By Susanne von Rosenberg, UC Master Gardener of Napa County
It's almost the end of March, and we're getting close to the planting season for summer vegetables. At the same time, we're supposed to avoid any non-essential contact with other people.
What does this mean? It's the perfect opportunity to gain experience starting vegetables from seed. You can order vegetable plants through the mail, but you'll have a much wider range of choices and you'll save money if you start plants from seed.
Some seeds are typically planted directly into the soil; others need to be started indoors and then transplanted. Plants with larger seeds, such as beans and squash, are started directly in the ground. Plants with smaller seeds, such as tomatoes and some herbs, are usually started indoors.
Ideally you would have started tomatoes from seed by the beginning of March, but if you choose tomato varieties that ripen relatively quickly, you can still start them now. You'll plant them out in the middle of May and have a good harvest by August. Start planting beans and chard from seed when the soil has warmed up somewhat (the middle of April); cucumber, squash and melon seeds should be planted when the soil has warmed to at least 65°F—typically the beginning to the middle of May, depending on where you live.
You also still have time to get in some spring vegetables. It's not too late to plant peas. I love being able to eat sugar snap peas right off the vine. Radishes and most lettuces mature quickly. You can also grow mixed greens either for salad (mesclun) or braising greens. You should be able to harvest your first crop within 30 to 40 days of sowing. If you want to grow lettuce to a mature size from seeds planted now, plant it in an area that gets afternoon shade.
What do you need to be successful starting seeds? All seeds need air and water, and some seeds (primarily lettuces) need light to germinate. If you are planting outdoors, the soil should be moist but crumbly. If it's too wet or too cold, seeds can rot. If your soil feels like a wrung-out sponge, it's just right.
Amend and fertilize your soil before you plant. Rake the planting bed well. You want it to be easy for the seedlings to emerge. Never let your planting bed dry out after you've planted the seeds. Once they have started to germinate, they'll die if they dry out. Water your soil gently to moisten it without disturbing it.
Aside from keeping the soil moist, the biggest challenge with starting seeds in the ground is that many critters really appreciate a tasty green sprout. I used to have no luck starting plants from seed; it seemed like none of my seeds ever sprouted. As it turns out, I just had particularly diligent birds eating all the sprouts as soon as they appeared. If you suspect that you have interested critters, consider covering your seed bed with floating row cover or a wire cage with a fine enough mesh to keep out snails, birds and field mice.
If you're starting seeds indoors, you have greater control of your environment, and it will be easier to keep your seed-starting medium evenly moist. Using seed-starting medium rather than regular potting soil is important for smaller seeds.
Your biggest challenge will be making sure your seeds get enough light once they've sprouted. You can buy a fancy plant light, put together your own, or simply set seedlings outside in a protected location during the day. (Bring them back in at night.) When your seedlings are outside during the day, they're getting accustomed to the harsher outside conditions and will suffer less transplant shock when you plant them into the ground.
Start fertilizing your indoor seedlings with half-strength liquid fertilizer when the first true leaves appear (the ones that look like the plant you're growing). If you've grown your seedlings entirely indoors, you need to acclimate them to the tough outside world before you plant them in the ground. This is called “hardening off.”
Start by setting your seedlings outside for half the day in a shady area. Over the period of about a week, increase the amount of time they spend outside and the amount of direct sun they get, until they're outside all day in the full sun. Then they're ready to plant in the ground.
I have a few other tips for you to make your seed planting more successful. If you're starting your seeds indoors, plant two seeds per pot or cell. That will greatly increase the odds that you'll have at least one seed sprout. (If both sprout, pinch off the weaker sprout.) Use fresh seeds. They're more likely to sprout and they'll produce healthier plants. Finally, get your irrigation and any structures such as a trellis set up before you plant your seeds or seedlings. It's much easier than trying to install it later when you have to work around your plants. Trust me, I know.
The UC Master Gardeners of Napa County are volunteers who provide UC research-based information on home gardening and answer your questions. In keeping with current precautions and recommendations, Master Gardener in-person events and programs are canceled through the end of April.










By Susanne von Rosenberg, U. C. Master Gardener of Napa County
One of the questions that home gardeners ask Napa County Master Gardeners most frequently is: How much should I water? As with many gardening questions, the answer is: It depends.
Watering adequately is important to avoid stress on permanent plantings such as trees and to keep your vegetables and flowers producing well. When plants don't get enough water, they have to choose between photosynthesis and survival, so they will tend to stop growing. Plants also use water to cool themselves.
