Timely Tips for Gardeners

Fruit Tree "Flu Season" comes with late rains.

Water born diseases spread in fruit trees with late season rains. We need the water for roots to grow, but at the same time, diseases spread. Expect Cherries fruits to have cracks. Expect leaves of Peaches and Nectarines to get Peach leaf curl even if you have sprayed. Expect the spread of Fire Blight in pears and apples. Expect Brown Rot fungus on Citrus fruit and stone fruit. To treat most of these use fungicides and bactericides. Organically, use Micronized Copper mixed with a Spreader-Sticker (to keep the copper on the tree trunks, branches and twigs. Spreader-Sticker also helps the Copper penetrate cracks in the bark and adhere to more effectively smother the fungal spores and eliminate them.

The trouble with spraying pesticides during flowering or right after, is that spraying may hinder fruit set. Late rains cause farmers to make compromise choices, so as home "farmers", you too will have to make compromise choices. I say sacrafice some of the crop for the health of your trees for one year and spray. Be sure to fertilize to help your trees out grow the diseases.Use balanced fertilizers that contain hearty doses of Nitrogen- the first of the three numbers on the fertilizer label. By the way, the three numbers you read on a fertilizer package always represent N-P-K which is the percentage by weight of  (N)itrogen, (P)hosphorous- and (K) Potassium. Micronutrients are listed seperately after these. Usually Iron is listed as Fe. Ferrous. Commonly, Iron is micronized or, the most available to the plant is chelated iron which is taken up right away and used immediately by the plant. Chelated form is a little more expensive to buy, but well worth the cost. You will see a dramatic difference in the plant's greening color and vigorous growth. all of the

How to Tour an Arboretum, Zoo or Botanical Garden

Arboretum layouts are arranged by continents especially in zoos, and thereby uses so you can map out your garden by water use (drainage) and sunlight (heat tolerance) zones. Visit them at different times of the year to get ideas of when things bloom and re-bloom. Get ideas of colors and textures that go together. Write down botanical names because common names change with different states, countries and areas. Don’t expect nurseries to be able to obtain all the varieties seen in an arboretum, although, nurseries can often obtain more varieties of certain species. If you have mature oak trees, note the varieties planted under the arboretum oaks. Usually Correa (Australian fuchsias) and other drought and shade tolerant plants sparsely planted. Often, there will be a chef’s garden, or Italian herb garden or medicinal garden and wildlife garden for attracting birds and butterflies.
Many of these same ideas are often found in the better nurseries like here at High Hand and Capital Nursery. Remember to use potted plants on the patio and in the garden areas that have shallow or rocky soil. Ask your nursery for handouts for flyers on subjects that interest you ie. Butterfly gardens, fragrant gardens, cutting gardens, chef’s garden, Wildlife garden, Gardening under Oak trees, etc. Handouts will help you get the most out of your yard.

If you ever get to the San Diego Zoo, be sure to observe the plants at each "continent change". As you see animals of different continents, the plants change accordingly. If a botanical tour is offered, take it. You'll be fascinated by the amount of effort taken to collect and assemble the proper plants around their exhibits. It's as much work as collecting and caring for the animals. Their fern grotto/jungle river is spectacular! Private tour by the head botanist is five stars, if you can swing it. I was on a nurseryman's tour after the zoo closed, so I think it was out of the ordinary.

For sheer beauty, nothing beats Hilo, Hawaii's Tropical Botanical Garden. Hawaii's Tropical Botanical Garden click here. You start off traversing through a bamboo forest over a suspended bridge and then wind through a Parrot's beak/Crab's Claw (Heliconica) Hanging Garden.
Orchids of all colors are everywhere as are Bromilliads. You'll want to plan to spend at least four hours here. Bring lunch or at least a snack and water. It's the prettiest garden on the Big Island. On the Kona (dry) side, there is a Hibiscus Garden that is beautiful, but it doesn't have the tropical humidity and feel of this garden. Hilo is the wet side so bring an umbrella and rain gear. You'll love it. Five stars. Nearby, Turtle Bay Gardens is a leisurly walk along the beach and is self guided. It is pretty, requires that you already know lots of plants or have a good guide with you to identify plants and flowers. If you decide to drive between Hilo and Kona, stop off at Thurston Lava tube in the middlle of a huge fern forrest for a unique lava tunnel treat. The tube is lit, but bring your flashlight anyway. Hawaii has some plants that we can grow in Northern California, but not many can be kept perennial because of our cold winters. How about a leisurely and spectacular trail ride? Bring a sweet apple for your partner.

