I could say my potato crop was a failure. I had them in full sun on top of the bank but it was too hard to keep watering and hilling them. I read somewhere that the best soil for growing potatoes is a loose and deep loam. The soil should hold the moisture but it should also have good drainage.
The potatoes I got from a friend had very long sprouts and she was to put them in the compost. Of course I had to try to rescue them. We had enough for a few meals and they were small and very tasty, but if I put the time and effort in the price, I think gold is a better buy. I didn’t have enough organic matter in my soil and having lots of clay around, it dried like concrete very fast, even with the mulch on top. Maybe next year.
I also removed all the beans that I had planted on the east fence. The hedge next door drinks all the water and with the lack of rain this year, it is a losing battle. The beans in my other beds are doing well and I can see little beans coming up. I was surprised to see how good the peas did in this hot weather. We had a very good crop. Some of the vines were drying up and yet new growth was still coming, but it was time to clean the beds.
I had our first tomato on July 1. This was the earliest I ever had ripe tomatoes. I keep on cutting the suckers and heavy mulching helps a lot. No bottom rot this year on any of them.
I am changing the yard landscaping for a lot of flowers. If this is the weather to come in the future, I do not want to spend my mornings and evenings watering. I already have some of the drought- tolerant plants in the garden. This site lists a lot of drought-tolerant plants: www.perennialresource.com
Blue fescue (festuca glauca) will provide your drought-tolerant landscape plan with a shorter ornamental grass. Grown in zones 4-8. The popularity of this clumping grass lies in the blue colour of its foliage, which will beautifully complement the silvery foliage of lamb’s ears. Meanwhile, its spiky appearance will stand out in contrast to the smoothness of the lamb’s ears. The plant rather resembles a pincushion bristling with blue pins. Cut back foliage in early spring. Divide every few years to rejuvenate.
Lamb’s ears (Stachys byzantina) provide wonderful texture in rock gardens and spreads readily and can be invasive; but just this quality can make it an effective ground cover. Very easy to pull if it takes over your garden. Although not grown for its bloom, lamb’s ears does produce light purple flowers on tall spikes. It is grown for its silvery foliage, which has a velvety texture. The shape and texture of its leaf readily explains how lamb’s ears got its name. Lamb’s ears is deer-resistant; apparently it is this same texture that makes lamb’s ears unpalatable to deer.
Autumn Joy sedum’s foliage consists of succulent leaves in whorls. The leaves are sometimes variegated and can range in colour from bluish-green or greenish-yellow to reddish-pink or almost off-white. But sedum is not just a foliage plant. It produces an unusual flower well worth growing in its own right. Sedum’s flowers can be yellow, orange, red or pink. Flowers usually bloom in clusters above the foliage. Grown in zones 3-9, Autumn Joy sedum is a butterfly magnet.
For more information: 250-558-4556 plantlady1@shaw.ca
Jocelyne Sewell is an organic gardening enthusiast in the North Okanagan and member of Okanagan Gardens & Roses Club. Her column appears every other Wednesday.
