Results of Some 2017 Summer Gardening Experiments

In earlier posts this year, I talked about several new things I was trying this year, and I want to report on two of those things. One was a new (at least to me) type of self-watering planter that I used for tomatoes. In the past, I've had real problems trying to grow tomatoes in pots. Even when I used what I considered to be large pots, they were a real challenge to keep watered. In the hottest part of the summer, pots watered in the morning became dry as a bone before the day was over. If you are a tomato grower, you understand how much tomato plants resent insufficient or inconsistent moisture.  

I was excited to find these planters on sale at a big box store in the spring and I bought two of them.  I planted tomatoes in both, following the instructions about adding lime to the potting soil. The tomatoes grew like gangbusters, and I found that the water reservoir was big enough so that they needed watering only every other day, even in the hottest weather.  However, they quickly outgrew their support. A strong wind in the late spring blew them over but did not damage the plant. I ended up leaning them against the patio table and that's where they've remained all summer. I'll use them again next year, but I'll be smarter about the kind of plant I use, choosing a smaller tomato variety. 

The other thing I tried this year was planting several types of plants directly in the stream bed of our water feature.  I planted impatiens and abelia without soil, just wedging the roots in crevices between the rocks to keep them from washing away. The abelia began to die immediately. (In the spirit of full disclosure, I should say that I've never had any luck with abelia. Those that I planted in pots and in garden beds died as well.) But the impatiens loved their watery home! Here is a single plant, shortly after I planted it in early spring.

Here is the same plant in early September (and two of his friends I planted at the same time). The red flower is Lobelia cardinalis, the red cardinal flower. 

The iris and the cardinal flower above are growing in this planting bag made especially for water plants. I transplanted cardinal flower seedlings from garden beds, placing them bare-rooted in this netted pond bag in a shallow spot in the stream. The picture above shows what they looked like a few weeks after being planted. I also stuck the random iris in the bag as well because I liked the height the iris provided.

There is one other plant experiment that I want to mention. I had a lot of mole damage over the winter and one of our hostas that had been large last year emerged as a tiny shoot this spring. Rather than leave the last little bit for the vole, I dug the tiny crown up and plopped it into the stream bed. It was so small that I didn't think it would survive. I placed it near the impatiens and forgot about it. Here's what it looks like today, in early September. I'll let it grow another month or so then transplant it to a more permanent place. 

On the other hand, I wonder what would happen if I left it in the stream bed over the winter . . .? Hostas are suppose to be very cold hardy; in fact, they prefer a much colder climate than we have. Maybe this is an experiment that will continue through the winter.

Welcome and Welcome Back

In a largish flower pot by our mailbox I have been trying out, over the last few years, several annual vines. I could procure a more predictable Mandevilla or a more reliable Clematis. But experimentation can be fun.

Last years selection was "Cypress Vine" (Ipomoea quamoclit). Agonizing a bit about the wisdom of starting what many consider an invasive thug, I concluded that the majority of complaints along those lines came from warmer climes and I would give it a try. As pictured above I ordered a mixture of colors white, pink and red in seed form, and nursed them along through early spring. They did not disappoint! Their cheery star shaped trumpets greeted us all through the summer and into the fall. 

This year I successfully grew from seed "fragrant corkscrew vine" (Vigna caracalla) not only by soaking them overnight but by starting the process with boiling water. As I recall 8 of the 10 germinated. Starting them out in the green cardboard boxes that strawberries come in allowed me to disturb the roots as little as possible when the time came to put them outside. I shared most of them.


The one I put in the vegetable garden succumbed to chipmunks or voles or something...one day it was there the next it was not. But the one in the pot by the mailbox flourished!

Its 'leaves of three' may have caused the neighbors to scratch their heads about my growing poison ivy, I have to admit I wondered myself about this experiment. But here in late summer it is becoming apparent that this is something different and fragrant and lovely.

And guess who came back! The Cypress Vine! With her ferny leaves and little red trumpet stars.