If you want to enjoy your own fresh, homegrown tomatoes this summer, April is the time to get started. Unless you are a hardcore gardener and start your own from seeds, most likely you will be buying young tomato plants (“seedlings”) from a nursery or plant sale. More about that later! Once you have your plants home, knowing what comes next is important to ensure that they remain healthy and productive later on. Here's how:

Cynthia Nations is a UC Master Gardener coastside resident who grows many different varieties of tomatoes each summer. This article was edited by UC Master Gardener, Maggie Mah.

The late comedian George Carlin once posed the question: "Why is there no blue food?” He speculated that the absence of “blue food” was due to the fact it was actually the secret to immortality and therefore not available to the rest of us. Fast-forward 50 years and, although George argued that blueberries were actually purple, it turns out he might have been onto something. The “blue” in blueberries comes from a group of phytochemicals called anthocyanins, powerful antioxidants which may help your body defend itself against a long list of diseases. Eating blueberries is not likely to make you immortal but there is no doubt that they are highly nutritious and, as such, are commonly touted as a “Superfood.”

In addition to being delicious, blueberries are easy to grow and make attractive additions to the home garden with profuse clusters of white or pink blossoms in early spring and colorful foliage in the fall. Since nothing is healthier or more delicious than fresh picked blueberries, here's how you can grow your very own “Superfood.”

Blueberry plants that do well in the mild winter conditions of our coastal areas include Southern Highbush, a hybrid of native Highbush and Southern Lowbush Blueberry varieties. These cultivars are also known for producing lots of sweet, flavorful berries. Other variations on Southern Highbush blueberries include Reka, O'Neal, Gulf Coast, Jubilee, Misty, Georgia Gem, and Marimba.

Unless you want to share your blueberry harvest with the local bird population, you may want to protect your harvest with bird netting. (Note: netting is a bit pesky, and it won't deter squirrels!) Install the netting just as the first green berries show a blush of violet. Once berry production slows down and your main harvest is done, you can remove the netting and allow your feathered friends to enjoy what's left of the berries. They will return the favor by removing any lurking caterpillars. After several years, you may see that your original plants have sent out rhizome shoots and multiplied the number of fruit producing stems in the garden bed.

For more information, check out these resources:

Bruce Goren is a Master Gardener who has developed his own tomato variety, San Francisco Sunrise. Bruce is also doing experimental grafting to see if fruit trees can produce sub-tropical fruits in chilly San Francisco. You can find more about Bruce's work, read his comments, and see his photography on Instagram at IG-@SFfruitGardener. This article was edited by UC SM/SF Master Gardeners Maggie Mah and Cynthia Nations.

Is it permeable? Landscape or “weed blocking” fabric is made of tightly woven fiber, usually
polyester or plastic, both of which are derived from petroleum. There are different grades and
thicknesses, which will have correspondingly different degrees of permeability. Initially, they
are somewhat porous, allowing a certain amount of water and air to move through the fabric.
Unfortunately, permeability decreases in short order as the small holes that create porosity
gradually become clogged with dirt and debris. This is where the trouble starts.

What goes on below the surface? While not visible to the naked eye, healthy soil teems with
billions of beneficial organisms that depend on the movement of water and vital gases (oxygen,
carbon dioxide) between the atmosphere and the soil. As permeability decreases, these
components become more and more restricted. Deprived of oxygen, carbon dioxide and water,
soil microorganisms die off, leading to a downward cycle. Natural processes start to shut down
and plants start to appear less and less healthy. Once uncovered, the degraded soil may appear
cracked, compacted, and will very likely smell rotten. This is because the natural process of
decomposition has been interrupted and the healthy microbial community has died off.

Rooting for roots. Plants that are surrounded by increasingly clogged landscape material have a
hard time, too. Vegetation that is planted in good, properly irrigated soil grows deep roots in
the process of seeking out nutrients and moisture. This leads to healthy plants that are more
resilient to stress. Conversely, plants that are surrounded by a cover of landscape fabric (which
can be bone dry even after a deep, soaking rain) soon spread their roots out closer to the
surface. Eventually, roots may appear at the edge of the landscape fabric but despite a
gardener's best efforts, plants in this scenario will not do well.

Mulch: always good? Landscape fabric is often topped with a layer of organic mulch such as
wood chips. Although mulch is normally a very good thing and a top dressing of it certainly
looks more attractive than naked landscape fabric, it can't do what it does when it is in direct
contact with the native soil and becomes counterproductive. Why? Instead of the usual process
of decomposing and adding valuable organic matter to the soil, the mulch particles just break
down on top of the fabric and add more particulates to clog things up even more.
Still in the weeds? If you are determined to get the upper hand in the battle against weeds,
consider sheet mulching and other beneficial practices that will minimize time and effort and,
at the same time, help your garden to thrive.

