In the Organic Garden - Get Rid of Blight & Flowers

I have returned from the northern Minnesota Boundary Waters area. It was a great learning trip but now it's back to the garden. I was greeted with my black-eyed Susan flowers much more in bloom. I just love this blooming time of year!!

My daisies however were starting to have many of them in the dying state. Since I want them to keep looking beautiful and produce more blooms, I will dead head them by removing the old flowers. I dead head through out the summer but start to taper down to let some seeds mature for the fall. I leave many of the seeds for little birds in the winter. I also leave my plants all winter with out cutting them down. Sometimes my rabbit friends eat them down in winter but otherwise they stay to make the blanket for my plants.

There they are again, looking good!!

Now on to the vegetable garden. I see that some early blight is showing up on the bottom leaves of some of the tomato plants. I will cut off those branches and dispose of them away from the garden.

 If I can keep up with the blight now, in mid to late August I won't have to worry about it. By that time I have plenty of fruit set and don't need to worry about what is taking place on the blight side. I just want to have the fruit ripening so I can get my salsa on!

My last surprise was the verbena finally blooming by the marigolds. The slugs kept eating the plant down so short for a while I thought it would never bloom. That's what is so much fun about gardening.There are always little surprises around each bend. Whether it's the chipmunk scampering by, the pretty birds eating at the feeders, a lovely humming bird enjoying bee balm, or just the observations of each flower or vegetable in various states. It really can be a serene moment of zen!

Happy gardening!!