Garden Progress in Mid-July

It has been very hot and humid in the Washington, D.C. area lately, and there has been wonderful rain over the past few days.  Everybody is happy in the garden because they aren't parched-at least for a few days.

Clockwise: Parks Mix zinnia are super cut flowers; funky fresh carrots taste so good; pumpkin; stuttgarter onions are getting picked as the leaves dry out, really great flavor.

S.L.O.W. Tomatoes
A few weeks ago I noticed that my tomato plants were growing very slowly. Fish fertilizer was recommended so I gave it try. Here are after and before photos and the Brandywine has grown a lot with the fertilizer, probably doubled in size. The other tomatoes have grown, too, but not as much as this one. It has started flowering, too, so I am still hopeful that this guy will produce.

Left: Taken July 23 after using fish fertilizer. Right: Taken July 3 before using fish fertilizer.

Are these plants really pumpkins?
I have been documenting my experiment this year to grow pumpkins for the first time. I was able to get two types of seeds at a seed swap this winter-Jacky's and Cinderella. Two Cinderella plants and one Jacky's plant were transplanted early this spring. The Cinderella plants took off (pictured top), growing like mad with long, winding vines, while Jacky's (pictured below) is healthy but much more contained and no vines.

Then Cinderella produced some little fruits that have since all died. I read that it could be that they were pollinated sufficiently. And looking at some photos again, the little pumpkins were not round but kind of flat in the bottom-see the photos below. So I am thinking that the Cinderella plants are not pumpkins after all because of how differently they are growing as compared to Jacky's and the way the fruits looked on the vine. Anybody have any ideas about this?

Are these really little pumpkins or some kind of squash?

Hot July #Bloomsday

It has been very hot in the D.C. area, as it is in the middle of the summer. The flowers and vegetables seem behind where I think they should be this year.

• As I posted earlier, the tomatoes are growing really slowly. Fish fertilizer was recommended and it seemed to work on one of the heirlooms, but the others did not react. But, all of the plants have flowers and fruits so I am going to fertilize one more time and just leave them alone. 
• The pumpkins have squash vine borer, no surprise. Leaves were wilting and turning yellow and the vines had the tell-tale mushiness (looks like sawdust). One plant died, but I was able to dig out the worm in another plant. I covered the area with dirt and now I am hoping for the best. The third plant looks fine for now.
• My other quandry with the pumpkins is that I am not sure I am even growing pumpkins! More on that at another time.

The containers are filling in

Left: Full-sun area with hydrangea and black-eyed susan. Top right: Mostly shade area with coleus, sweet potato vine, mint, creeping jenny and torenia. Bottom right: Mostly sunny area with mix of croton and zinnia and hibiscus and petunia.

Flower beds going strong, too

My favorite black-eyed Susans. So easy to grow and they bloom all summer.

Parks Mix Zinnia have beautiful color and make beautiful cut bouquets.

Find a Listserv of Local People for Gardening Advice and Community

Who do you turn to online when you have a garden problem or question? There are so many resources out there, but how do you know how knowledgeable the site is?

Find a Local Listserv

I like listservs because there are a lot of voices to offer advice.

I had a question this past week about my tomato plants that seem to be growing really slowly this year. This has never happened to me before! The plants look healthy and they have started flowering but they seem to be only about 1/3 the size they should be for late June/early July.

Left Brandywine heirloom, right Jet Set.

My trusty resource is a Yahoo group I belong to, the Washington Gardner. It is described as a “Free, open discussion list for Washington DC area gardeners -- DC, MD, VA, WV, PA, and DE -- to share gardening information specific to our region. Hosted by Washington Gardener magazine. www.WashingtonGardener.com” The group is so helpful and knowledgeable. Even when I don’t have a specific question, I learn so much from reading the posts.

Here’s my question (cumberland68 is me) – and you are never alone when you are having a gardening problem!

Every day Kathy Jentz, the group manager and edit of Washington Gardener magazine posts here “Gardening Tip of the Day.” So she answered my question with her tip yesterday.

 

This is trusted advice, off to Home Depot I go today. I will report back on how the fish fertilizer did.

I also am a member of the SilverSpringGardenClub and takomahort listservs that serve the Mid-Atlantic. Take a look at Yahoo Groups, there is probably a gardening listserv in your area.

Social Media

I really enjoy looking at pictures of gardens from around the world. Social media makes it so easy to share your garden pics right from your smartphone or tablet. Download the app from your app store to your phone, create your account and you are ready to go. I really like using the Hootsuite app to follow Twitter (@advncingtheplot) and I just started posting to Instagram (advncingtheplot). For ideas and inspiration I use Pinterest. It is a good medium for flipping through photos and archiving my garden’s progress.  

Hashtags make finding certain types of posts easy. I like to follow #gardendc, #gardenchat and #growyourown. Make sure you add hashtags to your posts, too.

What are your go-to social media resources for garden advice and inspiration?