By Penny Pawl, UC Master Gardener of Napa County

Although the nursery rhyme tells us that Little Miss Muffet was frightened by them, spiders are in fact beneficial insects. 

Scientifically speaking, spiders are Arachnids, invertebrates with two body segments, eight legs, no wings or antennae and no ability to chew.

I have several daddy long legs living in my house right now.  We coexist well.  They make large, messy webs on my ceilings.  As soon as I clean up their webs, the spiders go right back to work.  They make their webs in my garage also.  I seldom find them outside. 

The world of spiders is a big one.  There are thousands of different types in California.  Among the most common are tarantulas, grass spiders, Calisoga [sic] spiders, daddy long legs, sow-bug killers, American house spiders, black widow spiders, wolf spiders, garden spiders, and jumping spiders.

Occasionally you hear of someone getting bitten by a brown recluse spider, but those spiders are not established in California.  When people move around the country, they can unknowingly bring them into California on household items.

About 20 years ago, I was bitten on the wrist by a spider found in linens that had recently arrived from another state.  The bite was very painful, and the spider looked suspiciously like a brown recluse, but I squashed it so could not get it identified.  If you get bitten by a spider and think it might be a brown recluse, seek immediate medical attention as the flesh around the bite slowly rots away.

Among all these spiders, we seem to hear the most about black widows.  They will bite and their bite is poisonous.  A black widow lived for a few years in a corner of one of my worm bins.  We showed respect for each other and she never attacked me.  When I worked in the bin, she moved to the corner and I avoided her.

The house spiders in my home are mostly daddy long legs; they are also called cellar spiders.   They are easily distinguished by their exceptionally long legs, as compared to the size of their body. They belong to the Pholcidae family, which has about 80 genera and 1000 species.

A day or two ago I noticed a tiny thin web in my kitchen window. I searched around the window and, yes, the daddy long legs was back. Sometimes I wonder if it ever leaves. I have vacuumed the web up but somehow the spider survives.    

According to what I have read, these creatures love to live with humans. And they like areas where there is some dampness. They do possess some venom, but their little fangs are not long enough to pierce human skin.

Rather than bite their prey they roll the prey up in their web. If you look at the web, you will see little bundles stored here and there. They have the messiest webs of all spiders. Unlike the neat webs so many spiders spin, these are just pieces of silk going every which way. The spiders usually hang upside down in their web, just waiting for something to become entangled. This habit, along with their legs, makes them easy to identify.

On occasion, and as recommended by the UC Davis Integrated Pest Management (IPM), I have moved other types of spiders outside. Most spiders are great at pest management. It is estimated that spiders eat 800 million tons of bugs a year. Most of their prey are flying insects, although at times they will target non-flying insects.

While researching this article, I learned that Pholcids feed on house spiders and keep flies in check, so your house will be cleaner if you leave them in peace. If you see a spider, you don't need to remove it. Just remove the messy web on occasion.

The UC Master Gardeners of Napa County are volunteers who provide University of California research-based information on home gardening. To find out more about home gardening or upcoming programs, visit the Master Gardener website (napamg.ucanr.edu). Our office is temporarily closed but we are answering questions remotely and by email. Send your gardening questions to mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org or leave a phone message at 707-253-4143 and a Master Gardener will respond shortly.  

UC IPM has this Pest Note on spiders, with identification guidelines, and management advice.

http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7442.html

Somehow we missed having this posted for June 20.  Catch up now!  Article for June 27 will be posted June 29.

By Pat Hitchcock, U. C. Master Gardener of Napa County

Plant some beans!

Warm settled weather found me planting beans in the garden. First in were some seeds from packets that had dates prior to 2018—in other words, old seed. These were a mix of bush types: Roc d'Or (yellow), Provider (green), Royalty Purple Pod (purple) and a tricolor mix.

All sprouted except the green ones. Since bush beans tend to be ready to eat earlier than pole beans, I'm anticipating that we will be eating these first.

Next I planted some Romano pole bean seeds that I saved from last year's Master Gardener field trial. I really liked the two climbing varieties called Helda and Golden Gate. Being fresh, these seeds had a 100 percent germination rate. By the beginning of June, they had climbed to the top of the six-foot-tall tuteur I set up for them.

In the garden, a tuteur is a tall support structure. I purchased two at a local nursery a few years ago, and I added extra strings to them for the beans to twine around. It worked great for these beans last year and is super easy: I just put it in the ground where the beans can reach it.

I don't consider the summer garden to be complete without beans for drying. A couple of years ago Leonardo Urena came to one of our Master Gardener seminars to talk about growing giant pumpkins. He brought with him some beans that he likes to grow every summer: Coco Blanco and Cranberry Bush.

I grew out a few seeds of these last year and wanted to give them another try. Both are bush types; these were the next to get planted. They germinated well and are growing sturdily in the garden. I have noticed that the Coco Blanco have suffered some scorch in the recent hot spells we've had, but the plants are still growing fast. These will be ready to harvest after they form full pods and start to dry at the end of the summer.

