May 2023

Barbara's Garden Notes

The Colorado Potato Beetles have reproduced even with our furious killing of the beetles and 'squooshing' of the eggs. And even with the help of a herd of ladybugs (or lady bird beetles). So now the larvae are here in various stages and they are hungry. Still the best defense is to put on your gloves and smoosh them. Keep looking for eggs also. Found some on a tomato. BAD NEWS - I sprayed them with Neem and they laughed. Will try spinosad or insecticidal soap with pyrethrins. But the fastest solution is to smear them.

The Garden looks so FANTASTIC! You all are outdoing yourselves keeping the garden looking cared for and productive.

There is a carabiner on the door to the tool shed. Please close the door and secure it with the carabiner when you get tools. Our constant wind will whip the door and add to its already dilapidated condition. Thanks.

No Flying Monkey sightings lately. Thanks for conserving our water. As you get your plants in the ground from the Sale, please recycle the black 3” pots so we can reuse them. You can leave them under the carport or in the greenhouse.

Thank you, Amir Mousavizadegan, who came to the rescue when Charlie Morse was on vacation to change out a leaking, broken irrigation valve. And to David Sobash for knowing how to turn off the water. Getting things done!

Even though you JUST put your tomatoes in the ground, it is not too early to watch for signs of disease. Remove and discard the lowest leaves and any leaves that even THINK about getting a spot. If you see disease, apply organic fungicide according to the label.

Next CG Work Party will be June 3, 9-11. Get your volunteer hours in!

Successful Plant Sale!!!

Thanks to the help of many volunteers, our plant sale on Saturday, May 6 was a success. We offered a large variety of plants not usually found in the Big Box stores and they were beautiful! Special thanks to those who worked the sale, from set-up through sales, and to take-down. Many thanks also to Amanda Beringer who provided over 200 plants from her greenhouse. Leftover plants were donated to several school garden projects headed by Liz Callan, to the Farm, and to clients at the food pantries that we serve.

April Workshop Recap

Vince also talked about tomatoes, everyone's garden favorite. He discussed varieties of tomatoes, how to manage their growth habit through training and pruning, and pest and disease mitigation. You can follow Zangarden Farm by liking them on Facebook.

The April Workshop, "Layout & Design PLUS Tomatoes" was a great success. The speaker was Vince Zangardi of Zangarden Farm, a suburban farm right here in Williamsburg. On their suburban farm they grow about 50 varieties of fruits and veggies, hold classes and operate a local farm stand. Everyone in the audience of about 26 people, regardless of their gardening experience, learned something new.

About garden layout, Vince emphasized the importance of leaving working space in your garden for weeding, maintenance, and harvesting. He emphasized knowing the habit of your plants so you don’t overcrowd them and so you can supply support for plants that want to climb, like peas and pole beans. Vince demonstrated an easy-to-make support system with wide-spaced fencing material and poles set up in a V shape to provide support for tomato branches at all different levels. He said that properly supporting your plants will help them to be more productive by improving air flow and allowing the fruits to grow unimpeded.

More Learning Opportunities

May Series: Garden Pests

The next lecture in the Community Garden Series will deal with Garden Pests and will be held at the Garden at 11AM on Saturday, June 3. Speaker is TBD.

The Williamsburg Regional Library is holding a monthly lecture series, In The Garden. The May lecture will be “Gardening in Small Spaces”. It was held on May 15 at 10:15 at the Stryker Center, 412 N. Boundary Rd, Williamsburg. The speaker was Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Dennis Hewston. Did any of you attend? Share your knowledge with us!

The June presentation of In the Garden is entitled “Walk on the Wild Side”. It will be held on June 10 at 10:15 at the James City County Library, 7770 Croaker Road, Williamsburg and will be presented by Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Peggy Krapf.

Seeds:

Beans

Corn

Transplants:

Eggplant

Peppers
Sweet Potatoes

Tomatoes

Seeds and Transplants:

Cucumbers

Melons

Okra

Pumpkins

Squash - Summer and Winter

Watermelon

What to Plant Now?

May is here and at this time in the season, it is really too late to plant most of the cool-season plants because - duh - it is no longer cool.

Bring on the warm-season plants!

The complete guide for what to plant when in our zone can be found from the Virginia Extension at Virginia Tech here.

Can You Guess The Mystery Man?

He looks a lot like Charlie Morse!

Charlie recently visited St. James Park in London!

Can't keep him away from the garden!

Senior Valve Turners (SVTs)

"SHOUT OUT" to Ron Holt for creating so many SVTs (Senior Valve Turners). Originally designed by Chris Hinman to help CGer Darlene as she recovered from a broken hip, these devices make it easier to turn irrigation valves on and off without bending over. Thank you, Ron, for mass producing them AND installing them throughout the garden!

Friendly reminder to all of our WCGrs, the SVT's belong to and must remain in the garden.

If you see Ron around, let him know how much he is appreciated!