By Cynthia Kerson, UC Master Gardener of Napa County
For the past few years, I've been researching beekeeping. Recently, I decided to simply supply the bees with food and to let them live where they naturally would. I'm not that fond of honey, and I live in a woodland area near a creek, so this is my best option.
In addition to planting or already having lots of salvia, lavender, milkweed, sunflower, wild berries, fruit trees, herbs and veggies, in April I created a bed for pollinizers, planting it with a container of Renee's Garden Scatter Garden Seeds expressly for pollinator flowers.
The bed is about a foot high and 6- by 10 feet. I used concrete corners, redwood sides and metal gopher netting on the bottom. I created a simplified “lasagna compost” with cardboard and newspaper on the bottom of the bed and left it to get rained on for a few weeks. I then filled the bed with a layer of compost and then a high-end garden-quality soil and more compost from the recycling center. I scattered the contents of the seed container and covered the seeds with about an inch of mixed soil and compost in a 70-30 blend. The bed is in full sun all day.
At first, as the seedlings were popping up, I couldn't tell which tiny plant was a pollinizer and which was a weed. I didn't pull anything I didn't clearly recognize as a weed. I am an organic gardener and so did not spray or feed with anything that would be harmful to bees.
I watered right away, and about every two weeks afterward I watered with a mixture of fish emulsion and kelp, a good all-around food for soil and plant health. I also fertilized with an organic fertilizer about once a month. The bed was watered every other morning for about five minutes.
The seed blend I used contained seeds for Chinese forget-me-not, baby blue eyes, single Chinese aster, cornflower, Shirley poppy, sweet mignonette, tidy tips, Virginia stock, creeping daisy, clarkia, globe gilia, lemon mint, California bluebell, lacy phacelia, tall white alyssum and plains coreopsis.
I noted when each flower type bloomed, how long it bloomed and how abundant the bloom was. The container listed the percentage of each variety, so I looked for that. I didn't find the stated percentages to be perfectly correlated with the flowers that appeared. The most prolific were the cornflower, creeping daisy and lacy phacelia. Lemon mint didn't appear (or I missed it). Most of these flowers have continued to bloom for four to six weeks, and the individual blooms lasted about two weeks. Shirley poppies lasted the shortest time, blooming for two to three weeks, with individual blooms lasting about a week.
The first to bloom, starting in the beginning of May, were Virginia stock, California bluebell and tall white alyssum. Toward the end of May, Chinese forget-me-nots, tidy tips, baby blue eyes, creeping daisy, globe gilia and lacy phacelia bloomed. The beginning of June was the most prolific time (about two months after sowing). The big bloomers then were cornflower, Shirley poppy, sweet mignonette, Virginia stock and clarkia. All the varieties continued to flower and die off, so every day the garden bed had a slightly different array of color that was fun to study.
Bees seem to have preferred another area of my property with large beds of lavender and salvia over this bed of many varieties within a small area. Possibly large expanses of one flowering variety are better for attracting bees since that's how they naturally forage. That said, the bees loved the mix. I see dozens there at any given time. Should you have only a small area to devote to pollinators, a dedicated bed of pollinator flowers is a beautiful option.
It appears that the garden will keep the bees (and me) happy for the rest of the summer. I have cut back the watering to every four days since the plants are mature.
If I let them go to seed, the plants will return next year. One drawback to this particular mix is that a few of the varieties are not native to Northern California. Next year I might supplement with more natives to support the health of the bees and other pollinators. With natives, they are digesting pollens that are natural to them; and they need all the help they can get.
For further information on building layered garden beds to plant those wildflower seeds, click the link:
http://www.ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=23849
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, upcoming events or to submit gardening questions, visit the Master Gardener website (napamg.ucanr.edu). Our office is temporarily closed to walk-in questions but we are answering questions remotely and by phone or email. Submit your gardening questions through our website, by email mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org or leave a phone message at 707-253-4143. Master Gardeners will get back to you within a few days.
By Penny Pawl, UC Master Gardener of Napa County
The tomato hornworm that so many gardeners detest has a beautiful future if we let it be. After a winter spent underground and when it is done with metamorphosis, it will become one of the loveliest and largest of the moth species.
We never get to see this moth because it only flies after dark. It is known as the sphinx moth or hummingbird moth. Some of them fly in a manner similar to the hummingbird.
