Famine, Drought and PestilencePart II

This time it's damping off. I lost several seedlings, spinach, Italian flat leaf parsley, fernleaf dill and basil, to damping off.

Basically, "damping off" describes a few different types of seedling root rot, often caused by fungus. In my case, it caused the roots to curl and grow above the soil and the plants to be stunted. I didn't take too many pictures of my damped off seedlings, but here's my unhappy dill which I have since re-seeded:

Dirty little garden secret is that many seedlings
damped off during our terrible spring weather

You can find several more pictures of damped-off seedlings here and here.

In my case, I believe the contributing causes were cool, damp and dark conditions from our cool, damp and dark spring. I believe another contributing factor was that I started my seedlings too early and inside and in some cases, in too close conditions. They never got to feel the warm sun and wind through their leaves. Only the Blue Lake Bush Beans survived the same conditions without problem, but they got powdery mildew.

I dumped my sick spinach, parsley and basil. I had a couple of extra basil seedies that thrived more due to my ignoring them than anything else. They're still doing great and I recently replanted them in a new container:

Surviving Basil

I simply started over with the parsley. Whole Foods had an herb seedling sale this week, and I picked one up for $1.80 including tax:

New Italian flat leaf parsley (and shhh, but
I added a few spinach and lettuce
seeds to see what happens)

As a precaution, before I replanted in the same pots in which the seedlings became ill, I washed the pots and soaked them in diluted bleach for 10 minutes or so.

The English Lavender looked like it was going to die, but I staked it on a couple of chopsticks and it's thriving now. They say not to grow lavender from seed, that it will either not come up or will produce what they call a "mongrel plant", but mine looks pretty good now and whatever kind of plant it is, it sure smells like lavender:

English Lavender, mongrel? Whatever it is,
it sure smells wonderfully like lavender.

Hibiscus

I received a Starry Wind hibiscus plant from a friend last week. This plant needs a container about 10-14 inches and a lot of light and temperatures higher than 55 degrees farenheit. It cannot be allowed to dry out.

I replanted it and lost four buds in the process, but got a wonderful surprise this morning, a bloom:

The hibiscus should last several years if I bring it outside this summer and prune and de-insect with a Neem oil, water and castile soap mixture. it before bringing in for the winter.

My bloom should close at night. Then, I can harvest and dry it for tea or fry like a zucchini blossom.** Although my red hibiscus petals are supposed to be the sweetest for tea, I'm too enamoured with this particular bloom to cut it off and eat.

If you want to harvest your hibiscus, you can buy a dehydrator to dry out the flower petals (and use it for herbs too), but you can also use the good old fashioned heavy book method. That should take about 3-4 days. You can also dry them out in a brown paper bag and that will take about a week. Since I have a lot of old law and computer books, the book method works for me.

**be sure to only use the petals as the green part will be bitter. I'm not sure what the middle would taste like, but you're not supposed to eat that either.

Storm!

Tuesday night we had a strong storm, thunder, lightening and high winds with gusts around 15 mph. We had a lot of branches down in the development where I live. Our professional gardeners spent much of yesterday cutting down broken branches and collecting debris which now sits in large piles near the road for pickup.

I brought the plants on my balcony as close to my building as possible to shield them from wind and strong rain and predicted hail. The hail never happened, but we had strong rain and winds. Everybody made it through very well, except the tomato which broke free from it's stake and cage and bent over. In the dark and rain, I thought the main stem had snapped, but on closer examination I saw that it was only bent. I went out after the wind danger ended and tied it up against the balcony.

The Leaning Tower of Tomato

You'll notice that I've planted marigolds with the tomato. I did that on Sunday. Marigolds are supposed to keep insects away from the plant. They also add color. According to sources, I could have also planted broccoli with the tomato, but I don't really like broccoli.

In other garden news, I planted a couple of new Black Beauty zucchini plants:

Black Beauty Zucchini

I had bad luck with zucchini last year, but I attribute the failure to too small a container. I'm trying again with a 3 gallon container that my dad previously used for flowers on his patio.

The rest of the garden seems pretty happy post storm:

Peppers, lemon tree and lettuce survived the storm

There is a lettuce down..............I ate it.

Red Sails Lettuce Regrowing After a Yummy Salad

Local Farmers Market Right Now! A Strawberry Plant Lesson Learned.

This morning I hopped out of bed happy to see that it wasn't pouring rain as predicted and went to my local farmer's market. It's in Deerfield at the corner of Deerfield and Waukegan Roads in the train station east parking lot. If you have time this moring, give the local Girl Scouts some business.

Local Girl Scouts Out Bright and Early
with a Bake Sale

This early in the season, and will all the bad weather that we've had, it's a wonder they had much to sell at all. I saw mostly strawberries, asparagus, rhubarb, onions and fresh herbs in planters for you to start your own garden.

