- Author: Carol Glaser, UC Master Gardener
With spring still weeks away, many of us are only starting to think about planting our summer gardens. Our garden beds may be empty, but the soil is far too wet to be worked. Still, we have an itch to tend some plants and harvest something for dinner.
Growing pea shoots in containers is an easy alternative to a winter garden. Never eaten pea shoots? These tasty greens—the young, tender, leafy parts of the pea plant—are nutritious, easy to cook and rarely seen in grocery stores.
Peas can yield a rewarding crop of greens while you wait for your soil to warm and dry out enough for spring planting. Even if you have no garden beds, you can commandeer a sunny spot on a patio or balcony and have a harvest in two to three weeks. Growing pea shoots is also a fun and educational experience for children because of the short time between planting, germination and harvest.
Before planting, you need to obtain whole pea seeds. Garden stores have small seed packets for English peas, snap peas and snow peas, but you would need to buy a lot of these expensive little packets to plant intensively enough for a sizeable harvest of shoots.
Sometimes you can find whole dried green peas (not split peas) in supermarket bulk bins—Indian markets are a good source—but I order my pea seeds on line. From my research, gray sugar pea seeds are recommended for flavor, but any whole pea seed will sprout and produce greens. Seeds germinate poorly if stored too long, so try to purchase just the amount you need this year.
Now choose your container. A broad pot, tub or even a sturdy wooden fruit box will work if it is at least four inches deep. Be sure your container has plenty of drainage holes. I like to line my planter with old screen. This allows water to drain while soil remains in the pot.
You can purchase commercial potting soil or make your own. Calculate the volume of your container to know how much soil you need. You can find recipes for homemade potting soil online. Many gardeners like to have some on hand at all times.
Before planting, soak your seeds in tap water or filtered water for at least a few hours or overnight. Soaking softens the seed coat, so you get better and faster germination. Fill containers with two to three inches of soil, leaving about two inches of headspace so you can put more soil on top of the seeds. Moisten the soil so that it feels like a damp sponge. It should not be so soggy that water seeps from the drainage holes. If you overwater, let the soil dry a bit before planting.
Drain the seeds and place them on top of the damp soil. Plant them closely, with just the width of one seed between them. Cover the entire planting surface with seeds. You will harvest the tender seedlings before they mature, so the plants won't need room to develop an extensive root system. Cover your seeds with another inch of soil or compost, tamping it down gently to eliminate air pockets. Spray or lightly water the top of the soil. I like to protect my containers with a permeable row cover (such as Reemay) to prevent scratching birds, digging pests and munching insects from invading my miniature garden beds.
Peas are a cool-season crop in California. They germinate best when the soil temperature is 55°F to 65°F, the air temperature above 50°F and below 80°F. They can handle a light frost, making November through March a good time to grow pea shoots in containers. Place your containers in a sunny spot and keep the soil moist but not soggy. Seeds will most likely break through the surface of the soil within a week. Because the seeds are planted so closely, the emerging plants will lift the soil “blanket” that has been covering them. Gently break up this blanket and lightly place it around the seedlings.
Allow the plants to reach three to five inches in height before harvest. Using scissors, cut across the plants just above the lowest set of leaves. Sheared plants will continue to grow and produce a second harvest if you water them. I have found that the plants and soil are somewhat spent after that and are ready for the compost bin.
The shoots have a delicious “green” flavor with slightly sweet overtones. They make a delicate salad dressed with lemon vinaigrette and shaved Parmesan. Soups, risottos and stir-fries also welcome the addition of these succulent, tender green shoots.
Workshops: Join U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County on Sunday, February 28, for a “Garden Forum” from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Yountville Community Center, 6516 Washington Street, Yountville. Bring your garden-related questions. Do you have a fabulous flower or magnificent melon you would like to recommend to others? Maybe you have a question about fertilizer, watering, pruning, planting or simply what to purchase at the nursery. Master Gardeners will be on hand to offer research-based information and resources. Register at the Parks and Recreation Department at 707-944-8712 or on its web site.
U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County will lead a workshop on “Growing Spring and Summer Vegetables” on Saturday, March 12, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., at the University of California Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Napa. Learn the requirements for success with summer vegetables from seed to starts. Topics include soil types and temperature; when to plant seedlings, how to water, fertilize, harvest and manage pests and diseases. On-line registration (credit card only); Mail-in/Walk-in registration (cash or check only).