I also planted two pole beans for drying. One is Christmas Lima, which I planted from a one-pound package I bought from Rancho Gordo. The other is a bean I call Kosovo, which was distributed to Master Gardeners several years ago by another seminar speaker. They look an awful lot like Eye of the Goat beans to me. Both of these bean types are vigorous climbers, so I set some poles in the ground and set up strings for them to climb as I don't have any more tuteurs.

You'd think that would be enough beans for one family. In fact, it might be too much, but my bean planting was still not finished. Our Master Gardener field trials group decided to grow out some different Romano beans this year. So, finally, I planted ten seeds each of three kinds of Romano beans: Musica, Violet-Podded and Capitano.

I planted Musica around the second of my tuteurs. Violet-Podded got a repurposed umbrella skeleton and Capitano, being a bush type, has a short metal cage for support. All of these germinated well, although I've lost some plants to the heat.

Out of all the bean varieties I've planted, only the Musica are being chewed up by something. Sneaking out after dark in my pajamas with a flashlight, I discovered earwigs munching happily on them. The next day I put out some rolled-up newspaper in hopes of trapping the hungry critters. I expect the beans to outgrow the munching soon.

I love to grow beans. I find that they germinate readily, grow without too much fuss and provide quite a bit of food for the effort. I try to plant twice as many seeds as the number of plants I want to allow for germination issues, insect predation or other problems. I never bother to thin them if they all sprout, and I always get more beans than I can eat.

Here's a hint: June is not too late to plant beans in our climate. While there may not be enough time for dry beans to mature (one source I consulted said this would take about 100 days), bush beans for fresh eating are ready in 50 to 60 days according to Johnny's Seeds. Pole beans will take a week or two longer but then produce longer.

Be brave and plant a couple of different varieties: “green” beans come in yellow and purple as well as green, making your dinner table that much more interesting.

The UC Master Gardeners of Napa County are volunteers who provide University of California research-based information on home gardening. To find out more about home gardening or upcoming programs, visit the Master Gardener website (napamg.ucanr.edu). Our office is temporarily closed but we are answering questions remotely and by email. Send your gardening questions to mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org or leave a phone message at 707-253-4143 and a Master Gardener will respond shortly.  

Online searching for beans by name will provide photos of all the beans Pat Hitchcock names in this article.

 The University of California's Vegetable Research and Information Center is just packed with vegetable growing information.  Find it here:

https://vric.ucdavis.edu/main/veg_info.htm

By Susanne von Rosenberg, UC Master Gardener of Napa County

During this uncertain time, many of us have become more committed to growing our own vegetables. A logical next question is: how can I produce more vegetables in the space I have available? Keep in mind these four principles if you want to increase the yield from your garden: picking the right vegetables, planning carefully, interplanting and extending the season.

Picking the right vegetables simply means picking vegetables that are high producers. One watermelon plant will take up at least as much space as a large tomato plant and you might get only four or five small to medium watermelons. If you plant the right kind of broccoli, you can harvest the main head and then harvest side shoots for many more weeks. If you plant cauliflower, you get exactly one cauliflower.

Also look for varieties that mature relatively quickly. Some broccoli varieties produce a main head in 60 to 90 days from transplant. Some tomatoes can produce ripe tomatoes in as few as 55 days after transplant; big beefsteak tomatoes may take 90 days. Quick-maturing varieties are often referred to as early varieties.

Planning carefully is essential to growing more vegetables in the same space. Know exactly what you're going to plant and where. By having more seedlings ready to plant whenever you finish harvesting a crop, you can substantially increase the volume of vegetables you harvest.

Let's say you planted lettuce, and you plan to replace the lettuce with beans once the weather warms up. With such a plan, at the very least you will have the seeds ready. You can get a little further ahead by starting the beans two to three weeks before you're ready to take out the remaining lettuce, and then planting them as seedlings.

When you know how much food a plant yields and how quickly it will produce, you can figure out how many plants you need and when. You can also plan to save space by “going up.” A trellis on the north side of a garden can allow you to grow pole beans, cucumbers, melons and other vining crops vertically, saving you a lot of space.

I also use flat trellises for my tomatoes rather than space-hogging cages. I tie the vines up with twine made from natural materials. Keeping your trellis on the north side prevents it from shading the rest of your vegetables. If you live in a hotter part of the County, consider using space behind the trellis for plants that prefer some shade during hot weather.

Interplanting, also known as intercropping, is the concept of tucking smaller or faster-growing plants in among larger or slower-growing plants to take advantage of available place. There are many opportunities for interplanting, such as planting basil between tomato plants. Another common grouping is radishes and carrots. Radishes sprout and grow quickly; carrots usually take quite a while to sprout and are still small by the time the radishes are ready to harvest.

