Dear Helen: As a keen gardener, I鈥檓 already planning this year鈥檚 merry mix of vegetables and flowers. I鈥檒l be away travelling from Aug. 15 to the end of September and the home-exchange people in the house might not water consistently.
Can you give me some ideas on what I should be planting? I grow everything from seed and will do sweet peas, peas, lettuce and other early things. Is there a cover crop I can seed for turning under on my return, to enrich the soil?
D.W.
If you seed the sweet peas as early as possible, you should have enjoyed the best of them by mid-August.
Most shelling peas, seeded in March, will be harvested in July.
Succession sowings of lettuce, spinach and other leafy greens, beginning as early as soil and weather conditions allow, up to late June or early July, should keep you in salads until you leave.
For other possibilities, much depends on whether you can persuade the temporary occupants of your home to water at least minimally. For example, a bed of carrots, beets and parsnips, seeded in March or early April, would have developed enough root growth to become fairly water-thrifty by mid-August, but they will need some watering during your six-week absence.
You could also transplant winter and over-wintering cabbage, sprouting broccoli and cauliflower in late July if you knew they would be watered.
Leeks seeded in early February and transplanted in March or early April would be fine if watered, as would bulbing onions. Spring-seeded kale is another possibility.
Could an adult neighbour or responsible school-age person be enlisted to water target plantings once or twice a week, depending on the weather?
The timing of your absence is fortunate, beginning as it does as night temperatures are about to start cooling and daytime heat becomes less intense.
Buckwheat would be my preferred choice as a cover (green manure) crop to grow during your time away.
The plants quickly form a dense cover that smothers weeds. The blooms attract pollinating and other beneficial insects.
Buckwheat starts flowering about six weeks from a seeding. The succulent plants break down quickly when dug under, ideally soon after they start blooming.
This is a warm-weather cover crop, unlike the more familiar cold-weather cover crops such as fall rye, winter wheat, winter peas and vetch.
Sow buckwheat just before you leave and dig the plant under upon your return. The soil will need to be kept evenly moist, especially during the germination period and as the plants are developing.
Some garden centres and most farm supply stores have buckwheat seeds. I usually get mine at Buckerfield鈥檚.
Dear Helen: I was told to apply a dormant spray only once. Then someone else advised that three applications are needed. Can you clarify?
H.T.
Dormant sprays are used mainly on fruit trees, specifically on trees that had specific disease or insect pest issues in the summer.
If there has been no significant issue on the trees, it is best not to use dormant sprays. They harm beneficial insects and fungi.
Dormant oil applied around mid-winter helps to control, mainly by smothering, aphids, scales and eggs of leafrollers and winter moth.
Dormant lime-sulphur sprays are most effectively applied twice, first right after leaf fall to protect the leaf scars and again as buds show the first signs of swelling, to control some fungal diseases as well and mites, scales and aphids on fruit trees.
Lime-sulphur is not effective against apple scab.
Keep in mind that a key preventive measure against pests is sanitation.
That means cleaning up all fallen leaves and debris under and around the trees, as soon as possible after leaf fall, to eliminate over-wintering places for disease organisms and insect pests.
Garden Events
View Royal meeting. The View Royal Garden Club will meet this evening at 7:30 in Wheeley Hall, 500 Admirals Rd. in Esquimalt. A short business meeting will be followed by Michael Fox, who will speak about a recent visit to Mosaic sa国际传媒 150, a giant horticultural exhibition of topiary figures depicting sa国际传媒鈥檚 history, in Gatineau, Quebec. As well, there will be a judged mini show and a sale of garden items. Visitors and new members are welcome.
Seedy on Denman. The Denman Island Garden Club and Denman Island Growers and Producers are sponsoring the sixth annual Seedy Saturday on the Island on Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Community Hall.