During metamorphosis, a caterpillar transforms into a moth. The caterpillar's internal parts liquefy, reform and a moth is born. The same happens to butterflies and it is one of miracles of nature.
I found three of these giant worms the other day munching happily on one of my tomato plants. They blend in very well with the plant, and they are as big as my finger.
I gently pulled them off and inspected their grinding mouth parts. Then I put them under a large overturned bowl with some tomato leaves and the tomato they had been chewing on. The bow is resting on the garden soil.
Most people get upset when they see hornworms on their tomato plants. I get excited. I hate losing my precious tomatoes to them, but by putting them in a container, I give them a chance to complete their life cycle.
Many people agree with me. We like hornworms because they assist with Integrated Pest Management, a way of gardening and farming that relies on the good bugs to manage the bad bugs without the use of pesticides.
Hornworms eat your tomatoes, but in turn, the beneficial braconid wasp lays its eggs in many of the caterpillars. These tiny wasps develop within the caterpillar skin and eventually will kill their host. They emerge from the caterpillar looking rather like rice hulls on the back of the caterpillar.
This same process happens in other butterflies and moth larva and helps with pest management. Anise Swallowtail caterpillars, which feed on plants in the parsley and fennel family, also have parasitic wasps lay eggs in their eggs.
When the caterpillar completes its life cycle and transforms into a cocoon, it will drill into the soil to spend the next several months. I watched one do this and it was gone so quickly I was amazed. The following summer, when the weather warms, they will hatch and begin to fly around looking for places to lay their eggs. Tomato plants are a favorite host, but they like any plant in the nightshade family, including peppers, eggplants and potatoes
I have read that marigolds, basil, borage and mint will repel tomato hornworms if planted alongside the tomatoes. Their strong odors seem to repel the moth.
The hornworm begins life as a small egg laid on the underside of the leaf. The larva hatches and grows quickly, and as it grows it eats more and more of the host plant. After three to four weeks, it is ready to take that dive into the soil.
I raised two hornworm larvae in the house in a container a few years ago. The hornworms spent the winter in my refrigerator in a small jar with soil. When summer arrived, I moved them to the garden, but I fear the experiment was a failure. The three giants I just collected will be on their own when they decide to go into the next part of their life cycle.
UC IPM has this Pest Note on Tomato Hornworms:
http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/GARDEN/VEGES/PESTS/hornworm.html
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, upcoming events or to submit gardening questions, visit the Master Gardener website (napamg.ucanr.edu). Our office is temporarily closed to walk-in questions, but we are answering questions remotely and by phone or email. Submit your gardening questions through our website, by email mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org or leave a phone message at 707-253-4143. Master Gardeners will get back to you within a few days.
By Penny Pawl, UC Master Gardener of Napa County
I was recently at the garden of one of my fellow Napa County Master Gardeners, Cindy Watter, and was amazed by her wonderful Brugmansias (Solanaceae) and their huge blooms.
Cindy has had these plants for several years and they continue to give her and her garden guests a wonderful floral display. Some are planted in large pots and others are in the ground.
Brugmansias are sometimes called Angel Trumpets for the large dangling flowers they produce. These flowers are scented and attract pollinating moths. One species is pollinated by hummingbirds that are able to reach deep into the hanging flowers
Cindy had given me some cuttings from her plants, and I was able to root them over the winter in my hothouse in a soil mixture created for that purpose. As winter nears, Cindy cuts her Brugmansia back to one to two feet tall. She also covers them with a fabric that protects them from cold winter nights.
We live only about 10 miles apart but in vastly different microclimates. She is in the middle of Old Town Napa and big trees grow around her garden. I live beside and behind open vineyard areas and frost can be fierce, damaging tropical plants. Brugmansia are native to Central and South America and will not survive frosts.
Napa has many microclimates. Conditions at a 200-foot elevation are different than on the valley floor.
Brugmansia no longer grow in their native areas, but because of their popularity, they have been introduced to many other areas. Some people theorize that the plants no longer grow in their native areas because the animal that spreads their seed is no longer in the area.
Brugmansia bloom in a variety of colors including white, yellow, pink, orange, green, and red. Most of these plants are hybrids, bred for various flower colors and other traits. When a test plant produces a bloom in the desired color, it is reproduced by cuttings to ensure its offspring have the same traits and flower colors. Plants grown from open-pollinated seeds often revert to their native types.