You need to adjust your watering to the time of year and the weather. In Napa Valley, plants typically need the most water in early July, when the days are the longest and hottest. By the end of August, plants need about one-third less water than they did at the height of summer because the days are cooler and shorter. By mid-October, they are using only about one-third of the water that they needed in midsummer.
If you water at the same rate all season, you are likely overwatering early and late in the season and underwatering in the middle of summer. Of course, if we get a hot spell, such as the one we just had, your plants will need extra water. While we can normally stop watering when the rainy season starts in October, we've had several years recently when rain came late or not at all. If that happens, you'll need to keep watering.
Here are some additional watering guidelines:
Non-native annual plants, including flowers and vegetables, need to be watered when the soil is dry to a depth of about 1 inch. How do you know that the soil is dry that far down? Simply test the soil with your finger. You'll be able to tell if it's dry or moist. If you prefer not to get dirt under your nails, buy a soil-moisture gauge that uses electrical conductivity to determine if the soil is moist enough. Simply follow the instructions that come with the probe.
You'll want to couple the soil test with your observations. Plants will tell you when they are water stressed. If you are not watering enough, leaves will tend to get dull, and many plants will change the orientation of their leaves from fairly flat (to capture the most sunlight) to more vertical. Some plants will start to fold up their leaves.
Of course, wilted leaves are a pretty good sign that your plants need water. However, squash, pumpkin and cucumber plants are a special case as they will often wilt in the afternoon. If they recover by evening, then they do not need more water.
It's also possible to overwater your plants, which can lead to root rot and fungal diseases. Both problems can cause plants to wilt, which may make you think that you need to water even more. As long as you check your soil, you'll know whether you're watering the right amount.
What about deciduous trees? Young trees need to be watered roughly every two weeks during the dry season. One-year-old trees need one to two gallons of water per day (15 to 25 gallons at a time if you are watering every two weeks). Two-year-old trees need about double that. Three-year-old trees need five to ten gallons per day, and four-year-old trees may need as much as 15 gallons per day.
A mature deciduous tree that is 25 feet tall with a canopy 20 to 25 feet wide may need as much as 50 gallons of water per day (1,500 gallons per month). Mature deciduous trees should typically be watered monthly, although given the large volume of water they need, it may be easier to water them twice a month. Water needs for other perennial plants vary widely. Please contact the Napa County Master Gardeners for more specific information.
Most California native plants are adapted to our dry summers and need little or no water. However, newly planted natives benefit from being watered a couple of times during the summer. By the time they are three years old, they should be able to survive without additional water if we had normal winter rainfall.
During drought years, even most native plants will need some supplemental water in summer. Make sure you know specifically what your native plants need. Some may die if they receive any water during the summer, while others are adapted to moist, shady areas such as creek beds and need a consistent supply of water.
Next workshop: “Home Vineyard: Part 2” on Saturday, September 14, from 9:30 to 2:00 p.m., in Calistoga. Learn techniques to maintain your new or existing home vineyard. Workshop location will be provided after registration. For more details & online Registration go to http://napamg.ucanr.edu or call 707-253-4221.
The UC Master Gardeners are volunteers who provide UC research-based information on home gardening and answer your questions. To find out more about upcoming programs or to ask a garden question, visit the Master Gardener website (http://napamg.ucanr.edu) or call (707) 253-4221 between 9 a.m. and noon on Mondays, Wednesdays or Fridays.
By Heather Dooley and Pat Hitchcock, UC Master Gardeners of Napa County
The recent rain and cool weather have given us plenty of time to pore over all those seed catalogs looking for a new vegetable variety to try or reordering seeds for our favorites. It's time to start planning your summer vegetable garden (although it's not planting time yet).
Fortunately, we live in an area with a Mediterranean climate, characterized by long, dry summers and mild, rainy winters. As a result, we have two cool seasons annually for gardening, one in late summer and early fall and the other in early spring. Our warm season typically starts in late April when the soil is warm enough to plant tomatoes. Now is the time to start planning for that warm season.
You can start your own warm-season vegetables now in pots. Tomatoes, peppers and eggplants are easily started from seed indoors. These vegetables require warmth to germinate so it's a good practice to put seed-starting trays on a heat mat.
All seeds need the correct temperature and moisture to germinate. But after they sprout, light becomes all important. Put baby seedlings in a sunny spot by a window or, if using a grow light, keep the light about 1 inch above the leaves to prevent spindly, weak plants.
If your seedlings do get leggy or aren't dark green, they need more light. Keep soil moist but not soggy and use a half-strength liquid fertilizer once a week. In about six weeks they will be ready to plant outside.
Be sure the area where you intend to plant your seedlings gets enough sun. Six to eight hours is the minimum for most vegetables.
