- Author: Susan Croissant
Here's the tale. We have a thriving Passion Flower vine (Passiflora caerulea 'Blue Crown') . (http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ldplants/paca1.htm). My neighbor likes the flowers and the three butterflies that constantly flutter around it. But she doesn't like messy plants. So, last year she told her housemate to "cut back" the vine on their side of the fence because it was invading. When she wants work done, he does what she says--or there could be hell to pay. Since he doesn't know the meaning of the word "prune," that's exactly what he did---CUT. He sheered the vine on their side--like a chainsaw cutting straight down along the fence. The vine on my side simply "folded" over (like a soft flour tortilla). OMG! %#!*&@. Yeah, I was ticked off but, mostly, simply astounded.
I calmed myself and said, next time CALL ME, and I'll take care of it. I understand that the "tentacles" grow very fast and that the fruit ripen, shrivel, fall to the ground and create new shoots. Alas, I chose the wrong species and, although the orangish fruit is edible, it tastes like absolutely nothing. I try to pull it and discard it. But the purple-white-yellow flowers that turn to fruit are beautiful.
My husband said to just leave the vine "as is" for awhile--see if/how it recovers. Think about the butterflies, he said. Where will they go if the vine dries up and dies? Will we lose them forever, never again see them twitter around all day? Perhaps they'll stick around and flutter around the heap of vegetation now lying on the ground. So, let it be for now, he says.
But, that's not me. I start cutting back. Everything is intertwined (hey, it's a vine), so if you "pull" something, things break off and that's that. Well, I get to whacking, then the point of no return. I cut the whole darn thing back to pretty much three 1-inch diameter, 2-foot high stumps, so to speak. Maybe I just wanted my neighbor to understand the consequences of his actions? Maybe I thought it hopeless that the heap lying on the ground would recover? Perhaps my husband was right. But... oops, too late. In the end, I figured either it'll live or it'll die-that philosophy thrives in my yard. I did leave a couple tentacles with leaves so that maybe the butterflies would stay.
Well, the darn thing came back. Thriving. Weaving in and out and all around is the family of three butterflies, Agraulis vanillae (Gulf fritillary). Art Shapiro (butterfly expert and professor of ecology and evolution at UC Davis), says the gulf frit was first recorded in the Bay Area before 1908 and became "established" here in the 1950s and that there are fewer gulf frits in Sacramento in the last few years. Wow, I am so glad they're in my backyard. For more info, see: http://ucanr.org/blogs/bugsquad/index.cfm?tagname=gulf%20fritillaries. For photos, see http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=5850. For photos of another frequent visitor, Xylocopa varipuncta (Valley carpenter bee), see http://ucanr.org/sites/gardenweb/?blogtag=Valley%20carpenter%20bee.
Anyway... we constructed a trellis a foot from the fence, so we can monitor the vine's "tentacles" and direct them to stay on our side. Oh yeah, last month my neighbors cut back their Privet (Ligustrum spp.). It had become a very big and intrusive tree, plus it was crowding out my Snowball bush (Viburnum opulus). I told him to go ahead and trim the snowball bush and showed him where to "stop" the cuts. But, guess what? He decided not to touch the dang thing.
/span>- Author: Danielle Wilkowski
This summer season has been interesting for growing tomatoes. First of all, the weather was too cool for the tomatoes to ripen, then it became so hot that they cooked on the plants. Fortunately, I was able to save enough of the fruits for my family, other relatives and a few neighbors to enjoy. And when I say enjoy, I MEAN IT! I ask you is there anything better than a fresh picked tomato BLT?
According to Wikipedia the word "tomato" may refer to the plant (Solanum lycopersicum) or the edible, typically red, fruit that it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization.
I was surprised how much I learned about growing tomatoes because I am a "newbie" Master Gardener (2012). Based on my recent knowledge, I was pretty successful growing tomatoes. First of all, I purchased resistant plants such as 'Ace Hybrid',' Better Boy',' Celebrity', and 'Early Girl'. I did experiment with a plant of miniature fruits called 'Black Cherry'. which turned out to be a large plant. I saved the seeds and next year will not plant it in a large pot; but will plant it in the ground as I did the others.
I had such fun recognizing the beneficial insects such as California native bees and lady beetles crawling and flying on the plants. The only pests I had to deal with were a few aphids which a good stream of water was a quick solution. Speaking of water, I am certain that watering the plants deeply and less often than I used to helped them to stay healthy and strong. Of course, in Vacaville which can record temperatures of triple digits in June and July does mean more watering. However, by concentrating the water into the roots and not the leaves appeared to be helpful in preventing other problems.
