Some hard work and a few words about positioning

 

Shifted the board a little

 

My OCD got the better of me and I decided to dig the board mostly out and shift it to the right a litttle more. Doesn't look like much but it's enough I feel better about the position. As I posted previously, I watered thoroughly yesterday so you can see that the soil is still pretty good. I almost bought a zucchini plant yesterday and a bag of soil for the other bed but held off because I'm still waiting for money to come in. The 1.5 cubic foot of garden soil (really good stuff called Happy Frog) was $16. I'd rather do that then get the Yellow Green bag that is not organic. That company now makes an organic soil but it's almost as expensive and I'd rather support my smaller garden store.

Want to plant another tomato in this bed or maybe something smaller so the pepper doesn't get too shaded. My local little nursery (actually called The Plant House) had some tomatoes but they didn't look good and didn't feel like putting another pepper in or which kind just yet.

Positioning in a garden is kind of crucial. Consider the angle of the sun with your bed position and what you want to grow. I would like to put some beans in and the best spot would be against the wall so they get maximum sun and don't shade the other plants. Let's say that my bed was running the other direction so the length of the bed ran roughly north south or perpendicular to the wall. In that case I  would still plant tall things at the back against the wall on the right and shorter plants in front. Now if it were backed against the other wall, I would put plants that are shorter against the wall like herbs and put my tomato or pepper where it would get more sun. I'm lucky that this bed runs just slightly off of East-West. In winter it will get more and less sun since the sun will be angled to the south more. Makes for good winter veggies though because that wall will get good reflected sun.

Still need to move that aloe and the decrepit planter box behind it to give me some more room to plant. Every time I think about it I didn't bring my gloves with me. Then there's that pile of wood as well. I don't want to get rid of it entirely because there's at least one lizard that is using that for a home. Lizards are good. Maybe I can make a lizard house out of some of the wood and have the guys move the rest.

Beans are for summer, peas are for winter, it works out well though for any climbing plant, my issue is all I have handy are tomato cages. Interesting experiment to grow bush beans with a cage.I only tried to grow beans once before. I had some spare lima beans left from some cooking I did and planted them against a fence. Two days after they came up, snails came in and mowed them down overnight. Seriously annoyed that happened but that was almost twenty years ago. Worth a shot again for fresh eating and maybe some pinto or other beans to save for making chili in the fall. See! Plan ahead for what you want in the garden. That is if I have a good enough yield to get a pound or so of beans. Pintos and kidney beans are tall climbers that might be a challenge in my space. 

 

I really want to grow a zucchini though. 

When I was little, our house was on the edge of a canyon and at the time very few other houses were around so there was a lot of wildlife wandering through and lots of open space. My brothers and I convinced my parents we wanted a vegetable garden. I remember where it was and how big it was and we planted carrots and lettuce and a few other things and.. three zucchini. I remember going out there and watching everything grow and slowly but surely the only thing left were three huge zucchini plants. 

Remember the wildlife? Deer, rabbits.. yah...nothing survived but the zucchini because they have spines all over the leaves and stems.

Well, we were a family of five and let me tell you we had zucchini coming out of our ears. I still have my mom's recipe box with a handful of recipes for using zucchini bread. The biggest one we harvested must have been about a foot long if longer and as big around as your forearm or bigger (I was like ten at the time so I just remember it being huge).  So for sentimental and cooking reasons I want a zucchini plant. One is more than enough, if it's successful, for two people and the rest of the complex as well. Oh and there's never just one plant in a container at the store. Usually two or three for good production so if I do that, yeah more than enough. 

This is what the other bed looks like before I took a hoe to it. Chopped it all up, that is wild purslane coming up with in a garden bed can take over rapidly as in this situation:

 

Spurge and purslane are both being watered like they are cherished plants. Oh yes and some crabgrass as well. Sigh.

I am known as The Plant Lady where I worked, I even have a patch that a customer bought for me that says so which will be attached to a denim jacket I have.

I'm torn between putting a sign up or just leaving it be. As long as the weeds don't get in my beds leave them be.

About fertilizers and new toy

 

Nutrient deficiency/watering issue?

A post about fertilizers.

