Has the rain ended? We’ve had a surprisingly cool, wet spring, which is great for keeping plants irrigated yet is not without its downsides.
• If your squash, roses and other plants have mildew on their leaves, blame the rain and humidity. Once the heat sets in, the mildew will disappear, so be patient and just let the leaves be, unless the plant is truly about to succumb.
• Last month’s cool weather delayed the development of tomatoes and other vegetables that would normally be ripening now. As the weather warms, they will all be in bloom, followed soon after by fruits!
• Did you know that what we call “summer vegetables” are actually “summer fruits”? Anything with a seed is technically a fruit. So tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, peppers, eggplants, squash and okra are all fruits.
• Did you leave room in your vegetable garden for another round of planting? Succession planting is the best way to ensure you’ll have tomatoes, peppers, squash and more to harvest well into winter.
• Start seeds for tomatoes, eggplants, basil, cucumbers, squash, watermelon and other summer edibles. Plants started from seed now will produce from late summer into winter.
• Vegetable seedlings planted now will start producing a month or six weeks sooner than vegetables planted from seed.
• Plant pumpkin seeds now for fall harvest. Varieties like ‘Big Moose’ and ‘Wyatt’s Wonder’ make giant pumpkins that are perfect for carving into spooky faces. Their watery, stringy flesh, however, is not the best for cooking. Varieties like ‘Winter Luxury,’ ‘Cinderella’s Carriage’ and ‘Small Sugar’ are bred to have sweet, smooth, dense flesh perfect for pies, breads, curries and other delicious dishes. Whichever varieties you choose, give these beauties plenty of water and plenty of room. The vines from four seeds planted in a small mound easily cover 50 to 100 square feet of space.
• If this June brings the usual gloom, wait for warmer weather before increasing irrigation for vegetables and other thirsty plants. When it does get warm, run each zone more often but keep the run time consistent.
• Mulch vegetables with a thick layer (2 or 3 inches) of straw — NOT hay.
• Harvest peaches, plums, nectarines, pluots and other stone fruits as they mature. If the harvest is more than you can eat, share with friends and neighbors, can it or cut fruits in half, remove the pits and freeze.
• If your harvest is overwhelming, consider sharing it with those in need. There are organizations that provide volunteer gleaners to pick and donate your fruit to food banks and other feeding programs. Find lists of gleaners at www.sandiegogleaners.org for San Diego County, www.theharvestclub.org for Orange County, www.foodforward.org in Los Angeles, and others. If you have time to give, those same organizations to volunteer to be a gleaner.
• Practice good garden hygiene to avoid attracting hungry birds, squirrels, rats, etc. Harvest fruits and vegetables as they ripen, before they rot. Clean up fallen fruits, too.
• Fertilize fruit trees with organic fertilizer, following label directions.
• Feed vegetable plants with an organic vegetable fertilizer. If you use granular fertilizer, pull the mulch away; apply the fertilizer to the soil, then replace the mulch. Liquid fertilizer can be used as foliar sprays on peppers and other smooth-leaved edibles. Or, “fertigate” by adding liquid fertilizer to your irrigation system when you water.
• By now, last season’s lettuce, spinach, broccoli, cabbage and other leafy vegetables are sending up flower stalks and their leaves are bitter. Flowering signifies the end of these annual plants’ lives, and there’s no way to stop it once the weather warms. Sugars from the plants’ leaves and stems go into making flowers — and, consequently, making seeds. That’s why the parts you usually eat taste bitter. The flowers, though, taste delicious!
• Skeletonized tomato leaves and tiny balls of green are evidence of tomato hornworms. Search for the green, white and black striped caterpillars on stems and backsides of leaves. Don’t be shy; pull the worms off the plants and drop them into a container of water with a layer of vegetable oil on top.
• Use a bucket in your shower to collect cold water while you wait for warm water. You’ll be surprised at how much water you collect. Use the water for potted plants, thirstier tropical fruits, and vegetables.
• Mulch, mulch, mulch; but only if you have a drip irrigation system. If you have overhead irrigation, the water first has to saturate the mulch. Only then will it reach the soil. This is another reason to switch to in-line drip irrigation.
• Keep potted plants watered and mulched with small, rounded gravel to keeps the cats out, moisture in and make the pots looks nice, too.
• Shrubs need little care this time of year. Clean out dead flowers and spent leaves. Keep them mulched and water deeply once every few weeks.
• Deep-water big trees once a month through summer when the temperatures get warm. Even drought-tolerant trees need a long drink.
• As we get into summer, don’t be tempted to water protea, California native plants and plants from other dry regions of the world. These plants are adapted to dry summer conditions. They don’t need extra water, and in some cases, wet, warm soils can actually shorten their lives.
• While we got plenty of rainfall this year, there’s no reason to go back to our water-wasting ways. Metropolitan Water District (MWD) is offering another round of turf replacement rebates. Visit www.bewaterwise.com for details.
• Sweep walkways and driveways instead of hosing them down.
• Fertilize citrus and avocado with granular organic citrus and avocado food. Follow label directions.
• If you haven’t already, plant big seeds for Russian Mammoth sunflowers. These giants grow 6 or 8 feet tall with a single, enormous yellow flower in the center.
• Potted plants need more attention through summer. Fertilize non-succulent potted plants with an all-purpose organic fertilizer (liquid indoors, liquid or granular outdoors), following label directions. Potting soil dries out more quickly than dirt, so monitor the soil so you know how often it needs to be watered. Water slowly to saturate the entire pot, soil and all.
• Move sun-shy potted plants like fuchsia and orchid cactus (Epiphyllum) under the shade of a leafy tree or an east-facing eave.
• Children love to garden. To them, a worm is as wonderful as a bloom. Even very small children can garden. Give them a kid-sized shovel, some dirt, and a marigold. Show them how to water and care for it. Even if you end up taking care of their plants (which is inevitable), time in the garden stimulates children’s imaginations and their interest in nature. It builds your relationship, too!
• The San Diego Cactus and Succulent Society Sale is June 1 and 2, at Casa del Prado, Balboa Park. Doors open to the public at 10 a.m. www.sdcss.net
• Discover more California gardening, horticulture, agriculture and native plants by watching my TV show, “A Growing ion,” Thursday nights at 8:30 p.m. and Sundays at 11 a.m. on KPBS Television in San Diego; online everywhere, anytime at www.AGrowingion.com
Sterman is a garden designer and writer; www.waterwisegardener.com
