Roses are arriving in our stores this month!

Roses are arriving in our stores this month! We carry only Grade #1 roses. They should have at least three canes. The canes should be at least as thick as a pencil, and look nice and plump with fresh-looking, smooth, green or reddish-brown “skin”. They should not be crossing, withered or wrinkled. The canes can also be pruned a little to direct outward growth.

Roses must be planted where they will receive full sun (6 hours) and the soil drains well. The planting hole should be amended with Rose Mix and SureStart Fertilizer. Roses will also need very regular water and regular fertilizing starting in February. Applying Sul-Po-Mag will stimulate new vigorous canes. If there is a break longer than a week in the winter rain, you will need to water, especially if the temps fall.

Roses are complimented by lavender, salvias, thymes and can be paired with clematis for that English garden effect.

Many gardeners are intimidated by rose pruning and don’t prune enough, prune incorrectly or at the wrong time of year. We have rose pruning seminars scheduled for January.

Holiday color!

Poinsettia fun

Back in stock at our Sloat Blvd store:

Back in stock at our Sloat Blvd store!
Full barrels, three quarter barrels, quarter barrels and smaller wall barrels for plantings!

Is that lovely plant toxic?

Is that lovely plant toxic?
By Julie Segerstrom, http://www.mastergardener.org/ December 2004
Julie Segerstrom has been a Master Gardener since 1996. She gleaned information on poisonous plants from the ucdavis.edu website and in Edible and Poisonous Plants of Northern California, by James Wiltens.

Many lovely and common plants in our landscapes are poisonous. Poisonous plants evolved toxic compounds as protection against predators and disease. If a plant is poisonous, it doesn’t mean you can’t own it—just be aware of and protect others from its possible consequences.

Many plant poisons can affect the central nervous system, paralyzing basic function. Others cause cell and organ damage, while some destroy function slowly over a long period of time.
The amount that causes poisoning is often difficult to specify. In some plants one leaf is fatal and for others it takes an entire cup of seeds.

The California Poison website (http://www.calpoison.org/) stresses their slogan: Don’t Guess. Be Sure. When you buy a plant from a nursery, make sure it is labeled or that you know at least the common name.

Keeping plants out of reach, both outside and inside, is necessary for little ones. Children should be taught to never put plants or mushrooms in their mouth. Babies should never be allowed to suck on necklaces made of seeds. Many plants are also poisonous to pets and livestock.

Some parts of a plant can be edible and other parts of the plant poisonous. For examples, we eat the fruit of tomatoes and the tubers of potatoes, but the leaves and vines, if made into tea, are poisonous. In other plants, the berries are poisonous--mistletoe, asparagus and lantana. Seeds are poisonous in some plants, such as apples and peaches.

If it seems unlikely to be eating berries and making tea of plants, remember that children playing make-believe outside might innocently decide to use what is around them in the yard.
One interesting and toxic plant family is called Climbing Nightshade. The genus name is derived from the Latin word which means quieting. Nightshade poisons have a quieting or narcotic effect on the respiratory system. A poison derived from the nightshade family might have been what Shakespeare had in mind when Juliet took a drink to give her the semblance of death.

The common morning glory has seeds that contain alkaloids and LSD-like compounds. During the 60’s, potent brews of pulverized seeds (about 50) would produce hallucinations, nausea, convulsions and at times death. The Aztecs used morning glory to induce psychic religious visions.

Another poisonous plant we see in the foothills, mistletoe, contains toxins that have taken the lives of children who have eaten the berries. Tea brewed from the leaves is also toxic. Some pigs and goats can eat mistletoe without injury but cattle have died from eating the leaves. Conversely, birds regularly eat the mistletoe berries. This points out that the old wives tale that says, “if one animal eats it, it is safe for another animal” is simply not true!

The name poison hemlock gives you some idea of its danger. This is a seriously poisonous plant responsible for many deaths, the most famous being the dramatic end of Socrates’ life.
You may have heard that poinsettia is poisonous, but it is considered to be only mildly toxic, causing vomiting, diarrhea and dermatitis. It would require eating a large amount of poinsettia leaves to cause these effects.

