When the Napa County Master Gardeners decided to field-test kale last year, I decided it was finally time try some. Kale comes in many shapes, sizes, colors and textures, and catalogs offer a huge selection of seed.
When you growing plants from seed, you have a wider selection than what the nurseries or “big-box” stores typically carry. What's more, some of the vegetable varieties that the nursery trade grows are chosen for their ability to withstand handling, transport and display, not necessarily for their taste.
Kale is a fast-growing source of greens during our cool season. Most kales are extremely winter hardy and become sweeter with frost. Harvest can continue through winter in Napa County. Kale can be eaten raw in salads or cooked for a side dish, pasta or soup. Many of the colored varieties, including some that we grew in our trial, make attractive ornamental plants.
Harvest leaves from the outside so that the plant can continue to push new leaves from the center. As the plants mature and you remove more outside leaves, the plants can start to look like miniature trees with foliage on top of a long stem.
The field-test committee grew three varieties of kale last fall, all strikingly different.We evaluated each type for productivity, vigor and health, and for flavor and texture, both cooked and uncooked. All three types had high germination rates, ranging from 87 percent to 91 percent.
One variety we grew was 'Nero di Toscana,' a popular type often seen in grocery stores. This Italian heirloom has strap-like leaves about 3 inches and 10 to 18 inches long. It is familiarly known as dinosaur kale because of its crinkly texture.
We also tested 'Red Ursa' kale, a Russian variety. It grows into a gorgeous plant with a fountain of big frilly leaves with purple veins and stems. 'Dwarf Blue Curled Scotch' was our third selection. It is a low-growing, spreading, early kale with tightly curled, blue-green leaves, beautiful enough to be grown solely as an ornamental. The other two varieties rated higher in most categories, but no single variety was the unanimous favorite.
Some field testers found 'Blue Curled Scotch' harder to clean because of its curly leaves, and chewier and stronger in flavor. Others thought 'Red Ursa' was the prettiest and easy to use in cooking and salads. 'Nero di Toscana' generated the most enthusiastic comments and was voted most likely to be planted again. Master Gardeners liked its flavor and found it more tender and productive than the others, although it suffered more damage from cabbage larvae. Row covers helped keep bird damage to a minimum. Other pests that can damage kale include slugs and snails, cutworms, flea beetles, cabbage-root maggots and aphids.
A majority of testers said that they would grow kale again. There was a lot of enthusiasm and recipe-swapping at our meetings, with kale featured in everything from soup to chips to smoothies. Many especially enjoyed kale raw in salads. Testers appreciated that the plants produced for a long time if they harvested only outside leaves.
You can plant kale seed directly in the ground from the third week of July until mid-August. Protect young seedlings from insect damage by using row cover. You can also start kale indoors and set out transplants from the third week of August through mid-September.
Kale likes full sun but can benefit from light shade during hot weather. It prefers consistent moisture but can tolerate drought, although the flavor will suffer. Cool weather slows the damage from pests, making kale easier to grow. To minimize disease, avoid planting kale or other cabbage-family crops in the same location more than once every three to four years. Seed remains viable for up to four years.
Garden Tour: The Master Gardeners of Napa County invite you to attend their sixth garden tour, “Down the Garden Path,” on Sunday, September 13. On this self-guided educational tour, you will see seven gardens owned by Master Gardeners in and around the City of Napa. These gardens illustrate how Napa County Master Gardeners use University of California research-based horticultural information to develop and maintain their own gardens. Tickets: $30 advance / $35 day of event. Purchase tickets here - http://bit.ly/1fqLJZe. Or you can purchase tickets at the Master Gardener office (address below). For more information, call 707-253-4143.
Workshop: Napa County Master Gardeners will hold a workshop on “Home Vineyard: Part 2” on Saturday, August 15, from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. (with a 30-minute lunch break. Learn what to do and what to look for and how to plan for harvest and crush in the vineyard, testing the must, managing the vines after crush, and preparing for winter and the next growing season. Master Gardeners with home vineyards will present this workshop, and answer your questions. Please bring a sack lunch, comfortable clothes and shoes for walking through the experimental vineyard. Location is the University of California Oakville Experimental Station, 1380 Oakville Grade Road, Napa. Online registration (credit card only)Mail-in registration (cash or check only)
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. Napa County Master Gardeners ( 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.
