Reliable gardening tips and information for growing vegetables and flowers, presented in a clear and concise way, for beginning to experienced gardeners. Learn how easy it is to garden organically.
I swore I saw you walk past my house the other day. I wonder if we're neighbors. Were you wearing a pink shirt and long pink skirt with a sun hat a few days ago?
It's super ugly but I put up a shade cloth over my garden...no fancy support structure but it really makes a difference in the heat. I've even been able to transplant the peppers that were waiting to go in after the garlic came out and they haven't sulked a bit.
ps And I love the beach umbrella idea. Wonder if there are any to be purchased this late in the season? I may have to check with Amazon. Thanks for all the great tips, Susan.
Thank you. I bought mine years ago at Rite Aid of all places. They have that "seasonal" aisle and they were on closeout, so you never know. I'm glad you're enjoying my videos!
I already harvested mine, froze 2 pints of cloves and then I dehydrated several to make my garlic power for fresh. Rest is to use now and saving some to replant. I did have something strange this year, a couple of bulbs didn’t develop cloves it was just all together. I’ve never had that happen before. Any idea what would have caused that?
Hi, Joyce. Did you plant them last fall? And did you give the plants fertilizer? At planting time, I add bonemeal to the soil. Then in the spring, I give them nitrogen fertilizer about 3 times. They also need plenty of water so if your weather has been dry, that could contribute to the problem. Did you plant them in a different area of your garden than you did previously? And one last thought: how deeply did you plant them? The cloves should be planted so that the tip of the clove is 2" below the soil surface. I hope something here is helpful!
Your garlic looks wonderful. Thank you for the practical advice on harvesting. I pulled mine up yesterday and they were tiny. Any advice on how to get a larger bulb?
Hi, Kim. Did you give them any fertilizer this year? Prior to planting them, I add bonemeal to the soil. In the spring, I fertilize the plants with Alaska fish fertilizer (high in nitrogen) three times. I have a long-form video about planting and growing them that might help: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vhjVpRA1BF8.html.
gardner snakes, gardner snakes, gardner snakes. Everyone should have gardner snakes in their gardens, flowers and yards. They are the best and eat slugs, beetle larvae and the rest. they will get in the ground and get them and you will be so happy to have gardner snakes. please, take care of them.
Hi, Denise. I agree that garter snakes are very beneficial. We live in a rural area and we do have gopher snakes here, but I haven't seen garter snakes for a few years. Not sure why because we have a lot of natural cover for them and we don't use a rototiller.
Your videos are always welcomed, but these “shorts” create frustration because some important points are camouflaged by printed info which make of difficult to see exactly what you are talking about. One question I have in this video is the last image of the pulled garlic has no brown leaves at the bottom (that I can see). Would you explain why this one was pulled? Thank you.
Hi there. I know what you mean about the caption being in the way, but that is a RU-vid setup, not mine! I wish the caption just stayed on for a few seconds. I'll try to write shorter ones, though. Re: the leaves at the bottom of the garlic stalks: When you dig and pull up each one, those lower, dry leaves just flake off. It's nothing that I did on purpose. And that's why it's so important to keep those green leaves in place because they are protecting the bulbs. Sorry for the confusion.
@@SusansInTheGarden thank you so much. That does answer my question. I realize it’s not the makers fault with all of that cluttered screen. We still get the point of what you’re saying. Thanks again for a “good tips” short.
@@SusansInTheGarden Hey there, I just wanted to clear up something that might have been confusing on my part. I don't mind your messages being short and to the point, it's just the "Shorts" clutter that aggravates me. Making your "Shorts" shorter won't change the clutter issue...it'll still be cluttered no matter how long or short it is. I really appreciate your videos and gain much valuable information from them. I hope I don't come across as negative toward your product at all, to the contrary, I'm extremely positive and appreciative for what you do.
I am sorry your garden is struggling. I am having the same problem. My biggest problem is small red bugs eating my leaves. They are fast and I have never seen them before. Please help! I love the GS. I got my first one last month. So far it’s doing pretty good.
Hi, Carole. Which crops are the red bugs on and can you email me a photo of them? Be happy to help ID and offer suggestions. My email address is Susan@SusansintheGarden.com.
Susan, do you have any suggestions as to why my Belstar broccoli did not form a head? I planted it, for the first time, this year and only one plant out of the 9 formed a head of broccoli. No serious pest damage at all. I live in central MN, zone 4a. The weather has been fairly nice, not many hot days (in the 80s) and plenty of rain.
That is really frustrating, esp. since one plant did produce for you. There are varying reasons this might have happened. One is too much nitrogen fertilizer, which produces more stems and leaves than heads. Another would be planting them too early or too late. Other reasons might be various stresses due to the weather, pest and disease issues, or planting them too closely together. I hope your other plants get back on track!
