Get ready for higher temperatures by using water wisely
S oon we’ll have warm evenings and hotter days. Water is sacred, so don’t overdo it in the garden. It helps to grow plants that “drink responsibly!” Manage water
We are in the worst drought of the past 1,200 years. Use your water wisely.
Don’t overwater. If your water agency hasn’t put out new restrictions (yet), take the time to figure out the minimum amount your garden needs, then stick to that schedule.
Collect cold bath and shower water in a bucket. Use the water for potted plants, thirstier tropical fruits, and vegetables.
Mulch, mulch, mulch, but only if you have a drip irrigation system. For overhead irrigation, the water has first to saturate the mulch before it reaches the soil. This is another reason to switch to in-line drip irrigation that goes under mulch.
Deep-water big trees once a month through summer once the temperatures get warm. Even droughttolerant trees need a long drink to survive.
As the heat builds, don’t overwater 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 sometimes wet, warm soils can shorten their lives.
Sweep walkways and driveways instead of hosing them down.
Enjoy the blooms!
What blooms in June? Take a walk through your neighborhood and photograph everything in bloom. Start a digital notebook so you can add these beauties to your garden in fall, to bloom next June. Here’s what’s blooming in my neighborhood now. Kangaroo paw Texas olive tree Walking iris Mexican bird of paradise shrub
Cape chestnut trees Matilija poppies California buckeye Climbing penstemon Desert willow Grevillea
Peruvian lily
And so so much more! All of these plants grow with little if any summer water after they are established. Plant in fall or winter, water well through the first year. After that, water deeply but only occasionally through late spring, then stop watering for the year.
What to do about grass
Grass is the thirstiest plant in our gardens. With diminishing water resources, we can’t continue to support lawns. Don’t just turn the water off — there are many alternatives.
Native grasses make beautiful fields of green. Replace your lawn with buffalo grass (Buchloe dactyloides), blue grama grass (Bouteloua gracilis),
or purple three-awn grass (Aristida purpurea).
Plant a meadow. Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) makes a ferny, softlooking meadow with stalks of pink, white, yellow or reddish flowers in spring/ summer. Clustered field sedge (Carex praegracilis)
looks like a flowing, soft grass and can even take mowing to make a great lawn alternative.
Kurapia, the trade name for Lippia nodiflora,
grows into a flat green surface with tiny white flowers. It does need to be bounded by concrete or other strong edges to keep it out of surrounding flower beds.
Don’t replace lawn with synthetic grass or artificial turf. These surfaces get very, very, very hot in summer, need to be washed regularly, fill landfills and are of concern as a source of environmental microplastics. Living plants are simply a better choice than artificial turf.
If your plan is to replace your lawn, this is the time to start planning. July is the best time of year to solarize your lawn. It is the easiest method and very effective. Learn how by watching the episode of “A Growing Passion” at bit.ly/38W5cTi.
Support tiny critters
Insects and other tiny garden critters can be unnerving but seldom a problem. A few pests in the garden ensure that their natural predators stick around. Your goal is to support the natural cycle to keep your garden in balance.
Caterpillars and worms nibble on leaves but seldom kill plants. While a few aren’t an issue, if they are truly decimating your plants, pluck them off and leave them in an open area where hungry birds and lizards can find them. Birds and lizards are nature’s pest control!
What to do about aphids? Squish them with your fingers or hose them off with a sharp spray of water. Aphids’ soft bodies can’t withstand the impact of the spray, nor can they survive the fall to the ground.
Fungus gnats are pesky but don’t hurt plants. The adults lay their eggs in moist potting soil. Those eggs hatch out and the larvae nibble on plant roots but don’t destroy them. To keep fungus gnats at bay, water less, and top your pots with an inch or two of rounded gravel. Block their access to potting soil and they’ll soon disappear.
Gently dislodge scale from plant stems using a soft toothbrush. Check for tiny, pale colored juveniles in the crevices between stem and branches.
Mealy bugs succumb to isopropyl alcohol. Dedicate a bottle of 70 percent isopropyl to pest control. Dip a cotton swab in the alcohol and then swab the mealy bugs. Or, dilute the alcohol to 10 to 25 percent, then screw on a spray top. Test the spray on a single leaf and if there is no damage after a few hours, spray the stems or leaves or wherever you see mealy bugs every week until they are gone. Check for tiny mealies in the crotches between stems and branches.
