One of the bright spots of winter is all the gardening and nursery catalogs that arrive in the mail. I love to page through them to see what new offerings they have. Last year, one catalog had grafted vegetables, but the only types they had left were tomatoes. The idea of grafted vegetables was new to me, and I was intrigued.   

As I learned from my reading, vegetables may be grafted onto a different rootstock to improve resistance to soil-borne diseases or to encourage more vigorous roots. This year several catalogs are offering grafted vegetables. Members of the nightshade family (tomatoes, eggplants, peppers) are being grafted, as are cantaloupes, cucumbers and watermelon. The grafting is done when the seedlings are still young.

Grafting is done largely by professional greenhouse operators and large field-crop producers. This year, many of the seed and plant catalogs are carrying the grafting materials and grafted plants.  I thought about trying to graft some tomatoes, but the rootstock tomatoes are varieties I have never heard of. In some cases, two different tomato varieties are grafted onto one rootstock, a boon for the small-space gardener.

Last spring, I ordered three grafted tomatoes: ‘Japanese Trifle,' ‘Roman Stripe' and a third one whose name I have misplaced. The ‘Japanese Trifle' tomatoes ripened at the end of August and were excellent. ‘Roman Stripe' also was excellent, ripening its first fruit on September 8. The third variety finally had ripe fruit on September 10, but it was not tasty, and the plant itself limped along and turned brown.

I planted all three in a bed separate from my other tomatoes. Before planting, I laid black plastic on the soil to keep it warm and moist, then made holes for the plants. I put up tomato cages and, after planting the tomatoes, put Bubble Wrap around the cages.  In fact I put Bubble Wrap around all my tomato cages to capture heat during the day and keep cooling breezes away from the plants at night. I secured this insulation with clothespins. Until the top leaves peeked over the plastic and flowers were blooming, I left the wrap in place.

I was so taken with the taste of ‘Japanese Trifle' and ‘Roman Stripe' that I saved seeds from them to plant this year. The tiny seedlings are just showing through the top of the soil mix.

One catalog (Johnny's Selected Seeds) compares the yield of grafted to non-grafted tomatoes grown in a hoop house. The grafted plants produced as much as 30 percent to 50 percent more over the season than non-grafted plants grown in the same area. 

The process of grafting vegetables for improved yield started in Europe and Asia and has now spread to the United States. The University of Washington has published a paper (cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/FS052E/FS052E.pdf) that explains in detail the different types of grafts used on tomatoes and eggplants.  If you are an experimenter like I am, you might want to try it.

This summer, I plan to grow a grafted eggplant and my own ‘Rosa Blanca' eggplant from seed. I've also ordered a grafted green bell pepper and will grow a similar bell pepper next to it. Then I can determine by my own independent, if not necessarily scientific, test whether the grafted vegetables produce more and better fruit. 

If you are interested in trying grafted vegetables, order them soon. Nurseries have cut-off dates for shipping, and you must order about six weeks before the delivery date. Search online for grafted tomatoes and you will find many choices. These plants are more expensive, but remember, you're doing research.

Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. Napa County Master Gardeners (http://napamg.ucanr.edu) 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. Top navigation link - Garden Questions?

 

Napa County Master Gardeners are required to spend 12 hours on continuing education each year. One of my favorite continuing-education classes is “Tool Time,” taught by fellow Napa County Master Gardener Matt Jones. The best part of the class is the show and tell, when we introduce others to our favorite tools.

One Master Gardener bought a prune-and-hold pruner that does not have a rope. It is virtually one handed. He picked it up at the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show a few years back. It extends to four feet. A boon for the not-so-agile gardener, it eliminates the bending over to pick up pruned limbs. The head also rotates for more precise cuts.

A smaller prune-and-hold pruner, purchased at the Heirloom Festival in Santa Rosa last year, is another gardener's tool of choice. A true one-handed pruner, it holds on to the branch until you drop it in the garbage receptacle.

One small handy tool is a pen-size blade sharpener. It fits in a pocket with a clip, just like a regular pen. It has three sides: flat, round and grooved. You can even sharpen your  fish hooks. This tool was purchased at Lee Valley Tools online.

One fellow Master Gardener uses her grandfather's sharpening stone. It is still in great shape, and using it reminds her of her grandfather, who taught her the love of gardening.

Another gardener's sentimental tool is an uncle's grafting kit. The knives are very sharp and the tools fit into a handmade case.

One diminutive fellow gardener loves her watering can, perfectly sized for her small stature. She carries it with her as she works.

A Homer's All-Purpose Bucket from Home Depot, fitted with a canvas gardening catch-all from Mid-City Nursery, is lightweight and portable. Mine holds all the necessary equipment for almost every gardening task.

My all-time personal favorite tool is an all-terrain garden cart. It resembles a four-wheel wheelbarrow with high side. Its tires have valve stems and a 90-degree turning radius. It climbs over rough ground and stepping pavers. It even has a dump function.

