From the Gardens Registrar: Water Problem in 1300 Row; Predatory Wasps; Japanese Beetles; What to Plant in July; Green Beans; Workday

Hello Gardeners,

WATER PROBLEM IN 1300 ROW – If you’ve noticed that the water is off in the 1300 row, it’s because one of the water stations has a subsurface seep that needs to be fixed. It’s easier and better to do the digging and repair if the area can dry out a bit, so the water has been shut off temporarily. Unfortunately, with this constant heavy rain, it may take a while for the area to actually dry. But, with all this rain, it also shouldn’t be too much of an inconvenience to not be able to water your plot for a few days. We’ll get this fixed as soon as we can. 

PREDATORY WASPS WILL ARRIVE NEXT WEEK – We have placed an order for predatory wasps to solve our bean beetle problems – we were assuming they’d arrive this week, but it will actually be next week, on Thursday. So if you have bean beetle eggs, larvae, or adults on your bean plants, keep picking them off by hand for now. Relief is on the way.

JAPANESE BEETLES – The Japanese beetles are with us again now. They are very pretty insects which eat just about everything. The adults eat the plants above ground, and the grubs eat the roots. Here’s some information: http://hort.uwex.edu/articles/japanese-beetle/ As for what to do about them, hand-picking them off your plants is about the only reliable method, such as it is.

WHAT TO PLANT IN JULY – July is kind of a pivotal month for gardeners in Wisconsin. It’s still not too late to sow seeds for some late summer crops, such as beets, beans, carrots, chard, and cucumbers. But by the end of the month, it will be time to starting thinking about fall crops, such as broccoli, cabbage, kale, and onions. These are generally put in the ground as plants, rather than sown as seeds. Although we still have plenty of sun and heat ahead of us, once the summer solstice has passed, the days are getting shorter, so plants grow progressively more slowly. The trick with fall crops is to not start them so soon that they’re overwhelmed by the heat, but to not start them so late that they don’t get time enough to grow and mature.

GREEN BEANS – I like green beans steamed lightly, and absolutely plain – no butter, no salt, nothing else. However, if you are getting lots of beans, and you’re already getting tired of finding new ways to cook them, have a look at this:  http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/ingredient/green_bean/

WORKDAY – This weekend’s workday will be on Saturday, July 15, from 8am – 11am. The task will be path maintenance. Here’s the link to sign up: http://doodle.com/poll/riqpmseifegsqw9h  A hat, work gloves, and water are always a good idea. Please be on time so the job gets done before the heat becomes unbearable. Also, if you have trouble signing up, or if the workday is full, please go ahead and show up anyway.

And I hope gardeners in Eagle Heights have noticed the beautifully rechipped path between the 100 and 200 rows that’s the work of last week’s workday crew.

Happy gardening,

Kathryn