DONNIE JOHNSTON: Gardening Is in Right Now ...
... and so is a horse called "Journalism." Enjoy the Derby.
By Donnie Johnston
COLUMNIST
Now is the time to set out your tomatoes.
Unless some really unusual weather phenomenon occurs, the threat of frost is past. May 10 is considered the critical date in Virginia’s Piedmont, while Northern Neck residents usually find it safe to plant the last week of April.
As always, I have been getting questions lately about which varieties are best. I have found that Celebrity is a good all-around tomato, but Rutgers, an older variety, is best for canning because of its acid content
Other varieties that do well in this area are Beefsteak (not good for canning because of the large core), Supersonic, and Better Boy.
I have one early row of green beans that has come up and I got eight more very long rows (for canning) planted earlier this week (I use a tractor two-row planter). I like a variety called Jade, which is very hardy and will produce as many at 100 beans per plant over the course of four pickings.
I planted eight long rows of Peaches and Cream sweet corn the same day.
My potatoes, which froze earlier this month, are back in business and every plant looks good. My peas are blooming, and I’ll have new onions to eat in a couple of weeks.
I finally got a decent stand of beets. Bad seed combined with a dry March caused germination problems. Still, my two rows should give me plenty for pickling. My okra has been in the ground about 10 days, but it takes forever for those hard little seeds to germinate.
And I rigged a wire cage protection device to keep my cabbage safe from the groundhogs and rabbits.
My 12-gauge shotgun also helped. I nailed one woodchuck at my upper garden and another down at the barn. I’m sure there are more groundhogs around and I’m keeping a close watch on the garden.
We desperately need rain. Southern Spotsylvania and Fredericksburg got a storm a week or so ago, but the rain missed me again. Seems like the fronts always dry out coming over the mountains and build up again along I-95. My garden and my hayfield are stuck in no-man’s land.
I have recorded less than three inches of rain at my house since February 20, and the hayfields are really showing it. It will be a short first cutting of hay in these parts.
The forecast is for the possibility of rain today and tomorrow — which is why I planted corn and beans this week — and let’s hope the weatherman is right for a change. If we miss this chance of rain, I’ll be lucky to get a 50 percent stand of those two crops. It is that dry.
Compounding the problem is the fetched wind, which seems to blow every day. It is reminiscent of life on the prairie and dries the top of the ground within hours of any rain.
If you’re outside these days, watch out for ticks. I’ve seen a couple already, so check the kids carefully. I spray my socks with Off when I head for the fields or the golf course.
This 80-degree weather is also making the snakes active. There are copperheads in my area that like to hang around wooded areas and rockpiles. Be careful.
Also, if you live in a rural area with a mailbox, be careful when you stick your hand inside to get the mail. Wasps love to build nests inside (and under) a mailbox and spiders also favor these roofed containers.
Anyone who lives near water also knows that there are gnats’ grandma out there these days. They worried me to death on the golf course the other day. Remember to put some insect repellent in your golf bag.
One final note. The Kentucky Derby is Saturday and one of the favorites is a colt named Journalism. I’ll have to lay a two-spot on him just because of his name.
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