Gardening in Coastal Southern California

Tuesday Trees – Citrus

May 21, 2013

Citrus trees are in a full flush of growth now. I love this cluster of flower buds on my Pixie tangerine, it smells sound good at night! I am paying more attention this year in regard to water and fertilizer because I’ve had sparse harvests, but the trees are fairly small still, so it will get better, but I do need to pay more attention. I’ve added some links below that gave me useful information so I’m sharing with you.

Fertilizing your citrus trees should happen before and during the growth cycle – Now is the time!

More information about fertilizing.

Here’s a great collection of info about citrus from UCDavis.

Thinning your citrus fruits – 3 great reasons

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San Diego Tree Map

May 7, 2013

SanDiegoTreeMap.org. Just thought I would point out this website again. This online resource is full of information about trees in San Diego, and I think this is one of THE greatest resources out there! I use it frequently on my walks to identify trees I see around town.

I’m not sure how they figure all of this out, but it’s impressive. City governments and a few other agencies have done the bulk of the work inputting trees, but you can sign up and add a tree to the list, or just add information to existing trees already on the site. Pictures can be uploaded, too. I added the Deodur cedar tree in my front yard to the map.

When you log onto the site, you can search for trees by species, or you can search by particular address. The site show 332,010 trees input in the system as of today. There is value in those trees! The site states the value in dollar amounts for the different benefits that our trees bring to our community including the following:

24,621,928 lbs CO2 reduced
60,826 lbs pollutants reduced
10,996,793 kWh conserved

Anyway, who really needs a reason to plant a tree? Just do it!!!

“The tree remains, but not the hand that planted it.” – Irish saying

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Miscellaneous Monday 5-6-13

May 6, 2013

We had a nice rain yesterday after a couple of warm days so my garden is well watered.

Recruiting a new generation of farmers: Young Farmers Coalition

Here’s a video from Sunset Magazine on how to Amend Your Soil

My seedlings are coming along and I need to repot some of them: Transplanting seedlings

Whether you are a believer or not about Global Warming, you can still do right by the environment. Here is a gardener’s guide to Global Warming

What came first? Food Timeline through the Ages

Did you know that May 4 was the 10th Annual World Naked Gardening Day. I missed it….

Have a nice week!

Rodney catches the late afternoon sun. Doesn’t he look happy?!

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Planting Seeds

May 3, 2013

Planting seeds are a goal I have set for my garden this year. It’s cost-effective and the varieties I can grow are much more diverse than what I typically find in nurseries. My seeds are growing and I should be planting them in the ground soon. Time to start another group. I’m trying to stagger plantings every three weeks. So far, this is what I’ve gotten started. I’ve also started sunflowers and cherry tomatoes.

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May Garden Tours in San Diego

May 2, 2013

Garden Tours in San Diego County continue on in May. Here is a list of what is happening around the county.

May 3-5 -“Nature’s Palette” — 16th Annual Sage & Songbirds Garden Tour & Festival

Explore five Alpine-area gardens teeming with winged wildlife, plus a raptor rehabilitation facility and a “place-of-worship” garden. Habitat plants and pottery on sale in one of the gardens. Concurrent with festival May 4-5 at Viejas Outlets with butterfly releases at 2 p.m. both days.

Time: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Tickets: $20 ($15 if purchased by April 1) Info: www.chirp.org

May 4 -17th Annual Clairemont Garden Tour

Tour a dozen gardens ranging from tropical to succulent, all located in San Diego’s Clairemont, Bay Park and Bay Ho neighborhoods.

Time: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets: $15 ($12 in advance), $10 for seniors, free for kids under 10. Info: www.ClairemontOnline.com

May 11 -“Something for Everyone” — 15th Annual Mission Hills Garden Walk

Ten gardens on this 2½-mile walking tour surround historic cottages and large estates. Artists and musicians in residence in many gardens.

Time: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets: $30 ($25 in advance); children under 12, free. Info: www.missionhillsgardenclub.org

May 11 – 18th Annual Fallbrook AAUW Country Garden Tour of Fallbrook

Tropical, water-wise and succulent gardens are featured. Complimentary refreshments at the tour start, Palomares House, 1815 S. Stage Coach Lane, Fallbrook

Time: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets: $25 ($20 in advance) Info: www.aauwfallbrookca.org

May 18 -15th Annual Secret Garden Tour of La Jolla

La Jolla Farms and Muirlands gardens are among the six on this tour that keeps details secret until event day. Artists, musicians and designer tabletop displays in each garden. New this year is a garden boutique with plants, art and gourmet farm products.

Time: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Tickets: In advance of April 15, $50 ($40 for members of La Jolla Historical Society, tour sponsors); $150 ($140 for LJHS members) for Platinum Tour with brunch, transportation and additional garden stop. After April 14, tickets are $60 ($175 for Platinum Tour).

Info: www.lajollahistory.org

May 18 – “Eastern Prospects” — San Diego Floral Association Historic Garden Tour

Eight gardens in the historic neighborhoods of Burlingame and North Park will be showcased. Garden marketplace.

Time: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets: $20 in advance; $25 on event day. Purchase begins in late April. Info: www.sdfloral.org

May 19 – Seventh Annual Loma Portal Home & Garden Tour

Six homes and gardens spotlight historical restoration, outdoor entertaining and xeriscape landscaping. Craft fair and opportunity drawing at Loma Portal Elementary School, start of the tour and its beneficiary.

Time: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tickets: $25 ($20 in advance) Info: www.lomaportalelementary.com

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Throwback Thursday – Once a Gardener….

May 2, 2013

always a gardener…..

I was so much cuter then – what happened!!!

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Gardening in May

May 1, 2013

Happy May Day! It’s definitely May Gray outside at the moment, but predictions for record breaking heat this weekend should keep you at the ready to water your garden as needed.

Gardening in May is a busy time. Plants are growing, there’s hope of a great harvest or beautiful flowers but there is work to be done. Here’s your guide to maintenance for the month: May in the Garden

This Pride of Madeira sits next to City Hall and Glorietta Bay on Coronado. The beautiful colors of this plant – purple, blue, white or pink – are blooming everywhere now. Spectacular!

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Tuesday Tree – Orchid Tree

April 30, 2013

Orchid trees (Bauhinia variegata) are in bloom all over town. Usually, they are pink flowered, but I’ve spotted some white ones around town as well. These trees are native to Southeast Asia, from southern China to India and Pakistan, and seem to have acclimated well to San Diego’s coastal climate. They can grow to about [...]

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Miscellaneous Monday 4-29-13

April 29, 2013

On this last Monday in April, here are some food for thought, or should I say, thought for food. A guide to non-GMO foods for you to print and hang on your fridge: Say NO to GMOs!!! The Center for Food Safety: Cool Foods, Cool Facts Michael Pollan was on the Colbert Report to talk [...]

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Wowza!

April 28, 2013

Last week’s Flower Show went smoothly and we had a great turnout of entries. Every year there is one plant that is extraordinary, that stops me in my tracks. This year that happened when one of the show vendors, Walter Parkola of Blossom Valley Protea, brought in a blooming stalk of flowers that was like [...]

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Caterpillar Party

April 26, 2013

I was tidying up in my garden the other day. I pulled out some celery that had been attacked by little white bugs, and cleaned up another bed that was overgrown with lobelia. The celery/bug infestation was bad enough but when I pulled out a big chunk of lobelia I found all these caterpillars lurking [...]

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