When it comes to summer vegetables, May is prime planting time. Nighttime temperatures are in the 50s, daytime temperatures in the 70s and 80s, and there is little chance of a late frost. By May the soil has warmed up, too, giving bean, squash and cucumber seeds the conditions they want for sprouting and growing.
So why am I writing about summer gardens in March? Because now is the time to get your beds ready for the summer season.
First job: remove weeds. Cut them down, pull them, chop them up, but get them out of your garden beds before they go to seed. Now, while the soil is damp from spring rain, is the ideal time to do this. Weeds are relatively small now so you can pull them easily. If you wait until the ground is dry, you will not be able to remove roots so readily.
While you're at it, if you have unplanted areas around your garden beds, keep them mowed before the weeds set seeds. If you don't, the wind, birds and insects may spread weed seeds to your vegetable beds.
Second job: add amendments. Many Napa County soils are largely clay. Clay soil absorbs and retains water well, but it lacks good aeration. Adding organic matter, such as compost, will help lighten the soil. Organic material allows the soil to form aggregates, or clumps, that enable root growth.
Compost, homemade or purchased, is an inexpensive source of organic matter. Spread a two- to four-inch layer over your garden beds. You can allow the compost to sit on top for a week or two—a good idea if the compost is still warm to the touch—or dig it in right away.
If you are gardening in raised beds or containers that you filled with purchased topsoil or potting mix, you may notice that the soil level has subsided several inches. Commercial formulations for garden beds are usually a 50/50 mix of clean, screened dirt and organic material such as compost. In contrast, ordinary garden soil is only 5 to 10 percent organic matter. Over time, soil organisms like earthworms and fungi digest the organic matter. You will need to re-fill these beds with additional material.
Third, you probably need fertilizer. Newly dug ground often lacks nitrogen, as Napa County soils are typically low in this primary plant nutrient. And if you are using beds that have been planted before, the previous crops used up some of the nutrients.
Garden centers carry a variety of fertilizers, some formulated for a specific use, such as vegetables or citrus. Packaged fertilizers always give directions for application. Don't be tempted to use more than the recommended amount; too much fertilizer can “burn” plant roots and pollute water run-off.
You may have access to manure from backyard chickens or rabbits, or bedding from stabled horses. Generally, such organic matter should be aged for several weeks or composted before using, as fresh manures can also burn plant roots. Do not use manure from carnivorous animals such as dogs and cats. Diseases that affect these animals can also affect humans.
Before you plant, set up your irrigation system and get support structures ready. In our climate, drip irrigation is the most efficient way to deliver water to plants without wasting it. Trust me, it is much easier to install a drip system before the plants go in the ground rather than after.Put up tomato cages and bean poles before the vegetables are planted.
Preparing the vegetable garden for summer can take some time, especially if you need to let compost or other organic matter age. But if your garden is ready for planting now, consider growing some quick, cool-season vegetables. After all, May is two months away, plenty of time to grow lettuce, radishes, beets, Asian greens, arugula or carrots. Why shouldn't your garden beds work just as hard as you do?
Workshop: Napa County Master Gardeners will conduct a workshop on “Ornamentals and Flower Gardens” on Saturday, March 21, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., at the University of California Cooperative Extension, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Napa. Learn about care and maintenance of ornamental shrubs and flowers in your garden. Discover how garden microclimates influence plant growth and success. Master Gardeners will also discuss hydrozoning and planting for seasonal color nearly year round, thus enticing more pollinators to your garden.Online registration (credit card only)Mail-in registration (cash or check only)
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. Napa County Master Gardeners ( 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.
But the idea became a reality in 2009 when we moved from a hillside property to our restored 1928 bungalow in downtown Napa. With help from websites and the water- resource specialists from the City and County of Napa, we designed and created an urban backyard rainwater harvesting system.
A rainwater harvesting system captures and stores rainwater for later use. It reduces demand on the existing water supply. The stored rainwater can be used for landscape irrigation, livestock watering and fire protection. It is an alternative water source that helps in drought times.
