Impatiens In Peril

They are a staple of so many gardens – and a delight to the eye. But Schroon Laker Jane DeMaioo, warns us about a relatively benign condition known as impatiens downy mildew.

Science News reports that the mildew was almost unheard of two years ago. Now the disease has ravaged flower beds in some of the more humid parts of the country. After rain or fog followed by balmy nights, the disease can turn a lush flower border into a straggle of bare stalks that eventually collapse and die.

In New York, another state that has seen two years of mildew, floriculturist Nora Catlin of Suffolk County frets over giving such advice. “I hate to tell people not to plant a plant,” she says, but this may be an opportunity to try growing something new.

Preventing an outbreak would require diligent pesticide treatment several times a month on the supposedly easy-care impatiens. Once the disease shows up in a plant, there’s no cure.

You can get more of the story here.

Getting Growing And Start Sowing

From Sharon Piper:

Hello Gardeners!

Welcome to the 2013 growing season.

I'm pleased to say that all of our plots have been adopted again this year and it appears we have some new faces too. We had a great clean up day at the garden in May and added topsoil to all the beds. The tools are in the toolbox and the combo for the lock is 1075 but please keep that confidential. Please remember to clean tools and put them away properly when you are done with them. The hose has been hooked up to the bank and should be working fine. We are working with Mike Marnell and the town for a better water solution, so please bear with us as we determine what our options are. I have attached the Garden Guidelines for your convenience. Please remember, this is a community space and we want to be respectful and helpful to one another.

One source of feedback that we got from last year was that some plots had un-harvested bounty and it was thought to be wasteful. It turns out some folks were on vacation and weren't able to harvest at the right time. The local blogger Anthony Batson has very kindly given us space on his website to act as a central place to exchange tips, ask for help, get gardening advice and share amazing produce photos! If you are going to be out of town and want to offer your ripening bounty to other gardeners, this is the place to do it. Otherwise, we still will be enforcing the policy of not taking anything from another gardener's plot.  Also, the food bank is a great place to visit if you end up with too much of anything.

We also had a generous local citizen Susan Yoekel donate a composter to our garden. We have to get a trailer and bring it down from her house, but we hope to have it in place in the next week or so.  We'll be creating our own compost soon!  J

Julie Sawyers will be manning this email also and has agreed to send out reminders and updates for me. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me!

Happy Summer and happy growing!

Sharon

PS….the sunflowers were a big hit last year…I hope some of you will be planting them again! 

Fun Cheap and Really Cool Backyard and Garden Tricks

Buzzfeed presents 32 of the neatest tricks you can use in your backyard and garden. Tell us what's your favorite in our comments section.

What's In Your Garden?

We came across creative uses of old household goods from Pam Lemza Putnam and her Pinterest Page: The Adirondack Garden. Do you have creative uses and ways to recycle unwanted household goods in your garden? Tell us in comments.