Castor bean is another highly poisonous plant. All parts of the plant contain ricin, a severe irritant. As little as one seed can kill a child and three can kill an adult. Naturally, castor oil comes from the castor bean plant. The oil is not toxic because ricin is not soluble in the oil. In addition, heat kills ricin and the seeds are roasted for one hour before pressing the oil from them.

Probably the most well known poisonous plant is oleander. Using branches of oleander to cook food is enough to cause poisoning. Oleander contains over 50 toxic compounds! It’s even dangerous to burn oleander clippings and prunings because the poison is carried in the smoke.
Some weeds are toxic to livestock as well. Fiddleneck is common in the foothills and causes liver damage. Toxins are metabolized in the liver into highly reactive compounds that cause cell damage. Small amounts eaten over a long period of time, even only seasonally, cause small deteriorating changes often unnoticed until it’s too late—the organ damage is too severe. When clinical signs are overlooked, a large portion of the liver is destroyed.
Another common weed, yellow starthistle causes irreversible necrosis (death) of brain cells in horses.

Poisons are contained in many of the most loved and beautiful plants—azaleas, delphinium, daffodils, iris, foxglove and even oak trees. Naturally adults will not sample their “tea,” but just be prepared for little adventurous ones who might visit you in the future.
See you in the garden.

Winter Care of Citrus

Winter Care of Citrus
Winter weather is here. Well-fertilized citrus trees are healthier and more resistant to cold weather damage so you should continue to fertilize through the winter with any of the citrus foods we have with supplemental iron and zinc. Organic fertilizers move slowly, if at all when the temps dip. Maxsea Acid with Iron and Zinc may be a good alternative. As always, you should water the plant before applying fertilizer to the drip line.
Wilt-Stop can also be applied for those really cold nights, or you may wrap your trees with Harvest Guard Row Cover or the burlap totes.

Potential cold damage is a combination of time and temperature factors. Brief dips to the mid 20’s will not damage citrus, prolonged temps in the teens will.
Container plants can be moved next to a wall or cement sidewalk for retained/reflected heat and out of the drying wind. Plants should be watered at the soil line before the temperature dips.

No pruning is necessary now, major pruning is done in the late spring after the weather warms up.

If the tree has fruit, Meyers Lemons and all limes would be best harvested before temperatures drop to 30 to 32 degrees F. Eureka and Lisbon Lemons, have thicker skins and can hang on the trees without damage to 26 to 28 degrees F. Owari Satsuma Mandarins and Dancy Tangerines can also tolerate dips into the upper twenties.


We will have citrus pruning seminars late spring.

Plant Sweet Peas this Fall for a Glorious Fragrant Bouquet next Spring!

We'll say it again....Plant Sweet Peas this Fall for a Glorious Fragrant Bouquet next Spring!

August and September are sweet pea planting months for us here in the mild-winter west. A great selection of sweet pea seeds are available to choose from including the earliest bloomers and the very popular Old Fashioned varieties. Old Fashioned sweet peas are particularly fragrant.

Sweet peas are cool weather annuals. Sweet peas germinate when the ground temperature is a uniform 55-65 degrees. Once germinated, the plants thrive at temperatures from 70 to 80 degrees. Above 85 degrees, they really struggle. They hate hot, dry winds. If you live in an area where the transition from cold winter temps to hot summer temps happens quickly, you should consider starting your seeds indoors and transplanting. Start your plants six to eight weeks before you plan to transplant them.

Sweet peas planted now, in a manure-rich soil, will sprout and establish themselves well before winter cool temperatures arrive. The earliest ones can actually bloom as soon as January as they require just 10 hours of sunlight per day to set buds. The later varieties will be nice large plants by the time early spring arrives and will set a profusion of blooms. Sweet peas are beautiful and fragrant and they make great cut flowers.

New orchids at our Sloat Blvd store

Our Sloat Blvd. store just got some new and exciting orchids...come in and check them out!

Arpophyllum alpinum

Laelia gouldiana

Pleurothallis palliolata

Vanda coerulea

Happy Halloween!!

Japanese Maples at our Sloat Blvd store!