Do you have a plan for irrigation? And have you examined your soil? Is it nice and crumbly, like a piece of chocolate cake? Or is it waterlogged clay? Clay soil holds micronutrients but typically needs to be amended with compost to lighten it, so it has air pockets for the nutrients to cycle.
Have you been adding organic matter to feed the soil microbes? Soil is alive. It has both macroscopic organisms (the ones we can see), such as earthworms, aerating the soil and decomposing organic matter and also microscopic organisms such as bacteria and fungi.
Mycorrhizae are fungi that live in association with the roots of plants. These fungi collect nutrients for the plants in exchange for carbohydrates. It's a wonderful example of life forms helping each other. There's a whole conversation going on underground in healthy soil.
Don't neglect weeds. Most soils have a large amount of weed seed just waiting for the right conditions. Weeds compete with your vegetables for water and nutrients. Controlling them is a constant part of gardening but can be managed by depriving the weeds of water and light. Mulch your beds to exclude light, water only where necessary for your vegetables and disturb the soil as little as possible to avoid bringing up a new crop.
Plant healthy transplants at the right time to encourage growth and to out-compete weeds. Chemical weed controls are not recommended in a vegetable garden and not needed in most situations.
Now that you have a sunny spot with great soil, access to water and no weeds, what do you want to grow? Ask yourself why you are gardening. Is it for flavor, to save money, to harvest organic produce or to have access to unusual produce varieties?
It's tempting to want to grow everything, but properly spaced plants will be healthier and more productive than plants spaced too closely. Make a planting plan on paper. Think about the size of the vegetable when full-grown and how long it will be in the ground. An indeterminate tomato plant will eventually need almost nine square feet of growing ground and will need to be supported with a strong five-foot-tall cage. Can you stagger plantings for a longer harvest season?
It is better to grow fewer plants well than to have a large vegetable garden that you can't take care of. Gardening is work and therapy, and you get tomatoes, too.
See complete list of upcoming events on our website calendar http://napamg.ucanr.edu
Free Talk, 1 hour: “Growing Summer Vegetables” at the Napa Public Library on Thursday, March 7, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Learn what you can grow in the summer, what to plant and when, and how to have a harvest all summer long. No registration required.
Workshop, 2 hours: “Growing Spring and Summer Vegetables” on Saturday, March 9, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., at the University of California Cooperative Extension, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Napa. Do you want nutritious, easy-to grow and utterly fresh food from your garden this spring and summer? Learn what the garden needs to successfully produce spring and summer vegetables from seeds and plant starts. In addition to growing basics and hands-on activities, this program includes watering, fertilizing and harvesting tips, with a dash of Integrated Pest Management for pest and disease control. The delight of growing your own groceries is matched only by savoring them at harvest. Online registration (credit card only); Mail-in/Walk-in registration (check only or drop off cash payment).
Workshop, 2 hours: “Summer Vegetables” on Sunday, March 10, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., at Yountville Community Center, 6516 Washington Street, Yountville. Get tips for growing your own summer vegetables. Learn some basics, get keys to success, and do hands-on activities to learn about new varieties and review old favorites. Enjoy healthy vegetables taken straight from your garden to your table. The delight of growing your own vegetables is matched by savoring them at harvest. Online registration or telephone the Parks & Recreation Department at 707-944-8712.
Demonstration garden update: UC Master Gardeners of Napa County have begun the process of re-establishing a demonstration garden in Napa Valley. For further developments, please visit the Demonstration Garden link on our website ( http://napamg.ucanr.edu/).
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the home gardening public with research based gardening information. U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County (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 Have Garden Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.
/span>
By Penny Proteau, U. C. Master Gardener of Napa County
It's time to get into the garden. Whether you are planning a new garden, renewing an old garden, adding color and interest for summer or hoping to grow award-winning produce, now is the time to get started.
How to start? Make a plan. Whether you sketch out a simple vision or commission a full set of drawings, your plan will be useful for all your future gardening decisions.
When drawing up your plan, evaluate your space. Where is the sun throughout the year? How do you want to use your yard? For recreation? Growing vegetables? Entertaining? Or perhaps as a play area for children? Do you have pets? Do you want chickens? Do you view your garden as a private retreat or a public space?
Canvas your neighborhood for yards that you admire. Make a note of what you like about the landscaping. You may think you'll remember, but notes help. For inspiration relevant to our location, take a look at http://www.napa.watersavingplants.com, an online resource for water-wise gardening in the Napa Valley
After you have committed your plan to paper, think about irrigation. Thoughtful irrigation and wise planting choices will save you a lot of fuss and heartache in drought years. California native plants offer a diverse palette. Also look at Mediterranean plants to increase your options. Both are suitable for our wet winter/dry summer climate.