You'll recognize many as "house plants". (Is there really such a thing???)

Happy, Healthy Gardening,

Ken Brizzi

California Growers are Fortunate

Californians are spoiled!

 We have fresh food all year. We can grow whatever we want in our own yards or just buy fresh at farmers markets. Most other states grow lots of food, but limited varieties. We grow everything. When they get our food, it is days to weeks old, picked green for shipping, and then “pushed” to ripen by being subjected to ethylene gas to ripen. My sister moved to North Carolina and complained about the poor quality of Apricots.

Growing up in San Jose, we lived adjacent to an Apricot orchard and then worked in it when we were teens. We had fresh fruit all summer because we also had nearby cherries, peaches, nectarines, plums, and prunes. With five siblings, we have fond memories of taking family walks in the warm summer evenings and eating fruit as we passed and said our “hellos” to neighbors. As we walked along, we'd sometimes spit cherry seeds into the gutter drains or bushes. I worked in agriculture at the age of 15. I had to get a special permit from the school and my parents. The workers, mostly Hispanic, didn’t like kids taking their jobs. I remember making fifty cents an hour. Piecemeal work was fifty cents a lug or flat, which, for me was an hour of work. The experienced workers were much faster and finally realized that I wasn’t a threat. Once I had enough for a Honda motor scooter, I quit and was off for teenage adventures to Santa Cruz Boardwalk Beach and mountains. The Santa Clara Valley was the Fruit tree capital of the nation at the time.

Due to California's many micro climates, an extremely wide variety of food is grown. In the Sacramento valley, we have enough winter chilling hours to grow nearly all fruit trees and plenty of summer heat to sweeten the fruit. Also, the winters are warm enough to grow most citrus without frost damage to the trees or fruit.

Let’s get back to my sister; she was determined to have fresh Apricots. I contacted her agricultural extension specialist for her part of North Carolina, who confirmed what my books said: Apricots would not produce fruit in her area. Well, she was very determined, so I contacted my good friend at Dave Wilson Nursery, one of the world’s largest fruit tree growers and suppliers to orchards and homeowners. Manager Ed Laivo said that if any Apricot would have a chance to survive and produce, it would be ‘Tomcot’. I purchased one and sent it to her as a 2’ stick in 2008. By 2011, she had an abundant crop that was the envy of Charlotte, North Carolina. Now, in 2012, the tree is enormous and I’m giving her advice on pruning it not only in winter, but summer too, just to control its size. She and her family are thrilled. Last year, it didn’t produce much, due to a late frost, but that is normal for N. Carolina and hence the prediction for failure in her area. She is trying to keep the tree to 15’ tall and wide. Now she prunes every summer after harvesting the fruit. See Dave Wilson’s instructions for summer pruning and Backyard Orchard Culture: Backyard orchard culture explained.( click on link while holding down the control key) to open in a new window. Two year old Tomcot Apricot in North Carolina will be summer and winter pruned in half to keep to 15' tall.

Along with fruit trees, we can grow several successions of vegetable crops. Usually two summer crops and one winter crop. Right now, in March, I am harvesting Broccoli, Kale, Lettuce, Spinach, Chard, Onions, Leeks, Sugar Snap and Sugar Pod Peas, Radishes, Carrots, Beets, Turnips, and Collards. Ready to plant from seed is all of the above, and from seed or plants: potatoes, garlic, herbs, Nasturtiums, Pansies and Calendulas. Preparing for April garden planting, I’ve planted seed for Tomatoes, Eggplants, Cucumbers, Peppers, Basil, Herbs, Sage, Rosemary, Marjoricum, Stevia, Thyme, dill, parsley, and have starts for Raspberry Oregon 1030 (cane berries that are everbearing and don’t take over the garden.) The plants I’ve started from seed at home in flats or small pots and kept from night frost will go into the garden in mid-April after the last frost.

As plants stop producing this summer, replace them immediately for more summer harvest. September will be the winter changeover.

Happy, Healthy Gardening,

Ken Brizzi

Garden Songs for Everyone

Don Francisco wrote and performs "Adam, Where are You?" It is the story of God and Adam's relationship from the very beginning in the Garden of Eden and now God's relationship with us. Don F. uses the Garden analogy to explain God's care for us and our resposibility to care for the Earth and to accept God's forgiveness through Jesus Christ.

