- Author: Steve McDermott
- Editor: Noni Todd
September Gardening: A Time of Transition
by Steve McDermott Master Gardener
Q: My garden is doing fine and I’m not doing much except eating giant zucchinis. Should I be doing anything else? M.P., Nipomo
The September calendar marks the transition to fall this month which means subtle changes in your garden. Day length is shorter, plants are getting ready for storing carbohydrates in their roots over winter, and most of the summer crop is ready for final harvesting. So it’s time to wrap up summer and move on to prepare for your future garden.
Because of weather and daylight changes, your plants need a bit less water than they did at their high point of need in July. However, since some days are very hot in September, do continue to monitor their water needs.
This is a good time to prepare for a healthy spring garden while your plants move into winter dormancy. Remove diseased plant material, fallen fruit, and decaying vegetables and carefully dispose them. It’s best to bag this material and remove it from your garden. Continue to pinch back flowering plants such as begonias, geraniums, and marigolds. If needed, fertilize perennial plants, trees, and warm season lawn grasses such as St. Augustine (be sure to water deeply). Aerate your lawn before adding fertilizer or other amendments to improve absorption. Add mulch around plants. Clip evergreen hedges for the last time this year. Divide spring blooming perennials.
For fall color, add salvia, plumbago, chrysanthemum, and daylily. For winter, plant perennial herbs such as rosemary and thyme. Place lettuce, parsley, and cilantro in areas that are protected from frost. Try alyssum and forget-me-nots for ground cover and primroses and ornamental cabbage for accents.
Fall is generally an excellent time to plant trees and shrubs. As always, only choose reputable establishments to purchase your plants and always carefully inspect nursery stock for any signs of pests or disease before purchasing. Make sure the plants fit the type of soil and environmental conditions of your garden. Also, consider the space and water they will require as they mature.
Finally, get ready for spring color by planting or purchasing bulbs now. Plant native bulbs such as Mariposa lily or wild hyacinth, crocosmia, and sparaxis. Buy freesia, daffodil, ranucula, crocus and paperwhite narcissus bulbs and “force” cold conditions so they will bloom in spring. Most of these require 6 to 8 weeks of refrigeration before placing them in your gardens.
- Author: Christina Muller
- Editor: Noni Todd
Good Vegetables Rely On Good Soil
By Christina Muller, UC Master Gardener
Should I do anything to my soil before planting winter vegetables? Grace in SLO
Gardeners grow vegetables for many reasons but primary among them is the personal belief that homegrown vegetables taste better. This is more likely to be true when they are grown in good soil. For vegetables, the best soils are loams or sandy loams. Both types have a suitable mixture of silt, clay, and sand so that they retain water and yet allow it to percolate.
If your garden isn’t blessed with such soil, you can improve it. Whether it’s sandy or has too much clay or silt, the solution is to add and mix in organic matter such as compost, manure, leaves, or lawn clippings (herbicide- and pesticide-free). While these amendments will improve the structure or tilth of the soil, fertilizer will most likely be needed as well. Vegetables require a menu of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and various micronutrients for best growth. Strong, healthy vegetables are less likely to fall prey to pest infestations as well.
If you begin early enough, you might consider planting a cover crop. A few examples are oats, vetch, cowpeas, buckwheat, and clover. Cover crops are grown, cut, and then either left in place or turned into the soil. The right cover crop can add nitrogen, break up clay soil, or grow during summer with little water. All are effective at adding organic matter to the soil.
You may choose not to amend your soil if, for instance, it is very heavy clay or there is a hardpan that roots won’t penetrate. In that case, another option for growing vegetables is to use raised beds with purchased bagged or bulk soil. Depending on its quality, amendments and fertilizer may still need to be added. If you line the beds with hardware cloth before adding the soil, you’ll enjoy the added bonus of foiling the voracious and insatiable pocket gophers!
- Author: Andrea Peck
- Editor: Noni Todd
Advice to Grow by Workshop - Planning A Garden
By Andrea Peck Master Gardener
If the plot of land you hope to call a garden leaves you scratching your head and retreating back to your house, you may be interested in attending this month’s Advice to Grow By workshop. Hosted by the San Luis Obispo Master Gardeners, this free discussion will address ways to plan a new landscape project. This lively and informative presentation will be held in the Garden of the Seven Sisters which features a wide variety of creative landscape choices.
