August
2010
Coastal California has had a cool
Summer so far in spite of last weeks heat, the coolest daytime highs in decades, much to the relief of
gardeners dreading the hot stuff. Water use is down in the gardens I
care for, I have finally adjusted the sprinkler
timers to summertime levels a month and a half later than usual. And I have installed a couple of smart
timers that monitor the weather and adjust the length of time that the
sprinklers run to the existing conditions.
We have had morning fog quite
frequently, but this last spate of hot weather had cleared up most of the
fungal issues.
Fungicides seem to be more dangerous to gardeners than they are to the
problems that they are supposed to solve. In fact most of the
fungicides seem pretty impotent and yet they are still dangerous. A
little sunlight goes a long ways and a lot further than the
chemicals. To clean up the roses I remove the blind shoots and other
internal branches. When I cut flowers and removed spent flowers at
this time of year I take long stems. This removes infected foliage
and encourages fresh new growth. Cleaning up fallen leaves under the
roses can help keep the spores of the fungus from floating back up to the
living foliage. Washing down the foliage just as the sun comes out
removes dust and the water droplets focus the sunlight killing off mildew
and rust. A fresh dose of mulch will blanket over the spores and
help reduce the water needs of the plants. Take care to keep the
mulch from stacking up against the canes.
There are loads of summer
flowers blooming. I try to plan a garden for the rest of the
seasons. Spring is easy, in fact it is difficult not to have flowers
in the Spring. Summer is harder, Fall is probably the hardest.
By Winter bulbs and deciduous trees make the show.
I have been working on a number of
hard-scape projects, pathways, planters, walls, and sprinkler
systems. It is difficult to establish plants now. The plants
are trying to set fruit and finish up the flowering for the season.
Root growth starts becoming important to plants as they prepare for the
next winter. I start planting in late September. With drought
tolerant plants in particular, providing enough water to keep them alive
and keeping them dry enough so they don't rot is just too hard, and too
many plants die.
The vegetable patch is producing
fabulously. Basil by the double fistful, pesto by the quart, squash and tomatoes,
peppers, and
eggplant. Beet greens and chard for the salad, it is too hot for
lettuce. Unless you keep it covered it just goes to seed and it gets bitter
so quickly. The fruit trees are making me smile. The Anna
Apple is wrapping up, the Dorsett Golden and Beverly Hills Apples are just
starting up. Plumcots, Burgundy Plums, Elephant Heart Plums and
Santa Rosa Plums. The Asian Pears are fantastic, though a bit prone
to fire blight. I have been making jams and ice cream.
We prepare the fruit portion of the ice cream, and pop in the freezer, 1
cup of puree per freezer baggie. This year has been fantastic for black berries. And there isn't
anything much tastier than blackberry ice cream.
Late in the month plant carrot seeds
under the tomatoes and peas for fall picking.
August 2009
It is time to get the ol' potager
ready for the fall crop of peas, carrots, lettuce, Brussels sprouts and spinach. I
am lifting my potatoes and replanting the small tubers. The corn beds are about done
and I am readying them for planting. I have shifted a number of plants in containers
to larger pots. They were getting thirsty more rapidly than was willing to drag the
hose about. It is quite a chore keeping after the fallen fruit but by picking it up
the cycle of many of the fruit damaging insects is broken. I have divided a number
of my bearded iris patches. The plants look dreary now but often are able to recover
in time to bloom next spring. I have a huge pile of brush to chip, generated from
the last weekends adventures. The chips will go to the walkways to keep down the weeds,
the excess will be stacked to rot a bit before being put into the beds. I am working
on a number of hard-scape projects, it is just too hot to plant anywhere but on the
immediate coast and not the best time there either.
Now is a great time to check out
how you did with your fruit tree pruning. Over-laden branches will be bending heavily
or will have broken. Ornamental trees will often drop branches at this time of year
because the heat causes the leaves to suck up so much water that a weakened branch will
increase its weight and break off. It is a good time to find some shade and a bit of
light tree work is good for the tree and good for me. With my roses I am pulling out
the small blind shoots, removing old canes and giving my roses a semi-hard pruning.
