News from the Edible Landscape Demonstration Garden

Success can come in small packages or sometimes in small bottles filled with smelly liquids. The garlic concentrate diluted with water (one part concentrate to three parts water) has been effective in deterring those pesky Japanese beetles from completely denuding the grape vines. Most of the damaged leaves have been removed and, with luck, the plants will push new growth before the end of the season. Score one for our side! Hand picking the harlequin beetles off of the curly kale seems to be keeping those critters in check. The plants are looking quite perky for this point in the season.

The cucumber harvest is well under way. We planted 'Pickle Bush' hybrid along two small trellises back in May. The resulting plants are flowering well and have produced enough cukes to make a batch or two of bread and butter pickles. A later planting of 'Marketmore 97' cucumbers are almost a foot high and should provide us with even more crunchy additions to late summer and early fall salads.

Cardoon in bloom

The dozen or so different types of beans are now in their glory. The long, red Chinese noodle beans climbing high on their tepee supports look wonderful at the back of the garden. The various shelling bean plants -- Calypso, Great Northern, Black Turtle -- are filled with pods, ready for picking. The string beans including 'Soleil', 'Masai' and 'Kentucky Wonder' are in flower. What a wealth of delicious eating awaits!


The cardoons are in full bloom at the moment. Their thistle-like flowers are bold and beautiful. It is worth considering planting this perennial for its ornamental qualities alone.

Come visit us in the garden soon! We love company!

News from the Edible Landscape Demonstration Garden

The sweltering heat of the last ten days has made work in the garden a challenge. Luckily, the staff at the Horticulture Center arrive at the crack of dawn and the gates are open shortly after 6am. July can be a cruel month for plants and humans alike. One can count on certain visitors to the garden, however... Japanese and harlequin beetles. Despite the fact that we saw zero grubs in the soil of the beds this spring, the Japanese beetles have swooped down on the grapes climbing the arbor and are feasting on their leaves. Bag traps are encircling the garden, fifty feet or more away from the beds. They are filled with bead bugs. But still they come to have breakfast, lunch and dinner. This week, we soaked the grapes with garlic spray, a potential deterrent to beetle activity. The scent was incredible, so strong that one's eyes would water. We'll see if that helps to solve the problem.
The harlequin beetles, so colorful but so nasty, have found the kale to their liking, but, interestingly, not all of the kale. They seem to like two cultivars -- Red Russian and Lanciniato. They ignore the curly kale. Go figure! The two favorites have been relegated to the compost pile.  Good looking white eggplant starts will be taking their place tomorrow.

The City Gardens Contest judging date has been set -- Friday, August 2nd. We're busy staking errant plants, deadheading blooming herbs and generally tweaking an already well manicured and beautiful garden. Please stop by for a visit and be sure to sign in at the visitors' box. If you're there at 6:30 am, we'll treat you to coffee!