I find Japanese beetles fascinating. Their colors are beautiful. They are pretty clumsy and I like to catch them when they fly by me. They seem pretty benign, but I have saw the pesky side to these little jewels.
I went to my friends’ house to gather some figs and found this action going on. The tree was crawling with beetles and lots of fruit was damaged. I was able to collect a fair amount of figs, but the potential for damage to the fig crop is pretty high.
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This is information that’s going to need to be repeated over and over again. Serious stuff. The following information is from the U.C. San Diego Cooperative Extension. Pass it on!!!
Many of you may have seen the recent article in the North County Times addressing the Asian Citrus Psyllid/Haugnlongbing issue.
With the publication of this article I’m sure we will receive an increase in calls and questions through our hotline and various community Ask a Master Gardener events about this pest/disease. With that in mind, it’s probably a good time to brush up on this issue. The following links will take you to the latest info available from UC, State and Federal agencies.
UC IPM Pest Note Asian Citrus Psyllid/Haunglongbing (May 2012) http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74155.html
UC IPM Quick Tip Card (English) http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/QT/asiancitruscard.html
UC IPM Quick Tip Card (Spanish) http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/QT/asiancitruscardsp.html
UC Publication 8205 Asian Citrus Psyllid(June 2006) http://www.anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8205.pdf
UC IPM Green Bulletin August 2012 http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/greenbulletin/index.html
California Department of Food and Agriculture web site http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/acp/
California Citrus Research Board Web Site http://www.californiacitrusthreat.com/
California Citrus Research Board Spanish Web Page http://www.peligrancitricosencalifornia.com/
USDA (English) http://www.saveourcitrus.org/
USDA (Spanish) http://salveloscitricos.org/
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Are you growing blueberries? I do and I LOVE being able to go out to the garden and pick a handful of really fresh berries. Blue sunshine! Living in coastal Southern California, the best kind for us to grow here are Southern Highbush blueberries. There are a number of varieties available to grow, so you have lots of choices.
My blueberries have, for the most part, have finished producing fruit so I’m leaving them alone for the time being. They aren’t really resting, though, because the growth of my bushes is booming! It’s tempting to prune, but my reading tells me to wait until the dormant season, after the leaves have fallen off the bushes. But how to prune? That is the question. Here are a few links that describe the proper care of blueberry bushes:
Four Winds Growers | University of Florida | University of Georgia | Clemson University
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Last year I set a goal to harvest something from my yard every day, whether it be veggies or fruits (which usually never made it into the house!), herbs for cooking, or eggs from the Snowflakes. With my hens in hiding, my egg intake has disappeared, which impacted my harvest count dramatically, but I’m still gathering a fair amount from the garden.
Saturday’s lunch was three Honey Delight figs and my first Anna’s apple, supplemented with goat cheese.
I had a smoothie yesterday with a full handful of perfect strawberries.
Next up – TOMATOES!!!
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My tomatoes are thriving right now. The plants are strong and healthy. So far, no sign of bugs or disease. It’s a hopeful time…. 
I am trying to do a better job this year with my tomatoes because last year’s tomato harvest was dismal with a capital D. Virtually no tomatoes. It was pathetic. I mean, come on, who can’t grow a tomato?!!! Apparently me, so I took it as a personal challenge. Anyhoo, I’ve been heeding the advice of Karen, the Tomato Lady. Good potting soil, food, and not too much water.
I am gardening in recycle bins because I ran out of ground and raised bed space. The bins aren’t the prettiest planting containers, but they are the perfect size, probably about 15 gallons, so they hold enough dirt and moisture to keep the tomatoes happy.
I have a wall against my porch where I have planted three tomatoes. As summer gets nearer and the sun is getting higher in the sky, this spot is not getting blasted by the sun like in the winter, but the tomatoes seem to be very happy. I can’t wait to see how big these plants get! They are really starting to take off and I see lots of blossoms.
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I’m experimenting with a watering method I call Extra Pots. I had Extra Pots sitting around so I jammed two into the dirt around the tomato plant, fill them up with water and let them empty slowly through the hole into the soil where, hopefully, the water is going deep and more directly to the roots of the plant. So far, so good.
Filler 'er up! |
Two pots full is enough for the week. |
Here’s what my garden looks like presently. You probably can’t see them in this picture, but I’ve got a few more tomatoes growing in there, too!
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My blueberries are starting to ripen up and I’m harvesting a small handful every day!
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I had the privilege of hearing Point Loma Garden Club’s Tomato Lady, Karen Greenwald, speak a few weeks back and I’ve been meaning to post the great information she shared with the Bridge & Bay garden club. Karen is also a fellow San Diego Master Gardener. Tons of great info. So here goes:
Planting:
Seeds need to be started 8-9 weeks before you plant outside. Wait until April to plant at earliest to plant your seedlings, acclimating for a week before you plant. Dig the hole, drop in some fertilizer water the hole, then let it drain. To plant your seedlings, remove the branches except the last three at the top. Also, pinch off any flowers to direct the plant’s energy to grow. Scrinch (Karen’s word!) the roots. Bury your plant to 1/2 inch under the bottom set of leaves, meaning you will be burying most of the stem. This will encourage more roots to form and your plant won’t be spindly. Stake your plant right away. If you wait to stake later, you’ll cause damage to the roots.
Plant 3′ apart in ground. If you are container-gardening tomatoes, use a minimum 15 gallon pot. Any smaller than that is too small. Use putting soil, not dirt from your yard, filling your container 3 inches from top of container. Mulch only with healthy mulch.
Tomatoes require a minimum of 6 hours of sun. The more sun, the better, but they prefer morning sun to afternoon.
Fertilizing:
Karen likes to use Tomatoes Alive fertilizer. follow directions, don’t overdo it! First feeding is when you plant, then you’ll feed two more times – when it flowers and it fruits. Don’t over feed!
Watering:
Don’t over water. Water stressed plants taste better. Dont judge by midday droop. Look at plant first thing in the morning. If it’s limp, water only in morning. Dont sprinkle, water deeply. If you mulch, you should ony have to water once every two weeks, deeply. If you are container-gardening, of course, you’ll need to water more often than that, but again, don’t over water.
Miscellaneous:
Determinate or Indeterminate – does it really matter? But there are reasons to choose one over the other. Determinate tomatoes set fruit at the same time in a shorter growing season. Indeterminate tomatoes will grow a lot longer, are more productive, need to be staked.
Tomatoes and basil are good companions. If you buy a six-pack of basil, it will yield 60 plants because you can split each cell up to many little plants.
Marigolds planted around tomatoes thwart nematodes and white fly.
Tomatoes hate corn, potatoes or broccoli, so don’t plant those nearby.
I have followed Karen’s philosophy about having birds in the garden to keep pest populations under control. Keep the birds coming with bird feeders, but hold back from keeping the feeders full all the time to encourage bird foraging. The hope is that they’ll explore your plants for snacks, aka pests.
Karen is a big saver of seeds from tomatoes she loves. Paper towels are perfect seed savers. Write the name of the tomato you are saving on the paper towel, wipe seeds on the surface, throw in shoebox and keep in a cool, dry place until you are ready to plant next year.
Tomatoes don’t have to be rotated around your garden. Tomatoes are perennials. If your plant makes it through winter you might see sprouts coming up around the base. If you get this lucky, just cut the old stem back, and hope for the best!
Bon Appetit!
Oh, YUM! I can't wait!!!
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