@@SusansInTheGarden Thank you. How close do you plant yours? Your plants look larger than mine. I planted mine about 12" apart. I'm thinking of trying for a fall crop. Not sure when to plant the seeds. Can you tell me what seedling mix you use to start seeds? Thank you.
@@scout7060 I planted my seedlings about 18" apart since they get so large. I started the seeds indoors on March 9 and transplanted them out to the garden on April 15. We use ProMix seed-starting mix.
Hi Susan, also had problems with our green arrow peas, they're great peas but we got some very high temperatures early with little rain. I should have put a shade cloth over but kept listening to the weather forecasters who said weather would cool and we'd get rain and neither happened. Lesson learned for next year if I see the heat starting early on. Grew a couple of test Supremos for the first time last year, wish I had done more. The first round of fruit all got BER, I was about to discard the plants, threw away the damaged fruit and left the plants. Then around late September got a bounty of nice tomatoes from those two plants. This year they didn't make it through out heat and no rain weather but I will do them again and this time give them some shade protection early on. Do you plant peas for the fall too and if so, when do you plant yours? Thanks Susan, your garden as usual looks great despite the challenges!
Hi, Joyce. Gosh, what a challenging year this has been for our gardens. I haven't planted peas in the fall, but it's a great idea. I would need to do a bit of calculating to figure out the timing for that!
4am here in new york state. This year we have one of these birds that is INCREDIBLY annoying. It goes from 4am to 5pm, it's unending until the afternoon right outside my window. I wonder if there's a safe way to scare them off because this thing is so loud even with my windows closed.
Thank you for sharing an update on your beautiful garden . I am in Southern Ontario Canada and my garden is slowly growing due to cooler weather. Seeing your garden gives me some hope and encouragement as I was beginning to give up on my garden. For the first time in 7 years growing garlic I experienced garlic leaf miner. I was able to catch it easy and hoping for the best. Happy Gardening to you all.
@SusansInTheGarden I always thought growing garlic and onions were pest deterrent, until having to deal with garlic moth this year. Apparently Ontario Canada has been dealing with garlic moth for the past few years. Keep an eye out on your onions and garlic the next few years as you are Canada's neighbor.
ADD: These should be added to your list too: Wisteria, Trumpet Vine & Morning Glory! I planted all of those 30 years ago when I didn’t know better and I SOOO regret it to this day!! The wisteria turned into a Goliath and has crushed my arbor and has been a complete nightmare to control…..especially the exploding seed pods that shoot seeds 8-10 feet (or more) in all directions away from the mother plant with such a force that they can break glass or cause injury…. I got hit in the eye by one and had a bruise that looked like I was in a bar brawl! My Trumpet vine is a true, honest to goodness Godzilla of a beast that I have to cut back (hard) every two weeks in the growing season (May-September) to keep it from escaping into the woods and into neighboring properties. It went from a 2 foot wide plant to more than 60 feet wide in a very short period of time! The worst thing is, it spreads via underground runners and it can and WILL take over your entire lawn up to 80+ feet away from the main trunks. I am forever cutting & pulling out new growth everywhere on my property and beyond in an attempt to contain it!! The Morning Glory I planted 1 TIME and for 7 years afterwards, I’m STILL pulling out vines that I find growing everywhere in my perennial boarder!
Well, there isn’t much we can do when Mother Nature steps in. We just returned from a week long honeymoon to find 14 zucchini, that will become a variety of dishes. We are on the front end of a 100 degree week, with 114 degrees as the kicker. So, as you can imagine, tomorrow is shade cloth day! That, and adjustment of the drip irrigation. My beans are slowly climbing up the cattle panels, so we shall see.. stay cool everyone!!🥵🥬🌽🥦🫐🍓🥰
My garden has been a flop this season. Is it bad of me that I don’t feel so bad now since your garden has struggled somewhat? Lol! BTW I’m from Spokane too! I really enjoy your channel ❤
I'm OK with that! I occasionally have this feeling of dread about the weather's impact on our plants. The fluctuations in temperatures and conditions is pretty alarming.
Hi, Nancy. We have been eating it in salads. This variety has a thick middle rid so I quickly cut that out, then roughly chop the leaves and add in some of the 'Bauer' lettuce. I also add radishes, a few green olives and a mustard vinaigrette.
Thank you for the lovely garden tour. My carrots are turning colors as well, so I would be quite interested to find out what is causing this to occur. A first for me, I had to plant my zucchini three times before I found success in two sprouts...somewhat odd considering it it one of the easiest plants to grow. My watermelon are also pathetic, but yet other veggies are thriving. Definitely an odd year. Just spent the day putting up shade cloth, so I am hoping the veg patch fairs well with weather this next week. Enjoying your videos!