The workshop repeats on Sunday, March 13, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., at the Yountville Community Center, 6516 Washington Street, Yountville. Register for the Yountville workshop at the Parks and Recreation Department at 707-944-8712 or on its web site.
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County ( http://ucanr.edu/ucmgnapa/) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden
Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.
Soil is brown, right? Usually. But perhaps you have also seen gray soil, whitish soil, red soil, black soil or even kind of a bluish soil. What does it all mean?
Delving into my Master Gardener references, I found some answers in the University of California Division ofAgriculture and Natural Resources Leaflet 2280.
Although color does not influence how productive a soil might be, it is an indicator, and we can learn a lot about the quality of the soil from that one observation. Color is one of the most useful characteristics in the classification and identification of soils.
We can usually determine what color soil is just by looking, and generally this observation is sufficient. But if a color description is required for analysis or communication, the exact shade can be matched to the Munsell Soil Color Chart, which provides a standard method for describing soil color.
In Napa Valley and throughout most of California, brown and gray soils comprise the largest swaths of landscape. Although these soils are moderately low in organic matter and often high in clay, they include some of our most productive alluvial soils.
Alluvial soils are created on valley floors by the movement of water. One property owner's erosion is another lucky person's alluvial soil. Nearly all the soils in the central and coastal valleys, including the Napa Valley, are alluvial and extremely useful for growing intensive crops.
Soils in the Central Valley tend to be gray. On the west side of the valley,soil texture is coarse to medium from granitic alluvium. The east side of the valley features medium- to fine-textured soil due to layering with sedimentary alluvium.
Still, color is only one indicator. These two areas show wide variation in productivity and other important characteristics.
Black soils are usually high in organic matter, but high is relative. Some black soils test relatively low in organic matter and relatively high in mineral content. Others occupy the other end of the spectrum—squishy black muck that can contain up to 50 percent organic matter. Peat bogs fit this description.
Black soils often have a strong granular structure. In coastal valleys, they can form on top of native grasslands. In other areas, black soils form under poorly drained conditions and range from peaty to mostly clay in texture. With proper identification and good management, these soils can be highly productive for vegetables and field crops.
Red soils can be beautiful but are often deficient in nutrients needed for healthy plant life. Usually lacking in nitrogen, essential for strong leaf development, red soils are also frequently deficient in zinc, sulfur and phosphorus. These nutrients are all necessary for the proper development of plant leaves, roots and fruits, so anyone attempting to garden in red soil will probably need to amend generously.
Why are red soils so problematic for gardening? Generally they are older soils that have gone through intensive weathering. Some of that rich alluvial gold in the valley soil probably came from old red bluffs that were robbed of their riches. This explains why bluffs with exposed edges and timberlines that have been exposed to hot summers and drenching rains are often red hued. The soil has been washed away by wind and rain down to clay pans or hard pan.
White, light gray or gray soils usually have a preponderance of sand or lime. If you rub these soils through your fingers, they feel gritty and sandy. While these soils often drain freely, they can have difficulty holding water and nutrients long enough for your plants to absorb them. In some chalky or sandy soils, iron deficiency can be a problem. This deficiency is a common problem for orchard crops but can also be problematic for other food and ornamental crops.
And then there is the blue or blue-gray mucky soil that smells bad and can have a sewer- like odor. Often this condition is the result of poorly aerated subsoil. Organic matter doesn't have enough oxygen to completely breakdown the materials.
These incompletely digested soils are not healthy for plants. Dissolved materials and gases in these soils are toxic to plant roots. To rehabilitate blue, smelly soil, extensive aeration is needed to complete biodegradation and provide a healthy environment for plant growth.
Most of the soils in Napa County are predictably brown. But the occasional pockets of different colors now speak to me in a different way. And now I understand what they are saying.
Workshops: U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County will host a workshop on “Home Vineyard: Part 1” on Saturday, February 27, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the University of California Oakville Experimental Station, 1380 Oakville Grade Road, Oakville. What to do, what to look for, and what to plan for in the vineyard between February and August. Workshop will be presented in two parts. The morning (9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.) will be classroom discussion. The afternoon (12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. will be a field trip to a local vineyard. On-line registration (credit card only); Mail-in/Walk-in registration (cash or check only).
