2 New NPKs have arrived in Corvallis

Check out this wonderful giving garden at the First United Methodist Chuch.  Their garden is tended with much love and can be seen anytime on the Jackson Street side.

Next up is the kiosk by Francie's Farmlet, another garden full of love and healthy food for our community.

On a walk through this charmed neighborhood on Hayes, you will find a lovely spot amid bountiful flowers and produce.

Check out the Neighborhood Farm Stand

What to do in the Garden in July

Maintenance and Clean Up

- Mound soil up around base of potatoes. Gather and eat a few "new" potatoes from each hill, when plants begin to flower.





-Early morning is the best time to water. Water the soil, rather than leaves to reduce disease. 

-Mulch to conserve soil moisture.



-Stake tall plants such as delphinium, hollyhocks, lupine, and tomatoes, as necessary.


Planting

-Midsummer plantings of beets, bush beans, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, lettuce, kale, and peas provide fall & winter crops.



-Spring bulbs can be dug and divided when tops have died down.




Photo – North Carolina Cooperative Extension

Pest monitoring

- Monitor for weevils and notched leaves. Try picking them off at night, sticky trap products on trunks, or beneficial nematodes.

-Check leafy vegetables for caterpillars. Pick them off as they appear. Use Bt-k, if necessary.





-Cover blueberry bushes with netting to deter birds. Scare tactics such as reflective ribbon help too.


-Watch for early and late blight on tomatoes.  Prune for air circulation and pick off affected leaves.

  Click here to read about Early Blight on tomatoes  Click here to read about Late Blight in tomatoes

Click here to go to the Pacific Northwest Pest Management Handbook Homepage

Garden Water Management

What to do in the Garden in June

Maintenance 

•  Prune lilacs, forsythia, rhododendrons, and other spring blooming shrubs after blooming.



•  Fertilize vegetable garden 1 month after plants emerge by side dressing alongside rows.



•  Harvest thinnings from new plantings of lettuce, onion, and chard.



•  Pick ripe strawberries regularly to avoid fruit-rotting diseases.



Photo from Christina Clark's garden

•   Use organic mulches to conserve moisture in vegetable & ornamental beds. Even just an inch of wood chips, grass clippings, sawdust, barkdust, straw, or composted leaves will minimize loss of water.  2-4 inches will also help control weeds and improve soil.


•  After normal fruit drop of apples, pears and peaches, consider thinning the remainder to for a crop of larger fruit, less branch breakage, and more consistent bearing.


Clusters of fruit can be thinned to just one.  

                           

•  
Make sure raised beds receive enough water to avoid drought stress. They dry out faster.

•     Construct trellises for tomatoes, cucumbers, pole beans, and vining ornamentals.

  One sturdy, cost effective, attractive material for this is remesh.  It is available at hardware stores in panels of about 4'x8'.  

Photo from Nanako Smith's Garden

 The top of the panels can be held together with zip ties.

 The base of your trellis can be held in place with rebar hammered well into the soil.  Zip ties can also be used to secure the trellis to the rebar.

 For plants that require a higher trellis, 10' posts are needed to support the top and the panels are placed on end.

Planting/Propagation

•  Plant dahlias & gladioli. Click here for Swan Island's tutorial on planting dahlias.   

•  Most plants that are put in the ground during summer will need extra water and possibly shade.  Potting media dries out much faster than soil and necessitates more frequent watering until roots have time to spread into native soil.

•  Learn to identify beneficial insects and plant some insectary plants (e.g. Alyssum, Phacelia, coriander, candytuft, sunflower, yarrow, dill) to attract them to your garden. Check with local nurseries for best selections. For more information, see Encouraging Beneficial Insects in Your Garden(PNW 550).



•  Blossoms on squash and cucumbers begin to drop; this is nothing to worry about. Cherries may also drop fruit; this is not a major concern.