Looking Back on 2019
Posted on Monday, December 23, 2019 · Leave a Comment
This past year was, overall, a good one in the garden. It started off cold and wet in early summer, but then turned hot and dry. Most vegetables and perennial flowers did fine for me. I finally splurged and got an Itoh hybrid peony, one called ‘Garden Treasure’ and it bloomed gloriously. It is a cross between a perennial peony and a tree peony.
Carrots and onions, however, were a bust for me this year. Granted I had them in a place where they got more shade than ideal. Still, my carrots were pathetic. Very small. I accept that each year something will under-perform. Fortunately there are good organic farmers who have anything I need. I bought half a bushel of organic onions at the Norwich Farmer’s Market, something I had never needed to do before. Oh well. And good carrots are always available.
My tomatoes did all right. I tried hard to pick off diseased leaves, which always helps. I regularly sprayed an anti-fungal solution called Serenade that contains a bacterium said to combat fungi. I didn’t spray a couple of plants to see if there was a difference, but didn’t notice much difference. It may have delayed the onset of disease, but basically the only way I can get enough tomatoes is to have lots of plants.
Last summer I wrote about a farmer in Pennsylvania who said that staking tomatoes was a waste of time and energy. I said that I would test his theory and report back to you. The results? Staked tomatoes did better for me.
During that dry time in August I installed some drip irrigation in a garden for a client, and found it very helpful for new installations. Gardeners Supply Company (
www.gardeners.com) sells a “Snip and Drip” system that installs easily and delivers water just to the places that need it. I encircled new trees and shrubs with sections of soaker hoses that “leak” when the water is turned on. I found an daily was fine, and used a timer to control it.
Magnolias in my part of the world bloomed deliciously this year. My ‘Merrill’ magnolia bloomed a little late this year, just barely blooming for my birthday in late April, but holding its blossoms well into May. I met a new (to me) magnolia this year, a yellow one called the cucumber tree magnolia (Magnolia acuminata). I am looking for a space to plant one, perhaps this year.
Two years ago I planted a catalpa tree, a 10-foot specimen, in the middle of a section of lawn. I had fallen in love with the blossoms on a neighbor’s tree. The blossoms are creamy white with purple-red stripes inside, and are fragrant. It bloomed after its first winter, but not this past year. But the tree showed no winter kill, and I imagine next summer it will blossom dramatically.
Not all trees bloom every year, and weather has a lot to do with that, I think. So as I nestle in here near the woodstove, I dream of catalpa blossoms in 2020. Maybe gardeners live longer, in part, because we so want to see our plants perform.
Grapes produced huge quantities for most everyone this year. I made over 5 gallons of juice and froze it in half-gallon plastic jugs. I used a NorPro brand “Steamer/Juicer” for this, and it was very easy. The grapes were purple Concord type, and produced juice with a very intense flavor.
Each year it gets harder for me to find space to plant more spring bulbs, but each year I find some. This year we planted 300 or more bulbs at our home here in Cornish Flat. I can’t wait to see them bloom, and to see the others I’ve been planting for decades.
What else happened in 2019? My life partner, Cindy Heath, finally moved in with me in Cornish Flat. We had lived 6 miles apart for the last 10 years, but this May we joined forces here. She is an avid gardener who loves to weed, which really helps a lot! Life is good.
In August I broke a bone in my ankle while pruning a tall apple tree when my ladder slipped off the branch it was on, and I hit the ladder with my ankle when I landed. The fracture was not serious, but it kept me from doing as much as I’d like. It is only now that I am fully healed.
Fortunately, I met and made friends with Jim Spinner, a retired fellow who wanted to learn to garden and who has lots of energy. He helped me a lot, as did Cindy, and by the end of October our gardens were in great shape. I managed to help them despite wearing a big plastic boot much of the time.
And in 2019 two of my good buddies, Jerry Cashion and Brian Steinwand, passed away. I had known them for a total of over 80 years, and miss them a lot. We had all worked in Africa together. But I find that gardening is a fix for almost any sadness. Get out, dig in the dirt, plant a flower or pick a tomato and life seems a little bit better.
I wish you all a wonderful 2020. I hope you will start thinking about the garden now: dream, read gardening books, make lists, and learn about trees or flowers you want to try this coming year. That’s how I make it through the winter.
Holiday Reflections
Posted on Thursday, December 27, 2018 · Leave a Comment
At this time of year I like to look back on the past year – in the garden, and in my life – to reflect on all the wonderful events of the year. I take time to count my blessings, look at my mistakes, and make plans for the future.
It was a good year in the garden. It started off hot and sunny, perfect for growing vegetables. Later in the summer we got a bit too much rain, which can encourage fungal diseases. But overall my tomatoes did well and produced plenty, as did my leafy greens and squashes.
My potatoes, on the other hand, were miserable. I planted them on the south side of my garden where there is a big magnolia that shades the garden during the afternoon, when the sun is strongest. Perhaps the magnolia roots were competing with the potatoes, too. No potato bugs, but still, very few spuds. And most were small. I am already buying potatoes, which is unheard of at this time of year.
Last year I harvested 100 pounds of potatoes and had plenty to give away. This year? Maybe 10 pounds. Lesson learned? Plant leafy greens, not potatoes, tomatoes or squash family veggies on the shady side of the garden. Lettuce, kale, spinach and such need less sun, but I knew that. My bad.
Catalpa blossoms
In 2017 I planted a nice 10-foot tall catalpa tree, and it over-wintered nicely. It bloomed this year, and I loved the sight and fragrance of the blossoms. It had some good growth, and I look forward to an even better display of blossoms next year. And I learned not to worry if it doesn’t leaf out early in the spring. It is one of the last to open up its leaves.
I have always loved the eastern redbud tree (Cercis canadensis). Unlike anything else I grow, it does not set flower buds on twigs. The blossoms pop out of the bark of the tree or the branches. And they are a bright magenta color. There is also a white variety, but I got the pink one.
Redbud
I had tried growing a redbud 25 years ago, but it died back to the ground each winter, and never blossomed, so I eventually gave up on it and dug it out. But our climate has warmed some, and I placed this one in a protected spot near a tall stone wall that will radiate some heat and break the winds of winter. It bloomed nicely for me this year, and I have great hope that it will winter well.
I have noticed that I am getting more adventurous as I age. I am more willing to try plants that are marginal in our climatic zone. Now I am also spending more and getting bigger trees, despite the increased costs. Knowing that I have a finite time on this earth, and that I’m past 70 years young, I want to see my trees come to maturity – and soon.
I remember helping artist and author Tasha Tudor some years ago to find some uncommon crab apple varieties when she was in her nineties, and being amazed that someone of that age was still planting trees. I use her as my role model as I age.
I am grateful to have had a young person helping me in my garden again this year. Celia is a high school student that loves working in the garden and has high energy, literally skipping from job to job. I resolve to never become a curmudgeon who says all kids are lazy or addicted to their cellphones. Many want to learn and are willing to work hard, and having a helper even 4 hours a week is a big help.
Allium schubertii
In the fall of 2017 I ordered allium bulbs because I had seen some amazing varieties at the Chelsea Flower Show in London. The Brits use alliums much more than we do, and I fell in love with them. One of those I loved the most, Allium schubertii, is not hardy in my climatic zone, but I ordered them anyway and planted them in pots. I kept them in a cold basement, and brought them into the warmth of the house in March. They bloomed fabulously.
My thanks to you, my readers, for asking me questions and keeping learning. My best wishes for 2019.
Henry can be reached at PO Box 364, Cornish Flat, NH 03746 or henry.homeyer@comcast.net.
Click Here to buy from Cobrahead