahead from the on-site restaurant Charlotte and the Quail. For details go to hcp.ca or call 250-479-6162.