LysmachiaMoon's blog: Bleh.

Summer doldrums. It's too hot and humid to do much outside and even watching my fav gardening shows is starting to bore me. I've been getting out very early almost every morning to do some gardening, mostly cleaning up stuff that's "gone over" and pruning back unruly growth. I'm beginning the annual process of cutting down all the iris and daylilies (those that have finished blooming). I know many experts say it is unnecessary to cut down iris, but I've learned that if i don't, I almost always have a bad infestation of iris borer the following year. I think cutting the foliage down and composting it kills any eggs/tiny larvae that are hiding in the leaves. It's also a good way to give each clump a good going over; if I spot anything that looks like borer damage, I'm in there with a sharp knife *kill, kill, kill, eh, eh eh!* Take that, iris borer!

I also cut my daylilies back right to the ground because everything I own has some sort of virus/blight that turns the foliage yellow and then dead as the flowers fade. Fortunately, it doesn't seem to do much harm to the plants. I cut everything down and within a week I've got fresh new growth that looks good til frost. This year I'm experimenting with dusting the plants with baby powder that has zinc oxide in it (for diaper rash). Here is my bizarre reasoning: zinc lozenges help shorten colds by killing cold virus. Ergo, Zinc must be anti-viral. Since my daylilies have a virus, giving them zinc should help. We'll see.

Because I've got a lot of iris and daylilies (A LOT), I only take down smallish sections at a time to avoid a completely denuded garden. I've got three areas in the Below the Deck Garden cut down but since the peonies are big bushy plants and the New England asters, the Michaelmas Daisies, etc are in full force, it's hardly noticeable. The first patch of daylilies I cut down are already sending up new leaves that are about 8 inches tall.
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Veg is booming along, but slow to produce. I dug out some very very nice carrots. These were from seeds planted in FEBRUARY as an experiment after listening to advice from the MichiganGardener YouTube presenter. I will definitely be doing this again and on a bigger scale. I will also invest in a better variety. I planted a tried and true performer, Danvers Half Long and they are good carrots, but not very sweet for fresh eating. I think I'll try one of the newer varieties bred for sweetness.

Blossom on the beans, but no beans yet. Some of the Cherry Belle tomatoes are nice sized and I'm hoping to see some ripe fruit soon, with this heat and humidity. My cabbages are doing good, I think I'll bring in a few heads and start the first batch of saurkraut. My potato patch looks like it's about ready to dig out the early reds. Nothing better than freshly dug potatoes, boiled, salt, pepper, and butter.
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The two big mimosa trees are in full bloom and the scent is wonderful, especially mid-morning when the sun hits the trees. My Full Moon lilies planted just beneath my bedroom window are also in full bloom and their scent is intoxicating: it reminds me of egg custard with nutmeg. I've had those for many years and I see that, sadly, only three blooming stems came up this year. I should probly dig them up in the fall and see if I can divide them. Otherwise, I'll just buy more. I really don't think I can be without lilies blooming in July.

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