Food is food in general as the plants don't care who makes it or where it comes from but what it is made out of is as important as how it is applied. I do not get paid anything for mentioning products I like or use, I suggest them because I know they work well and that should be sufficient. Most independent nurseries carry a line of fertilzer called Gro-Power. It is my absolute favorite fertilizer and it comes in different formulas now. Used to be just one dry and one liquid. The dry formula is a 5-3-1 (Nitrogen-Phosphorous and Potassium) and the liquid is 5-8-2. It works on EVERYTHING with no harm done to the plants or people. It's processed from humus (not hummus, that's ground chickpeas) which is end of composting product so it's organic. They now have Citrus/Avocado food, flower and bloom, lawn and a few others. Tablets, liquid and dry are different formulas for the NPK.

They have specific formulas for various needs, grass, flowers, vegetables and fruit trees. I just picked up two small bags, one for veggies and the other for fruit trees (because someone needs it somewhere in our complex). The soil in my veggie bed is still moist but I'm going to go throw some of the food out there for them because they are now actively growing, notable difference in size so that means they will need food pretty soon. The veggie food is a 5-6-3 which is perfect for what I'm growing. Just enough nitrogen to get them growing and a little higher phosphorous for boosting flower and fruit production

There was something recently in the news about Milorganite fertilizer. It is originally produced in Milwaukee (hence the first part of the name) and is 'organic'. It says right on the bag, 'processed from sewage sludge' as one of the ingredients. On all fertilizers there is a breakdown of what is found in it as a chemical analysis and some of that is listed as 'heavy metals' in a certain percentage. Recently more rigorous tests were conducted and found that some of those toxic chemicals were actually higher than they listed on the bag. It was originally marketed as a lawn fertilizer which is okay and like anything if you use it in moderation there should be no build up that would cause problems downstream. I don't know if it's been pulled off the market entirely but I know that HD had not been carrying it for at least a year before this news broke. We were told it was a 'supplier issue' with shipping but now I think it's a little deeper than that.

 

Thank you Margaret West for the offer of seeds! This will be a fun experiment as I usually don't plant seeds in open ground. It's starting to warm up during the day here so I either get my gardening done in the morning after taking Rocky out or I do it after 3. Right now it's still a bit warm. It also limits what I can plant right now. 

I got a new toy in the meantime though:

 I got a hose end sprayer with multiple spray patterns! There are multiple versions of this and I was shopping at Walmart for other things and decided to get this. The particular design is my favorite for these points: The connector end is independent of the direction of the sprayer, in other words, if the hose is coiled in one direction you can still point the nozzle where you need without it causing strain on the hose or your wrist. Essentially it swivels at the connection point, yay! Second the on/off is what I call a 'fireman' control. It's a bar that you push forward for on and back for off and in between controls the amount of water coming out. Much easier on older hands and arthritis affected fingers. Standard pistol grips are too stiff and even some versions of this the push bar is stiff but this one worked out great! I tested out the different patterns, there are gentle spray (as in the picture) perfect for general watering without too much splash, there's fan spray, mist, hard center, soft center and (not sure what it's actually called) but it's a pinpoint multi spray. Imagine the various settings on a shower head and you get the idea.

When I went out to water there was evidence of stray cat using that section as a litter box so I dug around and luckily it seemed to have no solid matter so I just watered it really well to dilute the urine. Oh and I don't leave that nozzle out there for everyone else. When you have a pressure nozzle like this or any other the proper way of removing it is turning off the water and letting the nozzle run to release pressure and empty the hose. I might buy a cheaper one to leave on the hose later on but for now this one is mine.

I also watered the end bed with the purslane coming up. The one that looked like a swimming pool with a deep end? Used a couple of the hard spray patterns on the dirt there to try and distribute the soil a bit, will see what happens. Luckily the amount of loose clay and sand is great for drainage and is easily dug using hydraulic pressure from the hose. That bed definitely needs some organic amendment to make it really workable so it might be just a fallow bed until that happens. Fall crops will go nicely in there I suspect. It's much smaller so finding a small bag of amendment is going to be challenging. They don't make in ground soil in small quantities. Sigh.. I might have to bite the bullet and use the yellow and green bag stuff because lord knows I can't handle a 3 cf monster that weighs 50lbs by my self.

Mexican Evening Primrose

I went to a local lake park for a walk, lovely day and not too hot. Decided to take a picture of these pretty things. Pretty like a plague. It can turn into a pest if not controlled, there's enough grass around that it has competition and is growing near the water edge as you can see. People love the way it looks this time of year (or earlier depending on the weather) and don't realize what monster they've introduced until a year or two later and it's started to take over their lawn or flower bed.

 Out in the wild, taking over vast areas of meadow, not a problem. Just isn't suited to putting in a small yard with a lawn that gets watered regularly.

