Spring Moves into Summer and Conserving Water

With the passing of the pea season and the arrival of raspberries comes summer in Maine. Summer and the routines it brings are indeed welcome. And summer routines often revolve around water. Finding water, keeping water, spreading water. The above picture is of 2 of my rain barrels strategically placed so they catch rain water as it rolls off the roof. They usually fill after each rain fall. The one on the left has compost brewing in it and is a great holder for compost tea which gets sprinkled on plants as needed. The one on the right is clear water. I use it to water plants around the pool area and in the garden near the house. I also use it to fill the chickens' water holders.

As for peas, this was a great pea season here. The only issue I had was with munching deer. I guess they just love the tips of pea plants. This picture shows a tip eaten by a deer. The deer left its signature, the back tip of the nibble clearly left behind and visible.

Thankfully there seemed to be enough for the deer and us. As I picked my last peas today I meandered over to what I thought of as "the dreaded raspberry patch". I say that because last year while I was away the raspberry patch got away from me. It is EVERYWHERE! I've been pulling new sprouting plants all along the edges of the garden trying to keep them in check. They are winning and this has been bumming me out. Until today when I looked at all the raspberries I have! Wow. This is going to be quite the harvest. I noticed something that makes perfect sense and I should not be surprised by it. But when I saw it I was. Last year when I cleaned out the chicken coop all the litter went in a spot next to the raspberries. Well now that spot is IN the raspberries and the raspberries growing around the litter are noticeably larger and quite juicy! Note to self; compost raspberries...after bush whacking them back! But before I do that I plan to make these Raspberry Shortbread bars with the one jar of raspberry jam I have left over from last year: http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2007/12/austrian-raspberry-shortbread/

A bed of straw mulched onions.
Finally we have some much needed rain and some time for me to share what I have been up to in the garden the past few weeks. It's really simple since it's been all about mulch. Getting the paths mulched is always a huge undertaking for me. This year I did something that should have been rather obvious in years past; I mulched the pathways as I planted. So while it was still a big deal to get caught up on this, it wasn't as physically demanding as in years past when I spent a solid day mulching the entire garden. With the paths mulched I've turned my attention to mulching the beds. I must admit that this mulching pathways before beds always seems backwards to me yet it's what I always wind up doing. Seems to me that I should mulch the beds first. Protect those precious seedlings and newly sprouting seeds. But the pathways are where the weeds are and where they get so big and unruly so quickly. So that's where I begin. The other issue that I struggle with and I think most gardeners also deal with is getting enough material to use for mulch. This year a generous friend found a source of inexpensive hay and some free leaves and pine needles. That was a huge help as what I usually use, straw, is very expensive. I usually avoid these newly found materials for a variety of reasons so I am eagerly watching to see how they work out. The hay went on thick in the upper garden, mostly around my 30 tomatoes. First I lay double thickness or more of newspaper and then lay the hay over the newspaper nice and thick as seen in this picture:

This is the garden that doesn't have beds yet. And I've given each tomato plant lots of room for air circulation as I always worry about that dreaded late blight. So there's alot of ground that needed to be covered. So if worse comes to worse I can till it even though I prefer not to till my garden and I usually don't. But if weeds crop up from the perennial hay I can do that. The leaves I put in the rows of my middle garden, between corn and pumpkins as shown in these photos.

I worry water won't be able to get through the leaves since they are not chopped up. We'll see. The tape flapping over the corn needs to be removed. It works great when corn is first planted to keep crows from yanking the newly emerging seedlings and flying off with them. And the lovely pine needles went on thick around the blueberries. Perfect!

Now that the rows are mulched the mulching routine for the beds has to be carefully timed. It's not as scientific as it sounds. Basically it means to mulch after a rain. Weeds are easy to pull when the ground is moist. So rain or water, weed, and mulch. I sometimes water the mulch since I want that wet too. If I understand how water moves, it moves from wet to dry, I don't want the moisture moving up into dry hay. If it actually works like that. Maybe I should experiment with that thinking. Another reason why gardening is so fun, lots of opportunities for experimentation! The row covers on the cucumber beds have been removed and the beds are now weeded and mulched.

Mulching may seem like a lot of work because it is. But it's time well spent as it saves work over the long run. Weeds are a drag and steal needed nutrients from your vegetable, herb, and flowering plants. Dry ground and dry plants are too because it causes them stress. And stressed plants say things that bad bugs hear. It's true! Lots of research is coming out on that now and I find that fascinating! Mulching takes care of both those things. Plus I love the look of a mulched garden.

May your garden be mulched, your rain barrels full, and your garden everything you hope for. Because "Gardens make the world clean and fresh." American Horticultural Society
Mary