We have had a very hot & dry June here in N. KY but last night and today we have finally gotten rain. I’ve already frozen my main broccoli crop although my heads did not get as large as yours. I did grow Belstar on your recommendation. Thanks for the tip on the chard, mine is under cover as well with my kale & collards and wondered what was eating on them. Peas are long gone, been eating cabbage, beets, beans, zucchini & a few carrots as well as potatoes. I have Fortex starting to come on and patiently (not really) waiting on my Diva cucumbers and a big beefsteak tomato for my first BLT. Have had small tomatoes for salads. Love this time of year, the only time I think I could be a vegetarian. 😝. Sorry about your weather, we are certainly at the mercy of Mother Nature.
I've tried for first time some broccoli it only produced 1 small head, then we got very hot, then it got too late to harvest. I took off the head, now it has produced some small shoots but it's also got flowers on it. Can I let it go to harvest seeds from it when it dries? Nancy from Nebraska
The Belstar performed well in my Z5a, WI garden last year. I had some Sun King seeds to use up and they are ok also just not as big. Lol, hurry and put that netting back on😅 That’s exactly what all my tomatoes look in my south garden!! They are spindly and with fruit and blossoms. The north garden they are stalky, but bushier without the normal height. I’m also trying the Supremo and need to be mindful which are determinates so I don’t prune them. I wonder if I should take the fruit off the hybrid slicers or beef up fertilizer. I’ve just never had this dilemma before as tomatoes always do well here. We’ve decided we like Buttercup, Waltham and acorn squash and will stick with those. Trying Silver Queen corn and it’s about 4’ and we planted 3 to a hole in two rows. The storm pushed them once and we straightened. And this is also stalky and deep green with coop manure and additional granular. We have too much rain and sandy soil to do liquid. We’ve had way too much rain. Since March we’ve had 31.3” of rain not including winter rain and just had a shower, more tonight and Sunday. Our annual avg is 37”. It’s only 7/4. I asked you before about tomatoes and you were experiencing the same. There is one difference and the better tomatoes are where we tilled and used chicken manure from coop last fall. The other I just forked to loosen soil and added fertilizer and I have hugelkulture under rows. About insects and fungus-since using netting on brassicas the cabbage moths all left. I’ve seen only a couple of Japanese beetles, a handful of potato beetles, few slugs under some cabbages that are close together and we normally don’t have. I just read that rain is a good thing for staving off mildew, but the hollyhocks got the rust so will need rust resistant going forward. We had gypsy moths earlier and they say rain creates a bacteria-? That kills them off. Yes, it’s been a trying year in many ways-that is a true statement indeed. Thank you Susan for showing your progress (or not) so the rest of us can understand what’s happening in our own gardens with similar growing conditions/zones. Same with flowers. Some new to me I’m not sure about but suspect some need longer growing season like black eyed Susan’s vine-it’s still only 4” 🙄 and ice plant says too much rain. Oh, the red carrot leaves I think they got spot hit with frost maybe? Only other thing I recently read about red in leaves I think was about phosphorus.
Did Bill ever figure out the average daily amount of water going to tomatoes or potatoes in pots thru your drip set up? I don't always want to get my finger dirty feeling the soil. I have been watering my tomatoes in 5 gal pots twice a day so they at least don't dry out and get about 1/2 gal each time and seem happy😊
Hi, Marilyn. He's never officially measured the amount of water. I'm sure one could do a calculation of the drip hole size times the duration that it runs. However, it sounds like you're doing a great job of keeping your container plants happy!
Beautiful garden! I have been dealing with a pest issue called a symphlan. It stunts vegetable crops by eating their root hairs. I have identified 4 raised beds with the bad bugs. Yesterday I treated the beds with beneficial nematodes. I hope it works. Gardening can be so challenging
You can also compact the soil where they are if it happens again. They cannot create tunnels b/c they’re too small. They use tunnels created by worms and other insects.
Hi, Carly. I apologize for the delay. We don't have symphlans in our garden so I needed to do a bit of reading up. I did find this article and wanted to share it with you: ipm.ucanr.edu/agriculture/cole-crops/garden-symphylans. I hope it will help but boy, do they sound like a challenging insect. I think the beneficial nematodes was a very good idea. Good luck!
I did have hoops and floating row cover over the bed for a few weeks, which helped the cantaloupe plants but the watermelon plants were "unhappy" the whole time.