Japanese Maples just arrived at our Sloat Blvd store. Take a look!

\

10 days until Halloween...

Are you ready?

Fall Garden Prep CHECKLIST

Fall Garden Prep CHECKLIST

· Clean up dead leaves, deadhead flowering plants- diseased leaves should go in the garbage, the rest can go in the compost pile
· Mulch with compost or Forest Mulch to amend the soil and keep down weeds
· Pull weeds before they have a chance to drop seeds
· Divide perennials
· Move perennials and shrubs between now and January-prune back lightly first
· Continue to bait for snails with Sluggo
· Strip roses Dec-Jan, prune in Jan-Feb
· Fertilize cymbidiums with 6-25-25 food
· Fertilize azaleas, camellias, rhododendrons with 0-10-10 food
· Fertilize blue hydrangeas with aluminum sulfate now for bluer blooms
· Fertilize winter color with all purpose plant food (primrose, cyclamen)
· Continue to fertilize citrus with citrus food
· Reseed lawns, fertilize lawns/use pre-emergent
· De-thatch lawns if necessary
· Hard pruning happens in January/February/March, it depends on the weather
· Clean and store tools- rub down with alcohol after each use, use white lithium grease to grease them, store shovels and saws in a bucket of sand with a little oil (5 parts sand-1 part oil)
· Select bulbs now- refrigerate tulips, crocus and hyacinth for 6-8 weeks, plant anytime from late October to December 31
· Turn the irrigation back on if the rain stops and the temperatures drop in January (or any winter month)

Decorate to celebrate

Let's decorate to celebrate fall! We have pumpkins,

gourds and mums to set the stage on your doorstep.

Your Fall Decorating Headquarters!

We have all sizes of carving pumpkins, mini-pumpkins, corn stalks,
gourds and other fall decorating supplies in our stores this month. Stop by!

Using California Natives in the Garden

California Natives are on special at all Sloat Garden Centers this month!

With habitats as distinct as marsh and desert, plus all the smaller shadings of soil types, exposures and altitude, there must be major differences in the uses of native plants in the garden. Added to these are a huge range of actual plant types...large trees, like certain oaks, maples and bays, that will grow to dominate any landscape, providing understory habitats for many other, smaller planats, as they do in the wild. A number of foliage shrubs, like the wax myrtles (Myrica) and coffeeberries (Rhamnus) are useful individually or in groups of any size, including shrubby borders and screens. Many dazzling flowering shrubs - the wild lilacs (Ceanothus) are perhaps the most loved and appreciated - make bold and decorative displays anywhere. Around the shrubs and under the trees can go a vast array of beautiful herbaceous perennials and subshrubs. The smaller buckwheats (Eriogonum), heucheras and iris are some of the showiest and most familiar, but there are many more. California has grasses and bulbs galore for making meadows. For woodsy settings there are many exquisite native ferns and flowering plants like wood sorrel (Oxalis oregana) and wild ginger (Asarum). And there are plants for rock gardens and rock walls, pools and streams, and virtually any other setting the gardener might conceive.

There are features of the California landscape that present a certain visual "flavor" and seasonal progression, quite distinct from that of the subtropics and moist forests that provide so many of our garden plants. Many dryland plants have small leaves for water conservation, giving them finer textures than more familiar exotics. Colors are often muted, and include many shades of grey, related to protective coats of hairs (another water-conserving feature). Flowering plants tend to make their displays from late winter - when they offer cheery relief from the bare-bark shades of many exotics - to late spring, when the soil dries and hardens. Summer and fall tend to be times of rest, though there are plenty of exceptions, especially among streamside plants.

Pumpkins have arrived!

All sizes of Pumpkins are available at Sloat Garden Center locations this weekend and throughout October... as well as colorful blooming pansies, flowering mums, ornamental cabbage & kale and other fall decorating favorites. Stop in and check out our selection!

Order your fruit trees now for 2011!

In addition to our regular fruit tree collection, we are excited about our ultra dwarf line.These trees allow gardeners with even the smallest spaces to grow fruit trees.Ultra dwarf trees are self pollinating (meaning, you don’t need two to achieve fruiting), they don't require cold winters, and they produce an abundant harvest of full-sized fruit. It is not unheard of to harvest 30+ apples, 40+ apricots, 30+ pears, 90+ cherries, or 50+ plums from one small potted fruit tree!

