"KEENER" GARDENING - MID SUMMER TIPS FOR ZEOLOTS
by Robin Wheeler, Owner, Edible Landscapes

Some people think that high summer is a time to sit back and interpret the splash marks that the fallen plums have made on the sidewalk – that somehow a restful, contemplative period is due them after the initial flurry of spring planting has finally passed. After all, the surviving squash are in mid flower, the leeks are passed the fiddly stage, and the tomatoes are just gearing up for the blight season. What could possibly be left for a gardener to do?

Fortunately, for the true fanatic, you can make yourself just as sweaty, dirty and exhausted in mid summer as you can in spring! Sound too good to be true?

Then let’s take a look at some possibilities -

- Some plants that are looking a little ratty are actually “going to seed”. That means you can begin selecting and drying seed for winter. The overlooked, dried out peapod, the uneaten artichoke, the collapsed kale, should all be earmarked for next year’s garden. And if you see a particularly rambunctious young specimen of any of your plants, tie a string around it to remind yourself to collect the seed as it becomes ready – it has good genes. For the rest, just snip off the pod or fruit when its surface is dry, peel off any covering and let the seed dehydrate on a clean sheet of paper out of the sun. Put them in an envelope, mark them, and tuck them into the fridge in a jar.

- If you want to bring bits of the great outdoors in for winter, some of those seedpods are collectable just as they are. Iris, the onion family, teasel and poppies seedpods all make dramatic pieces sitting in a pot, and remind us all winter about genetic diversity. Just cut the stems long so the branch will sit up in a jar. And you can still use the seed in them!

- And now that you’re looking for dry, warm places to preserve things in, you may as well snip pieces of rosemary, peppermint, bee balm, lavender and other herbs, so that you can be smugly using your own product when the rainy season hits. Pick them on a dry morning and label and hang them in a shady, back room until they are crispy to the touch. Strip the stalks gently into paper bags until you want them.

- And speaking of rainy seasons, a winter garden would be a smart move, and would ensure that you can become cold, as well as dirty, for more of the year. (Keeners, rejoice!) Yes, it’s time to investigate plantings of kale, winter carrots, chard and broccoli sprouts. Pick up a West Coast Seeds catalogue for their planting chart. And replant peas and lettuce later in the season when the mid day heat is not so severe.

- Harvest! Oh, yes – don’t forget to harvest the stuff that is actually growing there! You should have peas, tiny beans, young potatoes and baby zukes by now.

Naturally, good gardeners do not expect to get this much action out of the garden without remembering to water, feed and mulch. Lay manure, seaweed, alder leaves or compost around your plants, water them well, and cover the soil with cardboard, straw, old carpets, or anything that will encourage moist roots and blissful worms. And if you have time left over, you could learn to interpret those splash marks on the sidewalk.

Robin Wheeler is the owner of Edible Landscaping and author of the Gardening Book Gardening for the Faint of Heart, and has not yet run out of things to do in the summertime.