Wise water planning also means hydrozoning, or putting plants with similar water needs on the same irrigation station. Consider using pots for specialty plants that may need different care and maintenance than in-ground plants.
For inspiration, don't miss the U.C. Master Gardeners of Napa County's garden tour on Sunday, May 21. Purchase tickets for the “Discover Garden Magic” tour online at
http://ucanr.edu/survey/survey.cfm?surveynumber=20204
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.

By Denise Levine, U. C. Master Gardener of Napa County
October is a colorful month filled with ripe but dwindling summer produce. Tomatoes are at their reddest, hoarded and appreciated; peppers are hot crimson and sweetly gold. Cucumbers are finally big, but the vines are slowing down. Squash and melon plants have sprawled and are looking spent and ready to come out.
But the first peas are big enough to pick, figs both black and white are ripe for the picking, and days are cool enough that lettuce and radishes are beginning to thrive again.
Pull out your bare-root fruit tree catalogs or call local nurseries for lists of the trees they will be offering this winter. Take advantage of October's mild days to prepare holes for the apple, peach, plum and pear trees you want to purchase bare-root in January, when the soil may be too waterlogged. You will thank yourself in January if you do this work now. Then your rainy-season planting will be easy and successful.
October is also a good month to order compost and have it delivered. Heavy trucks will compact softened, rain-soaked soils and leave you with deep ruts to remember them by.
Are we getting at least an inch of rain a week this month? If not, continue watering shrubs and plants. Feed citrus and other shrubs such as azalea and camellia. They are all prone to chlorosis (yellowing) from iron deficiency. A trip to your favorite nursery or garden center for chelated iron may be in order.
Yellowing in other leafy plants is often a sign of nitrogen deficiency. Diluted fish emulsion, applied with a watering can, will typically “green up” leafy plants and give them a new flush of growth. But as winter approaches, the Master Gardener Month-to-Month Guide recommends feeding the vegetable garden one more time with an ammonium form of nitrogen to reduce leaching when the rains come. Your garden center can show you the options.
Are you lucky enough to have a big garden or good-sized beds? Are you replenishing this soil with cover crops yet? If you now have bare beds that produced melons, corn or other crops all summer, consider planting a cover crop to grow through winter.
Cover crops, also called green manures, protect your soil from erosion caused by winter rains. They pull up minerals deep in the soil, making them accessible to future crops. And they serve as a living mulch, smothering weeds, creating habitat for worms and other soil-forming organisms and providing pleasing visual texture through cold gray months.
For your green manure, consider fava beans, golden mustard with its sunny yellow blooms, or oats or barley planted with clover. University of California Cooperative Extension has helpful information on cover cropping for the home gardener (http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/files/filelibrary/5842/25997.pdf). Plant cover crops now so they can grow through winter. In spring, till them into the soil. Three weeks later, the green biomass will have decomposed and the beds will be ready to plant.
Clean up your vegetable and flower garden this month and eliminate hiding places for pests and diseases. Rake up and discard fallen fruits and vegetables and spent annuals like zinnias and sunflowers. Start a new compost pile. Making these efforts now will mean fewer hiding places for snails and slugs and new soil for your garden when you need it next spring.
Now is a good time to dig up and divide crowded perennials like Shasta daisies, agapanthus, nepeta, daylilies or echinacea. Give extra plants to friends for their gardens, or expand your own beds.
If your dahlias look unhappy, let them die back and then gently dig them up and store them where they will not freeze. Keep them dry; do not wash them off or they could rot or become diseased before replanting in spring.
Chrysanthemums are still in their full autumn glory. Whether you cut them by the armfuls for indoor bouquets or enjoy them outside, examine them closely for aphids. If you spot these pests, wash them off with a good blast of water from your hose or spray bottle. Repeat diligently until you no longer spy them.
Continue planting your vegetable garden. Sow seeds of fava beans, carrots, spinach, lettuce and arugula, and plant seedlings of cabbages, Brussels sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower. All of these brassicas appreciate a floating row cover to thwart moths, aphids, birds and critters.
Native Plant Sale: U.C. Master Gardeners of Napa County will have an information table at the California Native Plant Society Napa Chapter's plant sale on Saturday, October 15, and Sunday, October 16, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Martha Walker Native Garden in Skyline Park in Napa. Volunteers from both organizations will help you choose the right native plants for any spot in your garden. The preview party for CNPS members and guests is Friday, October 14, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., at Skyline Park.
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.