This stimulates some cane breaks in the Fall. A new cane makes a rose youthful once
again. Canes generally are productive for about 3 years. I periodically flood
irrigate the roses to keep all of the roots active and happy. In addition to edging a
lawn that has a warm season grass with a string-line trimmer or metal bladed edger I
periodically dig a little deeper using a shovel. This helps keep vigorous grasses
like bermuda grass and kikuyu stay within the bounds of the lawn.
I have been cultivating
projects that need to be done in the garden that don't involve the
plants. Mulching, laying gravel and Decomposed Granite walkways,
building fences, bridges and arbors. I have enjoyed the water
gardens in the heat of the afternoons. This may be excuse enough to
plant a water garden, for what better way to spend the heat of the
afternoon, than caring for the plants in the pond. I have been
removing water-shoots and suckers from the trees and removing the crossing
branches. I try to get the heavy work in the sunny part of the
gardens done before the heat comes on. There are likely to be a
number of truly hot days in the next week or two.
It is a good time to divide bulbs. Early
varieties of Narcissus are just starting to come up. Iris can be
moved or divided, watsonia and amaryllis are good to go. I am still
trying to beat the heat. Nutgrass is a major torment. It is
spreading rapidly at this time of year. Every nodule that you get
out now will mean that 10 or more don't grow in the next few weeks.
Many varieties of bamboo are putting up new shoots. If you want long
straight nodes it is a good time to give them plenty of water. My
Miscanthus are flopping. I cut back the culms of ornamental grasses
that flop over other plants or into walkways. I will prune off the
rest in the winter. Hydrangeas blooms have gone by. I cut off
the flowers and a node or two of leaves. Harder pruning often
weakens the plants. Many trees are suckering heavily. I like
to prune off the suckers while they are young. The more cambium that
gets exposed due to larger cuts the more suckers that will come on in the
future.
While it is this hot it is important not to water
the plants during the heat of the day. Many native plants in
containers will rot with mid-day watering. I try to get this task
done early or in the evening once things have cooled down a bit.
Many of the annual weeds (particularly grasses) are germinating in the
irrigated areas. I have cut back a number of the spring blooming
perennials that are starting to fade. Some of them including coreopsis
and lemon balm will give me another show later this season. My
great-grandmother used to recommend that camellias get their leaves washed
down at the end of each hot day. I tried it and found that her
advice was excellent. I have been addressing the hard-scape on as
many projects as I can take care of in preparation for planting this Fall
season. I have taken a bit of time with my fruit trees, removing
dead wood. It is easier to see now and culling it reduces the chance
of spreading the disease that killed it. I have been trying to keep
up with the fruit drop. Much of the early season drop is due to
insect damage. By allowing the fruit to rot on the ground the worms
are able to complete their lifecycle in the ground and reinfect the trees
the next year. I have been working on the giant whiteflys on many
properties. I have had some success with washing off the leaves
regularly with a strong jet of spray. And even greater success with
the release of lacewings right after washing them down.
It is hot in the garden. Due to our rainfall shortages during the
last couple of years the water coming out of the tap is more saline than
usual. In addition due to the minimal rainfall the salts that
normally accumulate were not washed through the soil out of the root-zone
of the plants. This can be counteracted in a couple of ways.
Gypsum, soil sulfur, or humic acid can be applied to the soil. Or
organic material can be used in large quantities. As the mulch
decomposes it forms humic acid and buffers the soil. In containers
something proactive must be done as there is not enough room to do all of
the mulching necessary.
This is a great time to catch up with the
weeds. They won't start back up until the rains come this
Fall. It is time to divide iris, gladiolus and daylilies. This
should be done every 3rd or 4th year. Your landscape will soon be
filled with these to bursting. It makes a great effect on
non-gardeners when you show up with such garden bounty. I have left
the divisions sitting for weeks when I didn't know what to do with all of
them and still found success in spite of my neglect. There is always
a great amount of fruit and produce from the vegetable patch. It is
sometimes difficult to keep it all on the counter until it can be
processed. I have been picking plums, the first of the apples, and
loads of black berries
