I have been thinking about all the gardening mistakes I have made over the years. They are many and varied.  The ones earliest in my gardening career were some of the most outrageous.  But I continue to make mistakes as I try out new plant varieties or work under different environmental conditions in my yard as my landscaping ages.

As I was thinking about these things, a song started running through my mind: Paul Simon's 2006 release 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.  Then it hit me -There must be 50 Ways to Kill Your Flowers.  Now in the name of full disclosure and clarity, the term flower is being used to signify any plant.  Also, I have not committed every single crime on this list, though I have committed most of them. Some were committed by helpers, relatives, or colleagues. 

After generating this list, I am amazed that I have any greenery left in my landscape at all.  Actually, some of these mistakes didn't kill the plant but did cause serious harm.  Many plants are quite resistant, others, not so much.  My list didn't quite make it to 50 ways, though.  If you can think of other ways that you have harmed plants, you can add them to the list via the Comments section.  Maybe we can make it to 50 together!

It's that time of year again – Asian persimmon (Diospyros kaki) harvest time!  If you're unfamiliar with persimmons, they're orange colored fruit native to China.  Asian persimmon seeds were first import in 1863 by William Saunders of the USDA.  In 1870 Asian persimmon grafted trees were imported and distributed to California, Georgia and other Southern States.

Asian persimmon trees are categorized into three categories, astringent, non-astringent and pollination variant cultivars.  Non-astringent persimmons are generally consumed while still crisp.  But they can also be eaten when fairly soft.  Common non-astringent cultivars include the 'Fuyu' and 'Jiro'.  Astringent persimmons are acorn shaped and can be as large as grapefruits.  A popular cultivar is the 'Hachiya'.  Astringent persimmons need to be really ripe to lose their astringency.  Usually they must be almost mushy to the feel.  At this point, they're generally eaten by spooning out the pulp and eating it like a pudding.  They're also frequently dehydrated, which causes them to lose their astringency. And the fresh ripe pulp is often frozen so it can be enjoyed later like a sorbet.  Ripe astringent persimmons can also be used to make jam.  Pollination variant trees can produce both astringent and non-astringent persimmons on the same tree.  Only those blossoms that have been pollinated produce non-astringent persimmons with seeds.  Popular cultivars include the 'Chocolate' and the 'Cinnamon' cultivars.  Pollination variant trees produce oblate shaped persimmons.

Deciduous trees, they require full sun.  Mature trees are fairly drought tolerant.  They tolerate a wide variety of soils, but do best in soil with a  pH level between 6.0 and 7.5.  Non-astringent fruit producing trees are know to grow twenty-five feet tall, whereas astringent fruit producing trees are know to grow thirty-five feet tall.

Our family loves a farmers market. My toddler loves picking out produce, bread, and snacks she can eat immediately, and my partner and I love discovering new fruits and veggies. This past spring at the farmers market we discovered garlic scapes and green garlic, and we've had them on the brain since. 

Enter: the Great Garlic Experiment of 23/24

To be able to harvest both garlic scapes and green garlic, we quickly learned that we would need to plant both hardneck and softneck varieties. Both varieties are planted in late fall in our region, and in the spring, hardneck garlic varieties sprout delicious garlic scapes for harvest. Green garlic is harvested in the spring when farmers thin their softneck variety garlic fields. This year I'll be experimenting with California softneck garlic and Siberian hardneck garlic. 

The next challenge will be selecting a garden bed. While we'll be planting in late fall (4-6 weeks before first frost), we won't be harvesting the mature garlic until next summer. I'll have both my winter and spring gardens in that time, so I want to choose a bed I'm ok to dedicate for that long. 

In a few weeks, we'll be readying our garden bed to plant those garlic cloves scab side down and pointy side up to launch our first garlic experiment. Fingers-crossed, and we'll keep you updated!

At the Farmers' Market in Vallejo, I hear the title of this blog a lot.  Usually that comment is followed by “Wow, you know a lot!”  The simple answer to that is no, I don't know a lot; but I usually can find out where to look for the answers to plant question puzzles.  It's really very easy – anyone can do it – by looking on-line for answers OR by looking in books.

I've been told that I have a number of books in the tub at my feet – 10 to be exact – and I use them often.  Question about plant diseases: the questions come back as to whether the ailing plant is a veggie, ornamental, or a tree.  By paring the question down to particulars, the book selected will be the edibles book, diseases of ornamentals, or about small farms and orchards.   If I can't find an answer for the asker, I can then point them in the direction to the UC Davis/UCANR websites which are arranged into various categories according to the problem and the plant.

You can do the same thing at home using various nurseries' websites.  My favorites that I follow are Peaceful Valley, Green Acres, and our own local Midcity Nursery in American Canyon.  They want to sell their merchandise and plants, sure, BUT their FREE (!!) blogs are loaded with information about growing and planting.  There are others from out of state such as Plant Delights Nursery on the East Coast, Bluestone Nursery, and, slightly north of us, Digging Dog Nursery.  I find Digging Dog quite helpful for planting for shady, drier areas and drought resistant plants.

Now, that I've suggested those, 2 of the websites, I love (and don't try to sell you stuff) are The Garden Professors and Horticulture on line.  These offer fabulous  gardening techniques, information by folks with Dr. and PhD., after their names with is down-loadable and is based on scientific, as opposed to blog by a person who loves to garden and is  merely tossing out “words of wisdom” from hearsay.

Just last week, I copied out a 12-page blog about plant fungal diseases and then asked the author if I could share it at the Master Gardener booth.  I received back a lovely thanks from the author for sharing the information.

Remember, all the information is free and available to you; just remember read any formation thoroughly and check in other places to make sure that it is based on science – your plants depend on you to stay healthy!