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In case you haven’t noticed, it’s beginning to feel a lot like summer. Our wonderful spring weather never stays around long enough.

I’m still not anywhere near finished with all the spring garden chores I intended to do. There are so many things I hoped to get accomplished before the hot weather.

I have plans to transplant a couple of shrubs. I really would have preferred to have done this while it was cooler, but I just ran out of time and cool weather.

Now that it is hot, it will be important to get as much of the rootball as possible when I dig up the shrubs.

After I get each shrub out, I will immediately plant them in their new locations and water them well.

A few simples steps need to be taken to assure the plants will recover from the shock of being transplanted:

Dig a good size rootball, being careful not to disturb the roots anymore than I have to.

Have the new hole pre-dug, carefully replanting it in its new site.

Then I will see to it that the plants get plenty of water until they have recovered from any transplant shock.

While I’m on the subject of watering, let me remind you of that wonderful invention – the soaker hose. This is the absolute best way to water all your gardens. Snake this hose through your gardens, spread your mulch of choice over the hose, add a timer to your water faucet and you’re set.

Soaker hoses only water the ground and roots of your plants. Keeping the foliage dry will help to prevent all kinds of fungal diseases.

Soaker hoses can water deeply and thoroughly. Keep in mind that the water will not move far from the hose. Check the beds often to make sure all the plants are receiving adequate amounts of water from the hose.

Many gardeners continue to plant all summer, even though the temperature keeps going up. The increasingly stressful weather calls for more careful planting.

When planting anything during the summer, do not disturb the root system, even if it’s rootbound.

The trouble with beetles

I have had several questions this past week about beetles on vegetable plants.

So many people believe that beetles are good guys, not realizing that there are bad beetles out there. I guess that’s because of the popular lady beetles.

Finding an orange beetle with seven black spots on your squash plants is not a good thing and you don’t want it visiting your garden. This is a squash beetle, one of several bad beetles.

Other bad beetles to be on the lookout for are cucumber beetles. They can be yellow with black strips, green with yellow spots, or yellow with black spots. Most of these bad beetles will be found on cucumber, melons, pumpkins or squash plants. You can always use the under-the-shoe-and-apply pressure method to get rid of them.

You can also spray them with Neem, Bioganic or Spinosade sprays. All of these products are safe to use on any vegetable or fruit.

Early blight disease

If you notice the bottom leaves on your tomato plants are turning yellowish brown, you are probably looking at early blight disease.

To fight this, sprinkle whole ground cornmeal around the base of the plant, or make a cornmeal tea, and spray all the foliage with it.

There is a new natural product we are seeing good results from called Plant Wash, which is helping to cure fungal diseases. Give it a try on any tomatoes that are showing signs of early blight.

It is wonderful to grow your own fresh, organic vegetables, but it does take time and work to keep a vegetable garden healthy.

Remember to stop by the Farmers Market here in Victoria any Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

There have been several produce vendors there each day, with more expected soon. Locally grown vegetables will always be fresher and tastier. Stop by early for the best selections.

Let’s try to garden with nature, not against it, and maybe all our weeds will become wildflowers.

Laurie Garretson is a Victoria gardener and nursery owner. Send your gardening questions to laurie@vicad.com or in care of the Advocate, P. O. Box 1518, Victoria, Texas 77902.