A well-tended garden is a beautiful thing to behold, a flowering plant at just the right height, with striking colors and shapes – all flowing together effortlessly. We are lulled into thinking it just grew this way. It is the one aspect of gardening that seldom sprouts during gardening conversations. The best laid gardens are achieved from the best laid plans.
An organized approach is the gardener’s most essential tool. With that in mind, before you begin your project, no matter how large or small, create a plan, write it down and ponder it a bit. Look around your area and decipher what you have in the way of soil, sun versus shade, space and other considerations such as weather, salty air and wind. Do you get substantial frost or are you working in a spot that is fairly temperate? Don’t forget to balance the area with hardscape, such as pathways and adequate drainage. A plan is essential for the long term, particularly with large growing plants that tend to engulf less assuming plants. You may be overwhelmed when you look to purchase plants from the nursery. With a predetermined design, you will find that you are more precise in your selections.
Planning suggestions and accumulated wisdom will be shared in greater depth at 10 a.m. this Saturday, August 17th. The Garden of the Seven Sisters is located at 2156 Sierra Way. Dress comfortably, bring sunscreen and water, and please park in the lot adjacent to the demonstration garden. Most of all, enjoy!
- Author: Terri Sonleitner Law
- Editor: Noni Todd
Late summer is that wonderful time of the year when lots of the bugs and pests of the world want to gather in our yards to feast on our garden and most prized plants. The typical bothersome bugs that may be causing you problems now, or in the coming weeks, include ants, aphids, beetles, caterpillars, grasshoppers, snails, slugs and whiteflies.
The first step, before you do anything else, is to accurately identify your bothersome bug. Accurate identification begins by looking carefully at the pest and at any damage it is doing. What does it look like? Is the bothersome bug actually eating your plants, or destroying flowers or fruit? Or is it a transient visitor, here today but perhaps gone tomorrow?
Once you have assessed the bug and the situation, a great resource is the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) website of the University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources. http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/menu.invertebrate.html
Here you will find detailed information and photographs of the most common pests, as well as Pest Notes you can download. Pest Notes are handy guides to the most common pests and what to do about them.
Once you’ve identified your bothersome bug, you’ll want to determine their propensity to cause damage and decide if treatment is necessary. A small population of plant-feeding insects may not warrant any action. For some things, like aphids, treatment may be as simple as a strong jet of water from a garden hose. For others, you may consider a change in your cultural practices to discourage the population form getting too comfortable in your garden. If cultural practices are not enough, look to the Pest Notes for other research-based solutions for your situation.
Still confused or have more questions? Help is available through the Master Gardener Helpline. Master Gardener volunteers are available three days a week via telephone from San Luis Obispo, Arroyo Grande and Templeton. Phone numbers are listed above, or email your question to <mgsanluisobispo@ucdavis.edu>
- Author: Kim McCue
- Editor: Noni Todd
August Chores
Kim McCue Master Gardener
Don’t let the dog days of summer keep you out of your garden. There is plenty of work to do in August and if you approach it in the morning or early evening, you may even beat the heat. Some good-old-fashioned maintenance work is needed this month. Cut back hydrangeas that are past their peak and dead head other faded blooms. Divide bearded iris, removing their woody centers, then replant. Cut back leggy annuals and perennials, then water and fertilize to encourage fresh, new growth. Tidy up ornamental hedges, and to keep suckers from becoming a nuisance prune them from the base of fruit trees, shrubs and roses.
Watering should also be a priority. Like you, your plants need to stay hydrated when it’s warm and dry. Potted plants dry out easily and may need to be watered daily, especially in San Luis Obispo’s North County. Avocado and citrus trees will need extra water this month as well. Even established trees, shrubs and perennials will appreciate getting a deep soaking, and it doesn’t hurt to give them a good misting with the hose to wash away pests. While you’re at it, take a minute to check sprinklers and drip irrigation to ensure all your plants are being watered effectively.
This year has been especially dry, so if you live in an area prone to fires this is a good time to remove dead leaves and branches, particularly from trees and shrubs close to your home. Trim grasses and weeds down to stubble, remove leaves and debris from gutters, and clean up any woody vegetation that is in contact with structures on your property.
You may already be busy harvesting fruits and vegetables, and keeping up with that is very important, but August is also a good time to start preparing for fall crops. Adding a layer of compost now works as an insulating mulch for plants that are still producing and is a good soil conditioner for your next planting project. When all is done, sit down with a nice, cold beverage and start planning your fall garden!
