Garden Notesby Karen Bert With the help of a few weeks of wonderful weather, my garden has been growing by leaps and bounds. Beans and potatoes are up, squash have been carefully removed from their individual pots and transplanted, and lettuce is almost ready to eat. My second round of broccoli and cauliflower (the first eaten in its entirety by slugs) is growing, and the peas are about to burst into bloom. Even my epic battle with the slugs seems to have taken a turn for the better - that is, from my point of view. I'm trying three types of tomatoes this year: Stupice, a short season tomato from eastern Europe; yellow pear, a small cherry-type tomato, and Brandywine, a heirloom tomato ranked tops for flavor. Usually I grow Oregon Spring, another short season tomato from Territorial Seeds, but I like to experiment from year to year. It's time now to start thinking about basil. Once an obscure herb in the United States, basil is now almost indispensable in the kitchen. Luckily, basil is easy to grow provided the weather is warm when it is planted. I usually start basil in pots and transplant when it warms up. There are so many selections of basil available that it can be a little confusing trying to decide which to plant. I use a sweet Genovese basil as my all-purpose crop and try different types for a novelty. This year, my fun choice is Thai spicy. We'll see how it grows! Remember, basil likes rich soil and warm temperatures to make a good crop. In the ornamental garden, my roses are beginning to bloom. I love roses but refuse to spray and dust them with noxious chemicals. I've had very good luck for over 10 years growing roses organically, but have learned to follow several rules. I do not grow hybrid tea roses, they are simply too picky to withstand our wet climate without being treated for blackspot. I plant either tough shrub roses, rugosas or the David Austin English roses. Do purchase quality plants from a reputable merchant; avoid bargain cheapies, they are a waste of time and money. The second rule I follow is feed, feed, feed. Before planting, spend some time and money enriching the soil with compost, manure and rock dusts. When I had access to free salmon, I would bury half a fish under each bush and that did wonders! After the first flush of growth, fertilize roses heavily with fish emulsion, bone meal and/or a complete organic rose formula. I also like to use a kelp spray to supply those micronutrients. Rule three: don't water late in the evening; try and keep the leaves dry. This helps to prevent the spread of blackspot, a common fungal disease that, surprisingly enough, manifests itself in black spotted leaves that soon wither and fall. Rule four: be diligent about clean-up of any rose debris, especially if you do get blackspot or some other disease. Don't compost diseased leaves and stems; throw them away. My favorite roses are two Austin selections - Gertrude Jekyll, a large pink, fragrant beauty, and Abraham Darby, a manly yellow/pink rose with a heavenly scent that flowers profusely from spring to fall. Spring bulbs are finished blooming for this year and appreciate a good feeding of bone meal to reward them for their efforts. Bearded iris, in bloom now, also enjoy a bit of bone meal sprinkled over their base to encourage growth and blooms. Weeding now, early in the growing season, will save hours of dealing with tough weeds later. With a little work and forethought, it is possible to have your cake and eat it too - a beautiful and bountiful garden free of harmful chemicals and insecticides. Growing at least some of your own food connects you with the seasons and the soil, and gives you a sense of place like nothing else can. So go out today and do something revolutionary - plant a garden! Karen Bert is a staff writer for the Green Pages.
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