Systems vary in size and complexity. We chose a simple system that would collect as much water as our space would allow.
The first component of a water harvesting system is a catchment surface, such as a roof. The size of the catchment determines the amount of harvestable water.
The second component is the conveyance—the pipes, gutters and downspouts that guide rainwater to the storage location. Third is the inlet, where the water enters the storage container. It should have a fine-mesh screen to prevent mosquito breeding and keep out debris.
The fourth element is the storage containers. Tanks, barrels and cisterns come in a range of sizes, from a few hundred gallons to thousands of gallons. Common tank materials include corrugated steel, concrete, wood, fiberglass, polyethylene and polypropylene. Each material has different costs and benefits.
Another component of the water harvesting system is siting. Ideally, the storage tank should be close to the point of use and above ground to take advantage of gravity. Yet another component is the outlet, where the water leaves the tank. The final consideration is usage, or how you intend to use the water you store.
Bearing all this in mind, we determined that the east side of our property was the most logical place to site our tanks. It was flat, in a narrow part of our yard and not visible from our back or front yard. It was also close to our non-edible landscape plants and offered easy access to the gutters draining water from our roof.
Our roof is flatter than most so water drains a bit more slowly. (If you want to calculate how many gallons of rainwater you can harvest, the website rainwaterharvesting.tamu.edu can help you. We can harvest about 560 gallons from three inches of rain.)
For phase one of the project, we purchased a 305-gallon opaque plastic tank and six used wooden wine barrels that could store a total of 330 gallons. An 18-inch-high, pressure-treated wood base was built for the plastic tank, and used metal wine-barrel racks supported the barrels. All these storage containers sat on a three-inch base of crushed blue rock.
Thanks to our house remodeling, we had new gutters and downspouts to drain the east-facing roof into the tank and barrels. Some systems connect multiple tanks so that when the first tank is full, the others fill in succession—a “daisy chain.” But we decided to do this by hand with a connecting garden hose and gravity.
When the first rain came, it was amazing how quickly that 305-gallon tank filled up. In raincoat and rubber boots, my husband began moving hoses and filling wine barrels.
That first spring, we used all the stored water by June. We knew that Napa’s supply of rainwater exceeded our storage capacity, so we increased our capacity. Why not? It was exciting to collect rainwater to irrigate our plants.
The following winter, we increased our storage with an 85-gallon plastic tank from Home Depot. To our dismay, the wine barrels had shrunk while empty, and now they leaked. We learned that wooden barrels must remain at least half full to prevent leakage. Also, keeping gutters clean is critical. And at some point, the sediment in the storage tanks needs to be removed.
We needed more storage. We had read that homeowners in the Napa River watershed could receive a rebate—up to $500 per household—for rain barrels and cisterns installed to capture storm water runoff. We purchased a 500-gallon tank and applied for the rebate. When full, this tank was going to be heavy. On top of the crushed blue rock, this tank now sits on two layers of pressure-treated wood with cinder block in between.
It’s August and the water from last winter is almost exhausted. We use it carefully. It’s perfect for mixing with composted worm castings to fertilize ornamental plants and shrubs. Now, in phase three, we are anxiously awaiting winter. Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain.
Learn more about setting up a rainwater harvesting system for your household at www.napawatersheds.org/rainwater or call Deborah Elliott, Napa County Water Resource Specialist, at 707-259-5969. Alternatively, view my garden on the Napa County Master Gardener Garden Tour (details below) and speak with Deborah or with Frances Knapczyk from the Napa County Resource Conservation District.
Workshop: Napa County Master Gardeners present a workshop on “Edible Landscape Design” on Saturday, October 5, from 10 a.m. to noon. Location is American Canyon Library,300 Crawford Way in American Canyon. Design your garden to be both beautiful and edible. Learn what to consider and how to integrate edible plants into your ornamental garden. Bring a detailed plan of your garden to work on with guidance from U.C. Master Gardeners. Learn about books to help you with your design from Napa County Library as part of the Eat, Move, Read program. Seating is limited. Register online at http://ucanr.edu/ucmgnapa or call 707-253-4147.