Hi Susan. Loved your video. In spite of your weather you still have some healthy looking vegetables. The weather definitely has been a challenge this year. My potatoes are absolutely huge. They have fallen over because they can't hold themselves up, but still really healthy. I've put straw all over the middle to cover any potatoes that might make it to the surface. The lettuce has been fantastic and we've feasted on lots of salads. On the other hand the pole beans are way smaller than usual this time of year and although we've been enjoying the snow peas, they aren't as prolific as usual either.. You said that Bill had cleared out the radishes. How do you store them until you want to use them?
Hi, Chris. I'm glad you enjoyed the video and am so happy to hear that your potatoes and lettuce are doing great. Re: the radishes, we ate them! There weren't enough to do much of anything special with them, other than to add them to salads.
@@SusansInTheGarden LOL That's making good use of them. Thanks for your answer. I picked about 8 or nine this morning. I researched online and the common thread seems to be to store them in the fridge in a plastic bag with a damp paper towel and they should last a couple of weeks. I'm going to try that.
All the same here in my garden. I hilled the potatoes earlier, but all this rain in WI is washing it away-but yes, they are huge. The purple pole beans are slow and peas were not the greatest. Birds I think ate first planting of bush beans. And my tomatoes are same as Susan’s. Z5a.
My neighbor has a large vegetable garden but she also tucks 🍅 tomatoes here and there all over her property. She said she does this to fool the insects 🐛 that attack the tomatoes in the garden.🍅 It must work because her hidden tomatoes are huge and beautiful!😊
Are the broccoli leaves edible? Could they be chopped and parboiled, bagged and frozen for Winter use in soups and stews? I lived all Winter last year on my Summer collard harvest that way. I know my chickens would love all those greens.😊
Hi Susan & Bill. thnx for the tour. western NC mnts here - with a very happy organic community garden plot. we've had super growing conditions & it's the lushest year for everyone. 🎉
Hi Susan, I think we are all struggling with our gardens this year in the PNW. We have just turned on our irrigation in July! The rest of our garden is beautiful. Enjoy the little wins. Happy gardening, Janis
Hi, Janis. Yes, the PNW as a whole is dealing with these challenging conditions. We are definitely enjoying the little wins and are hoping things get better soon. Take care.
Thanks Susan for the update. I appreciate your telling it like it is reporting. Hope your weather stabilizes and your garden gives you the joy we all want.
Great vertical options Susan, this year I bought a 4' x 16 ' cattle panel and am making a cucumber vertical trellis. Cannot wait to see how it works. Great video, I always admired your bean trellis!
Not in your garden ! Put it as far away as possible. You will attract bugs from all over. Draw them away from your garden. This I know from experience.
I missed this video somehow and we just got another 3+” of rain so no gardening again. Our avg for rain is about 37” annually in WI and we are already at 31.19” since March 10th when we got our new weather monitor. This doesn’t include the rain we had prior 😮. Getting more Thursday and Monday! It really is too much. As a seasoned gardener I appreciate your videos and it is a great way to reinforce info to memory-thanks!😊 I had to refrain, probably indefinitely, the use of fish fertilizers as it’s calling in nocturnal animals. According to DNR we have an over abundance of coons, skunks and possums. And a coon took out one rooster and we caught several coon, and a skunk so far. We seen on trail came how a coon can slither up and down a tree and they dug under fences. Can’t have that especially when the garden (corn especially) is doing so well. However, due to all this rain 😡 I switched to granular fertilizer. I’m not opposed to using commercial fertilizer and I always make sure there are no bio solids in it-especially organic fertilizers as they like to hide it in them so do your research. Bio solids are sewage that can contain heavy metals and PFAs. The other thing is organic can take awhile to work and right now I needed to correct some lime green growth with our sandy soil and needed nitrogen but can’t use any more liquid. The rate of application is of concern also. Some organics seem to call for a lot and it’s not cheap. I generally don’t broadcast and it’s too difficult to figure out so I just use a handful per plant so there is a fare covering around the plant. Another thing I noticed is rate of growth is more vigorous in one garden I till vs. the other I did a no till and just loosened with fork. I usually would spade it over and now wish I had. The tomatoes are much less vigorous and don’t look like they can support the tomatoes on them. Definitely a change from the norm. It’s been a great spring for growth, but some plants are suffering with too much rain. Rust appeared on hollyhocks so I clipped the leaves. I don’t get a chance to try and treat it as it rains again. I’m sure mildew will be the next issue. But hey, the pest pressure improved. I think the rain keeps the scent down and they can’t find the plants, just like you should thin carrots in the rain to prevent carrot fly. It’s a dry day, but too wet to work in the garden and I need it with all the craziness in current events 😏. Thx for the info!
Sun screen promotes skin cancer. Blocks Vit D production. There was hardly skin cancer before the 1960's until sun screen was introduced. And, back then everyone was outdoors. Google it,,,,,,
