Darling Buds of May

LEON: As we said recently, early spring is a gamble for gardeners. The soil was so cold during March that we at the Craven Gardening Research Center didn’t do much planting. But as March turned to April our field laborer, sixteen-month-old Julia, transplanted some tomatoes with the help of Anne, our field supervisor. When the nights began to get really cold Michael, our construction engineer, erected a mini greenhouse over them. He curved some PVC pipes over the raised bed and covered that with clear plastic. The tomatoes came through the cold snap just fine, and since then more plants and seeds have made their way into the garden: carrots, corn, squash, bell pepper, eggplant and cucumber. We’ll add beans and peas to the mix soon.

We are also trying a watermelon planting scheme that Charlie Johnson, at the Burden Center, worked with for several years. Well, it is modeled after a system he used successfully for field planting and it should work in a garden. We have planted some watermelon and cantaloupe seeds near the end of a raised bed. As the vines grow, we will keep them trained outward, toward the grass lawn at the end. The vines will grow over the lawn grass and put down roots to take up more water and fertilizer. By training and pruning we will try to keep the vines to a grass space of maybe five by fifteen feet. Obviously, the grass will grow taller but the vines will cover them. After harvesting the melons we will mow the grassy mess and the lawn will recover before the first frost—maybe.  

The new growth on our citrus plantings is looking good, after the 13-13-13 fertilizer we put out—together with the dose of Epsom salts. The blackberry plants are flowering and the (severely pruned) muscadines are beginning to sprout. In general, our garden is beginning to look good. Michael bought a bottle of the herbicide, Roundup, and has sprayed the weeds.

Now, back to the comment that the soil was too cold for planting. I am talking about seed vigor. We of the elderly persuasion understand that our get up and go decreases every year. Also, getting too cold or too hot is more important than it used to be. Seeds are like that—sort of. Most seeds retain their vigor for many years, if they are stored under cool and dry conditions. (Don’t try this with pecans. Once they dry out you can enjoy eating them but they won’t sprout.) Back to the subject. Seeds from last year’s crop, kept dry and cool, will germinate quickly under a wide range of soil temperatures. As the years pass the seeds get weaker but will still germinate if the temperature is right. I would like to define the “right” temperature but it varies with the species and sometimes with the variety. To illustrate, let’s take a bean seed and randomly guess at the ideal temperature.

“Randomly” means that I don’t remember the state seed germination regulations and it doesn’t matter for the illustration. Assume the testing laboratory regulations state that a bean seed must germinate at least ninety percent of the time within ten days when held at eighty-six degrees. Actually, a vigorous bean seed will germinate in four or five days and over a much wider range of temperatures, maybe as low as sixty-five degrees and up to ninety-five, but under those extreme temperatures it may take longer than ten days. I am not criticizing the seed regulations. They simply say that the seeds cannot be sold unless they meet the minimum standards. Defining regulations for weak seeds would be too complicated.

The seeds that you buy at the garden center are probably fresh and have been stored properly. But, over the years, Ed and I learned that if you buy a small packet of rare “heirloom” seeds they may have been stored for many years and possibly under dry but not very cool conditions. They are still viable and will germinate within ten days under the best temperature.

If you plant them early they may begin to germinate, but will rot from some disease that they would normally resist—or they may not germinate at all. The moral for this tale is aimed primarily at those of us who save our own seeds. At the very least, they should be dried well and stored in a glass jar. Keep the jar in a cool place; your freezer is a good spot if you have the room.

Now for my monthly chat with armchair gardeners who like to dream of starting a garden and might try it –sometime. Last month we chose the garden site and tilled it well. A few weeds may be sprouting by now but we are most interested in the perennial weeds: nutgrass and Bermuda grass. So for now be patient—select a good book and read it. Next month you may spray with Roundup a few times and you might send off a soil sample. You could send the sample now but spring is a busy time for the soils lab and you are in no hurry.

ANNE: Like Leon said, “In general, our garden is beginning to look good.” I confess that since our last column, I have done little but prune roses and flip through a seed catalogue to come up with a list of vegetables and herbs to plant. Leon helped us narrow the list down, then Michael (with Julia’s help, of course) put the plants and seeds in the ground. Aren’t I a lucky gal?

Other than peripherally supporting the vegetable garden effort, I have been up to my ears in roses. At long last all of our gigantic, overgrown rose bushes have been pruned, though I’m not sure “pruned” is the appropriate word to describe the removal of mountains and meters of rose branches. I still don’t fully understand why pruning is necessary, especially since I like the wild, overgrown look, but I asked Leon, “What would you do if these were your roses?” His advice is my command!  

Last but not least, among the many backyard treasures left to us by the previous owners is a mature loquat tree. Japanese plums, as loquats are also known, are a favorite fruit so we’ve been gobbling them up as they ripen, and now Julia stands under the tree and, in her own language, says, “I want some of those. Right now.” If we graduate to making loquat jam, you’ll hear it here first. 

Leon’s Gardening Tips for May

For Shakespeare, May represented the beginning of spring and the buds of May. For us, those buds have brought new leaves, flowers and, maybe, the end of pollen season.  Early sweet corn can be harvested, and blackberries will begin to ripen. Try to remember that the new varieties of larger, sweeter blackberries aren’t quite ripe when they first turn black; have a little patience and you will learn just when to pick that particular variety. We occasionally have dry spells in May so you might need to water plants a bit. Because we had a mild winter, you should watch for insect infestations. Watch frequently so you can eliminate the little fellows while they are young and nearly helpless. Check your garden every two or three days and check out the insecticides labeled for control on the plants you have.  This is not a time to be humane with insects. As they grow older they will do more damage and become much harder to control. But you should also relax and enjoy the flowers—gardenias, hydrangeas, Confederate jasmine, and lots of others.  May is a wonderful month.