Ultra dwarf patio fruit trees will quickly become the real jewels of any garden. If you’re interested in any of the trees listed at left, contact the Sloat Garden Center nearest you to preorder yours. Trees will arrive in January 2011. Elberta Peach and Goldmine Nectarine varieties are also available, but we do not recommend growing them in the milder winter areas. Ask your local Sloat Garden Center for further details.

PLEASE NOTE:We will take orders for Ultra dwarf trees through October 15th, 2010. Please contact your favorite Sloat Garden Center location for details.

Available:
Delicious Apple
Royal BlenheimApricot
Compact Stella Cherry
Self Fertile Bing Cherry
Bartlett Pear
D’Anjou Pear
20th Century Pear
Santa Rosa Plum

Camellia Rhododendron Season is Here

Camellias, rhododendrons and azaleas have basically the same soil and water requirements; they need acid soil with lots of organic matter in it (E.B. Stone Azalea, Camellia & Gardenia mix) and a constant moisture supply. So they need soil that is fast-draining but moisture-retentive! They need more air in their root zone than any other plant. They have a massive root system consisting of tiny shallow feeder roots. These roots are extremely efficient at extracting nutrients from their immediate area. In fact, roots will be much smaller in a benign climate because a smaller amount of nutrients is required to maintain plant health. Rhodies in an exposed/harsh climate will have a much larger root system.

Because of their dense shallow root system it is never a good idea to plant right under these plants. The ideal planting location is in filtered shade under tall trees or on the east or north side of the house or fence, out of the wind. Plant in well-amended soil with the root ball slightly above the soil level and mulch with redwood or fir bark (Peat moss is not a good addition because it sheds water as it dries out). Instead of planting in clay soil, create a raised bed to ensure good air circulation.

Plenty of regular water in the fall is the key to promote bloom next spring. Roots may dry out in our typical California summer and the plant may become susceptible to thrips. Regular summer water and misting the leaves may help prevent infestation. Some foliage droop is normal in dry weather, especially on a warm afternoon, but if leaves are still showing droop the next morning, the plant definitely needs water. A new rhodie will get its water from the original root ball. If this ball is allowed to dry out it may be difficult to wet again and may need a slow deep soak. Wind and soil salts can burn the edges of the leaves. Windburn shows up most often on new foliage, salt burn on old foliage. In very cold weather sun and wind can severely damage plants, we recommend protecting plants with Wilt-Pruf or Harvest Guard Row Cover.

Fertilize half-strength the first year. Always water first if using a water-soluble fertilizer, an organic food is a much slower gentler feed. After the plant is established feed with a 0-10-10 and FST from October-December and switch to Maxsea Acid or E.B. Stone Acid for March through September. After blossoms are finished remove the trusses (rounded clusters of blossoms). Pruning in early spring will sacrifice some flower buds but spring is the best time for extensive pruning. Most rhodies want to become small multi-trunked trees and if you wish to avoid excessive pruning it’s best to choose a smaller cultivar. If your rhodie is too big refer to Cass Turnbull’s Guide to Pruning pp. 162-172, a great gift for yourself!

What do the terms Green Manure and Cover Crop mean?

“Green Manure” refers to the rototilling of a forage crop to improve the soil. This is done while the crop is green or soon after flowering. It is often confused with “Cover Crops”, which are grown primarily to prevent soil erosion by wind and water. Both can help suppress weeds, reduce insect pests and diseases, and in the case of legumes, fix nitrogen in the soil. They can both be planted any time of year but are commonly planted in the fall.

A major benefit from Green Manure is the addition of organic matter to the soil. During the breakdown of organic matter by microorganisms, compounds are formed that are resistant to decomposition-such as gums, waxes, and resins. These compounds- and the mycelia, mucus, and slime produced by the microorganisms- help bind together soil particles as granules, or aggregates.

Alfalfa and other deep-rooting green manures scavenge nutrients from the subsoil and move them upwards to the surface rooting zone as well loosening and aerating the soil.