 

Just noticed some buds

So they are doing okay as far as putting out buds at this size. The change in the tomato new growth keyed me in that something was going on and had to take a closer look. Yes I said if they start flowering at this age I'll pull them off but... we will see what happens. According to the label my Better Boy tomato should mature in 70-75 days hmmm. Let's say that when I brought it home it was already three weeks old, maybe a month, that knocks down the time to 45 days tops and a week has already gone by so that's 68 days? It should be a bit bigger before it produces so if the flower succeeds in being pollinated (next topic: plant sex!) it would be too big a fruit to be supported by a small plant so it will get pinched off. Same with the jalapeño (finally figured out how to do the tilde on the n) as it is still way to young to be producing full size fruit in any quantity.  

By the way I only just noticed the damage to the lower leaves on the pepper, not concerned really and next time I am out there I'll get a closer look to see what's going on. See? It's that easy, don't stress about damaged leaves, it'll survive. I KNOW I don't have snails, nowhere for them to hide and way to hot for them to survive.

Hopefully brief lesson on plant sex. If you paid attention in school biology at all you know how we get fruits and babies but with some plants it's a little more complicated and in others, incredibly easy.

Story time: honest truth, years ago a customer honestly told another employee that they thought the flowers came after the fruit 😲. My comment later on was, 'What part of high school biology did they miss? All of it?'.

Explanation: Self pollination (most tomatoes, peppers, corn/grasses/flowers), both male and female parts in same flower sometimes no external vector needed to fertilize other than the wind blowing over the flower. 

Next level (some fruits and trees), some external vector needed to fertilize even though both parts are present. 

Complicated level, male flowers and female flowers open separately and need a little help getting pollinated. 

More complicated (avocados): male flowers open one time of day and female flowers another time, thus needing another variety that has an opposite cycle to increase pollination.

Reasons why some plants, despite good conditions drop flowers, do not flower or do not produce fruit'

Plants can actually be too 'happy' and not want to produce flowers. Remember that flowers and fruit are reproduction and continuation of the species for plants. That's all their doing. Humans are the ones that have taken advantage of this and interfere in the cycle when they don't understand the process.

If you have ever had a tomato or pepper produce flowers then they drop before forming fruit there are a few factors. Top of the list is too much water or nitrogen in the soil, having them stressed a little increases the need for them to reproduce because there is a situation where they may not survive. More nitrogen in the soil produces more leaves, thus negating any reproduction signals. Lots of healthy growth but no flowers (it also happens when a plant gets too much shade. Not enough sun and energy to produce flowers and fruit).

This is why I always give the scrape/dig test on the soil to check the soil moisture rather than relying on a mechanical meter or (as some customers have said) 'Oh it's hot outside I should water, the plants must be hot too'. It's familiarly called "3 'o'clock wilt" and I explained about that earlier.

In squash and melons if they are kept watered well something else happens. They will produce male flowers but not female flowers. I have had many customers coming in explaining that situation and I tell them it's because they don't need female flowers, back off on the water. Stress them out a bit... (see note above). 

Another symptom of too much water (and lack of calcium) for tomatoes and peppers and cucurbits (squashes/melons) is what is called blossom end rot. That grey/brown soft area that develops at the blossom/bottom end of the fruit. For years we knew it was a lack of calcium from all the growing experts but then someone read up more on it and found that in poor soils or situations where the garden is getting watered too frequently the calcium and other nutrients were being diluted and washed through so the plant isn't absorbing it completely and you get a deficiency of calcium. The solution is not only adding a calcium supplement but also, and more important, back off on the watering. Most fertilizers that are formulated for vegetables and tomatoes specifically have added calcium and sulfur. Sulfur acidifies the soil and lowers the pH which enables the plant to take up the nutrients easier. In our nutrient and organically poor soil in San Diego and the southwest this is crucial. Northwest and basically any other part of the country there is sufficient rainfall and existing organic rich soil. Just look at a color map and you'll see the large swath of brown compared to green areas, that is oversimplified but it's what I'm talking about.

I am still hoping to move further north and have soil that doesn't need to be heavily amended. 

Another shot of the lily

Not much to do in the garden so more tips and ramblings

 So someone took the tree fertilizer I had bought. Hoping it's the right person who is taking care of the lemon tree. The landscape was watered this morning and sure enough there was overspray from them onto the lemon. Not even going to bother anymore, I've done what I did and it's just fine the way it is right now.

