Garden update . . .

The weather has been good for the plants. We are getting some needed rain today - gentle, on & off. The salad greens, oregano, marjoram, broccoli and spinach are going strong in the greenhouse and will be spent soon. Outdoors a very short row of onion bulbs from last years harvest are up 4". Several of the newly planted asparagus plants are up! I am really excited to have an asparagus beds!!! The pole beans are peeking thru' the soil. Potatoes are putting out lots of roots. Also a new peach tree - an Alberta from Corliss in Ipswich, MA, has been planted.



The peas are coming along. They are growing on deer netting. Hope they are ready for the 4th of July!

Peach tree questions . . .

Last year there was a little leaf curl and some brown rot.

This time of the year I have used a dormant spray on my peach tree. In researching what to do this year in keeping with an organic approach I found Articles on Holistic Orcharding - Pure Neem Oil by Michael Phillips*. I have added his recommended treatment to the garden schedule.

I want to thank him for the information he was willing to share in answering my questions!

Now - on to reading about Kaolin Clay to keep fruit-eating pests at bay. And - add his book, The Apple Grower: A Guide for the Organic Orchardist, to the list of must-reads. Plus a road trip to Groveton later this year?

* Farmer, writer, carpenter, Michael Phillips, Lost Nation Orchard, Groveton, NH.