It has now finally become summer.
So what can be said regarding gardening besides it is hot? We who are fortunate enough to have a garden in which we can also relax can do just that.
I do not believe for a moment that everyone has a perfect garden, at least not in my case.
I am so fortunate that gardening became my way of making a living. It is still my passion. I enjoy waking up to see the newly mown lawn. I cut mine twice a week. It only takes a few minutes.
The carrots I seeded in early June are making significant progress, and so are the weeds. I will attempt to pull those out each day before thinning out the seedlings. The watering several times a day has paid off.
The rhubarb roots, which I relocated earlier, are sending out lots of stalks. I will not do any harvesting until next year to give them time to set a better root system. If you experience thin stalks, then it is time to split the roots.
Last week I wrote about summer pruning, but for lack of space, I did not explain where the summer pruning is done.
The new shoots are cut back to where the tree was pruned earlier in the season. If you have young fruit trees, make sure not to allow the young branches to grow longer than they can carry the fruit. By that, I encourage you only to leave one-third of the new shoots.
It is essential to keep doing this until the tree is the size you want. Do not be in a hurry, as it takes as long as three to four years for a fruit tree to be fully established.
I also believe it is advantageous not to let the tree produce any fruit for the first three years.