Another fun project was using tomato's in a new recipe a friend sent me called, Chunky Tomato Basil Soup. It was quite tasty. At the Fairfield Tomato Festival I was given directions for a Tightening Tomato Facial Mask. Oh, how much fun one can have with this little round fruit!
- Author: Launa Herrmann
In my Grandmother’s Nebraska garden, hollyhocks (Alcea rosea) towered like church spires. They added vertical relief and color to the horizontal monochromatic flatness of corn and wheat fields. With childhood’s eyes, I can still see their fluffy petals and fuzzy leaves fluttering in a summer breeze. What I never paid attention to, until now, were the seed pods.
Today as I harvest hollyhock seeds from my garden, I notice that a solitary pod looks like a circular version of bank-rolled coins peeking out of a nap-sack wrapper; and a container full of pods, a decorative item in itself.
So this year, instead of tucking the seed pods onto a shelf in the garden shed to await spring planting, I decide to carry my treasures inside and place them on the kitchen table as one might an ornamental collection. I want to teach my grandson that in the fall a garden’s beauty is often found in little things and unusual places.
After all, we’re never too young or too old to learn, “To see a world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wild flower.” [Quotation by English poet William Blake (1757-1827)]
- Author: Carolyn Neumann
In spring, a cheerful pot of blooming tulips by the front door can snap dreary winter to a close. The bright colors and jaunty stance of springtime’s most famous flowers signal milder days ahead.
Fall is when spring blooms are planted. But why settle for just tulips, when you can also enjoy daffodils, crocus, and grape hyacinths planted in the same pot to produce three waves of bloom, brightening your spring scene for weeks and weeks on end?
The Technique
The technique is called layering or planting lasagna-style. It involves planting layers of different types of bulbs in the same pot, with the various types blooming in secession. By overlapping their bloom times you can create pots of seemingly “perpetual color” featuring double-decker and two-tone color effects.
To enjoy the dramatic display, put layered pots where you’ll see them daily: by doorways, next to the garage or driveway, by the mailbox or lamp post, along walkways or right outside your kitchen window. Spectacular!
The instructions feature crocus, daffodils, grape hyacinths and tulips as the early, mid and late blooming bulbs, but any early-mid-late combo that pleases you will work.
Color & Texture
When selecting bulbs, consider their flower color, as your Lasagna simmers from one planting to the next, having different flower colors adds a sense of “newness” as the waves of color progress. Likewise, there is delightful textural value to each plant, including flowers and leaves. As the bloom progresses, you will be left with leaves from the previous bloom. They may be fine and short like grass or long and strappy, thick and leathery. Having a variety of textures will leave your container with more interest, but also urges you to think, how could I have done this and not hidden my beautiful crocus with leathery leaves.
Planting Bulbs in Layers, Lasagna-style
For three waves of bloom, you’ll need bulbs that bloom in early-spring, mid-spring, and late-spring. Different types of flower bulbs bloom at different times. Bulb packages list this information on the labels. When making bulb selections, consider choosing bulbs with overlapping bloom times so that the planting remains colorful all season. Include grape hyacinths in the mix, for instance as they bloom for weeks on end, providing a colorful cobalt blue under-planting to mid-season daffodils, and continue to bloom in support of the late-season tulips, as well.
Minimize Cold, Wind Exposure
In choosing a pot, the larger the better so as to provide added insulation to the roots. In colder climates, freezing can be an issue so you may need to place your pot(s)in protected areas away from extreme cold and wind (against a house foundation, on a porch, or deck where they receive “radiant heat”, for instance).
Choose Early, Mid, Late Blooming Varieties
Excellent bulb choices for layering would be crocus (early-season), daffodils and grape hyacinths (mid-season), with the same grape hyacinths still there in bloom with the tulips (late season). The cobalt blue grape hyacinths (aka muscari) are the “glue” that hold this particular scheme together, by virtue of their extremely long bloom season.
Positioning the Bulbs
- Pretend you are making lasagna! You’ll plant the largest bulbs approximately 8-inches deep, smaller bulbs 5-inches deep. Potting soil provides the layer (the sauce) under and over your bulbs.
- The Sauce (potting soil) is now added, about 2”-3” deep, so when you measure from the top rim of your pot down, the potting soil level should be about 11 inches below the rim. Sprinkle on a fistful of bonemeal.
- The 1st layer will be a bulb such as a large size (king Alfred) daffodil, allium, or tulip. Place your bulbs in tight so you’ll have quite a color show. Or you can mix them up or in a pattern.
- The Sauce - Add 3” inches of soil above the first layer. Sprinkle on a fistful of bone meal.
- The 2nd Layer will be a bulb that is planted about 6” below the surface such as Dutch Hyacinth or a jonquil narcissus. Leave about ¼” between them.
