by Saira Bates

A few years ago, I found a couple of plants growing at the base of the bird house in my garden. At first, I thought they were weeds. I was tempted to pull them out, but I was also curious to see if there would be any flowers on this rapidly growing plant. I decided to let them grow. In a couple of weeks, I came to recognize that they were hollyhocks. Since I hadn't planted them, I suspected they were a gift from the birds in exchange for their lodging.

Two years ago, I collected some of the seeds and planted them in a better spot in my garden. Last year they came up but no flowers. This year, they seem to be growing well and have buds that should be opening soon. However, I noticed small holes in most of the leaves. Upon closer inspection, I could see several tiny black bugs with what appeared to be elongated snouts. I did a quick search on the UCIPM website and was able to identify them as weevils (family Curculionidae). They are a common pest with various species that use different types of plants as hosts. Adults like to eat leaves and buds but the larvae of some species feed on roots of the plants. As per UCIPM, the best way to deal with weevils is to hand pick them. I armed myself with ½ cup of soapy water, hand-picked the weevils and dropped them into the soapy water. If you are little squeamish about picking up bugs, try simply holding the cup close to the plant and flicking the buds, stems, and leaves of the plant, which will dislodge the weevils into the soapy water. I have been checking my hollyhocks daily and, to date, have not seen any weevils. You can learn more about weevils here: https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/GARDEN/FLOWERS/INVERT/weevil.html

I'm so happy that hollyhocks showed up in my garden. I've learned that hollyhocks don't normally produce flowers during the first year, can grow to be 6 feet tall and are generous seed producers, along with how to control a common pest, the weevil, using an environmentally friendly method.

Napa Master Gardeners are available to answer garden questions by email: mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org. or phone at 707-253-4143.  Volunteers will get back to you after they research answers to your questions.

Visit our website: napamg.ucanr.edu to find answers to all of your horticultural questions.

Photo credits: Saira Bates

Information links: UCMG Riverside County  Hollyhock info

by Donna Woodward

The Tomatoes-in-Containers Trial
We gardeners who have space to grow plants are fortunate. Many people would love to grow some vegetables, such as tomatoes, but have no garden space. We Napa MGs in the Field Test Committee felt we should do something to help these people. We decided to try a field (patio?) test for tomatoes. There are several types of tomatoes bred for growth in containers. We picked three to grow on our patios, decks, or anywhere other than in the ground or a raised bed. Most of us had never tried this, so it promised to be a novel experience.

Super Bush

Then we had an even better idea: We coordinated our trial with the annual tomato sale, which was held on April 15 th, and invited the public to participate. We had a booth at the tomato sale where people signed up, took a data sheet, and agreed to keep notes while growing any of the designated varieties.

We will poll them later about their experiences and add this data to our own.
We did some research on various tomatoes touted as suitable for growing in containers. One factor is whether the tomato is determinate or indeterminate. The former is a bush type that grows to a certain height, so this would probably work better in a limited space. We learned that there are dwarf varieties that are bred specifically for growing in pots. There are even micro-dwarf types that can be grown on a windowsill. Some of these were available at the sale, but we didn't want to experiment with a novelty. We decided to try three normal-sized plants that are reputed to do well in containers.

We picked one general-purpose round slicing tomato, one cherry/grape tomato, and one paste type. For the slicer we picked Super Bush, a determinate variety that is supposed to grow to about 3' in height. We picked a grape tomato called Prairie Fire, which is a small oblong tomato that had rave reviews from some who had grown it before. This one is indeterminate, but we cautioned everyone to provide good staking.

The last choice, Inca Jewel, is a paste type, also called plum or Roma. This is the kind of tomato used for making sauces because its flesh is thicker and meatier than other types. We were stymied by the prospect of getting so many empty containers without spending an exorbitant amount of money. We were lucky to find a tree farm that was willing to donate some large plastic containers. We were all responsible for purchasing our own soil. No supplies were offered to the public.
At the tomato sale anyone who purchased one or more of the three varieties in the trial was invited to participate. We were delighted to get 42 people to join our trial! We'll post updates over the coming months as the growing season progresses.

Napa Master Gardeners are available to answer garden questions by email: mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org. or phone at 707-253-4143.  Volunteers will get back to you after they research answers to your questions.

Visit our website: napamg.ucanr.edu to find answers to all of your horticultural questions.

Photo credits: Donna Woodward, Reneés Garden (Super Bush) Prairie Fire and Inca Jewel by previous permission.

by Bob Niklewicz PT MG

One of the great pleasures of working in a garden is the reward and satisfaction of walking among your plants and seeing the unique way your artistic talents are displayed. It's a gift to yourself as well as to all those that take the time to appreciate them. Walking is a wonderful and extremely important way to stay healthy. Staying healthy is one of bonuses you get after working and using your muscles in your garden. As sore as the muscles may become, the benefits are worth it.

Question 1: How many muscles are there in the Human Body? If you have read one of my previous articles, you would know you have about 600 muscles.

Question 2: How many muscles pump blood throughout your body? If you said, “one, the heart”? If you did, you would be mostly wrong. Yes, the heart, about the size of your fist, beats (contracts, then relaxes) about 100,000 times a day. If you multiply that over a lifetime, the amount of work done is staggering. Those 600 muscles (one being the heart) contracts then relaxes during use, too. The difference is the heart beats your whole life while the other muscles work as needed.  One of those needs is walking.

Every time you take a step, reach, bend or lift, smile, blink or scratch your nose, muscles will contract then relax when the task is done. All the muscles including the heart need blood to flow through the tissue to provide oxygen and remove metabolic waste. This includes: nitrogen, carbon dioxide, lactic acid, uric acid, ammonia, urea, and creatinine. The heart is the pump for circulation. Note that your muscles are acting as axillary pumps to transport blood, too. They will lessen the stress on the heart. With every muscle contraction, especially in a steady rhythmic way, you move good fresh blood in and move waste out. Muscles move more blood as you walk, and improve your fitness.

