Posted on 07/01/2026 5:19:22 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
The MONTHLY Victory Garden Thread is a gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you.
If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located.
This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked.
It is impossible to hijack the Victory Garden Thread. Planting, Harvest to Table Recipes, Preserving, Good Living - there is no telling where it will go - and that is part of the fun and interest. Jump in and join us! Send a Private Message to Diana in Wisconsin if you'd like to be added to/removed from our New & Improved Ping List.
NOTE: This is a once a MONTH Ping List, but we DO post to the thread all throughout the month. Links to related articles and discussions which might be of interest to Gardeners are welcomed any time.
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12 Early-Summer Chores: What To Do in the Garden Now
https://www.almanac.com/12-early-summer-chores-what-do-garden-now
LOTS to do right now. Do it early and stay out of the heat when you can! :) For starters:
Harvest Garlic Scapes
Cut the garlic scapes! Mine started to twirl every year right at the time of the solstice. By cutting them off as soon as possible, the plant will direct its energy into making bigger bulbs. Plus, the scapes are a delicious early summer treat in any recipe that calls for green onions or garlic. They make a great pesto, too, even without basil.
Prune Spring-Flowering Shrubs
Prune spring-blooming shrubs such as forsythia, lilacs, weigela, viburnums, daphne, quince, and deutzia by mid-July at the latest. If you do it any later, you will cut off next spring’s blossoms. See when to prune shrubs.
Perform the Chelsea Chop
Do the Chelsea Chop! To keep fall bloomers like asters, mums, and phlox shorter and more full and inspire them to produce double the number of flowers, cut the plants back by half. Doing it before the 4th of July will give the plants time to form new growth and extra blossoms. (See my article on Chelsea Chop for more info.)
Fertilize Shrubs and Perennials
Fertilize. By the 4th of July, give shrubs and perennials the last side-dressing of compost, rotten manure, or fertilizer. This will give any new growth time to harden off before frost.
Replace Early Vegetable Crops
Most spring vegetables, such as bok choy, radishes, peas, lettuce, and spinach, have been harvested by early July. Pull them out and make room for some new plants. In most areas, there is still time to plant more beans, summer squashes, and cukes. Seeds should germinate fast in the warm soil. Check your first frost date and add an extra two weeks for fruits to mature since light and heat will start to wane as fall approaches.
Continues at link...
My apartment community has small 3x4 plots. This year I am only growing tomatoes with an emphasis on San Marzano tomatoes for drying and serving on crustini with white cheese
Good morning everyone Greetings from middle Tennessee.
Was wondering if anyone has had experience growing “Malabar” spinach? It is a vining plant that produces spinach type leaves I saw a specimen last week that was several years old and about 6-8 foot on a trellis. Was told it can overwinter. We are located in zone 7. I was told it can grow and produce in our hot humid climate here
Am growing a strange variety of squash this year. Due to our heat, humidity disease, and pest pressure I have had very little success growing regular squash. This variety is called “Trombocini” squash-a vining type that produces a butternut shaped fruit with a looooonnnnnng length-kind of shaped like a trombone. It is supposed to be much more resistant to the squash bugs and borers. I have harvested 6 so far and it is now about 10 foot tall. Lord have mercy. Haven’t tried cooking with it yet. We shall see.
Hope everyone has a great July 4. God bless America!💕
What a truly MARVELOUS picture! Thanks for posting.
Last year I started my zucchini in large peat pots in the last half of July and put them in the ground in early August. I have THE. BEST. zucchini crop ever!
I completely avoided squash vine borers and the weather and soil temps were perfect. A suggestion though, for those of us in the northeast, is to get a very quick maturing variety. That removes an early frost from the equation.
I grated my zucchini and froze it for use in zucchini bread and zucchini cookies.
I LOVE THAT!!!!
Wow, a picture of abundance we enjoy in America. Thanks for your dedication to this thread, Diana. That to do summary is sooo timely. Happy Independence Day everyone. So lucky to have been born in the USA!
Thanks for that zuke tip. I have not been able to grow zucchini for years and what you do looks like it would work here. Altho our temps have been below normal lately, it looks like a moderate heat is coming.