I was surprised to learn that Brugmansia are in the Nightshade family, which includes potatoes, eggplants, peppers, and tomatoes. Brugmansia are poisonous and should only be admired, not tasted. However, a tropical butterfly (Placidula euryanassa) feeds on the nectar, which makes the butterflies and their larvae taste bad to predators.
While Brugmansia are related to Datura, there are differences. Plant botanists have been debating and reclassifying these plants since the mid-1700s. Datura flowers turn up and Brugmansia blooms dangle.
Brugmansia are heavy feeders. Cindy uses a balanced fertilizer about every three weeks on the potten plants to keep them healthy and growing. Because they are native to the tropics, they also like to be kept damp. If they are stressed for water, the leaves will wilt. Plants growing in the ground don't need to be watered as often.
Planted in the garden, Brugmansia can reach 15 feet in height, but most stay under that. The flowers usually appear only on new wood above a certain height. Old wood cuttings don't flower until they have forked and reach that height. The leaves are the same size as the flowers.
Brugmansia grown in pots need to be occasionally moved to a larger container or be root-pruned while dormant, and replanted. They do well in dappled shade.
Food Growing Forum: Join Napa County Master Gardeners on Sunday, July 26, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., for a free Zoom forum on “Watering, Irrigation and More.” This forum on food growing will continue monthly on the last Sunday of every month, with future topics announced soon. To receive the Zoom link for the July 26 forum, register at http://ucanr.edu/FoodGrowingForum2020.
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, upcoming events or to submit gardening questions, visit the Master Gardener website (napamg.ucanr.edu). Our office is temporarily closed to walk-in questions, but we are answering questions remotely and by phone or email. Submit your gardening questions through our website, by email mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org or leave a phone message at 707-253-4143. Master Gardeners will get back to you within a few days.
By Penny Pawl, UC Master Gardener of Napa County
Napa County Master Gardeners had many compost classes planned for last spring. Then the shelter-in-place order came through. We still wanted to tell people about the importance of composting, so we decided to collaborate with the City and County of Napa to do a public workshop via Zoom.
I had no idea what an undertaking this would be. We met to discuss how to do this event, where to produce it, what the script would be and what props we would use. We had to research our presentations and gather materials to show.
Because we would be doing the presentation from a home garden, we had to figure out where the sun would be during the live workshop so we could situate the presentation table properly.
To test our setup, one Master Gardener managed the camera outside while another was inside checking on how the workshop would look when we went live. A third person was in an off-site office monitoring the picture and sound.
We reassembled one more time to rehearse so that the webinar would go smoothly. Prior to that, we sent an event announcement with a Zoom reservation link. Luckily, we had an audience.
I have given a hundred or more compost presentations during my years as a Master Gardener, but I have to admit I was nervous about this one in a new-to-me format.
New Master Gardener Lonnie Payne-Clark opened the session with the argument for why people should compost. The short answer is: to enrich our gardens and keep organic matter out of the landfill. I once read an article about a study in which workers had drilled several feet deep into a New York City landfill. They came up with a 25-year-old newspaper wrapped around a hot dog. The newspaper was still readable. In a landfill, material is packed so tight that no air gets in. Without air, the material can't decay.
Regular additions of compost improve the tilth, or texture, of the soil. Worm compost is a mild fertilizer that benefits all plants.
Following Lonnie, Master Gardener Sue Helms spoke about various methods of composting: hot compost, cool compost, the do-nothing “compost happens” method and the so-called lasagna method.
I spoke next, about using worms to compost kitchen waste. Master Gardener Cindy Watter described how to build a pile for hot composting and other methods. She also discussed the types of bins used for composting and the various tools used to manage compost piles. We took questions at the end and then congratulated each other on a job well done.
For help making this Zoom workshop happen, we thank Kendra Bruno from the City of Napa, Amanda Griffis from the County of Napa and Napa County Master Gardener coordinator Yvonne Rasmussen. You can watch this workshop here.
The following week we did a worm composting workshop and distributed worm bins to 17 people who had signed up in advance. During the workshop, we built a bin and put in a banana peel and 500 worms to get things going. The worms will be fed more once they settle in and the banana peel starts to disappear.
