Lots of rain and clouds, a little bit of sun, lots of rain and clouds, and a little bit of sun! This kind of weather is not good for the plants if they are young. They need the sun to start the growing process.
The sun also dries out the ground so it doesn’t stay so moist. So because of all these conditions the water for irrigation at the community garden has been turned off for about a week or maybe more. There is enough rain that we don’t need to waste the water for the plants.
The tomatoes are doing really good and without the sun the pepper plants are slow to start. They will catch up. The squash and zucchini plants started out great and then the sun was withdrawn from them and they slowed their growth. They should catch up in a week or so. Remember that the garden was planted about a month late due to the availability of the volunteers from UCO. The garden will catch up and do well.
Watch for grasshoppers. They are everywhere. The okra plants seem to be getting eaten alive by something this year. Whatever it is appears to be real smart because they hide as soon as we get close. But we sprayed them anyway with something. Kim will have to tell you what. Seems to be working.
Have you wanted to be a Master Gardener and have a better understanding of what makes things work in your garden and your yard? Well, you are going to get the chance. In September the OSU Extension Office will be giving a Master Gardener course that will meet in Guthrie only. No traveling to Kingfisher to go to class. So go down and talk to the Extension Office and get enrolled for a really great class taught by professionals out of the OSU Departments in Stillwater. Just so you know you will have to take a test at the end of the course. They don’t give away the certificates to just anyone. If you pass the test, you may want to get yourself some special enamelware for gardeners that you can use in your garden and become a ‘real’ gardener drinking your coffee from a special mug and your pursue your environment.
Donna Stout from Stout’s Greenhouse donated a whole bunch of plants to the Apothecary Garden on Monday. She gave everything from flowers, to groundcover, to vegetables, to herbs to things with no names on them that we just have to see what they grow into. Mystery plants are sometimes the most fun. Like finding plants growing out of your compost pile. They did a lot of mowing and eating of weeds this last weekend but the heat and sun will make stuff grow again and we need help staying up with all the growth. Bring you weed eater or mower and spend 30 minutes and help out if you have the time.
Have you seen the size of the plants in the butterfly garden and bird aviary this year? They are huge! Once we get a little warmer with clear days we should have lots of butterflies and birds chowing down so come take a look at what Bonnie has done before it gets crowded. If you wanted to get your garden in shape for the coming summer consider checking out Lawncare.net. I’m sure they could provide some useful information on how you’d tackle the task at hand.
where is the Apothecary Garden?
The Apothecary Garden is across from City Hall between Cleveland Ave. and Oklahoma Ave.