How to get endless hollyhock blooms every single summer (with zero effort)
https://www.tomsguide.com/home/gardening/how-to-get-endless-hollyhock-blooms-every-single-summer-with-zero-effort
I was unaware that the hollyhock plants actually died after year 2 when they flower (year 1, no flowers). This is a good article on how to reseed every year without much effort.
Provencal Baguette Sandwich
Filled with just-picked garden vegetables.
Ing 1/3 c evo 1/4 c red wine vinegar K/s/p 1/2 small red onion, thin-sliced 4 8" French baguettes 1 clove garlic, 3 lge plum tomatoes, 2 6 oz Italian tuna in olive oil, lightly drained 1 red bell pepper in thin strips 1/2 English cucumber, thin-sliced 1/4 c packed fresh parsley 2 tbl capers, drained
Directions--Dressing Whisk ol/oil, vinegar, s/p. Add red onion; set aside. Assemble Rub bread halves w/ garlic, halved tomato; add k/s/p. On bread bottoms Add tuna combined w/ Dressing, bell pepper, cucumber, parsley and capers; s/p. Close sandwiches; press down tops gently. Wrap tightly in saran; place heavy skillet on top; set 15 min to meld, then unwrap and cut in half.
Wow! Get 30 or 40 loaves of sliced Italian bread, some local goat cheese and roasted garlic, and its Bruchetta for the a small town or your Church!
Malabar spinach is very easy to grow, and it usually grows quickly. The edible leaves are a bit thicker and fleshier than spinach. Some people don’t care for it because it tends to be a bit . . . mucilaginous, i.e., slimy.
I have planted hollyhocks twice in the last 3 weeks, and no germination has been observed. Wah! Everything else is doing great.
I haven’t gotten any zucchinis yet (not from the plants not growing huge so far), but I did get a single cucumber so far. It was weird, curled like it was trying to bite its own tail. I gave it to my neighbor along with a couple of ripened strawberries.
Sorry about the heat wave in the mid-west, we're having beautiful 70 degree weather here in So Cal - but I know the heat is on its way. I'm preparing for it now:
Red Cedar mulch put around fig tree - as suggested by Pete from Shawnee to keep the fig beetles away - haven't seen a one yet (Thank God):
Plants and flowers are loving the cooler weather...for now:
Hibiscus are blooming:
Along with Plumerias:
And a finicky desert rose and begonia:
Happy 4th to all!!
Hollyhocks are one of my very favorite flowers - reminds me of visiting my grandparents in Indiana in the summer.
They are unfortunately marginal where I am (Zone 9a, b, or even 10 depending on the source).
I’ve had iffy luck with them - but try again every year. NO luck with seeds and unfortunately we had a heat wave (101 degrees) for a few days at the end of March which destroyed all of my hollyhock starters.
Thanks for the article and I might have to just enjoy photos and memories of them...
"This was in my prayers: to have a parcel of land not too large,
With a garden there and a spring of fresh water by the house,
And, with these, a piece of woodland."
(Taken From Modern Mint Horace on gardening)
More Horace if interested:
Horace Carmina John T Kirby Purdue University From:
Horace on "Seize the Present"
Ask not ('tis forbidden knowledge), what our destined term of years,
Mine and yours; nor scan the tables of your Babylonish seers.
Better far to bear the future, my Leuconoe, like the past,
Whether Jove has many winters yet to give, or this our last;
This, that makes the Tyrrhene billows spend their strength against the shore.
Strain your wine and prove your wisdom; life is short; should hope be more?
In the moment of our talking, envious time has ebb'd away.
Seize the present; trust tomorrow e'en as little as you may.
Note..." A more literal translation of carpe diem would thus be "pluck the day [as it is ripe]"—that is, enjoy the moment. It has been argued by various authors that this interpretation is closer to Horace's original meaning.[3] Latin scholar and retired Saint Joseph's University professor, Maria S. Marsilio points out that carpe diem is a horticultural metaphor that, particularly seen in the context of the poem, is more accurately translated as "plucking the day", evoking the plucking and gathering of ripening fruits or flowers, enjoying a moment that is rooted in the sensory experience of nature.[4]"
Its early and only 82F so probably a good time to seize this moment to go out and mow my lawn!
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