Fait Accompli

We woke up city farmer early -that's about 6:30 am for you civilization types. Hopped in the van and hit Ocean Pkwy -sun still behind trees.

We planted up the remaining starts. Crammed in as many as I thought worth losing to overcrowding. The rest we happily donated to a summer camp's plot (A12 -my 1st choice!) because I simply cannot toss unused starts. I scavenged this old and warped picket fence from a plot owner about to be evicted. We needed to frame the corner as many people enter the larger garden from this corner. The stakes are for the tomatoes that I delude myself into thinking will get tall -no one's tomatoes get tall here -I think it's the wind. Besides, it's friggin late July! Anyhow, those stakes I'm going to cut down for the sake of visuals alone, then rig up some sort of support system. On the other hand -tall tomato plants could be a goal for next year.

We went with a trench flood system for irrigation. Our work was hasty and I think the trenches show it -too deep in spots. That said, it works for this years short season.

Thar she blows. Neighboring plot is full of weeds and old, stunted brassicas -alluring to those white cabbage moths fluttering about. Thinking of getting some netting for the broccoli -the only plant I'm giving half a chance of producing the way it should.

A community garden is full of people, plants, and free advice. A teacher once asked me if I knew I was doing something the wrong way. Yep, I said. Okay, she said, as long as you know. The right way is preferred, but anywhichway usually yields an education.

By the way, I called that free woodchips guy and he (Evergreen) never returned my call. I'll try another one soon.

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Like Autumn Cold Front

I was at the studio just before the weather I knew was on its way was to break. I stood at the window taking pictures, blobs of rain blowing sideways into my face. The wind hailed from the WNW. It blew through with some rain and no thunder from where I was standing. Tonight's temperature will drop below 70 degrees F for the first time in what appears to be quite awhile. A night in the 60s actually feels cool. Weird.

White caps on the harbor.

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City Water

I arrived at the farm on the beach Friday evening with all my cheap and easy supplies. Dictating my irrigation choices was the 1-inch PVC pipe and fittings my wife had in her studio. At the corner hardware store, there were barely any parts that reduced from 1-inch to 3/4 inch -which is the size of the 'female' fitting on the irrigation timer. After an exhaustive, dust-inhaling search amongst all his inventory, we found three different components that could make it work.

Some may question using PVC (polyvinyl chloride) as an element in water systems, although I have little concern for this application. My alternatives were expensive brass or copper pipes or other plastic compounds with a similar set of issues. In NYC, conventional PVC use is in lawn irrigation and may be slowly replacing cast iron 'black pipe' or 'charlotte pipe' for waste water. That said, around the U.S. and Canada, PVC is becoming the most common choice for potable public water mains and domestic supply. So, I guess what I'm saying is that we're drinking it anyway.

The garden is set up with ancient 1-inch galvanized iron pipes, rusting on the interior like you can't believe. My piping begins with brass fittings and valves, but then attaches to a plastic automated valve, water then flowing through a flexible plastic tubing to the PVC system. I do not have a backflow preventer, but then neither does anyone watering with a hose in a community garden. If you were to install a hard-plumbed irrigation system at home, this would be something you would need.

I cut the pipe to fit and placed all the fittings where I wanted them. At first, I didn't glue anything so that I could change things if needed.

Then I dug the trench with my handy trench digger -it's a shovel only 4-inches wide.

I had an old timer, but it didn't work any longer -forcing me to buy a new one. Lowe's had this timer by a company called 'Orbit,' costing about 30 bucks. It looked cheap and crappy, but was very easy to program -in fact, it didn't come with instructions of any kind. Mechanically, it may be cheap and crappy, but so far so good. I was pleased that it came with a metal screen at the inlet to filter out those chunks of rust that are sure to make their way through to my system.

The whole setup is rather Frankensteinian. Scavenged flexible clear pipe is only 1/2-inch interior diameter with scavenged hose connectors having 3/4-inch connections. I needed to reduce my 1-inch PVC to said 3/4-inch connection. At my corner store I was able to find a 1-inch PVC sleeve-to 1-inch 'male' threaded, a 1-inch 'female' threaded iron pipe reducing to a 3/4-inch female threaded, and to connect it all a double-ended 3/4-inch male threaded galvanized iron! Oy.

I buried the pipes, never gluing the top fittings because I wasn't sure if I would want to replace or reuse those pieces in the future. The water flows gently, which I wanted, so as not to disturb the soil or spray water all over the place. In other words -it works.

