Gardening tips for late spring

While Bay Area gardeners are fortunate to be able to plant year-round if they wish, the advent of warmer weather is still occasion to rejoice. Late spring represents prime time for planting warm-weather vegetables and flowers alike. Learning to bolster the ecology — yes, even of your limited backyard space — is also wise practice.

Soil

By this time, the faithful gardener will already have taken steps to enrich her soil.

“Often, we have clay in our yards, and we need to improve the drainage,” notes Kristen Hopper, owner of Oaktown Native Nursery in Berkeley, which specializes in habitat restoration. “For that, you want

to add organic material … such as compost from your backyard … or compost that you buy from the hardware store. That is the absolutely best thing you can add to your clay.”

Other area experts recommend planting fava beans in winter or early spring and then tilling them under just before it’s time to plant.

Northern California garden experts say this time is ideal for planting annuals. In sunny spaces, periwinkle, marigolds, zinnias and petunias are great choices. Impatiens will do better in shadier spots.

When it comes to vegetables, the traditional favorites of home gardeners make their entrance. Green beans, peppers, tomatoes and zucchini can be planted either in the ground or in large pots. But the pots should be at

least 18 inches in diameter and very deep. Regular watering and fertilizing, of course, is essential.

“In most situations here on the coast,” advises Hopper, “you definitely want to water in the morning and not in the evening.” Why?

“We have powdery mildew here, which is difficult to get rid of, and if there’s water on the leaf overnight, you’re more likely to have problems.”

To boost backyard microecology, Hopper

recommends simultaneously planting selections that will attract bees and other pollinating insects. “You can use anything from a tree shrub to a perennial or an annual,” she notes, depending on “what works with your layout or design.” If you have space, for example for a shrub, she recommends “the California lilac which brings in loads and loads of pollinators like crazy.”

If you don’t have room for a shrub, try a perennial or annual choice. She

recommends any species of the Phacelia genus, such as Phacelia californica, or Phacelia bolanderi, also known as caterpillar flower.

It “naturalizes in the yard,” reports Hopper, “and the bumblebees really love it, so it’s fun for kids to watch the bumblebees crawling around on these lavender flowers.”

And while Hopper is in favor of mulching, for pollinators — bees especially — that create their nests in soil, there is some downside.

“Often when there’s a thick layer of mulch, there’s nowhere for ground-nesting insects” to settle, she instructs. “So if you do mulch, you want to leave some back corner of bare dirt just for the bees.”

A thriving backyard garden requires healthy soil, well-timed planting, and regular watering and fertilizing. Taking steps to encourage ample pollinator activity can help improve your chances of a robust yield at harvest time.