Pandemic Garden Club

[scrubjayspeaks]

Welcome to the July edition of Pandemic Garden Club! Growing good things in strange times!

Anyone is welcome to comment with what they're growing right now, things they would like to try, problems they're encountering, and questions they have. Share resources, answer questions, shout encouragement.

As for myself...



We had a bit of a crisis with one of the peach trees. Even after thinning, the weight of them broke some branches. We’ve got a batch of them sitting in the house, hoping against hope that they’ll ripen to some degree. The branches have been braced up. It needs to be pruned back seriously to get the shape under control again. Since it’s been a stellar year for peaches--which has never happened before--the trees will probably want to rest next year. So aggressive pruning is unlikely to deprive us of a crop we would otherwise get.



The newest peach tree (which is still very upright and well-shaped) is producing the largest peaches I have ever seen that weren’t commercially grown.



Eeheehee, colorful sunflower! We got a nice batch of reasonably sized ones, instead of about three giants alone, as in past years.



Meanwhile, the sunchoke starts we bought have put out lots of new growth. There are also some new sprouts coming up, which means they’re successfully creating additional tubers under the surface. Woo!

  

We got a lovely crop of asparagus this spring. Now they get left to their own devices, storing up energy ahead of winter so they can do it all over again next spring. For those who haven’t seen asparagus cultivated before, these ferns are what they look like when the spears aren’t harvested. They’re at least six feet tall. They’re also so densely packed that they create little forest paths between the rows. Not quite as good as the rows of corn, for the sole reason that I can’t fit between these ones currently, but still very satisfying to look at.

Comments

[trepkos]

I am growing anything the slugs will not eat, and that doesn't mind not having a lot of sun, due to the trees. I do usually manage to get some passion fruit growing in the bit by the decking, though.

[scrubjayspeaks]

In a case of everyone wants what the other's got, I'm a bit envious of your shade problem. I have a terrible lack of shade here, and there are plenty of shade-loving plants I wish I could grow. To say nothing of the succulents that would really prefer indirect light.

I always forget that passion fruit is just...a thing regular people can grow. On a vine, no less! I probably couldn't keep it alive, due to the frosts we get in winter, but maybe I should give it a whirl?

[trepkos]

We do get frost sometimes, but not severe - temperatures rarely go below about 3 C. Plus, I think our garden has it's own micro-climate. The passion fruit is near the house, which would help keep it warm, I guess.

I didn't consciously set out to grow passion fruit - I just liked the flowers and my grandparents used to have them. I was pretty shocked the first time I found a fruit, about 4 years ago.

Easy to get shade - plant a load of trees! But be careful what you wish for!