 

Potato Pointers

March is a great time to plant potato plants. Many gardeners plant the first of February and then cover their emerging plants with leaves and warm compost. I've waited until now because my winter garden is so full of lettuces, broccoli, Kale, Garlic, Onions, Swiss Chard, Artichokes, Sugar Snap Peas, Lemongrass, Spinach, and Radishes. I have no room, yet. So, I'm starting my potato plants from Certified seed potatoes. Choose from white, yellow, golden, red, even blue and purple. See the Washington State University Potato List. Hold down your control key and push enter to open a new window to get a list of many potato varieties. There are many varieties in existence. Though not many available locally, there are enough to suit any palate.

To Grow, You will need:

1. Certified seed Potatoes from a nursery. DO NOT use grocery store potatoes, since they are not certified grown and inspected by your county agricultural inspector and could introduce unwanted diseases into your garden. On my trip to Ireland, an entire city was dedicated to education about the potato famine of 1845.
2. Sphagnum moss raw and rolled (not milled). and a 5 gallon bucket of clean water.
3. A sharp knife.
4. A flat bedding container made of plastic.

 If you use potatoes that are small- that only have two or three eyes each, then you can skip this entire process and just plant directly into the ground.

I bought a bag of La Soda Red potatoes for $5.00 and made 50 potato starts, making my investment ten cents per plant. I expect to get 10 potatoes per plant, so I'll be paying a penny per potato. Some will be small and useful for breakfast frying with butter (yummy). Some will be large for stuffing. All will be creamy and flavorful and organic.

The process is to cut the medium and large potatoes into pieces that will have two eyes each, making sure the eyes have some potato "meat" with them. They will use this potato starch as they start to grow. Some eyes may already be sprouted. Leave the sprouted parts on and they will grow quicker. Keep your knife and workspace clean to prevent diseases getting on the potato pieces. Let the cut parts scab over. This might take a few hours or overnight. Small potatoes do best to remain uncut and plant well directly into the ground. They would have the diameter of a silver dollar or smaller.

Prepare the sprouting flat by lining the bottom with water saturated Sphagnum moss. The best way to get the moss wet is to douse it in a bucket of water until all the bubbles are out of it. this may take fifteen minutes or more. Use this same method when using raw moss to make hanging wire baskets. Then unroll enough to cover the bottom of your flat. Place your potato pieces onto the Sphagnum "eyes up" carefully, so you don't break any sprouting parts. Then, gently place another layer of Sphagnum on top of the pieces to keep them moist. Water thouroghly. Cover with plastic at night to keep from freezing. Do not let the plastic stay on during sunny days or the potatoes will cook. In about 4 weeks you'll see lots of green growth that resembles tomato plant leaves, to which they are related. It's now time to plant them into your garden.

Potatoes need deeply tilled soil. If your roto-tiller doesn't till deep enough, use a shovel and dig down at least 12" and add lots of compost. Rake the area flat. Rake slight trenches and mounds to make rows. Place the potato pieces onto the sides of the mounds and cover them with the soil from the tops of the mounds. Place them two feet apart alternating sides of the rows. Use the shallow trenches to water. Apply water as needed, which is usually two times per week. Cover with mulch if rain erodes the soil over potato pieces. Potatoes can be buried somewhat and still produce abundantly. Some gardeners cover them with straw and get potatoes growing in the straw. If you try this, be sure the leaves are still above the straw and getting plenty of sunshine so they can manufacture food to make potatoes for you. Do not step in the bed. Loose soil produces more than compacted soil. Some gardeners make a tower of potatoes using old tires and fill the tires with straw as the potato plant grows. Then, to harvest, they just lift off the tires one by one and pick out their meals. You can plant different colors in the same tire if you are short on space.

We will have sunshine all week. Keep planting vegetable seeds in little pots and cover them at night with plastic. Use bottom heat with cable or a horticultural heating pad that plugs in for quicker germination and a higher germination percentage.

Early season Weeding

Keep your spring garden weed-free. It is easier to hoe small weeds than try to pull large, deeply rooted weeds. If you are fighting Bermuda grass, you may have to resort to treating individual clumps with a paint brush or cotton gloves that have Round-up on them when the Bermuda shows green leaves in early summer. If you wear Roundup wet cotton gloves, you must protect your skin by wearing long, waterproof gloves under the cotton gloves. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water after using chemicals and always wear protective eye equipment, long sleeve shirt, long pants and clothing that will minimise skin exposure. Remember- you can't spray Roundup in vegetables and harvest in the same year. The waiting period is one year between spraying and harvesting.The paint brush or cotton glove method puts Roundup on the Bermuda grass blades only and does not contaminate the ground. Always read entire label when using pesticides and follow all precautions. I don't know of an organic way to garden in a Bermuda grass infested area. I'd like to receive comments from readers.

Start summer vegetable plants from seed now-but not in the ground yet.

I hope you have at least picked out your tomato seeds. i've planted mine for myself and 200 for the "Feed the Hungry" garden.

I hope you have at least picked out your tomato seeds. i've planted mine for myself and the entire "Feed the Hungry" garden. 200 seeds are in potting soil protected under a clear plastic canopy.

How to grow Giant Pumpkins

 

 

Timely Tips and Instructions for Growing Giant Pumpkins:

 

It’s time to think of Halloween pumpkins if you want to grow a giant one. The longer it’s growing, the bigger it’ll get, so start soon!

1. Select a Site in full sun. Growth relates directly to the amount of sunlight.  They need 8 to 12 hours every day.
2. They need space. Each hill (cluster of three to four plants) should be spaced 35 to 50 feet apart, if you are planting more than one hill.

3. Soil must be rich and well prepared.  The best pumpkins come from the best prepared soil. Dig a hole 3 to 4 feet deep and 3 to 5 feet in diameter and mix the soil well with six to eight bags of soil amendments or conditioners. Include steer or horse manure that is one or more years old. Put the mixed soil back in the hole. You should now have a mound two to five feet in diameter and 16-18” high at the center.
4. Germinate Giant Pumpkin Seeds.
   1. Soak seeds overnight 8-12 hours in warm water. This softens the shell and accelerates germination. Start this mid-April to mid-May. If you have a warm, sunny environment, like a greenhouse or cold frame, you will get substantial growth before transplanting, so use a container that will hold enough seed germinating soil mix such as a 5” or larger pot or a flat of soil 2” deep and 18” X 18”. Keep moist and warm 75 to 80 degrees F is ideal. Special seed germinating soil cables under the flats or pots will hasten the process. The cable is also useful for starting cuttings of other plants. This special cable is water resistant and is safe, avoiding electrocution. Plug in to a protected ground fault interrupted plug for further safety. Do not use sharp tools in the soil once the cable is in place. To keep the cable for years of growing, clean it off and store it dry between uses.
   2. Under these conditions, the seeds should sprout in 4-7 days, sometimes even sooner.
   3. After the seedlings have developed one or two true (large and veined) leaves, the plants are ready to transplant into the mound.
   4. Alternatively, you may just plant the seeds directly in the mounds once the soil has warmed up later in the season. Competitive giant pumpkin growers have successfully used both methods.
   5. Transplant on a warm, calm day or in the evening to reduce dehydration. Plant the seedling peat pot and all in the center of the mound, making sure the peat pot is well below the surface of the mound. Use care to minimize soil compaction with your weight. You can distribute your weight across a sheet of plywood or large, lightweight board.
   6.  Protect your new plant from earwigs with rolled up newspaper or earwig bait or put a cardboard box with the top and bottom removed to also protect from rodents and wind. Take off once the seedling is fully established, usually 7-10 days.
5. Watering, Fertilizing and Care.
   1. Pumpkins are 90% water, so the soil should be kept fairly moist. Do not keep the soil saturated, though as disease problems might arise. Water daily to once every 2-5 days depending on your weather and soil conditions. Watering times should be consistent. The best time to water is early mornings 5 to 8:30 am. If you can't make that time, the next best time is late afternoons/early evenings.
   2. Use organic fertilizer every 5-10 days. Seaweed kelp and/or fish emulsion are some of the fertilizers being used by competitive Giant pumpkin growers.
   3. Mulch around the main stem with bark, compost, straw or well aged manure 3-4” deep. Leave 9-12” air space around the stem to avoid rotting it. Mulching will help regulate soil temperature and retain moisture around the main stem and primary root system.
   4. Place a wooden pallet under the pumpkin before it gets too big and too difficult to move (10-25 pounds) to keep the pumpkins bottom from rotting, and to facilitate lifting and transporting later.
   5. Shade the pumpkin once it reaches 24” to 36” diameter to keep the skin from burning, hardening and cracking from the hot, mid-late summer/early autumn sunshine. The pumpkin expands very quickly during this last growth phase, so protect the flexibility of the skin with shade. Short of building a miniature shade house, you can use cheese cloth over the fruit or carefully cover the pumpkin with its own leaves. Be very careful not to break the vine.
   6. I’ve (Ken) carved larger pumpkins with a small electric chain saw. It works great on the extra-thick rind.

 

Article by Stuart Shim copyright 2008

Edited by Ken Brizzi 2010

Tropical getaway

Kona sunset. 81 degrees F. Sitting next to a blow hole off the 6th fairway next to a sand trap. Peaceful paradise, drinking white Napa valley wine and eating macadamia nuts from today's factory tour. Helicopter ride over the volcano's lava flow was exciting. Be sure to see the Sea Horse Aquarium when here. It's the only one in the World!

 

Decorative, Useful Plants You Can Eat

Weird Al has a spoof of Michael Jackson's song "Beat It" called "Eat It". I knew of "Eat It" long before I had heard "Beat It". You can connect with Weird Al through my Twitter page or do a search in Twitter for @alyankovic

 

My friend, Dion, said "If I can't eat it, I pull it out of my yard". That includes shrubs and shade trees that don't produce tasty fruit. He and I spent several hours last Saturday grafting multiple varieties of cherries onto an established cherry tree. I commented that a crepe myrtle was shading the cherry and should be transplanted or pulled out. Dion said "If we can't eat it, pull it out". It wasn't even his yard. The crepe myrtle stayed-for now. I'm guessing once the cherries start producing, they will become a priority. Trees that produce edible fruit are mostly well known. Some not so well know are Avocado (Mexican types are the most cold hardy), Cornelian and Kousa Dogwoods, Jujube, Mayhaw, White and Persian Mulberries, Elderberry, Olives, Persimmons, Strawberry Tree and Loquat (there are hybrids that produce superior fruit to the seedlings). For an extensive list of deciduous fruit trees see: Dave Wilson Nursery Catalog Online

Here is a list of edible shrubs and vines for your yard:

Pineapple guava, strawberry guava, Natal Plum (caution: spiny thorns!), Artichoke, Paw paw, Ginger, Dwarf citrus, kiwi, passion fruit, dwarf purple fig, blueberries, cane berries like Oregon 1030 Everbearing Raspberries, Fruiting Quince, Currant, Gooseberry, Rosemary, sages, thymes, many more perennial herbs, Asparagus, Rhubarb (keep raw plants away from pets and children. Must be cooked to be edible), Grapes, Passion fruit vine (use only a hardy one), Aloe, Lemon grass,

If you have a greenhouse, you can have Lichee, Mango, Macadamia, tea, lemon guava, Vanilla Orchid, dwarf bananas like Ice Cream and Cavendish and many more varieties.

So, don't worry if you eat yourself out of house and home, because there's always they yard.

Healthy Gardening,

Ken Brizzi

Water-wise Yards

It was in the daily news, on the radio, TV, grocery line conversations, barber shops, prayers, the dreaded word "drought". Back in the 1970's, I was interviewed on TV and for the newspapers about the 7 year great drought. Will we all shrivel up and die? Will our yards all be dead; our lawns, shrubs, trees, flowers and vegetable gardens?

Flash forward to today. We have beautiful landscapes. Our brown lawns came back and we made them smaller. We lost some ill-suited plants and shrubs and replaced them with water-wise plants. We switched to better watering systems and stopped rotting out our plants with too much water. Less water runs down the gutters and we save money. Drip systems and mulch have become the norm. Fertilizer run-off and pollution is reduced. In other words, we were forced into plant education and ecology. We became greener. We saved water, became cleaner, healthier and worked less by working smarter. We became careful to choose plants that worked successfully.

Another drought reminds us of natures lessons. We are in a part of California that is always considered in need of more water, so our ways must permanently change. Use a broom instead of hosing down the driveway. Spot water the lawn only where it's dry instead of flooding everywhere with sprinklers every third day; by the way, watering lawns every other day is too ofter for most grasses and soils, the exception being sandy soil. Plant smaller lawns and increase shrub beds. Use water wise shrubs. If possible, plant in the cooler seasons. In summer plantings, cover new plants with shade cloth for a week or two as they get established.

Roots grow when the soil is 50 degrees F. or more. By planting now, the root system will be large and the top will explode with growth in spring and summer, making the most efficient use of precious water. In Februaary and March, nurseries will have staff available to spend time with you to give you lots of advice and help you plan your landscape in detail. Many Mediterranean plants are water-wise because they are similar to central and central coast California natives, so find a professional nursery with staff that can give you lots of choices. Some Australian, New Zealand and other hot, dry continent plants also will grow here as water-wise plants. A good list is at:

Monterey Bay Nursery catalog list of Plants

Nurseries have lists and books dedicated to water-wise plants and planting methods. Remember that success starts with soil preparation and healthy plants of the right choice.

Healthy Gardening,

Ken Brizzi