The benefits to growing Green Manure are that well-aggregated soil tills easily, are well-aerated and have a high water infiltration rate. Increased levels of organic matter also influence soil humus. Humus is the substance that results as the end product of the decay of plant and animal materials, good stuff.

As for Cover Crops, in addition to fixing Nitrogen from legumes (such as white, red, or strawberry clover, fava beans, vetch or lupine) they help recycle other nutrients like Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Sulfur, to mention a few. Annual Ryegrass, Buckwheat, Lupine and Sweetclover extract Phosphorus from soil.

Annual Ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum, also commonly called ‘Italian Grass’) should not be confused with Rye, which is a cereal rye, a completely different species. This annual cool-season grass was introduced to the USA from Europe. It seeds and establishes quickly under a wide range of soils and climates. It is tolerant of wet soils and temporary flooding, and will germinate in cooler soils than most other cover crops. It will grow in sandy soils but is better adapted to heavy clay or silty soils. Annual ryegrass can be used to keep slopes from eroding or to enrich a veggie bed for spring.

Source-www.attra.org/attra-pub/covercrop.html

Check out our GARDEN DESIGN Seminar Series this weekend!

Make it & Take it: Fall Color Container Workshop
Workshop fee: $45 (Gardener's Reward Members $35)

Sept. 25 – San Rafael, Sat., 10am
Sept. 26 – San Francisco (Pierce St.), Sun., 10 am.
Sept. 29 – San Francisco (Sloat Blvd.), Wed., 6:30 pm

When and How to Prune Hydrangeas

The Garden Guru has received many questions this week on when and how to prune Hydrangeas....

Hydrangea microphylla, both mophead and lacecaps, should be pruned in late summer/early fall right after the flowers have faded. The buds for next year’s blossoms are formed in October. If a hydrangea produces no flowers, it is probable that it was pruned too late in the year. Prune stems back to the first or second pair of fat buds below the finished flower. This can be as little as 4”. It is not necessary to prune farther back unless you want to reduce the height of the shrub. Remove canes that are thinner than a pencil to encourage larger blooms on remaining canes. Remove all small, twiggy growth and dead wood.

September/October is also the time of year to treat the soil around Hydrangeas to change or deepen flower color. Use Hydrangea Blue or Aluminum sulfate to make flowers blue or purple (acid). Treat the soil with Agricultural Lime to make flowers pink (alkaline). If your Hydrangea is white, the color cannot be modified. The harder wooded Hydrangeas, H. arborescens, H. aspera and H. paniculata, are pruned in late winter. Their flowers are formed on new, spring wood.

New photos from our San Francisco Sloat Blvd store!

Get a whiff of new herbs in our rooftop garden

Most supermarkets have a fresh-herb section nowadays. We have come to expect any decent store to carry all the usual suspects - basil, thyme, chives, tarragon, mint, oregano, marjoram, parsley, cilantro, rosemary, sage - in fresh form. We pound them into pestos, roast our vegetables with them, add them to salads and even use them in cocktails.

But there are so many other herbs out there that are less familiar. And if you're looking for another reason to congratulate yourself on the fine choice you've made by deciding to live in the Bay Area, consider this: There is a slew of utterly delicious herbs that not only thrive in our climate but can radically expand our cooking repertoire.


Read the full article here:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2010%2F08%2F29%2FHOBM1EUM0U.DTL&type=homeandgarden

Eriogonums lure butterflies

There have been many news stories about the plight of pollinators recently, and though the disappearance of honey and native bees has captured a majority of the coverage, butterflies have also seen their food supplies dwindling.

One attractive and easy remedy for urban gardeners is California buckwheats. Eriogonums are compact subshrubs that vary in height from the mat-forming foot-high E. umbellatum to the larger species E. arborescens and E. giganteum, which can reach 5 to 6 feet in height and width.

One of my favorites is E. grande var. rubescens, known as red buckwheat. This evergreen native of the Channel Islands (off the coast of Santa Barbara) forms a dense, low-growing (to 1 foot) mat that will spread to cover an area of at least 3 feet. It features delicate, spoon-shaped 1-inch leaves, grayish-green above and woolly white below. Plants begin flowering in June and continue late into the fall.