As in anything active, start out by warming up.  A slow, steady walk may be all you need.  My rule of thumb is when you are wearing a sweatshirt with a zipper and feel a need to pull down the zipper, you are warmed up. Walking with comfortable shoes is a plus. Walking around your yard several times should do nicely. If you are walking intensely, such as on dirt hills paths or uneven surfaces, consider a walking stick for balance. Walk at a pace that is not stressful, so you can enjoy the view. You should swing your arms even if you are using a stick. Right hand forward when the left foot steps forward. If you are really into progress, learn to take your pulse or use your smart watch to give you a number. The target heart rate for conditioning is 100 beats per minute. If you just want to warm up, go for the Glow.

“If you are in a bad mood, go for a walk, if you are still in a bad mood go for another walk.”

Hippocrates

Napa Master Gardeners are available to answer garden questions by email: mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org. or phone at 707-253-4143.  Volunteers will get back to you after they research answers to your questions.

Visit our website: napamg.ucanr.edu to find answers to all of your horticultural questions.

Photo credits: www.verywellfit.com, legs; Jeannette E. Warnert

by Melody Kendall

Designing a new or updating an old landscape can seem like an overwhelming chore to some.  Breaking the whole experience into steps or looking at different considerations first will help to center or focus all your efforts.  Last week we covered the first steps. This week we'll finish:

-Cost & other considerations

-Draw out existing landscape

-Add important notations

-Additional Considerations

-Locate research based gardening info to facilitate the proposed project

Cost & other considerations: What will be your personal budget for this project?  Do some research and check on pricing of the various materials and plants desired.  Create a list or spreadsheet that contains the information gathered. This will put everything in one place to better view the proposed overall project expenses. If you intend to use a profession for all or some of the project, start the interviewing process to get an estimated cost of professional labor to add to the list, allowing you to make a decision about the use of a professional and how much or how little your budget can be spent. Investigate your area/neighborhood for the existence of any HMOs or CCRs that need to be followed. Check with the city, county and state to see if your project will require any permitting or if there are any regulations to be followed. Start small. Planting smaller plants will help to control the budget with the added benefit of experiencing the joy of watching them grow and mature in their new locations. Be prepared for cost overruns, give yourself a cushion.

Draw out existing landscape: Start bringing all this information into focus. Roughly draw out your existing landscape. Start with scratch paper, a pencil and a big eraser. If your project perimeter is large, you will need a helper to hold the measure tape.  Homeowners might not have a long measure tape, so the process will have to be done in steps. There are programs available on line that will allow you to not only view your entire property from above in real time and have measuring tools available for your use. It is much easier to use one of these programs to measure the larger distances. Print out this photo and write in the measurements as they are taken. Whichever method you use, record all measurements on your rough drawing. Using this information and graph paper, do a final property drawing. Keep the original photo print for your reference.

Add important notations: When planning a landscape, project measurements are not the only important information that will be needed for a successful outcome.  Elevations, structures and hardscapes, to name a few, create certain conditions in your garden that will need to be taken into consideration when making plant and design decisions. 

-Points of the compass:  a north facing landscape area has very different conditions than a south facing area.

-Prevailing winds: the local wind conditions are a big factor in plant selection. In our south valley the winds are much more constant than those upper valley locations. Some plants just don't like the wind.

-Lines of sight: Say you have a wonderful view of the mountains you want to preserve and enhance, not so much the neighbor's chicken coop.  When choosing plantings for those areas, think of the mature height of plants.

-Locate the existing irrigation lines and hose bibs: Plus, water access is important information to have when choosing plants for any area.

-Sun/shade coverage: The points of the compass, structures, large trees and the sun's changing trajectory in winter and summer create areas that at one time of the year might be in shade but at other times of the year in the sun.  Determining that sun/shade coverage is rather easy using this formula:  Go out at night during a full moon and observe where the moonlight falls, this is where the sun will fall six months. Example: Jan moonlight=June sunlight. 

-Mark all of this information on your final drawing and make multiple copies for your use during the project.

Additional Considerations: There are some further items that need to be considered before beginning your project:

-Check with local nurseries for plant inventory availability and plan for any fulfillment delays

-Landscape vs hardscape: know the difference. With some exceptions altering/installing hardscapes is best done in the spring or early summer to take advantage of the softer soil from the winter rains. Plant installation, on the other hand, is usually best done in late fall or early winter. This will allow the plant to take advantage of any winter rains.

-Consider climate change and how it will affect your final design plan.

-Record the locations of existing/updated irrigation in the landscape on one of the copies of your property drawing. Save this in your records to refer to in the years to come. 

-Record all plant ID information and save this information in a file to be referred to as needed.

-Check out the various design related free apps and software options online and try them out.

-There are many research based websites available for your discovery and exploration

As a final step: Take one copy of your final drawing and in the area slated for change, rough out the planned landscape project. You now have a very nice folder filled with information about landscape design in general and your project specifically.  Become familiar with this information and make any changes to your original design plan as information suggests. Empowered with this knowledge you can start your project and have a successful experience.

Napa Master Gardeners are available to answer garden questions by email: mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org. or phone at 707-253-4143.  Volunteers will get back to you after they research answers to your questions.

Visit our website: napamg.ucanr.edu to find answers to all of your horticultural questions.

Photo credits: Mel Kendall

Information links:

UC Master Gardeners of Napa County-Step-by-step Garden Design

https://napamg.ucanr.edu/GardenDesign/