I learned something from the nice guy from one of the garden centers in Lake Zurich**.  I have a couple of strawberry runners. I want to replant them and wasn't so sure how to do that. He called his partner and gave me his phone. I found out that you should put another container with soil under the runner. It will root itself into the new container and when it takes and the stem from the original plant starts to wilt and die, you cut it off.

**and now I'm kicking myself because I don't remember which one exactly, but I think it's the Atrium Garden Center on Rand Road.

Our Farmers Market always has some entertainment. Today, they have a sr. citizen band playing old time tunes like You Are My Sunshine.

Seniors Getting the Kids Singing
the Old Favorites

I'll leave you today with a few more pictures from the Farmers Market:

The Farmers Market Always
Goes to the Dogs

Lots of Plants and Flowers for Sale

Plants and Herbs for Sale

Container Bullies

Last month, the Blue Lake bush beans beat up on the English peas. The latter started out well and then withered and died as the bean plants took over and bore fruit.

This week, the chocolate mint and peppermint beat up on the Purple Ruffles basil. I found the trio at Pasquesi Home and Gardens in Lake Bluff last weekend and all of the plants were healthy when I bought them. I thought the color combination of the green peppermint, the brownish tinged green chocolate mint and the purple of the basil was attractive. The plants didn't care. It took only 5 days for the basil to start wilting and turning brown.

While it's fun to mix up plants for color and size, some just don't like to share same container. In the case of the beans and peas, I think the large and numerous bean plant leaves crowded out the small pea leaves. With the basil and mint, it was the roots. I just learned that mint roots like to take over.

When you're choosing plants to put together it's a good idea to find a resource to tell you which plants make good roomates. I found a list of companion vegetables in a book, Movable Harvests by Chuck and Barbara Crandall.

For example the Crandalls say you can put beans with corn, cucumbers, egglants, petunias, potatoes, radishes, roses, sage and summer savory. These have similar water and sun needs and their roots don't interfere. If I wanted to put my peppermint with something else, I would have done better to put it with cabbage.

I didn't find a list for herb groupings, but the book The Bountiful Container by Rose Marie Nichols McGee and Maggie Stuckey puts together some herbs and vegetables "theme gardens".

I'm attempting to rescue the sick Purple Ruffles basil. I put it in its own pot and gave it a premier spot in the sun:

And now the mints are sharing their digs with a conch shell:

Now that their victim is gone, I hope they don't go after each other.

The Cure for Powdery Mildew: A Haircut

Last week, I found my bush beans had a powdery mildew problem. It was probably the result of planting too close and the plants being indoors for so long. I started them too early and the weather in Chicago did not cooperate.

After reading up on powdery mildew, I decided to cut off all the affected leaves. In this case, that meant cutting off just about all of the leaves. I thought I might lose everyone, but it appears that leaves are already growing back:

Blue Lake Bush Beans with New Leaves

New bean buds are forming as well, so it looks like I might be on my way to healthy beans.

What I learned: Don't be afraid to take radical action to save a plant.

Next time: New additions to the garden, inside and out.

I Bought a Succulent

A mentioned in the prior post, I went to Pesche's yesterday to buy my basil a new continer. Pesche's has so many wonderful plants, I found myself tempted by a succulent.

Succulents are water retaining plants that hail from dry climates. They are sort of like cactus, but The variety I chose is a called Echeveria secunda glauca or more commonly, Hens and Chickens. I got a small one and chose it because it looks like a fat green rose:

If it ever gets sunny again in Chicago, the edges should turn a bright orange.

I planted my Hens and Chickens in regular potting mix because that's what I had on hand, but I read that they like sandy or rocky soil. It's supposed to be watered about once per week in the summer and go as long as once per month in the winter.

Side view of the succulent

A Couple of Field Trips and a Basil Replant

Today, I had the opportunity to visit the garden of some friends of mine, Bob and Susan. They have a large and beautiful outdoor garden, actually several distinct gardens around their house. Their front yard is for looking at, plants and flowers. I'm not good with plant names, but Susan took me around giving me the names. I was particularly interested in some small roses they were growing and I'm wondering how they'd do in a container.

Their backyard has a raised bed where they keep their fruits and vegetables. Their spinach is enviable, lush and green, while mine is still a couple of sticks with a tiny leaf or two. I was even more dismayed with my spinach when Susan told me they started theirs from seeds too. Their romaine was coming up wonderfull like my red sails lettuce, but their broccoli flowered. It looks great, but it's no longer "good eats" as they say.

On the way back home to my container garden, I took a long detour to Pesche's in Des Plaines. It was sort of a pilgrimage as Pesche's has a long history in the area, and an even longer list of plants and gardening paraphernalia. It's sort of like a gardener's candy store.

I meant to get a larger container for my basil as it was outgrowing it's pot. I ended up getting the container plus a few new additions.

The Container

I was looking at either a plastic or another terra cotta container for the basil, but I found something I liked better, a bamboo biodegradable eco-conscious planter. It's lightweight and attractive, and it has a water reservoir. I think the reservoir can be used with some sort of wick to make it like those earthboxes that are self-watering (sort of).



