Fenton Friday: Summer Crops Started

'Sun Gold' Tomato seedling.
Photo by Jackie DiBartolomeo.

This week at the community garden plot, the interns and I planted two mounds of 'Cocozelle' green striped summer squash (basically a small zucchini), a 'Sun Gold' tomato, and two peppers - 'Shishito' and 'Lunchbox' - the latter of which I am very excited about as I love snacking on sweet peppers.

The fava beans are so plump now that the plants are falling over! I plan to harvest them this weekend. Today, we are getting heavy rains (yay!) and this follows on a week of blistering heat.

I think I will also pull a garlic out to test it too - I have a feeling they are all ready for harvesting early this year. 

I plan on starting okra either where the fava or garlic ones and then am debating on starting cucumbers next to that.

Elsewhere in the plot, the 'White Fordhook' swiss chard seedlings are settling in well. The strawberries are slowing down and sugarsnap peas are likely done after this week of intense heat, so I will plant green beans in their place. 

I also still have to clear out and set up an area for the several kinds of cutting garden flowers I have. The seedlings really need to get in the ground asap. 

How is your edible garden growing?

About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house in zone 7 Mid-Atlantic MD/DC border. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 8th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above.

Monday Thoughts

“Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul.”
~ Luther Burbank

GardenDC Podcast Episode 62: Edible Flowers with Denise Schreiber

In this episode, we talk with Denise Schreiber, author of "Eat Your Roses, Pansies and Lavender and 49 Other Delicious Flowers," about edible flowers. The plant profile is on Amsonia hubrichtii and we share our upcoming events and local gardening news!

BTW, YOU can become a listener supporter for as little as $0.99 per month! See how at: https://anchor.fm/gardendc/support.

Note: This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

The episode is posted at: https://anchor.fm/gardendc/episodes/Episode-62---Edible-Flowers-with-Denise-Schreiber-e124ntb

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Fenton Friday: Fava Voom

 

This week at the community garden plot, the fava beans have started forming. They are blowing up like balloons! I'll give them another week and then start harvesting a few to try out. I am interested in eating them at the tender stage, rather than dried and saved. Got any good fresh fava recipes?

Elsewhere in the plot, the new summer interns started and we pulled the bolting broccoli plants finally and planted several 'White Fordhook' swiss chard seedlings in their place. We harvested the lettuces and pick strawberries and sugarsnap peas. I cut all the garlic scapes and have them in the refrigerator waiting for a spare hour to make pesto with them.

This next week, we should get the tomatoes and other summer crops in. I also have several kinds of cutting garden flowers I need to find the space for in the plot. Some of those may end up mixed in my home garden beds as well.

How is your edible garden growing?

About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house in zone 7 Mid-Atlantic MD/DC border. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 8th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above.

Introducing the Summer 2021 Interns

This summer, I have taken on three editorial interns. Look for their author bylines in our upcoming Washington Gardener Magazine issues and on this blog. Pictured above is the trio at our community garden plot during their first day of the internship this week. As a first assignment, I asked them each to write a short introduction to our readers...

Hello, readers! My name is Jackie DiBartolomeo, and I’m excited to be joining the team as an editorial intern at Washington Gardener Magazine this summer. I’m a junior journalism major and French minor at the University of Maryland. I am currently a staff reporter at the UMD publication, The Campus Trainer, covering everything from fitness to beauty. In my free time, I love to read and write fiction, and I am also a very outdoorsy person (here’s hoping we’ll go on lots of outdoor adventures at the magazine these next few months). This summer, I’m looking forward to bringing my writing experience to the magazine, and to expanding my knowledge of the gardening world.

Hi everyone! My name is Amanda Cash and I’m currently a senior at the University of Maryland College Park in the Philip Merrill College of Journalism. I’m a broadcast journalism major with a concentration in public policy. I am hoping to gain more skills not only with my writing and editing through this internship, but also with gardening. I have a plethora of houseplants in my apartment, but I would love to learn more about outdoor plants and gardening. I have written, edited, and shot a variety of stories and TV news packages at Towson University, as well as the University of Maryland. This past semester, I was a news producer for the Capital News Service and over the summer I will also be interning at WBAL-TV11. I’m looking forward to learning more about gardening, helping publish a magazine, and making new connections!

Hi! My name is Molly Cuddy and I’m a rising senior at the University of Maryland from Hamilton, NJ. I am majoring in journalism with a concentration in film studies. I’m also a campus tour guide and I’ll be a teaching assistant for a professional writing class next semester. A few years back, I worked for an online teen magazine called Affinity, where I wrote about arts and culture. Ever since then, I loved magazine writing, and knew I wanted to make a career out of it, so that’s why I knew this internship was the perfect spot for me. Although I would consider myself a very amateur gardener, I’m excited to learn more this summer while also advancing my magazine journalism skills!

Monday Thoughts

I Am A Gardener, What's Your Superpower?