U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County will host a workshop on “Irrigation Hands On” on Saturday,February 27, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., at the University of California Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Napa. Learn how to modify your current irrigation system to make it more efficient and effective. There will be demonstrations and hands-on learning about irrigation controllers, sprinklers, drip systems, rain water capture and grey water systems. For the hands-on segment, bring garden gloves to protect your fingers and a pair of scissors or garden shears .On-line registration (credit card only); Mail-in/Walk-in registration (cash or check only).
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County ( http://ucanr.org/ucmgnapa/) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.
Peppers are the most dependable and productive plants in my garden. I use peppers fresh, dried, ground, pickled, stuffed, fermented and fried. I have jars of pepper jelly, bottles of pepper vinegar and tins of ground chili.
So this year I am growing even more peppers. And after several years of successful pepper growing, I have some favorites.
Jalapeño plants seldom have pest problems and produce peppers early and often. Pickled jalapeños were one of my household's favorite preserves until we discovered how easy it is to make fermented hot sauce. Vibrant red or green jalapeños, salt, garlic, a little time in the kitchen and a couple of weeks fermenting in the jar produced incredibly complex, delicious hot sauces that became instant favorites with family and friends.
I'm planning for at least 20 jalapeño plants this year. With such abundance, we can pick some unripe peppers for green sauce and still have plenty to ripen to red for the garlicky hot sauce we had to dole out too sparingly this year. And we are adding Tabasco peppers to the mix.
My favorite sweet pepper last year was ‘Yellow Marconi.'They are delicious picked green, but ripe yellow ones are worth the wait. These slim tapered peppers reach eight to ten inches in length. They are sweet and crisp when raw, but you can also roast and peel them, dressing them simply with good olive oil and salt. Serve them as an antipasto, or cut in strips and sauté with onions and sausage for a classic Italian main course. Marconis are beautiful in the garden and on the plate, and I have allocated a lot of space for them this year.
‘Quadratod' Asti Rosso' (red) and ‘Quadratod' Asti Giallo' (yellow) are classic sweet bell peppers ideal for salads and cooking. Both stand up to stuffing and baking. At the end of the season, I roast, peel and freeze these peppers for our Thanksgiving antipasto.Marinate them in olive oil with a little fresh garlic, salt and a splash of vinegar.
This year we are trying ‘Jimmy Nardello,' an heirloom from Seed Savers Exchange. The company got the seeds from Nardello himself, who claims that his mother brought them with her when she emigrated from Italy's Basilicata region in 1887.
I have also reserved smaller spaces for Thai peppers, habanero, arbol and other super-hot types. One or two plants of each will satisfy us.
Our ‘Padrón' plants did not have full sun last year and had to stretch for light. The plants topped four feet and were a little rangy but consistently loaded with peppers. This year we will grow ‘Shishito' peppers, too. They are easy to grow and should be picked small and green for eating whole. Quickly roast, fry or grill them with a smattering of salt and olive oil.If you see them on a menu, you can order something else as you will have more in your garden the next day.
With so many pepper options, how to choose? If you're not a cook, you might still enjoy growing multi-colored ornamentals for craft projects or holiday decorations. Or perhaps you need an heirloom pepper for an heirloom family recipe. What you can't eat fresh, you can dry, ferment or freeze for future use. And a favorite pepper plant can be dug up and potted at the end of season to grow indoors through the winter.
Peppers are easy to grow from seed. One of the most extensive offerings comes from Redwood City Seed Company. Craig and Sue Dremann have been collecting pepper seeds since the 1970s and their website offers 24 pages of tips to insure your success.
February is not too early to plant pepper seeds. Plant them as soon as you can. Usefresh seed- starting mix for best results. Moisten the mix and fill trays, flats or shallow pots. Space seeds 1 inch apart and cover with ¼ inch of soil. Keep moist but not wet. Provide bottom heat from a seedling mat or keep them in a warm spot in the kitchen with plenty of light.
When seedlings have four true leaves, transplant to small pots with rich potting soil. Keep them warm and provide plenty of light. You may have to repot seedlings one more time before hardening them off outdoors. Wait untilnights and soil are warm before planting. Peppers do not like cold.