My new bamboo container
for my basil

 I also like the container depth as basil can grow pretty deep roots. I've read that you need 4"-6" of depth for the roots, but last year, my basil seemed to want about 8".

The water reservoir inside the container

The Replant

I replanted the basil this afternoon and was pleased to find that it came out of its original container easily. In the past, I have had situations when the plant is outgrowing its container and the roots stick to the inside.

My newly replanted basil
Next to it, I started a few more
spinach seeds and hoping
for the best.

Common wisdom is that basil should be outside. Not where I live. The Japanese beetles love the taste and find it easily from the smell. They just about killed my basil plant last year. I rescued it by bringing it inside. Unfortunately, I didn't take good care of it and let it dry out. This one I vow to keep well watered and it will never go outside to become beetle chow. However, I do have that great south/southwesterly sun that keeps it warm.

Famine, Drought and Pestilence

Ok, it's just powdery mildew, but it is attacking all of my Blue Lake Bush Bean plants.

Bean plants have white powdery looking spots
the likely cause of which is powdery mildew

Once, I saw the spots, I knew I had to do some reserach. Powdery mildew is a fungal disease. The spores causing this problem are in the Erysiphaceae family. They exist in dirt and debris and are spread in the air and are not easy to avoid, but spacing your plants well and not allowing them to be too damp can reduce the chances the spores will find your plants appealing.

The disease is not fatal to affected plants, but because the spores causing it take nutrients away from them, it can affect the affected plants' general health. Large and large amounts of mildew spots on the plant can reduce the amount of chlorophyll and thereby interfere with photosynthesis.

Already, some of my beans appear to be thinner and drying out (ok, it would help if I didn't let the soil get dried out too).

I learned from my reading that there are many different types of powdery mildew that affect different plants. So, my bean powdery mildew is not necessarily a threat to my other plants. I also learned that I can control the problem by thinning out my plants, removing affected areas. I should also refrain from fertilizing until the problem is solved and water the plant at the base, not from above.

There are several commercial sprays for powdery mildew on the market, potassium bicarbonate or sulfur based products. Here's one home remedy for powdery mildew: 1 tablespoon of baking soda and ½ teaspoon of liquid soap to 1 gallon of water. This mixture can burn the leaves, so it should not be used in full sun. Another home remedy is purified water and neem oil.

I think my problem is that I overcrowded my container. It's also a container that's been inside, not getting the benefits of wind and fresh air. I'm going to prune off the affected areas, thin my plants and take them outside. We'll see what happens.

BREAKING: First Tomato Baby of the Season

Wimpy Veggies

My large, but wimpy tomato plant

There was a lot of weather predicted for the Chicago area yesterday. There was a 70% chance of heavy rain, strong storms and large hail. We got none of it where I live and it turned into a fairly nice, if a bit windy day.

I took precautions with the garden bringing in everything except the blueberry and cranberry bushes, and I covered those. When nothing materialized, I unconvered the berries, but kept everything else inside.

I mentioned it on Facebook and a friend of mine wrote back:  "Plants can survive the rain." I wrote back: "Hail?" He replied: "OK fine, if you want to raise wimpy veggies."

I guess my veggies are wimpy and my Facebook friend isn't all wrong. There are such things as "wimpy veggies". If you start your garden inside for eventual removal to the great outdoors, there are steps you need to take. You have to slowly acclimate indoor seedlings to the outdoors. I didn't do that with a set of beans or with my peppers and they drooped when I put them outside.

A successful move outdoors can depend on the plant. My lettuce was happy to go outside despite the unseasonable cool and rainy weather we had in May. The onions were fine too while a couple of very small seedling spinach plants died in the hard rains. The rest of the spinach bolted. I've recently started all over with new spinach seeds.

When placed outside on Monday, my now huge tomato plant rattled against its cage  in the wind and became bruised. I ended up staking it as well. It seems ok now and is laden with flowers for expectant tomatoes.

If it gets very windy, you also have to consider the neighbors. The heavy planters will most likely stay put in all but the most extreme situations, but the smaller ones could go flying. They should be brought inside or secured on very windy days so they don't go flying and clunking anyone on the head or through someone's window.

I enjoyed starting my seedlings inside. I was able to start them earlier than if they were outside and I've already have had a couple of harvests of lettuce and beans. However, when putting indoor raised seedlings outside, you have to consider the effects of sudden wind, rain and temperature variations. To help plants learn to live outdoors, you can slowly acclimate them to their new homes by taking them outside for an afternoon or two before making the permanent move. You should also make sure the plants are secure in their planters considering increased winds. Upper floor balconies can be windier than the ground floor. You should also consider keeping very small seedlings inside until they are large enough to withstand more weather than they've been used to.

My plants will remain inside until Friday because my condo association is spraying for bees and wasps tomorrow. No use growing my own if I let them be poisoned on the balcony.