I can push bags of compost out of my trunk into this cart and pull it wherever I need to dump the compost. Or I can use the cart to haul around an open bag when I'm spreading mulch. The cart is difficult to find. Most garden carts are made of steel mesh, and dirt drops through the holes. I found my cart at Home Depot and have seen them at other big-box stores.

Shovel versus spading fork? The tines of a spading fork sink into the soil instead of slicing through, without much effort. The tines are more soil friendly, ventilating the soil instead of compacting it. To dig deeper or to add amendments, I can stand on the harp and wiggle back and forth without the load of a shovel.

I can't say enough about the new ergonomic tools. The shovels, hoes and spades with circular handles are easy to grip. Some come with an assist bar on the handle to redistribute the load. Many small tools, from pruners to PVC cutters, are being designed with a ratcheting motion instead of requiring brute grip force to power the cuts.

Even drip irrigation is accommodating aging gardeners. The “blue line” half-inch irrigation tubing does not require compression fittings. The easy fittings go over the tubing for about a half inch and then screw on. This is not only easier on the hands, but you can also reposition the fittings.

Raised beds are not a tool, but they are one answer to keeping gophers, moles and voles out of the garden. They are also easier on the gardener's back. Line the bed bottom and a few inches of the sides with hardware cloth, stapling it to the sides of the bed. The lining will foil even small critters. Some garden writers suggest chicken wire but this material breaks down. What's more, small pests can get through the holes, and a strong gopher can bite through the mesh. I enjoy seeing the mounds around my raised beds where gophers have tried to get in. Consult the Napa County Master Gardeners' web site (address below) for more information on constructing raised beds.

Keep your tools clean, sharp and oiled if you want them at their best. I'll be gathering up my tools to attend Matt's “Tool Time” workshop next weekend. Hope to see you there.

Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. Napa County Master Gardeners (http://napamg.ucanr.edu) 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?

For many years I perused seed catalogs every spring, trying to decide which peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers to plant. Sometimes I would let my husband decide, as I did two years ago. He decided to plant the 24 hottest pepper varieties he could find.  

More than once I have tended our garden all season, only to bring the harvest into the kitchen and wonder what I was going to do with it.  Now before I plant, I peruse my cookbooks instead.
This year as I choose peppers (Capsicum annuum), I go back to my favorite recipes for moles and salsas and pickled peppers. These recipes will determine the varieties I plant in my garden.

Poblano peppers are one of my favorites and produce regal-looking heart-shaped fruits on two- to three-foot-tall plants. Fruit color ranges from a deep, almost-black green to a rich chocolatey brown. When fire-roasted and peeled, the mild and aromatic poblanos are perfect for chiles rellenos. They are easy to stuff, and they hold their shape when cooked. If allowed to ripen and dry, this same pepper becomes leathery and wrinkled. In the dry form, it is known as the ancho chile, the basis of some of my favorite moles.

When I think of cayenne peppers, I usually think red. But this year, both Peaceful Valley (www.GrowOrganic.com) and Gurneys (www.Gurney.com) have seeds for a cayenne pepper mix of green, red, orange, yellow and purple. I can easily visualize these in colorful dried and braided pepper ristras.  

Cayenne peppers can be dried and pulverized for chili powder mixes or for straight cayenne powder, if you are hard core. Use a dash in soups, stews and tomato sauce. Shake dried flakes and seeds on pizza or in any dish that needs a little kick. Cayenne is high in vitamins A and C.   

This year I will plant jalapeños again. Pickled jalapeño peppers are one of my easiest home pickling projects. To make them, I wash fresh jalapeños, then slice them and pack them in clean jars with a sprinkle of herbs and spices. Then I pour hot vinegar brine over them and process the jars in a hot water bath. For specific directions, follow instructions for pickled jalapeños in any pickling or canning cookbook. Enjoy these spicy pickles on refried beans, in scrambled eggs, or in anything that needs a jolt.

Spanish padrón peppers have been popping up on Napa Valley small-plate menus for the last couple of years. Seedlings should be available in local nurseries in another month or so, and there is still time to plant seeds. Padrón pepper seeds from Renee's Garden are available on local seed racks or online (www.reneesgarden.com).

These one-bite green peppers can range from mild to just plain hot, and they are easy to prepare. Put the peppers in a small cast-iron skillet or ovenproof ceramic dish. Toss with olive oil and salt and throw in a few garlic cloves if you like. Roast in a hot oven until the peppers start to char.

Renee's Garden offers many seed combinations so gardeners do not have to invest in more seed than they can use just to have some variety. The company also color-codes the seeds so you do not have to guess which variety you are planting.

