Five things to do in the garden this week:
Following our recent heavy rain, my cherry tomatoes have been cracking. To prevent this occurrence, pick them when they are still green but have reached full size. The reason they crack is that tomato skins are limited in their elasticity, and after heavy rain, the pulp swells faster than the skin can expand. In addition, cell walls weaken, meaning skins get thinner, as tomatoes mature. It is advisable to place your tomatoes in a paper bag with a banana or an apple to hasten ripening. These fruits give off ethylene, a natural ripening hormone. “It only takes one rotten apple to ruin the whole barrel” is an expression reflecting the fact that a rotting apple emits lots of ethylene, hastening the ripening and rotting of adjacent fruit.
Peach leaf curl, which affects both peaches and nectarines, is a devastating fungus disease. It appears on new leaves, which pucker and curl, in the spring, but applying a copper spray prevents the pathogenic fungus, Taphrina deformans, from developing. On apple trees, fire blight appears on foliage that looks torched. This disease is caused by bacteria (Erwinia amylovora). It may also be controlled with copper spray. The product most often recommended for this purpose is Moneterey’s Liqui-Cop. It should be applied once all foliage has fallen from the trees in question. Apply it with hose end sprayer and make sure there is full coverage to the point where the applied liquid drips of your tree(s).
You can grow stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) in full sun along the coast and in partial sun inland. Stevia, also known as sweetleaf, is a member of the daisy family, but its white tubular flowers are unremarkable. It is a floppy plant that grows two feet tall and wide with little ornamental appeal. However, it has become a popular non-caloric alternative to ordinary sugar, which is made from the sugar beet — a cultivar of the common reddish-purple vegetable beet (Beta vulgaris). Stevia seeds are difficult to germinate, but starter plants are readily available over the Internet and they are easily propagated from shoot cuttings.
Imagine a plant covered in tiny, pendulous white and pink floral pearls at this time of year. This plant can live for decades, growing into a bush that is six feet tall and nearly as wide. It actually thrives in heavy soil and takes full sun or light shade. It requires monthly watering, if that, during the summer, and never needs to be fertilized or pruned. Cut flower stems endure for several weeks, whether they are placed in a vase of water or used in a waterless, dry arrangement. This dream of a plant is sometimes referred to as Scotch heather (Erica canaliculata), even though it comes from South Africa, because of its resemblance, in needlelike leaf and mini-campanulate flower, to classic heathers from the Scottish Highlands.
When a frost is predicted, it is advisable to soak the soil the day before so that it can store heat to be released when the night arrives. Moist soil retains heat from the sun better than dry soil and then radiates it upward at night. To this end, it is advisable to remove mulch prior to soaking the soil since wet mulch will not absorb or radiate as much heat as wet soil. Before sunset, cover cold-sensitive plants with frost cloth or sheets to retain heat radiated from the soil. Make sure to remove these covers in the morning.