Before you reach for any treatments, put your houseplants outside in a shaded spot. Often, natural insect predators find the plants and clean them up within a few weeks.
Plants are not perfect. They aren’t supposed to be.
Vegetable gardens
With water restrictions coming to some areas this month, pay attention to your vegetable garden.
Resist overplanting. Crowded plants grow into a jungle that reduces production and makes plants vulnerable to insects and disease.
If you still have room,
start another round of tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, eggplants, basil and so on. The plants you start now — from seed or seedling — will produce into fall.
Prevent powdery mildew (white powder on leaves) by ensuring good air circulation around plant leaves. Selectively remove branches to open the plant. Rinse leaves with water early in the day to wash away spores. Make sure leaves are dry by late afternoon.
Remove the lowest tomato branches to prevent soil fungi from splashing onto leaves
If you live inland, established tomato plants should already be making fruits. If not, the problem could be pollination. Tomato flowers are self-pollinating, so pollen needs to move from the male to the female parts of the same flower or a nearby flower. In nature, bumble bees, carpenter bees and other native bees help the process by “buzzing” the flowers to shake the pollen around. Simulate that vibration by holding the back side of an old electric toothbrush close to the backside of a tomato flower. It’s kinda fun, too.
Some people mistakenly think that pruning off tomato suckers and branches force the plants to make more fruits. The opposite is true, since leaves make the energy the plants use to make flowers and fruits. Leave the leaves.
Mulch vegetable plants with a thick layer (3 or more inches) of straw — NOT hay, not bark, not wood.
Feed vegetable plants with an organic vegetable fertilizer. Pull the mulch back, sprinkle fertilizer over the soil, water, then replace the mulch. Add liquid fertilizer to your irrigation water — this process is called “fertigation” — half strength every time you water. Use liquid fertilizer as a quick fix foliar spray for plants showing signs of nutrient deficiency.
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 off the worms and put them in an open space where hungry birds and lizards can find them.
Skeletonized sunflower and squash leaves could be attributed to tiny birds called lesser goldfinches. The birds also eat aphids, so welcome them to the garden.
Avoid tomato and squash blossom end rot by keeping soil damp (not wet) at all times. In our climate and soils, blossom end rot is caused by uneven watering.
Trellis cucumbers to keep the vines off the ground. It makes the fruits easier to find, too.
Plant cilantro in the shade of cucumber trellises. They will produce more leaves, for longer, in a bit of shade.
Give pumpkin plants
PLENTY of room. The vines of a single plant can easily cover a space 20 feet long by 20 feet wide! Watermelon plants do the same.
Fruit trees
Fertilize fruit trees with organic fertilizer, following label directions. Water regularly and deeply during the fruiting and growing season.
Fertilize citrus and avocado with granular organic citrus and avocado food. Follow label directions.
Water citrus deeply once a week or so. Pomegranates, figs and pineapple guava are best watered every two or three weeks, depending on how
hot it is and your garden’s location.
Too many fruits? Cut them in half, remove seeds or pits, then freeze for winter pies and crumbles.
Share your extra harvest with those in need. Contact one of the organizations that pick and donate fruit to food banks and other feeding programs. Find lists of these gleaners for your county. If you have time, volunteer to help — it’s fun!
Practice good garden hygiene to avoid attracting hungry birds, green fig beetles, squirrels, rats, etc. Harvest fruits as they ripen, before they rot. Clean up fallen fruits, too.
Ornamental plants
Drought-tolerant 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.
Container plants need more attention through summer. Fertilize nonsucculent potted plants with an all-purpose organic fertilizer (liquid indoors, liquid or granular outdoors), following label directions.
Potting soil dries out much faster than dirt. When it’s time to water, do so slowly to saturate the entire pot, soil and all. Wait until the water drains out and then do it again. Sit lighterweight pots in a basin of water and let the water wick to the top.
Move sun-shy potted plants like Fuchsia and orchid cactus (Epiphyllum) under the shade of a leafy tree or an east-facing eave.