Mexican-style salsa verde is another summer favorite at our house so growing tomatillos (Physalis ixocarpa) is a must. We use fresh, tart tomatillo sauce and the equally delicious roasted tomatillo sauce on enchildas suizas (chicken enchiladas with a tomatillo cream sauce), in salsa verde and fresh salsas of chopped tomatillos, roasted garlic, chopped onion, cilantro and lime. Equally wonderful are purple tomatillos, which make a fresh salsa with a sweet-tart flavor. They start out green, turning purple where the husks begin to reveal them. Purple tomatillos continue to change color after the husks are removed.  

This year Territorial Seed Company (www.TerritorialSeed.com) is offering a variety of tomatillo I have not seen before called ‘Mexican Strain'. At almost two inches in diameter, ‘Mexican Strain' is larger than most tomatillos. It has a dark yellow color and is described as more savory than other types. The plants are heavy yielding, and, like other tomatillos, they drop their fruits when fully ripe. Tomatillos are versatile in the kitchen. You can pickle them or use them in a variety of sauces. They are easy to grow and will come back every year if not disturbed.  

I fully expect to bring my harvests into the kitchen this year. But instead of wondering what to do with my bounty, I'll be wondering what to try first. 

Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. Napa County Master Gardeners (http://napamg.ucanr.edu) 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  Garden Questions?

 

 

For me, the start of a new year is always exciting. It's a time to reflect on the past year's events and try to learn from things that didn't turn out as I had hoped.   

The back of my property has a utility easement that prevents me from fencing my yard. Consequently, I spent several years experimenting with remedies for keeping deer out of my garden.  I finally acknowledged that there is no substitute for a fence. 

To allow utility access but still repel deer, I chose heavy-grade synthetic mesh netting that wouldn't degrade in sunlight or extreme temperatures. For a few years, the netting worked. But this year, I learned a lesson. It's not enough to put up a fence. You have to inspect it occasionally for holes or breachable openings. And you have to latch the gate, not just close it.

Otherwise, you may walk into your garden one day, as I did, and discover a downed fence and ravaged plants indicating that deer and other critters had come for brunch. While synthetic fencing is durable, falling tree branches can take it down and skunks can chew through it. 

Last year also taught me a strawberry lesson.  For a few seasons, we have enjoyed strawberries planted from nursery six-packs. Last year we planted bare-root strawberries.  I tried to follow the instructions meticulously.  I prepped the soil, soaked the plants before planting and planted the starts at the specified depth.  A few weeks later we had a heavy rain. I thought nothing of it at the time.  But when I checked on the plants a few days later, they were all gone, apparently uprooted and washed away.  Not planted deep enough, I guess.

Kohlrabi is a root vegetable used in hearty soups and stews.  I grew three varieties from seed last year, germinating the seeds in biodegradable peat pots that I could bury in the ground when the seedlings grew large enough. I set the trays of pots in the sun and waited for the seeds to germinate. Two days later, I discovered that two of the trays had been tipped over, and many of the pots had been trampled or crushed.  I suspect raccoons, but it might have been skunks. The only way to know for sure was to replant and set up a motion-activated camera to catch the miscreants.  I replanted the two trays and set them out again without surveillance. 

The seed trays went undisturbed for weeks, and most of the seeds germinated. The seedlings survived a stay at a family member's house while I went on vacation. Then one day I went out to check on the plants and discovered that three-quarters were missing. The pots were still there but the plants had been eaten, stalks and all. 

The next day, at the farmers' market I saw a six-pack of kohlrabi. I decided to try one more time, hoping that these seedlings might be less appetizing. I also had some leftover seed which I sowed directly in the ground. When I checked a few days later, all of the plants were gone, and none of the seeds had germinated. I finally gave up on kohlrabi and planted onions and garlic in this space. 

I should acknowledge that my wife had suggested that I use a row cover to protect the seeds and young seedlings. But I am a Master Gardener, so I know better than she does.  One lesson learned is that row covers are a good idea when starting plants from seed.  Another lesson is that my wife is smart. 

After discussing me experience with other Master Gardeners, I'm convinced that the neighborhood quail flock demolished my kohlrabi. Apparently, quail enjoy plants in the brassica family, including kohlrabi, broccoli, kale, cauliflower and brussels sprouts. 

Last year something also ate my tomatoes and lemons. I have seen birds eating tomatoes before, but the lemon damage surprised me.

One night, when I went out to the garden with a flashlight to get some tomatoes for dinner, I saw something move. I turned and pointed my flashlight on a skunk checking out the tomatoes. I have never before been face to face with a skunk. Assuming it was going to spray me, I sprinted for the back door. I decided that skunks can have the run of the garden at night as long as they leave me some vegetables to harvest during the day. 

As you can see, it was an eventful year in my garden. I harvested a variety of vegetables, some fruit and flowers, and I learned more about coexisting peacefully with the creatures who also like my yard. 

Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. Napa County Master Gardeners (http://cenapa.ucdavis.edu) 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?