This is how most folks at the garden (or any garden) like to water their plants. They probably have a trigger spray nozzle or some such device. I cannot explain the feeling given by watering plants this way, but it is definite and possibly trance inducing. Is it the sense of control over one of the most important elements in all of life? Is it the power of 'making it rain?' Or is it something more sensual -the wetness, the mist, its cooling effect? Could be its sound, the splish and splash, but what of the pfffffft? I cannot say. No matter, I make it rain with electronic valves and gravity, near the ground and at regular intervals.

This is smarter because no matter what anyone says about farms in the city, I will not be slave to watering or rain. I am a city dweller and I long to escape for two weeks at a time, to see the land and its produce, to marvel at the broad expanse of forest and field, to bathe in the cool moist understory of air seeping from woods on hillsides without ever worrying of his tomatoes or green beans -that is in the contract! You -in the countryside will have great expanse and distance between you and others, neighborliness and drive by wavings, a slow pace, cleaner air and honesty. We -in the city will be free from rising at dawn to milk the cows, will have variety in all things, hustle, bustle and irony, and never, ever, will we have to worry about the state of the food growing on our little 'farms.' Because I am a city dweller, I must tend to other pursuits.

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Aster Creature

I'm not ashamed to name the Asters as some of my favorite plants in the garden. They do most of what I ask, including surviving overcrowding, heat, wind, drought, and massive infestations of bugs that help to mottle and yellow their leaves all while continuing to put out new growth in preparation for fall flowering.

Please, click on these photos for a closer view. The black dots, no doubt, are bug poop.

This is Aster 'Alma Potschke.' It survived multiple transplants last year, then a clobbering by a baseball bat, and this year a garbage pail toss. Now the pests.

These are the critters. A quick glance might yield you aphids, but one really must get close for these. Their backs look somewhat sculpted and lacy, with stripes. The nymphs, which are everywhere, do not have this feature and are clearly spiny. My quick internet search yields the Chrysanthemum Lacebug or Corythucha marmorata as a possibility, in the family Tingidae or Lace Bugs. It seems these pests are named for the nursery trade plant group they prefer to infest. But they aren't touching my mums, and seem to love asters.

So far the Lace Bugs haven't touched my newly planted showy goldenrod, Solidago speciosa.

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How to Adjust the Width on the New Templates

I've enjoyed seeing which new templates people are choosing, and the ways they set them up.  I would like to have 3 columns like many do, but I can't figure a way to get my large photos centered.  I just don't think it works.

Jacqueline from Purple Chocolat Home, asked me to come tell her how I adjusted the width of my blog.  I figured others may not have found where to do it yet, either, so I will let you know.  If you have discovered any tricks or tips, please leave a comment, and if you want, a link to your blog in the comment to fill us in on what all fun things we can do.

What I did do, was go into "layout" and saw that you could adjust the width.  It's in the second column, after, "Body Layout" and "Footer Layout".  I drug the little arrow for the entire blog clear to the right, to make it the widest I could, then adjusted the right sidebar until the photos on both sides were pretty much centered.  My numbers ended up being 1,000 and 230 px.

I just went to Jacqueline's blog, and saw that she is not using a Blogger template, so I don't know if this will be helpful.  Jacqueline, maybe you can use the numbers of px to find a way to adjust yours.

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Wildish Flowers

I get a bit confused on what flowers are wild.  I looked some of these up to be sure.  I love mixing annuals, perennials, herbs, wild, and some native plants in my flower beds.  I am linking these photos up with Jean's Bloomin' Tuesday, and Gail's once month Wildflower Wednesday.

I just looked it up, and found that this 'Gateway' Joe Pye weed is a cultivar, and is shorter and bushier than the wild flower.  I just planted it in the spring.  I'll have to watch to see if bees or butterflies like it.  (That's the 'Orange Perfection'  phlox to the right.)

There were Queen Anne's lace seedlings all over the front yard bed.  I dug out most of them.  I didn't think the ones I left would get big enough to bloom this year, but one is blooming at about a foot tall.

These are the coneflowers that were 'White Swan' about 12 years ago, but are now purple.  An agasache is next to them.

I normally deadhead the narrow leaved coneflowers, but experimented with keeping them for the birds to eat, and to see if they reseed themselves.

The rattlesnake master is still looking good near it's less wild neighbors, love lies bleeding and hibiscus.

The sea hollies are almost finished, but looking OK at this point.

I couldn't get a good photo of the skullcap, 'Mongolian Skies'.  It's just beginning to bloom, and is one of my favorites.

Most of the liatris are finished blooming.  The milkweed is not blooming yet, partly because I cut it back.

I don't know why I just discovered ironweed this season, but I'm glad I found 2 kinds.  I am tickled this one has buds on it.

This butterfly milkweed is full of blooms.  The one I showed awhile back with a caterpillar died, but not from the caterpillar eating it.