What makes this plant a must-visit for butterflies are the nectar-rich, rosy-pink clusters of flowers that float on tallish stems above the foliage. Las Pilitas Nursery notes that "Blues and Hairstreaks especially like buckwheats. The flowers, leaves and seeds are all used by many of the smaller mammals, and a good number of birds such as finches, juncos, larks, sparrows, towhees, quail and grouse."

Red buckwheat is an ideal plant for rock or dry gardens, where it can serve as an attractive high ground cover. It can also be used as a low border. Even in its nonflowering season, E. grande rubescens provides lovely, soft texture to any garden bed. Their flowers are also ideal for dried arrangements.

Read the full article here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2010%2F08%2F27%2FHOBM1EVAS8.DTL#ixzz0yCkX8XCP

Dogs: Not a Gardener’s Best Friend

DID Bertie Wooster mean to harm Barbara Geltosky in September 2008? The evidence against him is damning. For instance, the hole that Bertie, Ms. Geltosky’s 5-year-old Norwegian elkhound, dug in the garden was 12 inches across and 12 inches deep — the perfect size for a human foot.

“It was a hole I didn’t see,” said Ms. Geltosky, 59, a retired art teacher who lives with her husband in Malvern, Pa., some 20 miles west of Philadelphia. “I was getting compost when I went down. I twisted my knee badly enough to have rehab.”

Mr. Wooster, who is unemployed, declined to be interviewed for this article. Bertie — the name the dog answers to at treat time — is black and silver with tuxedo markings on his fur. This double-layered coat, which would make lustrous skiwear for Cruella De Vil, helps to explain his excavation habit.

In the dog days of summer, Ms. Geltosky said: “He likes to lay and be cool. Once it warms up, he’ll dig another one.”

Bertie works fast. A hole takes 10 minutes flat. Often, he’s chasing ground bees. Or he might be following his life’s great passion, vole hunting. “We’ve had to put flagstone right next to our patio,” she said. “My husband’s joke is that someday we’re going to have to pave the whole yard.”

This would be a particular sacrifice for Ms. Geltosky, who is a digger herself, and has ringed her house with perennial beds filled with five-foot-tall Tatarian aster and phlox.

Recently, she has been compelled to plant something with absolutely no ornamental value: a four-foot-high wire fence. “We had it shorter, and that didn’t work,” she said. Bertie “really wanted to be on the other side where all the plants were.”

Bertie is not alone in his appetite for destruction. If gardening is a battle — against drought, bug, weed, blight — the dog is a kind of bumbling fifth column, a saboteur who likes to roll on the grass and have his tummy rubbed.

Read the full article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/26/garden/26garden.html

August Edition of The Kitchen Gardener

Check out our August Kitchen Gardener featuring kale!
http://sloatgardens.com/kitchen-gardener/2010/august10.htm

How to Grow a School Garden: A Complete Guide for Parents and Teachers

http://www.timberpress.com/books/how_grow_school_garden/bucklin-sporer/9781604690002

Today both schools and parents have a unique opportunity — and an increasing responsibility — to cultivate an awareness of our finite resources, to reinforce values of environmental stewardship, to help students understand concepts of nutrition and health, and to connect children to the natural world. What better way to do this than by engaging young people, their families, and teachers in the wondrous outdoor classroom that is their very own school garden?

It's all here: developing the concept, planning, fund-raising, organizing, designing the space, preparing the site, working with parents and schools, teaching in the garden, planting, harvesting, and even cooking, with kid-friendly recipes and year-round activities. Packed with strategies, to-do lists, sample letters, detailed lesson plans, and tricks of the trade from decades of experience developing school garden programs for grades K–8, this hands-on approach will make school garden projects accessible, inexpensive, and sustainable.

In this groundbreaking resource, two school garden pioneers offer parents, teachers, and school administrators everything they need to know to build school gardens and to develop the programs that support them.