I have comparison photos between first day of planting and now, only a week has gone by.

Photo taken yesterday (06/06/21

Photo when planted 05/30/21

::sniffle:: They grow up so fast....

No flowers yet but that's okay. A lot of times you'll see plants this size in the garden center and they have flowers already. Pull them off! Yes, that's what I said. They have been pumped full of fertilizer and like any other creature when artificially grown too fast they want to reproduce too soon. As a wonderful friend and former coworker once explained, 'plants are like teenagers, they may be able to reproduce but it's not necessarily a good idea'.

Letting them reproduce too soon robs the plant of nutrients and energy which may stunt and cause other issues to the plant later on. The lemon tree and the tiny pea sized yellow lemon? Other issues but also related to too many fruit on a small tree. Oh and you want to know how many people think that because it's a 'dwarf' tree it won't have full size fruit or a good crop of fruit? Yeah, too many. So in the case of small annual fruit plants like tomatoes and peppers, if I saw buds or flowers on these I would just pinch them off so they have more energy to grow bigger and produce better fruit later.

Oh, want to see what the fertilizer looked like that I gave them?

View straight into the bag from the top because I already fed the plants.

So you can see some larger nuggets on the right, smaller black flecks some white bits and some powdery stuff. The majority of that is sort of greenish and manure looking. Because the largest component of it is fish bone meal and alfalfa meal. Look at the ingredients of your organic fertilizer, technically it needs to have those as a component and looks like it's actually different things. The additional ingredients in this particular one has a boat load of bacillus and mycorrhizae. Absolutely needed in raw soil that is devoid of any organic material. It is a bonus in my soil and I just might take the rest of this and go dump it in the other bed to work in. Oh there are 'organic' fertilizers that look rather pelletized and homogenous but that's okay. Certified organic is different than 'for organic gardening' on some labels.  

 

OMRI© labeling and expiration date

 

You can see the official label of the Organic Materials Review Institute and other labels indicating it is 100% organic. Even minerals are organic, they come out of the ground right? But some are not labeled as such because of the regulations involved in organic products. (You can see the list of other ingredients too long and numerous for my fingers to type. They're the good stuff too). See the description above? Derived from Fishbone meal, alfalfa meal, fish meal, potassium sulfate ::record screech:: wait... that doesn't sound organic! It's potash folks! A mineral that is found naturally in the soil same with rock phosphate. Finally kelp meal and kelp flour, organically grown in the worlds oceans...

About that comment,

              Over a decade ago there was a particularly slick salesman who decided to get into the fertilizer business, his 'trade' name was Captain Sticky (CS for short here). Yeah, I never met him in person and my story is partially second hand from Walter Andersen Jr relating part of my story. Back on track,  Walter decided to carry his liquid kelp fertilizer as well as a few other products because he was local, we wanted to try them out and maybe they were good. I picked up one of the bottles to read what was in it that was so fantastic and different than the other liquid kelp that we had been carrying for years. I kid you not, right there on the label it said, 'Made from kelp hydroponically grown in the world's oceans'. 

Let that sink in a minute....kelp. In the ocean. Hydroponically grown.

Yeah I pointed that out to several of our more knowledgeable people and we all had the same reaction. Turns out that concoction was not stabilized either, the bottles started popping open despite having a screw top lid because the liquid inside started to ferment! Yeah... not good.

Well Walter's story dealt with the soil improver that the man was trying to sell. Long story short it didn't work.  Walter lived in a particular area close to the coast that used to be a chicken ranch and it had a lot of ..you guessed it, rock and sandstone being close to the coast. Well he was told by CS to put this soil improver on his lawn and he'd have great soil in a week!

Well Walter followed the instructions and after a week and a half still couldn't get a shovel in the ground any further than an inch or two. CS said he wasn't doing it right and went to his house in person.

Now Mr. Andersen is 6'4 and thin as a rail, his entire life has been nursery work since his dad started the company before he was born. CS on the other hand was a snake oil salesman, maybe 6' and outweighed Mr. Andersen by 200lbs if that. CS put the shovel in the ground and jumped on it, 'see it works!' Walter gestured to the shovel, 'you outweigh me! Of course the shovel is going to sink into the ground!' Needless to say Walter basically kicked him off the property and we stopped carrying his products.

