BLACK GOLD – All the riches of the earth

Nothing tastes quite like homegrown melons fresh from the garden.

Melons are a summer favorite that always have a home in my garden, so I was excited when the National Garden Bureau announced 2013 as ‘The Year of the Watermelon.’ Truly the large, watery, globose fruits are one of the most satisfying garden edibles to grow (along with the many other marvelous melons). As long as one has a sunny, spacious spot with good soil on high ground, growing watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew and other melons is a snap. And for those with smaller gardens, there are always space-saving bush varieties.

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Hartlage Wine sweetshrub of one of several resilient early summer bloomers in Mike’s garden.

Unseasonably warm weather continues here in the Pacific Northwest, and the plants are responding to it. In many cases they need supplemental watering earlier than what would be the norm. And while my lawn has remained green with no extra water, many plants are showing signs of stress with the heat. This is especially true for those grown in containers and newly planted color spots. I am very glad that I used Black Gold Natural & Organic Potting Mix in all my pots this spring because it has done an excellent job of holding moisture. READ MORE

Nothing tastes quite like fresh limes straight from the tree, and they’re easy to grow!

The Cuervo Gold tequila we all swore off of so many times in high school has some big competition these days. There are now over 600 tequila brands on the market and high quality imports elevate this drink from spring break slammers to uptown tasting parties. With tequila coming up in the world at well over $50 a bottle, you’ll want to know a bit more about growing the bartender’s lime to match.

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The lactiflora peony ‘Madame de Verneville’ is a fine old French cultivar. (image by Carol Adelman)

As I mentioned in my April article, the spring season in the Pacific Northwest has been phenomenal but warm.  The winter was mild and many marginally winter-hardy plants survived.  Earlier this month we had weather in the 80’s, which is almost unheard of  in this part of the world.  Not only in my own garden but in others I’ve visited, many plants are blooming earlier than normal.  This has been most noticeable in common seasonal bloomers like iris and peonies. Weather is certainly one of the things happening in our garden that we cannot control; all we can do is make the best of it.

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Colorful late summer drama provided by bananas, cannas and elephant ears in a private Indiana garden.

May is the perfect month to include summer bulbs in landscape and container plantings. Why do we wait so late to plant the bulbs, tubers, and corms of various elephant ears, all sorts of lilies, gladiolus, oxalis, dahlias, and everything else deliciously summery from bananas to cannas? It is because  in most parts of the United States (especially here in the Southeast) soil temperatures are finally warm enough for tender tropicals, indigenous to Southeast Asia, South America, Africa, Mexico, and Polynesia, to survive and thrive.

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Fresh huitlacoche on display at summer market. These ears sell 50 times more than standard ears.

In polite company it’s called the Mexican truffle, but in the American corn belt it’s nothing but common smut (Ustilago maydis). In fact, the USDA has been trying to eradicate it for a century. If you have ever seen a smut infested ear of corn, you’d know why this bizarre sooty looking fungus freaks people out. No doubt backyard gardeners in the Midwest will see it often this flood year because the fungus thrives in warm, wet weather.
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