Basic Succulent Care

Basic Succulent Care

First let’s agree on the definition of what a succulent plant is. All succulents are adapted to survive for extended periods without rain by storing water in some part of their body. The total number of succulent plant species number over 10,000. They can be found within a wide variety of plant families, such as the cactus, euphorbia, crassula, mesemb and daisy families.

Most succulents, including cactus, do not come from deserts. Most actually come from semi-arid areas where seasonal rainfall is erratic and even rainforests where they grow on rocky, sunny cliffs.

More succulents are killed by underwatering than by overwatering. They can tolerate going without water, as long as they are adequately watered before and after the dry spell. Generally the shorter and fatter the succulent, the more drought-tolerant it is. These extreme succulents would not survive in the average garden but are better suited for pots that are protected from the rain.

Indoor pots that dry out completely can be difficult to re-wet. Without the natural rain to gently soak the pot, many indoor plants stay partially dry even after being watered because the soil has shrunk away from the side of the pot. When that happens water will simply run down the sides of the soil ball and out the bottom of the pot. However if a succulent is left in a saucer of water for too long the pot will become waterlogged and the roots will die. If the pot is small enough, it could be immersed in water and then placed somewhere to drain so both components are adequately moistened.

The ideal climate is one without frost, temperate latitudes near the ocean with mild rainy springs (or summers). That sounds perfect to us too!

A bright, sunny spot with excellent drainage and good air circulation is ideal.

Help the SF Green Schoolyard Alliance win $250,000

We received this from the SF Green Schoolyard Alliance...hope you can help, too!



Dear Friends,

We've submitted a grant to the Pepsi Refresh Everything Project.Instead of spending money on Superbowl ads, Pepsi decided to take the money it would have spent and give it away, each month this year, inthe form of grants.

Our project is asking for $250,000 to conduct a year-long green skills workshop series for San Francisco Unified School District's 56,000students and their school communities. Part of the project is alsoaimed at re-foresting the district's schoolyards. Workshops willinclude rainwater harvesting installations, garden/outdoor classroomconstruction, native garden plantings, curriculum connections, and much more.

Here's the deal:
Projects must be voted on by the public to win. And each person canvote for the same project once, each day for the month of August.Voting ends August 31st. You must sign up to vote, but you WILL NOT be spammed, it's just tokeep track of the votes you have. Consider spreading the word, we will be forever grateful. Again, you can vote once a day for the month of August for a project. Please consider making our page one of your favorites:

Our page: http://www.refresheverything.com/greensfschools

Very Sincerely,

Rachel Pringle
Programs Manager
The San Francisco Green Schoolyard Alliance(415) 355-6979, Ext. 1566www.sfgreenschools.org

August E-newsletter: The Gardener's Notebook Online

Hope your garden is bright & beautiful this month...we're starting to pick fruits and vegetables ourselves. What a terrific time of year to be a gardener!

http://www.sloatgardens.com/enewsletter/2010/gardeners-notebook-online-august10.htm

Plan Ahead For Delicious Fall Meals Fresh from the Garden

Even though it may be a scorching 100 degrees plus in many areas of the country in July, that's the time to start thinking about what you can plant for a fall harvest. There are many cool season vegetables that need to be started in July or August. Still questioning whether it's worth the effort to plant for a second season? There are a few fantastic reasons why you should consider a fall garden:

• It extends your fresh food season.

• Many crops, especially brassicas (like cabbage, kale, mustard) are less likely to be eaten by pests when planted in late summer/fall.

• Some vegetables like collards and kale taste sweeter after a little nip from a fall frost.

• Some crops like Brussels sprouts and cabbage produce best when grown in the fall.

• Some cool season crops are VERY cold tolerant and can even be harvested after it snows. If you plant now and provide a little frost protection, you could be harvesting fresh green onions, sage, and greens for your Thanksgiving dinner!

Here are a few of our favorite vegetables for the fall garden:

• Arugula - This spunky green can be started as late as 2-4 weeks before your first fall frost. Great for fall salads!

• Beets – You can enjoy both the green leafy tops and the bulbs. Try our new Beet Bull's Blood. This tender, sweet 1840's heirloom has deep red-burgundy foliage.

• Broccoli - A fast grower! With Broccoli Di Cicco, you can get florets in as little as 48 days! If you don’t get florets before frost, remember that the entire plant is edible.)

