The following is from Don Stevens of Charlottetown: "We ... appreciated your comments on problems with beans. We have had many problems this year with wax beans but not with green beans. You mentioned that one was covered with something called floating row cover. We have never heard of floating row cover and wonder what exactly you mean by that."

Thanks for your note. Floating row cover is an amazing product with a host of uses in the garden. It’s roughly the weight of a ply or two of facial tissue but very tough. You’ll know why it’s called "floating" if you try to place it in your garden on a breezy day.

I purchased mine at Veseys where they have it in two weights and several lengths and widths. If you have a small garden, you may want to buy one of the longer pieces and cut it up accordingly to suit your garden.

Placed over an early seeding in your garden, it can help warm the soil and speed up germination. It affords a measure of frost protection and in some cases is used to keep insects off the crop. I placed the row cover over two rows of squash in my garden, leaving several feet uncovered at the end of each row. A couple of weeks later I checked on the progress of the squash and was shocked to see how much more advanced the covered plants were. Will they maintain this lead all summer long? Time will tell.

No trespassing

The "No Trespassing" sign fetched me up short. I came upon it when I was checking out the community garden site on Mount Edward Road in Charlottetown. I respected their wish to keep out stragglers so went no farther but it cramped my style when it came to getting a good look at the site. Try to imagine standing in one spot at water level and trying to see the entire layout of a cruise ship ...

Despite my rather unsatisfactory visit to the Community Garden, this much I know - there is some serious gardening going on there. I saw two wooden compost bins - and there may be more. There were flowers mixed in with the veggies - in one plot I saw a pink peony in bloom. Many of these folks are practicing intensive gardening, making use of every square centimeter they have access to.

Readers, is there anyone out there who could authorize my going past that "No trespassing" sign? If so, I’d love to hear from you.

Intensive gardening

We moved last year and now for the first time in my life I have to think "intensive" when I plan my garden. How can I maximize production on the land I have to work with?

First, think about planting crops in succession. Lettuce, peas and radishes are among the crops that are harvested early in the season. Once they are finished, I may have time to grow a crop of beans in that same ground or even another crop of peas.

Cut down on non-crop use of land. I’ve always been keen on wide walkways where I can cruise up and down with a rototiller, rather than spend a lot of time hoeing. Instead, I can plant double rows of veggies and keep walkways to a minimum.

Try gardening on the edge. By planting my vine crops on the edge of the garden, they can spill over onto the lawn if need be.

Increased plant populations per square meter means the garden must be fed accordingly. If things begin to look a bit peaked, they sometimes benefit from an application of water mixed with a water - soluble fertilizer.

Delightful ditches

Have you been looking at the ditches this year? They have been in many areas a delight to behold. The lupins were grand as usual and I expect more widespread than last year. I was sorry to hear one person fretting over their existence, looking on them as a noxious weed. Relax folks. I have yet to hear of any farmer who has had to or felt his need to spray for lupins. They are opportunists and will take over in uncultivated fields and ditches. However, once you move in and break up the ground, it’s goodbye lupins. If anyone has experienced it to be otherwise, I’d like to hear from you.

Not far from here I see yellow irises growing in the ditch and apparently spreading, but I’m not sure if it’s with or without the help of the locals. Beside my deck a single wild carrot plant popped up. This plant in bloom is a common sight along roadsides in late summer but it can be a nuisance in hayfields. No, I do not intend to pluck this one out just yet, but I’ll make sure it doesn’t go to seed.

Wild roses beautify our roadsides in some of the more remote areas. Daisies, buttercups, and black-eyed Susans are some of the many lovely wild flowers  we’ll be seeing this summer. Enjoy them.

Gardening comments or questions? Drop me a line at RR 10 Charlottetown, PE, C1E 1Z4 or bcobb@pei.sympatico.ca