June 22, 2020. These long hours of sunshine provide great growing conditions in late June in our northern location. We had over 17 hours of daylight at the summer solstice! We really want to take advantage of this wonderful light and warmth and have
everything planted, up, and growing by mid June.
Today in our backyard garden in Edmonton, the first surprise was the stunning yellow blossoms on the zucchini plants and pumpkin vines. They opened overnight.
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| Zucchini blossoms male |
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Zucchini blossom female
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Summer and winter squashes have male and female flowers, and require pollination from from the male to the female flower by insects. Don't hesitate to
cut back a few squash leaves that cover the flowers so the bees can find the flowers to pollinate. We also help the pollination on squash plants with a
Q-tip. Gently brush the pollen from the male flowers to the female. It works!
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Haskaps ready to pick in Edmonton - June 22
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The haskaps are ready to pick, although they are still tart. They might be a bit sweeter in a few days. We purchased 6 haskap bushes, with 3 different kinds of haskaps from T&T seeds about 5 years ago. One type is a pollinator and doesn't produce fruit. We get lots of berries from 4 bushes in a 4"x 8" plot. Bake a
Haskap Rhubarb Crisp.
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| Garlic scapes on June 22, Edmonton |
The second surprise today was the
garlic scapes. They appeared overnight, it seems. In a couple of days, once they curl fully around, we will start to harvest the scapes for use in cooking. They are terrific!
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It's a lucky day!
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The third surprise - a lucky four leaf clover spotted in the lawn. Nice.
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Tomatoes in the greenhouse
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Full sun- beans then peas, semi-shade kale & chard
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Think about sun exposure when planting. What vegetables thrive in full sun or semi-shade? Scout out your garden. This row is sunny at the north end but moves to semi-shade near the saskatoons, so we planted accordingly. The beans, which need the most sun, are planted in the sunniest location, then the peas which can tolerate some shade, and then the kale and chard, which can tolerate even more shade in the day.
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In the shady front yard, splendid hostas.
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