I love short toothed mountain mint.  It was looking to be a spreader, but by picking up the stems where they have fallen down, the spreading is prevented, (so far).

You may have to look close to see that there are 2 kinds of tall yellow flowers.

The taller, closer to the house, are rudbeckia, 'Herbstonne'.

The ones in front of them are gray headed coneflowers.

I like this shorter liatris. The black eyed Susans are at their prime.  The amsonia 'Hubrichtii' foliage is looking good.

The anise hyssop, both an herb and a wildflower, has been blooming a few days.  These are volunteers.  I had to pull some out so there wouldn't be too many.

The amsonia 'Tabernaemontana', that I cut back shortly after it bloomed, has grown and gotten leggy.  I'll probably trim it back again.  The false sunflower is tall like it was last year, and the baptisia has nice dark seedpods.  Some years I cut it back, but lately, haven't been.

I didn't get many globe thistles cut to dry because there have been so many bees on them.    The milkweed in front of the globe thistle is 'Hello Yellow'.  The goldenrod is one that I bought for my father-in-law around 18 years ago.  This division survived being moved from the side of the shed to protect it from the work that was to be done on the shed.  I cut it back early in the summer so it would be bushy and not bloom too soon.

I missed the prime bloom time for the lead plant.  Every year, I say I'm going to find out when to pick it to dry for tea.  I wonder if it's too late.

There area some wild petunias in the vegetable garden and in the back yard.

I don't know the name of this, but I'm thinking they are a rudbeckia of some kind.  I pull out a lot of seedlings some years, because I don't want it to take over.  This is the north side of the garage, so it's not full sun, but I think it prefers full sun.  That's white obedient plant between this and some sweet peas.

I deadheaded the butter and eggs after the first blooms, and they have a nice new set of flowers.

The rough goldenrod has buds.  I don't remember how long it held onto them last year before they opened.

I hope your week is going well.  I am not getting to garden as much the last week or so, because I am experiencing pain in my jaw that looks to be TMJD, from what I'm reading on the internet.  The pain seems to get worse when I am doing physical activities, like pulling weeds or hoeing.  My dentist referred me to a TMJ doctor to get a night splint for my jaw grinding, but I'm following some home care tips first to see if they help before making that appointment.  Even with insurance, it looks like it will be expensive.  Have any of you had jaw pain before?

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Some Nice Surprises for Friday's Post

I had been feeling sad that the daylilies and some other flowers were about finished blooming for the season, and was thinking the flower beds were going to be lacking in color until the fall flowers bloom.  Over the last few days, I have found plenty of summer blooms opening up to show for Tootsie's Flaunt your Flowers/Fertilizer Friday.  

The 'Gateway' Joe Pye weed  and 'Orange Perfection' phlox have joined the hibiscus, coneflowers, and such.

I have been wondering if my 2 surprise lilies were going to bloom this year.  The foliage came up the last two springs, but they didn't bloom last year.  I was very tickled to see a bloom stalk coming up a couple days ago.  I had to move a few things around to find the other one, because I had covered it with a pot.  It seems to be recovering fine.

I didn't think this 'Cherry Blossom Magic Fountains' would bloom this year.  It's less than a foot tall.  It's a nice surprise to see.

The 'Ruby Tuesday' helenium is blooming much later than the one I think is 'Mardi Gras'.   I just notice these blooms today. 

Another nice surprise is the delphinium that got so tall this summer, is now blooming again, only shorter.

See?

Kiss me over the garden gate is blooming shorter and later than last year. By the end of the summer, I have a feeling it will be much taller.  I remember it still grows while it's blooming.

My neighbor's celosias are huge and blooming.  These, that I planted from her saved seed last year, and then seeded themselves, finally decided to come up.  What a surprise!  I wonder if they will bloom before summer is over.  I need to move them, because they are right by the small delphinium, and this recently planted lavender.

We're leaving the main front yard bed.  I was able to get a better photo of the skullcap in the curb bed, I showed in my Wildflower Wednesday post.

This 'Black Night' butterfly bush I planted near the sidewalk on the west edge of the yard, next to the wash tubs last year, is a bit spindly, but the blooms opened a day or two ago.

I almost didn't notice the little bellflowers have opened.  I think they are 'Blue Clips'.   I love the  rudbeckia.  We still haven't sunk the tub so the bear's breetches don't spread too far.

Tootsie told us she was going to do something different this week.  I see she posted photos from a gardener who doesn't blog.  It looks to be a nice place.  I need to go back and look more closely.

I am needing to limit my computer time somewhat because of jaw pain, which seems to be affected when I use the muscles on my right side.  I am finding that sitting where I can lean back helps.  I  hope to visit the Friday posts after catching up from my last post.

Have a great weekend!

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