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Greetings, and welcome to the new subscribers!
In my so-called retirement, I grew about 1/4 of what I normally put out. There was still a bit of stress with germination and the weather, but it was significantly less than previous years! I have no plans for next year yet, so stay tuned. Thanks to everyone for putting up with my lack of structure this year - I was winging it - but my customers are everything!
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In June, it's time to finish up planting and begin to enjoy your harvests! Planting, watering, weeding, and praying for rain are on my agenda.
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I Changed My Summer Plans
Last month I said I wasn't going to plant anything except chickpeas as a cover crop, but in light of the few articles I've recently read about fewer pollinators and what I've noticed in my yard is that I need to plant flowers for the pollinators. I saved myself a 6-pack each of Zinnias and Scabiosa and a few pots of Tithonia. Once the native plants and perennials stop flowering, there isn't much in my yard for butterflies, wasps, bees, and hummingbirds. I feel I have to provide something, because I'm pretty sure no one else in the neighborhood has a garden.
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My butterfly bush (Buddleia alternifolia) was in full bloom until it rained last week. Now most of the blooms are brown. But I noticed there weren't many pollinators on it anyway. There are usually hundreds buzzing on it, but not this year.
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Butterfly Bush (Buddleia alternifolia)
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The Tatarian honeysucke didn't flower well, but hopefully there will be some berries for the birds in late summer.
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The bear grass (Nolina microcarpa) is a native plant with seven spikes of flowers coming. It's another that is usually covered with hundreds of pollinators, but it's very quiet this year.
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Bear Grass (Nolina microcarpa)
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The Palmer penstemon (Penstemon palmeri) is coming nicely. It should be in full bloom in a week or so. I have a few Rocky Mountain Penstemon (Penstemon strictus) but not as many as usual.
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Hollyhocks are coming slowly, but the younger and smaller ones are suffering without water.
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The valerian never disappoints. It's a little shorter this year, but still incredibly full of blooms. Sadly, they're pretty quiet, not buzzing with bees.
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In the containers out front, I found some morning glories that reseeded from last year. I guess the rain last week inspired them! I'm babying them along with rain water. I seeded a couple other containers with extra seed I had and put in a few pole bean seeds, too.
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With the lack of pollinators, there are fewer songbirds. This is very noticeable in my yard. It was unusually quiet in the spring as winter birds left and summer birds arrived. Over the last month, though, I've seen an uptick. I think it may be because there is a family of three roadrunners down the hill killing and eating birds and lizards. I'm guessing the birds came up here to food, water, and safety. But the numbers still are very low compared to other years.
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Nest of four baby finches in my eaves. Yesterday a young garter snake was up there headed right towards them. I ran outside barefoot with a broom and poked him till he jumped back onto the ground. Yes, I appreciate the food chain, but I will do what I can to save this nest.
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June Garden Tasks
In the beginning of the month, finish up planting tomatoes, basil, flowers, peppers, cukes, squash, and beans. Direct-seed carrots, beets, beans, and radishes every two weeks until mid-July for a continuous harvest.
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Cover lettuces and greens with shade cloth. It's been HOT! Greens get bitter and bolt if they're heat-stressed.
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Water in new plantings and mulch heavily to reduce evaporation and keep the soil cool. I'm torn on watering this year. I am going to plant one bed, but I know if I water it, it'll need it again later in the day and twice a day until.... until what? It rains? I've been trying to water some trees and shrubs, but the next day, they're just as dry as before watering. It's a tough call, because we need to water our gardens, yet we need to conserve water at the same time. The two are almost not compatible.
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Garlic scapes have come early! My garlic is suffering from not enough water. The water seems to disappear into the area around the bed. The tips are turning brown, and I'm eager for it to be ready to harvest.
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Plan on succession planting. When spring greens are gone, replace with beans or squash. You can even plant between the rows, so they'll get a head start, and one won't have a chance to choke out the other.
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My asparagus was doing great then got zapped by that 13º night. It took a long time to recover, but it's been producing well for weeks now. This is about a week's harvest.
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As always, watch the weather. This week is going to be typical June weather - hot and dry - but next week is supposed to be rainy. I've heard conflicting reports of a wet summer and a dry summer. I'm not sure anyone can forecast very far out anymore, so with me, it's wait-and-see.
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The Talpa farmers market has begun! It's at a new time, 3-8pm on Fridays through October 2. Make it your Friday evening thing to do!
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The New Book
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The New Book is at Moxie, Earthgoods, Crone & Crow, Gutiz, Taos Herb, Petree's, and op.cit. Books. Hit me up if you need a signed copy for yourself or shipped out. You can order The New Book directly from UNM Press below. Please avoid buying from third party sellers. Thank you!
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Nothing New on Substack for This Month
It was a busier spring than I had anticipated. Before I decided to grow starts, I'd committed to the 100 Day Project. That went from the end of February to June 1, the same day the last order of starts went out! I was too bogged down to get an essay written, but now my time has been freed up, and I'm eager to get back to writing!
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In the meantime, read Backstories and Brain Chatter! Please consider buying me a coffee with a paid subscription for $8/month or $80/year. You now also get 20% off your first year with an annual subscription!
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Etsy
Celebrate Pride Month with 25% off Non-Binary People Collage cards. They're 4x6" and come in sets of three. I have more here at the house, too. Also, the rest of the store is 15% off through Juneteenth. Celebrate Diversity!
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