Garden Tour: Napa County Master Gardeners will host a self-guided garden tour, “Down the Garden Path,” on Sunday, September 22, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visit seven unique gardens in and around downtown Napa, all maintained by Master Gardeners. Tickets: $25 advance/$30 day of event. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit http://ucanr.edu/ucmgnapa or call 707-253-4147. Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. Napa County Master Gardeners ( 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?
Some homeowners diligently establish an organic landscape using no pesticides or herbicides. They carefully select low-care plants that thrive in their climate and attract birds, butterflies and beneficial insects.
But most of us aren’t quite such purists. We try to encourage the creatures we like or the ones that benefit the garden. We welcome owls that reduce the plant-eating rodent population and bees that pollinate our vegetables and fruits, but we regard yellow jackets and mosquitoes as pests.
Some gardeners may not mind yellow jackets too much. Others are severely sensitive to their stings. Most of us want to use (and be exposed to) as few chemicals as possible, yet we still want an attractive and comfortable yard with reasonable upkeep.
Napa Valley offers a promising climate for achieving most gardeners’ dreams. By selecting California native plants, we can minimize water use, chemical inputs and labor. Creating or restoring natural habitat on our property can enhance our enjoyment of the land and its inhabitants.
Most people “inherit” plants when they buy a property, and typically they keep some, especially the trees. Occasionally, a new homeowner starts with a clean slate. Either way, having a plan is crucial. Good landscape design marries beauty with functionality. You may want a play area, a sitting area, a vegetable garden, and a habitat for birds and butterflies. These desires are all compatible.
If you like to hear songbirds early in the morning, place feeders by the bedroom, bath or kitchen. A welcoming habitat for birds would also include moving water, plants that provide cover and shade, and food sources (often just trees with furrowed bark that hides insects). A shady sitting area that offers a view of a bird feeder or birdbath is a great asset to a yard and a pleasant place to relax in the evening.
Trees of all sizes attract birds. Consider dogwood, oak, mulberry, or any nut or fruit trees. Native shrubs such as coffeeberry (Rhamnus californica), toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) and common snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus) provide shelter and food.
Cedar waxwings love mistletoe berries and dogwood berries, and these birds are among our most beautiful.
The following plants are all good hummingbird hosts. The starred plants on the list attract butterflies.
Abutilon (flowering maple)
Acacia
Arbutus unedo (strawberry tree)
*Arctostaphylos (manzanita)
Aquilegia (columbine)
*Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly weed)
*Buddleia (butterfly bush)
Callistemon (bottlebrush)
Campsis (trumpet vine)
*Ceanothus (California wild lilac)
Cercis occidentalis (Western redbud)
Correa (Australian fuchsia)
Crocosmia crocosmiiflora (montbretia)
Eucalyptus
Grevillea
Heuchera (coral bells)
*Heteromeles arbutifolia (toyon)
Kniphofia uvaria (red-hot poker)
*Lantana montevidensis
*Lavandula (lavender)
*Lonicera (honeysuckle)
Mimulus (monkey flower)
Monarda (bee balm)
Penstemon (beard tongue)
*Ribes (currant and gooseberry)
Salvia
Sambucus (elderberry)
*Zuaschneria(California fuchsia)
Many of these plants are California natives. Others are drought-tolerant plants from Australia, which has a Mediterranean climate similar to ours.
Workshop: Napa County Master Gardeners will host a workshop on “Cool Season Veggies” on Sunday, August 18, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Yountville Community Center, 6516 Washington Street, Yountville. Grow your own vegetables even when days are short and nights are cold. The key is starting while weather and soil are still warm. Learn which vegetables will thrive in cooler temperatures, how to protect them from heat when they are getting started, and how to time plantings for months of harvest. Register through Town of Yountville, Parks and Recreation: Mail in or Walk in registration (cash or check only).
Garden Tour: Napa County Master Gardeners will host a self-guided garden tour, “Down the Garden Path,” on Sunday, September 22, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visit seven unique gardens in and around downtown Napa, all maintained by Master Gardeners. Tickets: $25 advance/$30 day of event. Purchase tickets online at http://ucanr.edu/ucmgnapa. For more information about the tour and tickets, visit our web site (address below) or call 707-253-4147. Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. Napa County Master Gardeners ( 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
