Notes on Gardening
In the interest of getting rid of piles of papers in my office, this is a collection of notes
from newspaper and magazine articles that I have found to be of interest. Hopefully you will, too.
This page will grow as I have the time and inclination to rummage through my piles and type up the
info I find of interest, so that I can toss some of the accumulated piles.
| FOOD STUFFS DECORATIVE PLANTS FLOWERS |
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SO. CALIFORNIA
LOCAL FLORA
BUTTERFLIES
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Growing things to eat | |
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Growing berries in pots. Most berries enjoy life in containers when grown in pure sand (concrete sand, plaster sand, play sand, or washed sand), with a top layer of compost. Blueberries prefer an acid mix. |
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Habanero peppers, a.k.a. Capiscun chinense. Plant after warm weather starts (well, in southern California), in full sun, well-drained and enriched soil. Feed with a high-phosphorus food to promote fruit production. Keep evenly moist, not wet. Harvest when young and firm, or wait until fully mature. |
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A tomato that was developed in Czechoslovakia is a winner for late season ripening in souther California's mild winter climate. The Stupice (pronounced stew-peach-ay with the emphasis on peach) are small, sweet tomatoes, yielding 87 tomatoes per plant, and produces in only 52 days. Can be planted as late as September. The variety is indeterminate, meaning it'll grown until the cold gets it. But, as pointed out in the article, compared with Czechoslovakia, southern California doesn't get very cold at all. Other tomatoes that can be planted in September for an autumn harvest include Glacier, Taxi, and Siberia. |
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One southern California gardener grows his tomatoes in 50-gallon plastic drums (cut in half) in the shade. They get two hours of sun in the morning, and another two hours of sun in the evening. Otherwise, they're just hot. But he keeps the soil moist with bubblers. And, he puts crushed egg shells on top of the soil, and feeds them out-dated milk. He grows "Better Boy" plants from Burpee Seeds. |
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Harvest tomatoes year round, at least in warmer climates like southern California. Start Early Girl from seed in January (or buy seedlings in February or March; seedlings should be short, green, and leafy, and should not have any flowers or fruit on them yet). Protect young plants for the first few weeks they're in the ground. You'll be harvesting your Early Girl by April. April is also a good month to start Big Boy, Super Steak, Celebrity, Red Cherry, and Sweet 100 (a favorite variety at our house) from seed, or wait until May or June to plant seedlings from the nursery. Plant Champion seedlings in August or September for a late-season harvest. In mid-to late-December you'll have a full crop again. Harvest the largest fruit and let it ripen on the counter, then pull up the plant and hang it, fruit and all, in a shady patio or in your garage. The fruit will ripen as the plant dries, and you'll have fresh tomatoes into January. |
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Do NOT use steer manure when planting tomatoes. They don't like it. They prefer chicken manure, composted forest products, and other steer-free conditioners. |
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Sungold. Indeterminate yellow cherry tomatoes. Very sweet, thin skins, very juicy flesh, start producing early in the season, and go all summer. - Found in an article in the April 16, 2005 O.C. Register. |
Decorative plants | |
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Angel pelargoniums. Crinkle-leafed foliage similar to the lemon-scented varieties, with lots of miniature flowers similar in appearance to a Martha Washington. Main stem is easily snapped if disturbed, so plant in out-of-the-way spot. Bright, morning sun, protection from harsh afternoon sun. Pinch back to control size. |
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Coleus are in again. They were popular during the Victoria era, and again in the 1950s (I grew lots of them in the 1970s, I wonder what that means...). Now they have better burgunday and lime-green variegations, leaf shapes and textures. Sun coleus, new variety that can take full sun along the coast, and a half-day of sun inland. In some protected spots, coleus will live outdoors from one year to the next (I have a number of them that are several years old). Though the new Sun coleus takes the sun better, it's also thirstier: water frequently, feed occasionally with a 20-20-20 liquid plant food. |
Flower gardening | |
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Moon-flower vine, Ipomoea alba. Closely related to morning glory, but blooms at night. Has white-tinged, green, 6-inch scented flowers. Grow from seed. Sometimes stubborn to germinate. Start indoors. Soak seeds overnight in warm water, then place between layers of damp paper towels in an unsealed plastic bag. Keep bag in warm place; check daily. At first sign of roots, carefully plant seed outdoors, half an inch deep in loose garden soil. Bloom best in lean soil that has been well worked and is easy for seedlings to push through. Keep seedlings damp, not wet. Vines grow to 20 feet, turning clockwise. Train on strings or post. Will flower through summer when dead-headed to prevent seed formation. May live for years. Actually true perennial, but sold as annual. Can cut back in winter to about a foot off the ground, should grow back on its own next season. |
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Miniature rose, Sugan Cookie. Developed in Yorba Linda, California, by Laurie Chaffin at Pixie Treasures. Mini roses are not houseplants. Grow out in the garden. Tiny pink, full-petaled flowers with reverse white trim. Treat like a regular rose, but keep pruning to a minimum. In southern California, prune in January, with light shearing throughout the year to keep it blooming. Good in large pots or perennial border. |
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Cryptostegia or Allamnda, lavender flowered trumpet vine. Grows well in full sun in southern California coastal areas. Inland it needs frost protection. Can be grown in a pot and moved to protected area in winter. Grows to 10 feet, thrives in hot, steamy weather. In Orange County, California it'll bloom all year, and blooms heavily in the summer months. |
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Roses. According to this article in the Register, it takes 10x the dose to use a systemic pesticide than a spray. The author recommends the use of a spray that contains Bt, a bacteria that is bad for bugs but harmless to the environment. Sounds great! But where do I find rose food that doesn't have systemic in it already? At least the last few seasons (I haven't checked this year yet) it's been difficult to find rose food without the systemic. Argh. |
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The California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica) celebrated it's 100th birthday as being the California state flower in 2003. |
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The geranium is a pale cousin to the pelargonium. You'll see Martha Washington pelargoniums in front of almost every house in San Francisco. They're delightful, and come in a huge variety of colors. Geraniums are the ones with the fern-like, delicate leaves, and smaller blooms. |
Southern California gardening | |
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Southern California June garden guide.
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In southern California, plant sweet pea seeds in September, as they like the warm fall soil. Mix 25 percent early-blooming with 75 percent late-blooming varieties to maximize blossom harvest. Scent has been bred out in lieu of color in some varieties, so take care when choosing. |
Using local flora | |
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Wherever you live, gardening with local floral helps the ecology. In southern California, land of perpetual draught, it's even better with draught-tolerant natives. Some things to consider: do not compost as most natives don't like the bacteria, fertilize only lightly if at all, mulch to try to slow evaporation with redwood bark or rock and gravel for desert plants, plant with crown slightly above soil line and try not to disturb the roots, water frequently while establishing your native garden then infrequently (if at all) once established. Southern California native plants include
Web sites to check out:
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Butterfly garden | |
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Plant for the kind of butterflies you want to attract. Remember, the caterpillars can be voracious critters, so plant extra: some for them, some for you.
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Every attempt has been made to paraphrase and condense information found in the original articles. In many cases, articles were torn out of the original publication without the author's name, or the name/date of the publication. If any information here is found to be a direct quote without appropriate credit given, please contact me, and I will gladly either change the content or give the author or copyright holder proper credit.
Write with your spade, and garden with your pen,
Shovel your couplets to their long repose.
And type your turnips down the field in rows.
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