Garden Notes With Deb: July Buds

Dahlia Anemone Flowering Florinoor

Howdy friends,

Happy July! Don't you think this budding dahlia looks like a firecracker about to explode? 

The whole garden is filled to the brim with the first wave of summer buds about to burst open and fill the air with and explosion of color. Quite fitting for July, don't you think? 

 Everything planted out in mid-May - Early June is thriving despite the cool June weather we had. I think it's been a blessing to the tender greens and I'll take working under a protective cloud cover over high heat and humidity any day.

 All of the seeds I sowed germinated in good time and the mild temperatures were easy on the tender, new sprouts.

Thriving dahlia beds.

 Top of my to-Do list for this month is to get the last of the seeds sown in the new raised beds and finish mulching. One of the benefits of growing cuts in raised beds is I don't have to invest in large rolls of weed barrier fabric. Come springtime I turn it into the remaining soil and I'm ready to start new seeds.

My generous neighbor took pity on me when he saw how big my mulch pile was at the top of our driveway and lent me his vintage 10 tine hand cultivator tool. He inherited it from his brother and I felt lucky to be able to put it to use again. What a breeze it was lifting the mulch into the wheelbarrow with this tool.

Raised beds getting mulch.

Sunflowers 

Cosmos

Cockscomb

Frames for additional raised beds.

 Only 4 more to fill and I can finish planting for the season. I have to pace myself but it's a great flower farmgirl workout!

 All in all things are looking hopeful for a successful season here on the farm and at the Farmers Market. Being a seasonal flower farmer ( growing outside) I am at the mercy of the weather. If all goes well I should be swimming in cut flowers in a few short weeks!

 And, wait until you see what I picked up at The Vintage Bazaar for my display at the Farmers Market! Stay tuned! 
What's happening in your garden patch, field, pot or plot? 

 PS. I'm on instagram now!  Look me up @ Dandelion-House (with a hyphen). Come follow my patch of wonderful and I'll follow you back.
  

Feed Them and They Will Bloom

 BIG beautiful BLOOMS don't just happen, jus like healthy, well behaved children don't just happen. Both take constant LOVE,  nurturing and feeding if you expect to get healthy results.  

 It's feeding time for all the annual cut flowers at Dandelion House. The zinnias, dahlias, gladiolus and sunflowers are putting on their first flower faces as a result of all the loving care they've had since being planted in the late spring. If I want more beautiful, BRILLIANT BLOOMS I've got to feed them from here on out, at a minimum, every 2- 3 weeks.

I used Whitney Farms Organic Plant Food Liquid Concentrate last season and was very satisfied with the results. Not a paid plug here, just look at my top photo!
That bucket of blooms is from late August 2012.

GroundWorks Watering Can ( Plastic)

Simply pour one half cup of fertilizer into a 2 gallon watering can and fill it with water then pour around the base of each plant trying to stay off of the leaves if at all possible.

2 gallons will feed about 20 square feet. I prefer this method for smaller garden areas because it gives me the control I want and I know my plants will pay it forward from summer until the first frost. 

First Dahlia Blossom of 2013!

Do you feed your flowers and veggies organically? 

What method do you find most successful for YOUR garden?