Seed sources for peppers:
www.seedsavers.org
Workshops: U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County will host a workshop on “Home Vineyard: Part 1” on Saturday, February 27, from 9:30 a.m.to 2:30 p.m. at the University of California Oakville Experimental Station, 1380 Oakville Grade Road, Oakville. What to do, what to look for, and what to plan for in the vineyard between February and August. Workshop will be presented in two parts. The morning (9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.)will be classroom discussion. The afternoon (12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. will be a field trip to a local vineyard.On-line registration (credit card only)
Mail-in/Walk-in registration (cash or check only)
U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County will host a workshop on “Irrigation Hands On” on Saturday,February 27, from 9:30 a.m.to 11:30 a.m., at the University of California Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Napa. Learn how to modify your current irrigation system to make it more efficient and effective.There will be demonstrations and hands-on learning about irrigation controllers, sprinklers, drip systems, rain water capture and grey water systems. For the hands-on segment, bring garden gloves to protect your fingers and a pair of scissors or garden shears.On-line registration (credit card only); Mail-in/Walk-in registration (cash or check only)
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County ( http://ucanr.org/ucmgnapa/) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.
Seeds offered for home gardeners come as two types: open-pollinated or hybrid. Open-pollinated seeds are produced by natural processes such as insects, wind, or self-pollination. Hybrid seeds are produced by breeders cross-pollinating two open-pollinated strains of a plant to produce a hybrid plant with specific characteristics such as disease resistance, higher yields or early maturation. In catalogs hybrid seeds are often indicated as “F1.” Many open-pollinated seeds are also “heirloom” seeds, developed over many years by natural selection rather than the efforts of breeders. Unless you intend to save seed from the plants you grow, it doesn't matter whether your seeds are hybrid or open-pollinated. Sometimes hybrid seeds are a little more expensive but may be worth the extra cost for their desirable traits.
Many catalogs list some or all of their seeds as “organic.” If listed as organic, then the seed has been certified to have been grown under organic standards. The catalog should tell you which organization has provided the certification. Otherwise, you can assume that the seed was grown in conventional ways.
You will want to understand the growth habit of the plants you grow from seed. If you are looking for plants to grow in small spaces, you may want plants that are compact, suitable for growing in containers, bush-type or, in the case of tomatoes, “determinate.”Seed described with these terms will develop plants with more restrained growth habits than other varieties. These plants also are more likely to have a shorter life span than their larger cousins. For example, bush beans grow compact plants that usually need no support and produce beans over a shorter period of time than pole beans. This could be advantageous if you have limited space, are too busy to set up a trellis, or want all your beans to be ready to harvest in a short period of time.
On the other hand, vining plants have advantages too. Pole beans will probably produce beans over a longer harvest period, be easier to harvest,and over the season produce more beans per plant than a bush plant. Vining plants such as cucumbers can be grown on trellises to save space in a cramped garden. ‘Indeterminate' tomatoes are the ones that keep on growing all season long and may set several flushes of fruit.
If you are growing vegetables from seed, you will be anxious to get your first harvest. Seed catalogs will give you an estimated “days to maturity.”For varieties that are normally directly seeded in the ground, such as lettuce or beans, days to maturity is counted from the date of seeding. However, for plants such as peppers or broccoli that are transplanted, days to maturity starts from the transplant date. You should also be aware that “days to maturity” refers to plants grown under ideal conditions. Since every growing season is variable, your harvest may not start on the seed catalog's time schedule.
Varieties may be described as early, mid or late season. These terms refer to the time a variety produces relative to other varieties. If you want to have tomatoes early in the summer as well as late into fall, you might choose different varieties that mature early, mid-season and late. You set out all the plants at the same time in the spring. The early varieties start producing first, and by the time they slow down, the later varieties come into production.
Not every vegetable or flower thrives in summer weather. It is helpful to know if a variety prefers cool or warm weather. Seed catalogs do not necessarily identify plants as “cool season” or “warm season” plants, but you can get an idea from the descriptions. Plants described as“tolerate heat” are often plants that prefer to be grown when it is cool. Some varieties of lettuce are often described this way and will produce edible leaves in warm weather, but the quality is not as good as lettuce grown in early spring or early fall and winter. Cool season plants are also often described as tolerating frost. If the catalog mentions planting in warm soil or after danger of frost, you know you're dealing with a warm season plant. These plants may also be described as “heat-loving” or “stands up to hot weather.”
Reading the seed catalogs is a lot of fun, but beware of fanciful descriptions of taste and beauty. Focus instead on the measurable attributes of the plants, and decide for yourself if your harvest is fabulous, fantastic, and wonderful. It likely will be if you grow it yourself.