- Anonymous

GardenDC Podcast Episode 61: Peonies

In this episode, we talk with Kathleen Gagan, owner of Peony's Envy, all about peonies. The plant profile is on herbaceous peonies and we share our upcoming events and local gardening news!

BTW, YOU can become a listener supporter for as little as $0.99 per month! See how at: https://anchor.fm/gardendc/support.

The episode is posted at: https://anchor.fm/gardendc/episodes/Episode-61---Peonies-e11q7og

The GardenDC podcast is also available on -

• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/gardendc/id1502631179
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5AsWArNpQo8OlzHoMDMSI8
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• TuneIn: http://tun.in/pj7Sb
• YouTube: https://youtube.com/washingtongardenermagazine
• Google Podcasts at this link (note that currently, this link will only work on Android devices.)

We welcome your questions and comments! You can leave a voice mail message for us at: https://anchor.fm/gardendc/message Note that we may use these messages on a future episode.

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Fenton Friday: Things are Looking Up!

 

Great News! All the decoy strawberry rocks mysteriously reappeared last night in my plot. No explanation, but just glad to have them back.

I've been picking about a cup full of strawberries every other day and cut the small heads off my purple broccoli to add to a pasta dish last night. 

Peas are forming (pictured) and the blackberry plants have a very small crop forming on them.

The favas also have a black sooty substance around the flowers, but I also see ladybugs attacking whatever is causing it, so I will let them do their work. Meanwhile, they seem to be forming bean pods just fine.

I saw that the garlic scapes are starting to form and hope to cut them this weekend to make pesto with. Here is a demo of the recipe I made with them last year.

It was a very hot and dry week, so I didn't want to plant any tender seedlings in the plot. Now that we are getting some rains and having a few overcast days ahead, that will allow me to move in some of the basils, tomatoes, chard, etc. and start my new cutting garden section.

How is your edible garden growing?

About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house in zone 7 Mid-Atlantic MD/DC border. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 8th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above.

Herbaceous Peonies Plant Profile

Herbaceous peonies (Paeonia sp.) are among my favorite flowers. Peonies are easy to grow and will reward you with armfuls of luscious blooms every May into June in the Mid-Atlantic United States. Once established, the only care they need is to cut back the dying foliage in autumn.

   Select a sunny, well-draining spot in your garden for your peonies. Be sure to give them space to grow as well, since this perennial grows to shrub-like proportions in a single season. Having said that, herbaceous peonies really do play well with others in your perennial borders, combining well with roses, catmint, salvias, and clematis.

   The only “trick” to herbaceous peonies is not to plant them too deep. When you get a peony root division, you will see the reddish “eyes” (new emerging plants). Plant them with the tips of the roots pointed downward and the eyes set just below the surface of the soil. Amend the planting hole with peat and then mulch it over very lightly with leaf compost. Do not add in any fertilizer.

   Herbaceous peonies are shallow-rooted, so try not to dig or bother the plants too much around their crown area. When you weed around it, just cut the nearby weeds off at the soil level.

    You may have to give the heavy blooms some staking and support, but I find that if I cut them at the bud stage to enjoy indoors often enough, I don’t have to worry about the characteristic peony flop.

   If a storm is brewing and your peonies are in full bloom, run out and cut all the blossoms that you can. A hard rain can often pummel and destroy these beautiful flowers.

    Peonies are long-lived plants. Some can last for a century or more. They are also great plants to divide and share with other flower lovers. Whether you choose an heirloom peony like ‘Festiva Maxima’ or a newer selection such as ‘Green Halo,’ a peony is a must-have addition to your garden.

Herbaceous Peonies  - You Can Grow That!

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Monday Thoughts

Do not fear,

the rain is only here

to help you grow

- jennaececelia

Win 30 Oriental Lily bulbs from Flowerbulbs.com in the May 2021 Washington Gardener Magazine Reader Contest

For our May 2021 Washington Gardener Magazine Reader Contest, Washington Gardener is giving 30 Oriental Lily bulbs from flowerbulbs.com to one lucky winner.

    Oriental lilies, known as the most flamboyant personalities within the world of lilies, are characterized by their immense flowers, intense fragrance, and rich colors. With their tall, colorful blooms, lilies will bring a hint of the exotic to any garden. And fortunately, planting lily bulbs couldn’t be simpler. These elegant ladies combine perfectly with low-growing broad-leafed plants. That’s because lilies like to stand with their heads in the sun and their feet in the shade. Find out more about growing them at https://www.flowerbulbs.com/1034/lilium.

   To enter to win the box of 30 Oriental Lily bulbs, send an email to WashingtonGardenerMagazine@gmail.com by 5:00pm on Monday, May 31, with “30 Oriental Lilies” in the subject line. In the body of the email, tell us what your favorite article was in the May 2021 issue and why. Include your full name and mailing address. The winners will be announced by June 2.  

UPDATE:
Congratulations to our contest winner, Diana Aviv of Washington, DC!