Our featured image was taken Thursday afternoon from Corrales. How long has it been since we have seen a sky like that? We’re looking forward to cooler weather in the week ahead, nothing above 90, with chances of rain 40% for the next 4 days, so we’re putting Rain Barrels on sale, $100 after rebate or $125 if you aren’t an Albuquerque Water Authority customer. Click here for the details.

It's nice to have a break, but hot days are going to return, and we're receiving a special delivery of "heat loving baskets", with purslane, lantana, and three color mini-petunias. Watch our Gallery page for photos when they arrive.

We are still fighting NHD (No Hose Disease) so this week would be a good week to check your drip system and make sure all the emitters are functioning properly. They do get plugged up and are easy to replace.

If you are using a drip system (like the emitter tubing that we talked about last week) in your vegetable garden, it’s a great idea to cover the line with straw mulch, but be sure all the emitters are working properly before you cover them up!

Everybody wants a recipe when it comes to watering, and again we refer you to 505outside.com for watering tips, but you still need to pay attention to how things are going and ‘tweak’ your settings. Every lawn or garden has an “oops” point that you can watch for as you work to conserve water by cutting back to find the ‘sweet spot’. In the case of a lawn, the test is to step on your grass and see if an impression remains. That’s the ‘oops’ point… go back to a setting that provided more water. Also watch for a ‘gray’ look to the grass; that’s the oops before death. Increase the water.

It’s a little harder to do in vegetable and flower beds, but there will be one variety in the mix that’s the canary in the coal mine and will display its distress before the other plants. When that happens, go back to a more generous setting.

Drip systems are great, but every once in a while every plant or bed on a drip system needs a flood. The symptom is salt burn caused by minerals from the water accumulating around the roots. The cure is to add gypsum and then water thoroughly with a hose to the point of standing water. The gypsum will open up the soil so the alkaline sediment can be pushed down below the root zone. You’ll notice the difference quickly! 

If you water daily, it’s a good idea to use a water soluble fertilizer weekly - we have several formulations.

Many gardeners started planting their veggies weeks ago, but it’s definitely not too late for everything except cool season vegetables - and you’ll have another chance at them soon!

There’s an old saying that if you don’t plant squash until the 4th of July, you won’t get squash bugs… but just in case that’s just an old saying, your best pro-action against these destructive pests is a combination of diatomaceous earth and Eight dust.

Albuquerque gardeners have planted corn up until the 4th of July and gotten a harvest. If you’re serious about a nice supply of home grown corn, plant in blocks of at least 4 rows every two weeks. Corn pollinates by wind and you need to cover every direction it blows, so four short rows will do better than two long rows.

If you are planting from seed, check your packaging and make sure you have a short season… 70 to 90 days. Our average first frost is late October.

Of course we have a lot of veggies that have gotten a great head start, with many tomatoes and peppers already bearing fruit.

We hope these tips are helpful, and if this article has stimulated some concerns or questions, be sure to ask your Gardening Angels for specific advice. We love helping you succeed!

Enjoy the great gardening weather coming up for the next few days, and we look forward to seeing you again soon, especially all our GARDENING DADS!

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!

Richard, Jennifer, and Your Gardening Angels