- Author: Erin Mahaney
I live in an area of Benicia where it is too windy and cool to grow larger tomatoes. And in the past three years, I haven’t even had much success with smaller, early ripening, tomatoes other than cherry tomatoes. I’ve tried planting in containers, planting in the ground, planting early, planting late, and planting every time in between, without much luck. The tomatoes would set fruit just fine, but then wouldn’t ripen.
So this year, I resigned myself to growing cherry tomatoes. I love ''Sun Gold cherry tomatoes, and they do well in my yard, but I haven’t found a red cherry that I like. Nonetheless, I made the boring, but practical, decision to plant a red cherry tomato so that at least I would have a variety of tomato colors in my salads.
But then I wandered by the vegetable vendor at the San Francisco Flower and Garden show and I couldn’t resist trying a few early varieties. Much to my surprise, one variety really took off – 'Tigerella'. 'Tigerella' is a small (1-2”), bi-colored, early (55 days) tomato. The fruit is red with orange stripes and has a wonderful sweet flavor. My new favorite! I heartily recommend it to others with the similar difficult growing conditions.
I also planted my usual Sun Golds and a new variety of red cherry tomato (yawn) and didn’t pay much more attention until I wandered by the red cherry tomato plant one day in mid-July. Much to my surprise, my “cherry” tomato plant was bearing an enormous beefsteak tomato! The plant had obviously been mislabeled. The first tomato I picked weighed in at 1 lb, 6-5/8 oz. Not bad for a “ cherry tomato!”
Who knows why this summer, which seems like a cool one to me, of all summers, my tomato plants are so happy. And that’s the fun of gardening – there is always a surprise awaiting!
- Author: Betty Homer
When gardeners speak of “perennial vegetables,” the edible plants that often come to mind include asparagus, rhubarb, and artichoke. The purpose of this article is to introduce you to other rare and/or unusual perennial vegetables which may be worth cultivating in your own backyard garden.
My quest for rare and unusual perennial vegetables led me to a plant sale recently held at the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center in Occidental, California (see www.oaec.org for more information). Although I purchased a number of perennial vegetables at the sale, most of which I have no experience growing, this article will feature two of those plants, which seem to be thriving thus far in my Solano County backyard garden. I will report back on other weird and wonderful perennial vegetables in the coming months, depending on how well they fare.
I had been searching for yacon (Polymnia sonchifolia), also known as Bolivian Sunroot, for quite some time, and was thrilled to have found it at the OAEC plant sale. Yacon is considered one of the “Lost Crops of the Incas.” Yacon is a relative of the sunflower and and native to the high Andes. Although my yacon plant is currently 5 inches tall, the literature I have read indicates that my yacon plant should reach 5-feet tall at maturity. To harvest yacon, the tubers are dug up in the autumn (so I have another a year to wait). Yacon is a versatile plant, as it can be eaten raw like fruit, or can be stir-fried, roasted, baked or made into pies and chips. Some cultures use the leaves of the yacon plant with which to wrap their food. Although I have never tasted yacon as it is not readily available in the markets that I shop at, I have read that yacon tastes like jicama, only better. Another description that I found, said that yacon tastes like a cross between celery and a Granny Smith apple. Yacon is best grown in full sun and in well-drained, fertile soil.
In recent years, yacon has grown in popularity, both in gardening literature and in nurseries specializing in rare plants. This may be due to the fact that yacon is an up and coming “super food,” as food companies are developing yacon into various products such as yacon syrup, which is a low-calorie sugar substitute appealing to both diabetics and people on diets.
Although I debated whether to buy malabar spinach (Basella rubra) at the OAEC plant sale, I gave in, as I knew malabar spinach to be a staple for those interested in permaculture/creating an edible food forest in their backyards. It is not actually spinach, but has the flavor of spinach, and can be substituted in recipes which call for spinach (note that malabar spinach is fleshy and mucilaginous, and is best consumed cooked and not raw). Under the right conditions (e.g., full sun, and fertile, well-drained soil), malabar spinach which is a vine requiring trellising, can reach 8-10 feet in length. Because malabar spinach is so prolific, I have read that one vine is sufficient to feed a family of 4. Malabar spinach is frost tender and may need to be dug up and brought indoors during the winter.
I will report on other unusual perennials growing in my backyard in the coming months, so stay tuned for updates.
- Author: Mike Gunther
The Solano Community College (SCC) Horticulture Building 1000 is no more. On August 19, 2013, a dedication ceremony took place to name the building and grounds the Louise Wibourn Yarbrough Horticulture and Plant Institute. A massive pergola now sits out in front of the building where the site was dedicated.
Louise and her husband, Billy, grew up in Oklahoma and came as farmers to Solano county in 1955. Billy established Solano Concrete in 1960 and because of his love of youth sports, opened various sports fields throughout the community. The current SCC baseball stadium is also a result of the generosity and efforts of Louise and Billy. Although Billy is no longer alive, Louise continues to be an avid gardener, an advocate for children and a stakeholder for the Solano County communities.