For further soil building guidelines, click to find credible, relevant, practical (how-to) information to help you build and protect your soils, gardens, farms, ranches, environment!
https://ucanr.edu/sites/soils/
Click here to view more Master Gardener online workshops on a variety of gardening topics.
Food Growing Forum: Join Napa County Master Gardeners on Sunday, July 26, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., for a free Zoom forum on “Watering, Irrigation and More.” This forum on food growing will continue monthly on the last Sunday of every month, with future topics announced soon. To receive the Zoom link for the July 26 forum, register at http://ucanr.edu/FoodGrowingForum2020.
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 by email or phone. Send your gardening questions to mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org or leave a phone message at 707-253-4143 and a Master Gardener will respond. Please include your phone number in your e-mail or voice message.
By Susanne von Rosenberg, UC Master Gardener of Napa County
Citrus trees are a familiar sight in Napa County, and many of us grow them. In general, citrus is pretty easy to care for: it just needs consistent water and fertilizer and perhaps frost protection in the winter.
Citrus is also easy to prune. You only need to prune it for shape. However, if you remove the trailing skirts that some varieties develop, you will reduce snail and slug damage.
Citrus is believed to have originated in the foothills of the Himalayas. Citrus was brought to California by Spanish missionary Junipero Serra and first planted at Mission San Diego in 1769, but the first commercial grove of orange trees wasn't planted until 1841, in Los Angeles.
The first citrus trees in Northern California were planted in in 1856. One of the two original orange trees, called the “Mother Tree,” is still alive in Oroville and is the oldest citrus tree in California. It's at 400 Glen Drive, and it is a historical landmark. I'm definitely going to take a drive sometime soon to visit it.
California also has a Citrus State Historic Park. It is an open-air museum describing the citrus industry's role in the history and development of Southern California through the experiences of the migrant and immigrant groups who made it possible.
If you want to know even more about citrus, check out the UC Riverside citrus variety collection website. The Citrus Research Center and Agricultural Experiment Station that is part of UC Riverside maintains a collection of over 1,000 varieties of citrus.
Citrus botany is complicated because plants in this genus readily interbreed and produce fertile offspring. The ancestral varieties of today's common citrus are the pummelo (also spelled pomelo), mandarin and citron. All other varieties are hybrids of these three.
For example, botanists believe that a grapefruit may be a cross of a pummelo and a sweet orange, and that a sweet orange originated as a cross between a mandarin and a pummelo. More recently, plant breeders crossed grapefruits with mandarins to create tangelos.
Although we consider them citrus, kumquats are part of a related genus, Fortunella. They are in the same family as citrus, and they, too, can interbreed with citrus.
Citrus trees are also unusual in that they can produce two types of embryos in the same seed: one from sexual reproduction and one from asexual reproduction. Citrus fruits can develop seeds as long as the flowers are pollinated; the flowers do not actually have to be fertilized by the pollen. Embryos resulting from asexual reproduction are duplicates of the parent. Embryos resulting from sexual reproduction have different traits.
If you sprout a citrus seed and more than one seedling develops, one is from a sexual embryo and the others from asexual embryos. Usually the weakest one is from the sexual embryo.
If you're tempted to grow citrus from seed, remember that the fruiting part of the citrus tree (the scion) is almost always grafted onto rootstock. The rootstock provides desirable traits such as improved disease resistance, better fruit quality and cold hardiness. Also, commercially grown trees are grafted from mature wood and yield fruit in a few years. It can take 10 to 15 years before a citrus tree grown from seed is mature enough to produce fruit.
Citrus needs heat to ripen, and the lower the temperatures where it is growing, the longer it takes to ripen the fruit. It usually takes 8 to 16 months from flowering for citrus to reach eating quality. Some citrus varieties flower more than once a year.
That's why, in our relatively cool climate, our trees tend to bear lemons and limes year-round. The trees produce several rounds of flowers, and then it takes a long time for the fruit to ripen. Most other citrus trees flower only in the spring and then produce their crop sometime between the fall and the following summer.
We tend to think that citrus fruits are ripe when they color up. The color change happens because the rind is losing chlorophyll and gaining carotenoids (yellow, orange and red pigments). This transformation happens as the fruit matures, but the same process also occurs in the fall when temperatures decrease. The only way to really know if your citrus is sweet enough is to taste one.
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.
Enjoy the nearly infinite variety of citrus from UC Riverside's comprehensive website:
