Heat and gardening questions and a sad orchard
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This may look like a great crop, but this miniature
peach tree at the State Fair Farm should have been
thinned before the fruit started to ripen. Branches
are in danger of breaking. (Photos: Kathy Morrison)
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Been to the State Fair yet this year? It has returned, but in a limited form, shaped by the three tumultuous years since the previous one. (What hasn't changed: Cal Expo is a scorching heat island in the late afternoon. More shade, please, everywhere.)
Back in the Farm area, where the UCCE Sacramento County master gardeners hang out in the open-air answer booth, we see the effects of the pandemic on gardening up close. Apparently because of staffing shortages, the vegetable areas were planted later than usual, so the plants aren't as big as they typically are at this time. No ripe tomatoes this week. The pepper plants aren't filled out. The herbs are not lush. The corn is not as high as an elephant's eye.
Oh, and the myriad weeds are tantalizing certain people (including me) who want to grab a trowel and start digging them out.
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Looks like codling moth damage on this apple tree, which also
needs to be thinned.
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Because, after all, the master gardeners are there to answer questions and even solve problems, if possible. And at the very least, lend a sympathetic ear.
Two shifts in the Farm booth revealed gardeners' concerns about:
-- Zucchini. It's typically so easy to grow, but it's a problem vegetable this year. Lack of pollination, attacks of whiteflies or squash bugs, and leaves turning yellow were among the question topics. (Probably too much water was the answer to that last one.) Here's a little more on growing squash .
-- Lack of production from vegetables. Beyond zucchini, this is a noticed problem with tomatoes, melons and cucumbers. Blame the heat wave (and lack of humidity) for this: The pollen dries out too fast for the flowers to be pollinated.
-- Vertebrate pests . Squirrels are the least of it, apparently. Rodents and birds are dining extensively on people's vegetables and fruit this summer. Blame the heat and lack of water sources for some of it, use barriers where possible, and try to distract them with bowls of water or seeds away from the growing food.
-- Insect pests. In addition to the whiteflies, the typical summer pests include spider mites, aphids and thrips -- sometimes all on the same plant. Quick hard sprays of water, delivered in the morning on the underside of the leaves, can help fight them. And the water will help also with humidity as it drips into the soil.
-- Planting schedules and plant choices. "Is it too late to plant ...?" got an immediate "yes" in many cases, followed by "it's too hot for baby plants!" Wait til fall, folks, when the heat should subside and planting will be easier on the plants and the gardeners. One foothills couple who asked about growing avocados were told gently that it's not an ideal tree for their region, but hey, citrus does great there! Ever thought of growing mandarins?
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| Still plenty to see at the Farm at the State Fair, which runs through July 31. |
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Garden Checklist for week of May 12
Get your gardening chores and irrigation done early in the day before temperatures rise.
* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. Time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.
* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.
* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions. This heat will cause leafy greens and onions to flower; pick them before they bolt.
* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters.
* Plant dahlia tubers. Other perennials to set out include verbena, coreopsis, coneflower and astilbe.
* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.
* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.
* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.
* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.
* Got fruit trees? If you haven't already done so, thin orchard fruit such as apples, peaches, pears, pluots and plums before they grow too heavy, breaking branches or even splitting the tree. Leave the largest fruit on the branch, culling the smaller ones, and allow for 5 to 6 inches (or a hand's worth) between each fruit.
* Thin grape bunches, again leaving about 6 inches between them. For the remaining bunches, prune off the "tail" end, about the bottom third of the bunch, so that the plant's energy is concentrated in the fruit closest to the branch.
* As spring-flowering shrubs finish blooming, give them a little pruning to shape them, removing old and dead wood. Lightly trim azaleas, fuchsias and marguerites for bushier plants.
* Add mulch to the garden to help keep that precious water from evaporating. Mulch also cuts down on weeds. But don’t let it mound around the stems or trunks of trees or shrubs. Leave about a 6-inch to 1-foot circle to avoid crown rot or other problems.
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