The future of the new institute can be seen by looking back to a couple of years ago. A fire swept through several acres of the planting grounds adjacent to the Horticulture classrooms and greenhouses, destroying all vegetation. Louise helped in securing a California fire grant award for land reclamation and orchard replacement at the college. Her efforts in support of ballot-passing Measures "G" and "Q" have now given rise to a whole new future of Horticulture to both students and the general public.
The Horticulture faculty, in particular, Ken Williams and Sandy Diehl, along with some input from others, came up with the Horticulture Expansion Project, which is now in progress. Land is being cleared and Louise has funded grading. Forty-six orchard trees are awaiting planting. Important to note is the Botanical Garden. It was designed by one of Ken Williams' Landscaping II students, Candy Pond. This will be an Ornamental Botanical Garden joining with Benicia's Forest Deaner Native Plant Garden in showcasing Solano County garden attractions. Also shown are expanded Community gardens and a Farmers Market. Sandy Diehls' Adaptive Students will have their gardens enhanced and be able to sell vegetables and other plants that they grow at this market. Proceeds will help support the college Horticulture program. Sustainable Agriculture, Orchards and a UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardener demonstration/presentation area under the direction of the Master Gardener Program Coordinator, Jennifer Baumbach are other areas where students and the public can learn and interact for everyone's benefit.
It's truly an exciting time for all.
- Author: Betsy Buxton
I keep back issues of my favorite gardening magazines as do a lot of gardeners. We justify this magazine “hoarding” by telling ourselves that they are needed “in case I want to refer back”; but rarely do we look at anything in the stack again! Well, I’m here to suggest that we need to periodically check out those not outdated articles, and this blog serves as a good reason!
Years ago I subscribed to Flower & Garden, which was published back in the 1990’s – I know since my subscription ended with the January, 1996 issue. In the 1990’s, it seems that most people thought of succulents as exotic plants. These were meant to be carefully tended, shaded from the direct sun, kept from harsh temperatures, and planted in sandy, rocky soil.
Interesting, but since a lot of succulents come from either desert-like climates or cold, windy alpine mountains, it does seem that the coddling “required” was a bit much. Where are the succulents growing in your yard? In the full sun, away from winds (try that in Suisun or Fairfield!), in crumbly semi-moist soil? Mine are growing like weeds in pots outside in regular potting soil; they get water when “everyone else” does and they don’t get sheltered from the elements! Nope, mine thrive where they are, thanks!
The article continues on about picking out the right size pots: for a barrel type cactus, use a pot 1 to 2 inches wider than the plant; for vertical type plants such as aloes use a pot ½ the height of the plant.
I don’t have many specimen succulents here. I have creepers mixed with verticals and here and there they are interspersed plants that grow wider than tall. Everything spills, and tumbles out of the pots so that one succulent looks like it belong with the plants in the next pot over. One of my succulents is rangy, with leaves spaced a good 4 inches apart and a rather strange shade of pale green; not an attractive plant BUT when it blooms – wow! – pale yellow bell-shaped flowers abound in a semi-panicle form. It’s just beautiful! And then the flowers are through and it becomes its rather nondescript self.
Aloes, Agaves, Crassulas, Echeverias, and Sempervivums are plant groups that fall into the succulent category. Come to the plant exchange on October 12, and see the variety there. Thanks to Elizabeth who came to my house and harvested cuttings, there should be a goodly bunch for you to select from. Come and take the free plantlets and stay to listen to the various mini-talks by the Master Gardeners of Solano County.
Hope to see you there!
- Author: Sharon L. Rico
Several years ago, Karen Metz, brought two Bunny Tails plants (Lagurus ovatus) to the Children’s Garden. She thought they would not only be interesting and fun to have at the garden, but something the children would enjoy touching. If you are not familiar with these small, compact grasses, just picture white, fluffy rabbit tails on a stem. Adorable!
In researching the information on this plant, it states it’s an excellent border plant and suggests planting it along walkways so it will tickle your legs as you walk pass. It’s drought tolerant once established. You can also grow Bunny Tails in containers as an accent plant. Blooms are 1 to 2 inches wide and the plant grows one to two feet tall. In the fall, the fluffy white tails turn tan and can be cut to add to dry flower arrangements.
Two years ago, it was suspected that a groundsman sprayed one of our Bunny tails with an herbicide. They do look similar to a weed when they are “tail-less”. Our remedy for the next one we planted was to place a small cage around it with a stake that denoted it was a PLANT and not a WEED. Well, the Bunny Tail grasses are not surviving in the little garden, despite our best efforts. I have decided they are not an easy grass to propagate or grow in an area you cannot keep under constant observation.