Planting Summer Flowers

Nothing spells summer to me like f-l-o-w-e-r-s.

Next to sprouting carrot tops and growing sweet potatoes in a jar of water, few garden plants are as rewarding as zinnias, marigolds and cosmos. They don't have many requirements to thrive and they produce such glorious blossoms.

As the original Fink Farm fills up with big bossy vegetables like indeterminate tomato plants, chard, basil and lettuces, herbs and ornamental plants get pushed elsewhere. A few years ago, we planted nasturtiums and marigolds in the flower beds that flank the front door. There's good water there and afternoon shade. The nasturtiums have lingered on.

Farmer Karen had a burst of energy in late April and dug up a tough patch of ground along the front of the garage. It's tough for a number of reasons. An enormous tree once grew in that area, and while the tree became diseased and had to be removed, plenty of roots were left behind. There's some irrigation nearby, but the water barely reaches the garage. Lastly, the soil has probably been undisturbed since the house was built in 1954. It certainly hasn't had compost.

Garden wisdom suggests that we should have been planting in March when the sun is gentler on new plants. We were otherwise engaged then. The mood struck in May, so that's when I gathered up my flats of zinnias, several varieties of marigolds, cosmos and an odd, wildflower-like plant with tiny sunset colored flowers from my favorite local nursery, Sego's.

I carefully measured out the spacing between plants, visions of a lush old-fashioned flower garden dancing in my head. In the past month, we've only lost one marigold plant. We've been diligent about carrying water cans out to supplement what comes from the irrigation system.

We were so pleased with our productivity, that we decided to plant another two or three feet east of our new flower bed with drought-resistant or California natives. We ran off to the Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers and Native Plants. A lovely woman helped us as we dragged wagon and dog through the sales area. She gently persuaded us that putting drought-loving plants next to water-loving flowers, wasn't going to be a good idea. Nor, she pointed out, was planting just as the heat of the summer set in. We leashed in our enthusiasm, toured the gift shop, joined the foundation and bought a lovely T-shirt. We'll be back in the fall.

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I've always taken soil for granted. It was there. You put seeds into it. You put water on it. Plants grow and produce flowers, fruit or vegetables. Gayle Weinstein, author of Xeriscape Handbook; A How-To Guide to Natural, Resource-Wise Gardening , takes a different view: “Soil . . . acts as a highway between life and death, land and atmosphere, plants and animals.” It stores water, air and nutrients and makes it possible for an exchange of elements and chemical reactions to occur, she adds. She describes soil as being animal, vegetable and mineral combined. Here are six tests Gayle recommends for getting to know your soil. Grab a shovel and a quart jar. Dig up two cups of dry soil two-to-six inches deep from the areas you want to test. Gather a glass of water, dish washing detergent and paper towels. A soil pH kit, a meter or litmus paper will be needed for the final test.

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When Karen and I planted our 2020 garden, we made the one mistake you never want to make with tomatoes: we didn't check whether the plants we bought were determinant or indeterminate. Our assumption that the cherry tomato plants would be small (small tomatoes means small plant, right?) and the romas would be big, was 180 degrees wrong. The Great Green Goddess of Gardening was on our side, however. Karen has been able to stake up the indeterminate cherry tomatoes -- and the determinate romas have plenty of string fencing to grow on. I've been asked to write more about the differences between indeterminate and determinant tomato plants. Since I clearly needed to review, I'm glad to do so. In simple terms, determinate plants are like bushes or shrubs; indeterminate plants are like trees. Determinate plants are genetically set to grow to a certain size and stop. Indeterminate plants will keep producing stems, leaves and fruit as long as they get enough water, light and warmth.

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