A promise yet to be fulfilled [04/25]

I’m Nathan Langley and this is A promise yet to be fulfilled, a seasonal weekly newsletter on my garden developments at home in Sudbury, Ontario!

Well, so much for my plans from last time! The extended heat and humidity — and my attempts at taking some time off to do some camping — quickly dashed my earlier intentions. The ground turned so solid that it wasn’t worthwhile to struggle and turn it over.

But last night — finally — some rain fell for most of the evening. This morning, I was able to reclaim the section I cleared earlier this summer in my trial garden area, and continued on so that I had some space to finally start planting.

I only got four blocks planted, but I am on my way. Hopefully, a bit of rain continues to fall in the coming week!

Along the driveway, things are establishing well despite the heat and sandy soil. The only one that is struggling is the Andropogon gerardii ‘Blackhawks’ (‘Blackhawks’ Big Blue Stem). I was away for a bit at the beginning of the heat wave, and I think it struggled the most as a warm season grass. It was trying to grow at the same time the water literally evaporated.

Only two of the six that I planted are on the cusp of failure, though. I will give them a bit more time to see if they rebound with the cooler evening temperatures and added moisture.

Otherwise, I will replace them and start again.