Honeysuckle a sweet spring fragrance

Carolina blue sky and puffy marshmallow clouds

Beautiful snow white and puffy marshmallow clouds float through the late spring skies on warm June days. A bit of late spring lore says that when the wind blows puffy white clouds across the blue sky on a warm afternoon, pull out the umbrella because a thunderstorm could be brewing over the horizon. Much of our moisture in summer does not come in the form of rainy days but from pop up thunderstorms that will dump a hefty amount of rain with a charge of electricity in the form of thunder and lightning that will add a beneficial perk to the lawn garden and flower beds and freshen up the steamy, humid air.

Keeping the hummingbird feeders refilled

As we move farther into June, the honeysuckles are slowing down and many summer annuals have not reached bloom stage. There are plenty of hummers searching for a food supply. Keep the feeders refilled with nectar and keep checking it several times a week to see how much they consume. If you have quite a bit remaining, pour it out before it ferments and only fill the feeder half full to keep from wasting nectar. If you have several feeders, you may want to make your own supply of nectar in a plastic gallon milk jug and store it in the refrigerator to save money. To make a gallon, measure out three quarts of water and one and a half quarts of sugar. Use a funnel to pour nectar into the feeders. Shake the nectar before pouring into feeders. Clean around base of feeders daily to prevent ants and wasps or yellow jackets.

Caring and preparing roses for summer

As we reach toward the middle of June, the roses are colorful with blooms as the temperatures start to rise. Water the base of the roses every week when no rain is in the forecast. Deadhead all spent blooms. Check for Japanese beetles and leaf mites and spray with a mix of Sevin concentrate and water on a dry, warm day so the mist will dry on the leaves. Feed the roses every 20 days with Rose-Tone organic rose food or with Miracle-Gro liquid rose food mixed with water in a sprinkler can and poured around base of the rose bushes. Keep long canes pruned back.

Feeding tomato plants as they bloom

Keep the tomatoes fed as they reach bloom stage. There are several great tomato foods that will promote growth of tomatoes as they progress on their way to an abundant harvest you can use the liquid plant food of Miracle-Gro tomato food crystals mixed in a two gallon sprinkler and mixed with prescribed amount of Miracle-Gro. You can apply Vigaro tomato food with added calcium to prevent blossom-end rot. It can be purchased in the garden department at Home Depot. Another great tomato food is Tomato-Tone organic tomato food in a four pound zippered bag. Another great tomato food is Dr. Earth's tomato food. All these products are specially formulated for growth and feeding of all types of tomatoes.

Making a platter of sunrise biscuits

Home-made biscuits are not that hard to prepare and are great for every meal. For this platter of biscuits you will need two cups of self-rising flour, two tablespoons powdered 10x sugar, two third cup buttermilk, two teaspoons baking powder, and six tablespoons Crisco shortening. Mix flour, baking powder, and 10x sugar sugar. Add buttermilk and Crisco shortening. Stir or mix well. Roll out and cut or form into biscuits. Grease a baking sheet with Crisco shortening and place biscuits on the sheet. Spread a coating of light margarine on biscuits before baking. Bake in a 400 degree oven until brown (40 to 45 minutes) yields a dozen.

Controlling blossom-end-rot on tomatoes

There are several methods to control blossom-end-rot on tomatoes. The most simple and natural way is to water the base of the plants and not foliage. Another way to control the rot is to apply handfuls of powdered lime calcium carbonate on each side of the row and hill up soil to cover up the lime. Another way that still uses powdered lime is to fill a two gallon sprinkling can with water and add quart of powered lime to the water and sprinkle around the base of the tomato plants. You can also add a cup of Epsom salts to a sprinkling can of water and sprinkle around the base of the plants. A chemical way to control blossom-end-rot is to apply Captan in the proper amount of water and pour it into spray bottle such as glass cleaner comes in and spray a mist on the yellow tomato blossoms.

Lima beans can be planted in June soil

Bush lima beans love warm soil because they are very tropical by nature. If planted now, they will quickly sprout and grow and produce a harvest in 65 to 75 days. Good varieties are Henderson Bush, Thorogreen, and Ford hook 242. Sow in a furrow about three or four inches deep. Apply a layer of peat moss in bottom of the furrow, sow the seed and cover with another layer of peat moss and then apply a layer of Plant-Tone organic vegetable food and hill up the soil on both sides of the furrow and tamp down with the hoe blade. When the beans sprout and develop two leaves, side-dress with Plant-Tone and hill it on both sides into the soil. Water with the water wand when rain is not in the forecast. Feed with Plant-Tone every 20 days.

Peat moss retains moisture in summer heat

Peat moss is a magic ingredient that not only improves the texture of soil but in the hot summer when the sun dries out the garden soil, the peat moss soaks in and retains moisture and holds it in the soil. It is a totally organic product that adds to the soil and gives it an extra boost to promote health and growth. Place a layer in the furrow before you sow or plant anything in the garden. It is also great for flower beds and for setting out tomato and pepper plants.

A quickie crust for squash and fruit sonker

This is a quick way to make a crust for a squash or fruit sonker. All you do is melt one stick of light margarine and pour it into bottom of a 13x9x2 inch baking pan or dish. Mix one cup plain flour, one cup sugar, three fourth cup milk, two teaspoons baking powder, and one fourth teaspoon salt. Mix all together, and pour over the melted margarine. Spoon the squash or fruit sonker ingredients over top of the batter. Do not stir. Bake the sonker at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes until golden brown. When done, the squash or fruit will be on bottom and crust will rise to the top. How easy is that? This crust works well with any sonker ingredients and recipes.

Portulaca is a rainbow of container color

Portulaca is known commonly as Cactus Rose, Rose Moss, and Desert Rose. It is plentiful in the Great Plains where they grow it in truck and tractor tires and it is so beautiful as it cascades over those large tires. Portulaca is a distant cousin to the cactus family. My grandma in Northampton County planted portulaca in a large wash tub with holes in the bottom of it. When they cascaded over the tub in early July, it was a thing of beauty. Rose moss comes in a rainbow of colors and one quality is they are in full-bloom when you purchase them so you know the colors you will be enjoying. They come in colors of red, white, yellow, wine, pink, tan, orange, rose, hot pink, lemon, and bronze. You can plant quite a few of them in a pot or container. They love sunlight and have a different pattern of blooms each day. On cloudy days, they may take all day to fully open. On a bright sunny day, there may be 50 or more blooms.

Hoe hoe hoedown

"Little Joe." Joey came in the house to tell his mom something naughty he had done. "Before I tell you what happened," Joey said, "Just remember…the Lord will never put on us more than we can handle."

"Just imagine!"-Teacher: "What is the axis of the earth?" Smart student: "The axis of the earth is an imaginary line which runs from one pole to another on which the earth revolves." Teacher: "Very good. Could you hang any clothes on that line?" Student: "Yes, you could but they would have to be imaginary."

"Crafty Indian." Store clerk: "This bowl was made by a real Indian." Customer: "But it says on the bottom, "Made in Cleveland, Ohio." Store clerk: "Well, haven't you heard of the Cleveland Indians?"

"Just an hour." Job applicant: "Before I take this job, are the hours long?" Employer: "No, only 60 minutes each!"