It's the New Year and a gardener's thoughts naturally turn to planning new and interesting plants. For those of
us living on California's Central Coast, the mild climate and long growing season supports a wide variety of
vegetation. But beware: there are some plants that should be avoided because introducing them to your
landscape can have consequences that go far beyond filling an empty spot in your flower bed. Apart from
poison ivy and other classic plant “no-no's,” the plants that should be on your radar are known as “invasive
plant species.” So, whether you're planning a large landscaping project or a simple garden refresh, here's what
you need to know.

What is an “invasive” plant?
Invasive plants are usually not native to a particular region but once introduced, they become established very
quickly. If allowed to proliferate, they will out-compete the existing vegetation and ultimately, disrupt the
natural ecosystem. A dramatic example of “invasives” taking over can be seen in California's iconic “golden”
summer landscape. Prior to European settlement, the hills would have been green year-round with deep-
rooted perennial native grasses dotting the open ranges. The aggressive annual grasses and weeds that
accompanied the introduction of livestock quickly took over and today, only 1% of California's native grasses
remain.

What's the difference between “invasive plants” and “weeds”?
Although they are vexing and you might think of them as invasive, there's an important difference between
common garden weeds and plants that are truly and destructively invasive. Your typical weed actually requires
what is known as “human disturbance” to establish and persist. “Disturbance” means conventional gardening
activities like soil tillage, fertilizing, irrigation, etc. Invasive plants (whether they are introduced intentionally or
not) do not need any help from humans and readily escape from cultivated areas, infesting all kinds of habitats
including wildlands, rangelands, and even waterways.

What do invasive plants do to a natural habitat?
Invasive plants disrupt an ecosystem by out-competing other plants, thereby reducing the ability of natives and
other non-invasive plants to survive. This change creates a “domino effect,” impacting every organism that has
evolved in the pre-invasive habitat including birds, insects, and other wildlife who rely on native plants for
shelter and food.

Where do “invasive“ plants come from?
According to the California Invasive Plant Council, about 37% of the species listed on the CIPC Inventory were
introduced accidentally through contaminated seed or carried along on equipment, vehicles, animals, human
shoes, etc. The remaining 63% were intentionally introduced and of those, nearly 80% came via the nursery
industry for use in ornamental landscaping. We now know the harm that invasives can cause, but ironically, it
is also easy to understand why so many of them have become popular: they tend to be attractive, and they
grow very well!

Although many invasive plant species that were introduced in California are no longer sold, others are still
available, and their impacts can be seen on a grand scale. Of these, Pampas Grass (Cortaderia selloana or Cortaderia jubata) is the poster child. This spectacular South American native was brought to Santa Barbara and introduced commercially as an ornamental in the late 1800's. Extremely hardy and fast growing, with massive clumps up to 13 feet tall, stands of Pampas Grass can be seen along the entire length of California's coastal areas. The plant's sharp leaf blades can be harmful to animals and humans, rendering it undesirable as wildlife shelter or food source. It's also quite flammable.

The list of invasive plants that are still sold in California goes on. Among the varieties of highest concern and
that are known to be invasive in our coastal region are these: Green Fountain Grass (Pennistem setaceum);
Mexican Feathergrass (Stipa/Nassella tenuissimo) Water Hyacinth (Eichornia crassipe); Yellow Water Iris (Iris
pseudoacorus); Highway Iceplant (Carpobrotus edulis) and Periwinkle (Vinca major).

Why it matters
Invasive plants cause harm to the environment, the economy and even human health. Fast growing woody
invasives create higher fuel loads, causing fires to burn with greater intensity. Invasive aquatic plants clog
waterways and block livestock from gaining access to water. According to the California Invasive Plant Council,
the state's annual expenditures on control, monitoring and outreach to address the issue of invasive plants
total more than $82 million dollars. The actual environmental cost is much more difficult to determine but
researchers at Cornell University estimate that the damage done by invasive plants in the U.S. costs over $120
billion each year.

Although it is one of the most bio-diverse places in the world, California has limited and diminishing
untouched natural habitats and over 30% of its native species are threatened. In many areas of San Mateo
County, housing developments are adjacent to large areas of open space, which makes them especially
vulnerable to “invasion” by problematic plants. By choosing non-invasive plants for your garden, you will help
to protect these sensitive areas.

Resources
--Plant Right: an organization partnering with retail nurseries to prevent the spread of invasive plants sold in
California. Plant Right identifies alternative garden plants that are comparably beautiful and provide the same
utility as invasive plants. http://www.plantright.org
--California Native Plant Society: https://calscape.org
--Cal-IPC website: www.cal-ipc.org