- Don’t overcrowd, remember these bulbs are fairly well dehydrated and will swell once watering begins!
- The Sauce – Cover with about 1” inch of soil above the previous bulbs. Sprinkle on a fistful of bone meal.
- The 3nd Layer will finish your container off with bulbs like grape hyacinth (muscari) and/or crocus. Remember to leave a little space in between bulbs.
- The Sauce – Top off with five inches of potting soil, add some pansies or other colorful cool weather annuals.
- The Cheese- (mulch) Top dress your creation with mulch, water regularly and wait for the show.
Let the Show Begin
As spring arrives, sit back and watch the show as the waves of colorful flowers come up, bloom and move on.
As each wave blooms, then fades and dies back, that wave’s leaves will remain. Crocus leaves are attractive, slim and grass-like, just let them be. Daffodil /Jonquil leaves are also nice but you may want to snip off the faded flowers and stems to the leaves. Tulips can be the grand finale if you late blooming variety, which is a good thing as fading tulip leaves are unattractive.
Once the last ones fade, it is time to dig up the whole lot and replant everything in the yard or garden in a less-than-primetime location or just put the whole container somewhere out of sight but still being watered until foliage turns brown. Bulbs use their leaves to absorb nutrients which are stored in the bulb itself. If you cut the leaves off too soon, they will not have the energy stores to flower again next year. After all foliage is brown, it’s time for hair cut and decisions for your bulbs future. Daffodils, crocuses and grape hyacinths are bulbs that naturalize well and can be easily planted in the yard where they do not get much water. If you choose a well-drained, sunny spot to replant these bulbs, there’s a good chance they’ll come back in future years to bloom again and even multiply.
Don’t be tempted to leave the bulbs in the same big pot if summer flowers will be planted in it next. Routine watering and fertilizing for summer flowers will damage/rot bulbs. Bulbs originate from areas that have harsh winters and hot waterless summers. Better to plant them into the ground, along a path or in a bed just for bulbs, this way come fall, you can gear up, fertilize them and get them back on the road to bloom again
Fertilization
Both spring and summer bulbs need phosphorous to encourage root development. Keep in mind that phosphorous moves very little once applied to the soil. Some bulbs are planted 6 to 8 inches deep. The phosphorus needs to be mixed in the soil below where the bulbs will be located so it can be utilized by the bulb roots. Mix bone meal with the soil in the lower part of the planting bed as it is being prepared.
If bulbs are going to be maintained in a planting bed more than one year, it is important to supply additional fertilizer bone meal each autumn. Spring flowering bulbs should have mixed into the soil in the fall five tablespoons of 10-10-10 soluble fertilizer (or equivalent bulb fertilizer) plus two cups of bone meal per ten square foot area. With the arrival of new shoots in the spring, repeat the above soluble fertilizer application. Do not fertilize spring flowering bulbs after they have started flowering. This tends to encourage the development of bulb rot and sometimes shortens the life of the flowers.
Summer and fall flowering bulbs should be fertilized monthly from shoot emergence until the plants reach full flower. Apply seven tablespoons of 10-10-10 soluble fertilizer (or equivalent bulb fertilizer) split over two or three applications over a ten square foot area.
For good bud development, work bone meal into the soil at planting and check your soil ph twice a year and adjust as necessary.
- Author: Erin Mahaney
A few years ago, we grew a mammoth sunflower that my son has talked about ever since. We had planted it in our raised vegetable bed so it had good sun, good soil, and a good water supply. Unfortunately, it wasn’t so good for the vegetables that struggled to compete with it!
We have tried to grow giant sunflowers every year since in other areas of the yard that didn’t require sacrificing a zucchini plant or a tomato crop. But perhaps due to the clay soil, more sporadic irrigation, or hungry birds or squirrels, we couldn’t even get the seeds to germinate.
So this year, I gave up a corner of my raised vegetable bed to growing a giant sunflower again for my son. The seeds germinated quickly and the seedlings happily grew . . . and then we went on vacation. When we returned, the seedlings were so big that I was reluctant to thin them for fear of disturbing the roots of their siblings. (That, and I’m a bit too soft-hearted to thin seedlings like I know I should.) Giant sunflowers should be space 20-24” apart. If they are planted too closely, the seed head will be smaller.
Ultimately, instead of a giant sunflower, we have ended up with a crop of 5 very tall sunflowers with good-sized—but definitely not giant—seed heads. Being contrary flowers, they prefer to face our sunnier neighbor’s yard than our own. We didn’t get the mammoth sunflower that we were hoping for, but I have to admit, the cheery faces of the sunflowers that we do have more than make up for it. Plus, I know my finches will be happy when the seeds ripen! It was definitely worth worth skipping a few zucchini this year.