So not all 'organic' products are the same in another way. One ingredient you won't find in the Dr. Earth products is chicken manure or meal or any chicken or steer by products. In their words, 'chicken farms today are not the same as your grandfather or great grandfathers chickens. There are too many other things pumped into chickens for both the egg and meat industry to be safely called organic. Being certified organic is expensive! So for them to source a local chicken farm that was organic would up the cost even more and frankly, they need to sell a product now at a price that people can manage.

Side note again: I am not touting this company for any reason other than it being what I bought, it's a good example of organic fertilizer and it's a product that works. There are a ton other products out there, so find what you can get and use it. I get nothing from any of these companies (wish I did though).

Frankly, plants don't care what fertilizer you use or what it's made of as long as it gets the proper nutrients. Generally I like to use organics on edibles because they are healthier for plant, person and soil. You want flowers to grow faster and better? Get the blue stuff you have to put on every two weeks and have them burn out sooner than they should. It just makes more sense really to do good for the soil and the plants. Dry granular food you use less often because it breaks down slower, liquid food is absorbed by the plant faster and it is washed through the soil quicker so it needs to be used more often. The food I used is applied every two months, how easy is that?

Another story: little old lady came into the nursery and was looking for organic soil with nothing added to it. It had to be absolutely organic soil for her plants. She was being very adamant about it being organic with no chemicals in the soil. I finally asked her why she was being so particular, all bagged soils are clean and organic. (This was again about ten or twelve years ago), 'Well, I'm growing medicinal marijuana'. I told her 'Ma'am, it's called weed for a reason, use a good potting soil and it'll be fine.' 

 

 A bit late but this 'Easter' lily is finally blooming (in front of an electrical box) in our complex. Hello lily! In partial shade surrounded by Red Apple ice plant so there ya go.

Proper care and feeding of a lemon tree.

 On my walk this morning I noticed a sign above the little lemon bush. 

"This is a LEMON Tree Do NOT pick the Lemons until they are Yellow and please leave some for ALL the neighbors. DO NOT water the lemon tree untill the END of August! Someone has been overwatering it."

 

I have not 'watered' it per se but when I go to turn off the hose I drop it on the tree and then go turn off the water. All of maybe 20 seconds. The tree was showing signs of stress when I first saw it.

Right... so here I go on a plant rant. Might even put up my own info sign.

First: they are growing a tropical tree in sandy clay soil with no nutrients and seemingly no amendments. Hard to say when it was last fed with proper citrus food. It cannot take up the proper nutrients with our crappy clay alkaline soil.  The drainage is fine, nutrient level not so much. Chemical reasons have to do with

Second; it has recently flowered and put on fruit. When trees, especially citrus, put on fruit they sacrifice nutrients to feed the baby fruit, thus the leaves begin to turn yellow around the edges. It is very hungry! It needs food dangit!

Third: occasional watering as I was doing is not going to cause an issue given the type of soil we have. Apparently they saw the hose laying in the bush and thought someone had actually watered it. Also the wall behind the tree is wet, there are still open sprinklers in the area and they just watered this morning. And the day before yesterday...they are on a three day a week schedule due to the weather and are now watering the lawns regularly.

So, it seems to be an established bush which means in it's current situation watering every two weeks or so is not bad. They have surface roots and is currently shading those roots with it's own canopy so the core root ball is staying sufficiently moist. When I was looking at the other 'mint bed' I noticed a tiny pea sized lemon that was yellow. So help me if someone thought they could plant that I'm going to go on a definite rant. 

'Overwatering' could be the culprit as could happen in a larger tree, more than likely it is starving though. I have encountered (previously mentioned) customers who thought they shouldn't feed a plant when it is flowering or fruiting. What? You going to starve a pregnant mother because she might get fat? Heck no! People don't understand that is when you need to feed them even more so (but not overfeed).

I will have to put a sign up asking questions and maybe leave my number for further information. I can understand how they would get the idea of not watering it for three months being an established tree. Someone may have told them that was a good schedule for it but if they are not feeding it on a regular schedule with proper food, that is the key problem. I think I will take the more subtle approach and buy a bag of citrus food and leave it in the community patio along with some veggie seedlings or seeds. (Thank you Margaret for the seeds when they get here!)

My planting area is still very dark from the watering yesterday afternoon. Very happy about that and shows that late afternoon watering is best for my situation. It's approximately three days between waterings currently and could be pushed to four depending on the weather. Anxiously waiting for more planting material and I think I need to come up with a sign for my bed(s) to let people know who to talk to if there are any problems or need advice.