Many greens such as arugula, tat soi, mizuna, and Swiss chard grow to harvest size quickly, so you can usually grow them between larger plants, such as cauliflower and broccoli. The greens will be ready to harvest by the time the bigger plants start to fill out. Small plants, such as leeks and garlic, can be tucked in just about anywhere. Cool-season herbs such as dill and cilantro are also good for interplanting because they only last a few months.

If you really want to increase your yield, grow vegetables all year. We are lucky to have a mild Mediterranean climate that allows us to grow cool-season vegetables well into the fall. Planning your garden carefully is even more important for year-round vegetable gardening. As the days gets shorter and cooler, plants take longer grow to maturity.

Your more casual gardening friends will probably be surprised when you tell them in mid-July that you just seeded broccoli and cauliflower for your fall garden. But when you plant out seedlings in mid-August, you will have mature broccoli by mid to late October. Because there is less sunlight and the days are getting cooler, broccoli seedlings you set out at the end of August may not mature until mid to late November. Planting just two weeks later in the fall means that you harvest about a month later.

One final thought: As you increase the productivity of your garden, it's even more important to amend your soil and provide adequate fertilizer for your plants.

What are you going to do this year to get more food from your garden?

The UC Master Gardeners of Napa County are volunteers who provide University of California research-based information on home gardening. To find out more about home gardening or upcoming programs, visit the Master Gardener website (napamg.ucanr.edu). Our office is temporarily closed but we are answering questions remotely and by email. Send your gardening questions to mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org or leave a phone message at 707-253-4143 and a Master Gardener will respond shortly.  

by Penny Pawl, U.C. Master Gardener of Napa County

Oh no, I've done it again. I have fallen in love with a plant and its beautiful flowers. I planted it; it grew well and then I discovered that it is on the invasive plant list. What to do? And why is this plant on the list?  

Many of the wonderful plants that I have planted over the years are on this list. How do authorities create this list? Some of those plants include pampas grass (Cortaderia jubata), mullein (Verbascum),butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii), Watsonia and privet (Ligustrum spp).

Most gardeners are aware that bamboo is invasive. Years ago, my husband and I planted bamboo in a wine barrel. Because we knew it had a spreading habit, we set the barrel on cement blocks. A few months later we noticed that a stem had come out the bottom of the barrel and was inching its way across the soil toward our house. Bye bye, bamboo.

Scotch broom (Sarothamnus scoparius) is probably the most notorious problem plant. It has taken over entire areas of our state and moved up the coast into Washington. It is also a problem in many other states. I have read about groups going out to remove this plant from parks and other wild areas.

Scotch broom spreads by the root system. The roots have nitrogen-fixing bacteria so the plant grows all year. It also produces large amounts of seed. If left alone, it will take over and crowd out native plants.  

Pride of Madeira (Echium candicans) is native to the island of Madeira.  I visited there a few years ago, saw the plant and fell in love with its tall purple spires.  I planted one about two years ago.  It has grown well and has not needed water or care.  It bloomed this year, and the bees and other pollinators were in heaven.

Before I planted more, I decided to check its status.  Alas, it is also on the California list of invasive plants.  Each one of those little purple flowers produces lots of seeds which take root easily in our soils.

I do not plan to remove it, so I went out one evening as the flowers faded and before the seeds set, and cut it back.  I did it at that time of day to avoid the bees and other insects.  I will need to repeat this every year to keep pride of Madeira from becoming a pest in my garden and my neighbors' gardens.

A couple of years ago I snipped two pieces of honeysuckle (Lonicera) and rooted them. They are now in barrels growing up a big trellis. When I looked for more information on this plant, which is currently in full bloom, I discovered it, too, was considered invasive. Like pride of Madeira, it produces many seeds and pollinators love it. I have to trim it after flowering to keep the seeds from spreading. It also spreads when long runners touch the ground and take root.

The California Invasive Plant Council (Cal-IPC) list has been around for many years. If you are serious about preventing the spread of invasives, you should check the list before planting. You can find it on the Cal-IPC website along with photos to help with the identification.

Some of the plants in the weed category came in with New World settlers. The weeds were hitchhikers.   Others such as Scotch broom were brought in because they grew so well in their native areas.

What do these plants all have in common? They are generally drought tolerant, and they produce massive amounts of seed. Birds love the seeds and spread them far and wide. Some invasive plants, such as wisteria, spread when their branches touch the ground and take root, or their root system moves around seeking water. When I trim the flowers of invasive plants, I don't put them in my compost. I put them in my brown yard-waste bin so they can be hot-composted by the city.

If, like me, you have a beautiful invasive plant growing in your garden, take care to keep it from taking over the whole garden. Otherwise, be safe and replace it with a native plant instead.  

The UC Master Gardeners of Napa County are volunteers who provide University of California research-based information on home gardening. To find out more about home gardening or upcoming programs, visit the Master Gardener website (napamg.ucanr.edu). Our office is temporarily closed but we are answering questions remotely and by email. Send your gardening questions to mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org or leave a phone message at 707-253-4143 and a Master Gardener will respond shortly.