Spend at least a few minutes daily observing -- and responding
Red Norland potatoes, planted about 10 weeks ago, are indicating by their yellowing leaf color that harvest time is approaching. Kathy Morrison
Some advice I received as a new parent (many years ago) has been remarkably useful with my garden as well:
"No one knows your own (child/garden) as well as you do."
In other words, a person may be new to parenting, but no one has observed and responded to that particular baby quite as much and quite as closely as the parent has.
By the same token, a new gardener still has the best information on their own garden, even if it's "I was given a secondhand planter, filled it with XYZ potting soil and Genovese basil seeds, and set it on the south-facing patio. I water it every other day."
There's knowledge already in that statement. But for gardening success, the knowledge must grow -- and that means paying attention to what's going on. Even 5 minutes of observation every morning -- to check whether those basil seeds are germinating, need more water, getting too much sun -- builds a body of experience.
Experimenting builds the knowledge too. Having grown Genovese basil, the gardener might try Purple Ruffles basil or Cardinal basil or African blue basil. Eventually, the gardener becomes an expert on their micro-micro-climate and crop. Such as "Basil does great in containers on the patio, but should be planted by early May. "
The next step is applying skepticism to planting charts and calendars (which are based on averages, after all) and responding to the plants themselves. This will be based on the earlier knowledge, plus experience with local weather and other conditions. "Hmm, the Genovese is flowering sooner than usual. I wonder if it's heat-stressed and needs a different location?"
A friend who is an expert at growing garlic recently noted that one of his two varieties is already near harvest time: The leaves are turning yellow and are starting to collapse. He's not going to ignore that just because the calendar says it's too early. (June typically is harvest time for garlic planted in October.) For whatever reason, that garlic wants to be ready now.
The Red Norland potatoes I planted the first week of March are another case in point. They are in two large cloth grow bags of identical color, with identical soil and the same watering schedule -- and the bags are just a few feet apart in the backyard. Neither one has flowered. Yet plants in one of the bags are turning yellow, indicating potato harvest time is soon. The other has no yellow leaves. At all. But there's no reason to wait until the second bag is ready to harvest everything.
Tomatoes amaze me every year at how they respond to the weather and the slight changes in planting location. I typically start my plants from seed. One year Lemon Boy is the star, producing twice as many fruit as any of the others, and the next year it's just OK. I don't always know why, but I enjoy observing the season play out. And I make notes for next year.
As a side note, I recommend that gardeners -- of edible plants, especially -- keep a notebook or journal of some kind, to record events in the garden. Knowing next year that the Red Norlands were early in 2025 might convince me to plant them earlier or later, or plant another variety altogether. All part of being a gardener and citizen scientist!
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Flowers in My Back Yard Series
April 21: Celebrate roses, America's favorite flower
April 14: Small flowers with outsized impact
April 7: Calendulas do double duty
April 3: Make Easter lilies last for years to come
March 31: In praise of a pollinator magnet (small-leaf salvias)
March 24: Azaleas brighten shady spots
March 17: The perfect flower for beginners? Try zonal geraniums
March 10: Keep camellias happy for years to come
March 3: Fruit tree blossoms are a fleeting joy
Feb. 27: Are your roses looking rusty?
Feb. 24: Treasure spring daffodils now and for years to come
Feb. 17: How and why to grow wildflowers
Feb. 10: Let's talk Valentine's Day roses
Feb. 3: Why grow flowers?
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Garden checklist for week of April 19
After this midweek storm, start getting serious about spring gardening. Flowers are blooming about three weeks ahead of schedule. That includes weeds!
* Get ready to swing into action in the vegetable garden – if you haven’t already. As nights warm up over 50 degrees, set out tomato, pepper and eggplant transplants.
* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, radishes and squash; wait on pumpkins until May. Plant onion sets.
* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias. Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.
* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom. Late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.
* Transplant lettuce and cabbage seedlings.
* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.
* Smell orange blossoms? Give citrus trees a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants. If leaves look yellow, your tree may need an iron boost -- apply some chelated iron fertilizer.
* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.
* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.
* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden needs nutrition. Give shrubs and trees a slow-release fertilizer. Mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost, which helps the soil, but keep it a few inches away from trunks and stems.
* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.
* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.
* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.
* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.
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Food in My Back Yard (FIMBY) Series
Lessons learned during a year of edible gardening
WINTER
Is edible gardening possible indoors?
Hints for choosing tomato seeds
Why winter is the perfect time to plant fruit trees
When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants
How to squeeze more food into less space
Plant a fruit tree now -- for later
Win the weed war by tackling them in winter
Tips for planting bare-root trees, shrubs and vegetables
Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space
Ways to win the fight against weeds
FALL
Dec. 16: Add asparagus to your edible garden
Dec. 9: Soggy soil and what to do about it
Dec. 2: Plant artichokes now; enjoy for years to come
Nov. 25: It's late November, and your peach tree needs spraying
Nov. 18: What to do with all those fallen leaves?
Nov. 11: Prepare now for colder weather in the edible garden
Nov. 4: Plant a pea patch for you and your garden
Oct. 27: As citrus season begins, advice for backyard growers
Oct. 20: Change is in the autumn air
Oct. 13: We don't talk (enough) about beets
Oct. 6: Fava beans do double duty
Sept. 30: Seeds or transplants for cool-season veggies?
Sept. 23: How to prolong the fall tomato harvest
SUMMER
Sept. 16: Time to shut it down?
Sept. 9: How to get the most out of your pumpkin patch
Sept. 2: Summer-to-fall transition time for evaluation, planning
Aug. 26: To pick or not to pick those tomatoes?
Aug. 19: Put worms to work for you
Aug. 12: Grow food while saving water
Aug. 5: Enhance your food with edible flowers
July 29: Why won't my tomatoes turn red?
July 22: A squash plant has mosaic virus, and it's not pretty
July 15: Does this plant need water?
July 8: Tear out that sad plant or baby it? Midsummer decisions
July 1: How to grow summer salad greens
June 24: Weird stuff that's perfectly normal
SPRING
June 17: Help pollinators help your garden
June 10: Battling early-season tomato pests
June 3: Make your own compost
May 27: Where are the bees when you need them?
May 20: How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days
May 13: Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can
May 6: Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success
April 29: What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?
April 22: Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)
April 15: Grow culinary herbs in containers
April 8: When to plant summer vegetables
April 1: Don't be fooled by these garden myths
March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth
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