Citrus (and other fruit) trees are usually fed about three or four times a year depending on the food you use.  Early spring, mid summer and fall depending on the weather you could even feed it early winter. Due to an insect that has invaded the US and San Diego more so called the citrus leafminer, I have normally told people to hold off feeding until late spring or summer if they feed in the fall. 

Leafminers attack the new leaves and shoots of citrus, their life cycle is keyed to that timing. Luckily this tree shows absolutely no signs of that insect likely because it is isolated from other trees and not in an open area. Remember the citrus swallowtail I mentioned as pollinators?

Those two are completely separate issues. The 'bird poop' is actually the caterpillar of the Swallowtail butterfly, effective camouflage right? Bird Poop caterpillar is the other name for it and it can be as devastating as the leafminer.

Adult small silver moth with a wingspan of 4 mm. TINY!

 

Leafminer can be mostly cosmetic damage on a larger tree but it should be nipped in the bud...aha...see what I did there? Moving on.... Do not pull the leaves off if they still have 75-80 percent green left. Any green will help the tree more than not having at all. In the upper left end of that snaky trail you can see a yellowish color, that is actually where the larva has paused. If you find this on your tree, simple solution is squish it. Yes... use your fingers and simply pinch the area and that will kill it I gaurantee it. In San Diego the damage usually starts around June sometimes before so that means the adults are out in April and May. There are Citrus Leaf Miner traps (CLM for short) you can buy at a nursery/garden center. Not sold in big box stores! In San Diego they can be put out any time of year but spring is best.

There is also a systemic that is safe for use on citrus. If you want to go totally organic, not much is going to help. The caterpillar is up to you, leafminer you can use BioAdvanced (formerly Bayer) Fruit Tree and Vegetable Systemic Insect Control. Look for the blue bottle BUT Make sure it says Fruit Tree! The other version is for ornamentals only and a higher concentration. This is a once a year dose and you would not be able to eat any of the fruit for over a year to be safe. I have had a few customers say, 'I don't really eat the fruit' oh heck you don't, but what about any other incidental consumption? It's not going to kill you technically but it can make you sick. The active ingredient is the same thing that is in Advantage flea control for dogs and cats. So if you or your pets have had sensitivity or a reaction to it, don't use it.

The organic treatment is another one I've mentioned, Captain Jacks Deadbug Brew which will definitely take care of the caterpillars (you can use BT for them as well) but it will help to a degree with the leafminer. It is a soil bacteria that when ingested by an insect infects their gut and causes them to stop eating and die. It is harmless to humans and other mammals but as most organic controls it doesn't work as effectively. Just pick the leaves off if they are horrendously damaged and squish the bugs as you see them.

So that's my rant/topic for today. Don't panic about every little blemish you see on your plants, note them down, take pictures, see if they get worse, do what needs to be done. Talk to me, I'm happy to help!

Another pest warning and Symbol meanings on tags

 

Those are not seashells. Those are snail shells and are a sign that they once were brought in. They are called Decolate Snails and were originally introduced as a control for garden snails. Big problem though, they are omnivorous and only ate juvenile snails and the eggs, when that supply runs out they go vegetarian with a vengeance. So another example of someone thinking they were doing good but may have caused a bigger problem. 

Another 'transplant' from a well meaning gardener. Those are rose cuttings. From rootstock roses that have sprouted in various places around the grounds. Oh and the same person is watering the wild purslane and crabgrass that is coming up in the bed with the mint. Sigh.

 

 

 

Deciphering plant tag symbols (best one I could find)

 

Full sun: (not shown, but would be a full, open sun) This means during the warmest part of the year it should get a minimum of 5 hours direct sunlight. Some plants can survive with as little as 4 but not thrive.Tomatoes need 5+ hours of sun. I managed to grow three plants that only got 3 hours and they grew tall but had few tomatoes. Even some full sun plants suffered a few years ago when we had a sudden 90+ degree heat wave with very low humidity. The shade plants even suffered because it was the extreme HEAT not direct sun that caused issues.

Part sun: (symbol is a half dark and light circle or the quarter circle) Big difference sometimes depending on the plant and time of year. In general I am speaking of peak hot season when the temperatures and exposure would be the greatest. Some people when asked how much sun the area gets where they want to plant, they say 'well.... right now...' or 'I don't know we just moved there'. People people people.... use a compass! Figure out where the sun comes up and goes down. What time of year is the sun going to be at the highest point. Are there trees blocking the area? Goodness I had to ask twenty questions to give an educated suggestion and some people actually got frustrated and complained that I didn't want to help them.