Workshop: UC Master Gardeners of Napa County will host a workshop on “Garden Planning” on Sunday, January 24, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Yountville Community Center, 6516 Washington Street, Yountville. At a loss about what and where to plant in your own garden? Aren't sure of the factors that lead to a thriving yard? Home gardeners will examine their own garden's microclimates and receive tips and direction for choosing sites and plants suited to their particular locations and microclimates. To register, call the Parks and Recreation Department at 707-944-8712 or visit its website.
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County ( http://ucanr.org/ucmgnapa/) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.
I've often felt overwhelmed by what seems like such a complicated task. But I've learned that pruning is really not difficult. My first tip is to be aware of how pruning affects your fruit trees.
Pruning strengthens branch structure, controls size for better fruit and easier harvesting and makes the tree more visually appealing.
If you wait until warmer weather to prune, the tree will no longer be dormant. You will waste a lot of the tree's energy if you cut off blossoms that it has already created. Pruning now increases fruit size and quality. But one of the big benefits of pruning in winter and early spring is that it's easy to see the branch structure without all those leaves.
A fruit tree's vertical branches tend to be vegetative, while horizontal branches tend to be fruiting. In other words, upright branches create the leaves that supply the energy the tree needs to grow fruit. It takes both types of branches to create good fruit.
Shade inhibits flower production on fruiting branches. If overly shaded, the tree will only set fruit on the outside edges of the branches. Good pruning produces a canopy that allows for air and light flow and makes it easier to thin and harvest fruit.
You will need clean pruning shears, loppers with a 24- to 30-inch handle, and an 8- to 15-inch curved-blade pruning saw. Do not use any kind of sealer when cutting branches. Let the tree use its own natural defenses to heal the cut.
Step 1: Clean up the tree. Remove any suckers growing straight up from the roots and rootstock. Remove any dead or diseased branches and any crossing branches that are rubbing each other. If you remove diseased branches, disinfect your shears between cuts with a 10 percent bleach solution to keep from spreading the disease to other branches. Don't leave stubs. Make cuts close to the branch or trunk.
Step 2: Thin branches to allow light and air into the canopy. A good rule of thumb is to leavesix to twelve inches of air space around branches. Smaller branches need less air space than larger ones. Branches that bend downward eventually lose vigor and produce fewer and smaller fruit. Cut off the part that is hanging down. Now look for any straight, thin, vigorous branches growing straight up from the trunk or other branches. These water sprouts mainly produce leaves. They block light and air so remove them.
Strong branches that can bear the weight of fruit grow at angles of 45 to 60 degrees. If necessary, you can often bend younger, flexible branchesto force a proper angle using sticks, clothespins or ties. If a branch has hardened into a bad position, it's probably best to remove it.
Step 3: Head back and shape.This last step is easy because you're just giving the tree a haircut. Removingsome of last year's branch growth makes a stronger support for fruit. Sun-exposed wood produces the most and the largest fruit. Do most of your heading at the top of the tree to allow light to reach lower branches. Most people prefer keeping a fruit tree under eight feed to make it possible to harvest without a ladder.
Annual branch growth can be anywhere from two inches to four feet depending upon the tree's vigor, but you should be able to identify new growth by the wrinkly ring of bark encircling each stem.
Make heading cuts within ¼-inch of a bud. New growth occurs where you make the cut, so cut just above buds that face in the direction you want the branch to grow. That bud is in charge and says, “We're going this way” to the branch.
On peach and nectarine trees, remove half of last year's growth. On fig, apple, pear, plum and apricots, remove about 20 percent of last year's growth. Cherry trees are an exception; they are only pruned in summer.
Now sit back and prepare to enjoy the fruits of your labor. If you have questions about pruning or gardening, don't hesitate to call or visit the UC Master Gardeners of Napa County. See office hours and phone numbers below.
Workshop: UC Master Gardeners of Napa County will host a workshop on “Garden Planning” on Sunday, January 24, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Yountville Community Center, 6516 Washington Street, Yountville. At a loss about what and where to plant in your own garden? Aren't sure of the factors that lead to a thriving yard? Home gardeners will examine their own garden's microclimates and receive tips and direction for choosing sites and plants suited to their particular locations and microclimates. To register, call the Parks and Recreation Department at 707-944-8712 or visit its website.
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County ( http://ucanr.org/ucmgnapa/) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.