Blackberries & apple trees
It’s mid-June and we’ve had 4 decent days in a row, weather-wise. The sun was out most of the time and on two days, the temperature actually rose into the 80’s.
The sun and the heat encouraged the plants to get on with their jobs! And I am happy to report that is just what is happening in my 2018 garden!
The blackberries are loaded with flowers and going about the business of creating their fruits.
Elderberry bushes
Brussel sprouts & blackberries
So are the elderberries that I planted in the back meadow. They moved from bushes to trees, this spring!
It helps that Comfrey is inter-planted with the elderberry bushes as this herb pulls up nutrients from the soil but doesn’t use them so the elderberries get fed.
Most of my readers know that I trial a seed or two every year; Brussel sprouts are my trial this year. They seem to be growing pretty well, tucked in under the blackberries. There was a bit of bunny damage but the plants got past the nibbles and kept growing. I gave Brussel sprouts a try after listening to Margaret Roach’s podcast on the best ways to grow these and other cruciferous vegetables.
Tomatoes despite the weather!
Considering the Septoria outbreak from all the rain and the cool days and nights, I am surprised to find that I actually have tomatoes on the vine, not a lot but there are baby tomatoes peeking out of the plants.
Cutting off all the infected leaves on every tomato plant appears to have thwarted the Septoria spores from taking over my tomato plants but we are under a flood watch again, today. So hyper- vigilance will be needed, again.
The onions and garlic are growing like mad and I took advantage of the clear weather to fertilize both.
Onions and garlic
I normally just use fish emulsion and only from Neptune’s Harvest but this year, because of all the rain, I supplemented with some organic worm castings.
Why supplement? Both onions and garlic are being grown in raised beds and both looked like they could use a bit of food this year. I usually only put crushed eggshells around my tomato and pepper plants but this year, because we have had so much rain, I also used fish emulsion and worm castings to feed these plants.
The eggplant and the cucumbers are growing well this year but I topped them up with some worm castings and poured a bit of fish emulsion on them as well, just to add a bit of food to their roots and leaves.
Cucumbers in the sun
Eggplant enjoying a warm day.
Grow So Easy Organic 
Are your elderberries garden varieties, or just natives that were moved there? We can not get black elderberries here because they are quarantined, but there are plenty of blue elderberries about. I gave a seedling to a colleague so that he can cultivate it in the garden. Proper pruning improves production and keeps berries within reach.
Why quarantined? I bought mine from a local nursery…and they are deep dark purple verging on black. I don’t use them for jam; I was going to make elderflower wine until I found out how many elderflowers you need!! So, I leave them for the birds and just enjoy the display.
No one knows why they are quarantined. They might have been a vector for a disease, or they might have been considered to be invasive. I got a pair (two different varieties) but they did not survive. I was only able to get them because they came from Nevada, where they are not quarantined. Now that I know about the quarantine, I will not try again, unless of course I determine that the reason for the quarantine is no longer valid. I do not want them to hybridize with the native blue elderberries, so would not plant them if they would do that. However, ornamental cultivars, like ‘Black Lace’ are not quarantined. Blue elderberries are good enough for me.
Hi,
Loved this article especially point about organic garden update
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