Full shade is under eaves, heavy canopy trees, not direct sun whatever. Indirect light is okay, just no direct sun for any longer than an hour or two. Very few plants can thrive in that kind of condition so you may have to do some hunting. Two that come to mind are ferns and clivia. They thrive in deep shade.

The infographic above is pretty explanatory, all of it is useful information and pretty generic.

Check the tag or info on the plant. In the hot summer places (inland valleys/desert) anything that says part shade means full shade or don't plant it at all.

 

Here's something else that is a buyer beware situation. The difference between a 'local' nursery and a big box store is who determines what they get and when. Local nurseries with have plants and information that is keyed for the area they are being grown in. Big Orange had supplies and plants that may have been grown here but corporate was in the midwest. Subsequently they went according to the planograms of other climate zones. They had geraniums.... of all things,  labeled as annuals. Several times I had to tell customers to ignore the signs and even some of the tags on what it was suppposed to be. 

We got japanese maples and hostas in the fall one year because that was what was at the growers (who were in SoCal but they were going according to what district said to put out). This irked me no end. Signs were hung where the corporate dictated so that stores all looked the same. This is bad. 'Seasonal' had an entirely different meaning for those vendors that followed corporate dication. 

So if you have no other choice, shop there with that in mind, even if it costs less you are getting product for a particular market and not a whole lot of variety. It may cost a little more but shop at a smaller nursery or garden center that is more likely to carry things correctly labeled not only for information but for the area you live in.

 

Rant over.

 

It is warming up here. I went out to dig around in the dirt and see if it needed water, which it didn't but I will be watering tomorrow. General rule of thumb is literally the depth of your thumb or to the middle of your finger. Dig down about two inches, if it's dark and moist, leave it alone. Even new plants don't need water that often. The tomato and pepper are showing no signs whatever of any wilting so I'm wondering what it is with people who say that happens to them. I didn't rip the roots apart, just loosened them a little. Ah, nother topic

 

When transplanting and pulling the plant out of the pot, look to see how wrapped the roots are around the ball. If there is a mass of roots at the bottom, pull them off gently and loosen the roots that are left (depending on the plant of course). Usually that's found in six packs and four inch potted annuals and perennials. My veggies were kind of heavy on the roots in the corners but nothing major, this is a plus for plant survival. 

 

Meanwhile back at the garden, other than the rose cuttings nothing else is going on. I would really like to plant something else, maybe another tomato or oooh, a tomatillo? Radishes? Those may have to wait until fall. Will have to see what I can find locally. Also need some fertilizer...sigh. My favorite fertilizer is not sold locally convenient and nothing smaller than a 5lb bag so will have to go for the organic Dr. Earth that is sold in small pouches. 

Oh yeah. READ THE DIRECTIONS ON THE PACKAGE! Do not assume you know the quantity and timing. Less is more usually, my preferred fertilizer at this point is dry because I don't have to fill up a watering can and mix a full gallon when I only need a half gallon or less. Dry lasts longer as well and the right stuff will help nourish the soil as well as the plant.

All done. Just another picture of the Jacaranda cause it's pretty. Oh and because it is Brazilian it is a soft Jz sound  not h if it were Spanish and not E if it were Greek. Not going to call the botany police on you though.

 

 

 

 

Planting for Pollinators of all kinds.

 

Lantana (possibly 'Radiation')

Pollinators, sometimes called 'vectors' when they are carriers of diseases, come in many different forms and species. When planting a garden for them you have to understand the life cycle or their feeding habits to allow for the greatest diversity.

One customer I encountered totally dumbfounded me because of her lack of education on butterflies, specifically, Monarchs. She wanted to plant milkweed to attract Monarchs, their primary source of food, and a host plant for the caterpillars. She didn't want that. She only wanted the butterflies not the caterpillars. Right? After giving her a brief education she was still insistent on not wanting caterpillars to eat the plants was there anything she could spray. I said no, there's no way of stopping the butterflies from laying eggs. She picked up a plant and went inside where I recall she asked someone in the pesticide aisle how to kill caterpillars. They gave her the appropriate product and off she went.

Folks... friends... educated people reading this... this is what is wrong with our world. Back on topic.

So, understanding and planning for the entire life cycle of a pollinator is key to having a busy garden that draws a diverse collection of life. Not only butterflies, but bees of course, moths, hoverflies and hummingbirds. When you only plant for one species, you will have very poor results

Butterflies do not all have the same timing for their reproduction. The weather and seasons have a great deal to do with when you see certain species. They are insects and as such need a range of warm temperatures so they can actually fly around and find food. So people are greatly disappointed when they come in to look for milkweed to attract Monarchs in February. Way too early for either.

Insects have developed their timing based on the timing of available food sources and host plants to continue their species. Monarchs and milkweed have the same season, Swallowtails, Painted Lady, and a little known species called 'Skippers'(which used to be all over lawns but are hardly seen anymore).

 

Zinnias

Zinnias are a wonderful open face flower that attracts a wide variety of pollinataors. Butterflies prefer plants they can land and feed on as they 'taste' what they are standing on. Hence why you see them flitting from flower to flower without feeding. 'Nah, this isn't what I'm looking for'. Monarchs and Swallowtails both feed on Zinnia's for the nectar but not use it as a host plant. 

(This is a leftover plant from a tenant that just moved out)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a wonderful example of a neglected windowbox of herbs that is perfect for pollinators. At the back left you have oregano it looks like, that has flowered and at the right is cilantro. As 'ugly' as it looks it is helping the local population to pollinate. At the front in the small pot is a rather sad looking basil.

The only problem is it's position. Tucked up against the wall it will be in shade most of the day which means butterflies won't likely find it. (Cilantro doesn't care it'll toss seed whether anything has walked on it or not).

Monarchs are usually the first to show up in the spring, after that I've noticed Painted Ladies occasionally. They are an 'irregular' migrant so they migrate when they feel the time is right. About four years ago there was a 'super migration' and the county was reporting clouds of the butterflies making their way up from Mexico. It was a wonderful sight and I was lucky to be in a large canyon park to see them drifting through. They can be seen all over North America and Britain as well.

After those, if you have any varieties of passion vine in the neighborhood you will likely have Gulf Fritillary most of the summer. The vines are a host plant for them and can devastate an entire vine in a matter of days. There are a few varieties of vine they don't visit but that's not our topic for today.

Next in the line up is Swallowtails. There are at least two varieties I've seen possibly more. The Black or Anise Swallowtail will visit the cilantro plant up there, carrots, parsley, dill, fennel, all those family of plants. They are a host and nectar plant for them. The other one is the Giant Swallowtail which much to our dismay hosts on citrus trees. 

Plants for any butterfly but those in particular are Verbena, Echinacea, Milkweed (yes they like the nectar), Butterfly Bush (Buddleia) and Pentas. So when you have a good sunny spot with some room, consider those and of course don't forget Sunflowers! Edible or not they are a perfect flower for butterflies. Purples, blues and whites are favorite flower colors but don't rule out all the others.

Now I mentioned hummingbirds as pollinators. What the heck do you think they do with that long tongue? They have to get into a flower, usually tubular and red, orange, sometimes purple sage flowers as well. They get pollen on their little forehead and beak then move on to another flower and voila! Pollinating happens!

Be aware that some flowers will also attract bees. They like purples, blues and whites, but I have seen Iceland Poppies being swarmed by them in the spring. Their little pollen baskets on their legs chock full and I kept waving at them telling them to go home and clean off. Bees are especially attracted to Rosemary and other blue flowers, which is another story. When I was growing up there was a house up the street that had their entire bank planted with rosemary. If we had to walk up the street (no sidewalks of course) we would walk on the far side during the spring because there were so many bees out on the flowers. Another issue customers have is just that. 'I want to plant flowers but don't want to attract bees'. I hang my head and count to ten, I can understand if they are allergic but I ask one thing, 'Are you going to be sitting out next to the plants all day? Are they going to be where you're eataing?' No? Then don't worry about it. 

What kind of plant is that? Pretty purple flower on there! 😏😄 Garden joke! That is a Jacaranda flower that fell on a Mock Orange bush. Our Jacaranda is in full bloom and oh yes, the bees have noticed. I took a picture through my window screen (and after I took the picture an orange butterfly flitted by!), 

but then took this picture out on our balcony:

So, planning, planning and planting for the long term. Understanding when flowers are at bloom peak, what is out there that feeds on them one way or another and knowing that you don't have to have milkweed year round although the butterflies are starting to catch on.

So just because something is eating your plants, doesn't mean it's a pest. Unless it's eating something you want to eat.

Today is particularly noisy. Chainsaw in one direction and a grinder chewing up what they're cutting. Noisy noisy! Oh and it's garden day so the guys mowed the lawn and are rolling the trash can around...sigh.

Such is life with plants and gardens.