• Broccoli Raab - A delicacy that is hard to find in grocery stores. The tender shoots bud in just 45 days and taste like a cross between broccoli and asparagus.

• Collards - Not just for southern cooking! The amazing nutritious green leaves are frost tolerant and can be used when young in salads or when more mature as ‘wraps’.

• Endive and Escarole - Delectable and easy to grow. Their texture and snappy flavor makes any salad a gourmet experience.

• Kale - You can never have too much Kale! Eat the nutritious baby greens fresh in salads, sauté larger leaves in olive oil with a little garlic, or freeze and add to casseroles and soups during the fall and winter.

• Lettuce - All lettuces prefer to grow during cool weather. Start harvesting ‘baby greens’ from the very first shoots. Can’t you just taste that fall salad now? Picture a variety of red and green pretty leaves with a drizzle of olive oil and fresh garlic or warm pears, walnuts, and cranberries.

• Mache - You will never find a more delicate, buttery-flavored green for salads! It can also be cooked like spinach. Mache is a little slow to germinate, but VERY cold tolerant once started.

• Mustard - Adds interesting, peppery addition to fall salads and stir-fries. The lacy burgundy leaves of Ruby Streaks also make a pretty ornamental in containers.

• Peas – Sow now to harvest young shoots for salads and mature pods in fall. In Zone 8 and warmer, peas can be sown in fall for winter harvest.

• Winter Radishes – The crisp flavor of Daikon Miyashige White Radish adds a kick to fall salads and stir-fries. Watermelon Mantang Hong is uniquely colored with white skin and red flesh. For a unique fall treat, peel it and sautee with a little butter and salt & pepper.

• Spinach - When mulched, Bloomsdale can over winter in subzero temperatures. Our new Monstrueux de Viroflay has tender leaves up to 10" long for lots of greens for fall casseroles and stir-fries while the new Tyee has tender semi-savoyed leaves and matures in just 40 days!

Don’t miss out on planting a fall vegetable garden. When the first cold front drops down or you get your first snow…you’ll thank yourself for that hearty, nutritious meal fresh from your backyard.

And, don't forget about a few flowers to jazz up your fall containers and flower borders! Start pansies and violas now for blooms in about 12 weeks. The orange and black Pansy Bewitched Blend will look great with autumn décor like pumpkins, corn stalks, and hay bales. We've also just added a new variety, Viola Amber Jewels, a gorgeous blend of amber, copper, raspberry and plum. It will add some bright color to complement your fall mums. Sow both of these now for fall blooms.

From Botanical Interests http://www.botanicalinterests.com/gardening_notes_tips/fall_meals.html

Late July Plant Photos part 2

Pictured above: spanish lavender, purple fountain grass and pink zinnias

Late July Plant Photos part 1

Pictured above: bulbophyllum echinolabium orchid,

million bells hanging basket and cosmos

How to Plan your Fall Garden

What and Where to Plant:

First, consider where you have space from harvested crops or will have space in the next few weeks. Is there room to sow a little spinach in between your tomatoes? Maybe you could pull up your bolted lettuce and sow endive, escarole, or collards.

Container plantings do well in fall, because, with cooler temperatures, they don't dry out as fast. Consider some edible container plantings like mixing kale, mustard, or lettuce with pansies and violas. Green onions could add a spiky centerpiece. A container of mixed herbs like chives, oregano, sage and thyme could be started in the next few weeks to give you a punch of flavor for your fall cooking.

When choosing varieties, consider complementary crops to vegetables that you'll be harvesting in the next few weeks. Would some cilantro make a good salsa ingredient to go along with those tomatoes and tomatillos that you'll be harvesting in late summer and early fall? How about some fresh dill to add some zip to grilled salmon and roasted sweet corn? With a visit through your favorite recipes, you might find a handful of varieties that you can plant now to inspire you in the kitchen.

Mild climates and southern areas of the country that do not get frost have a wider range of options besides cool season crops. In those areas, warm season crops with a short crop time like bush beans and cherry tomatoes can be planted in August or September for a late fall harvest.

When and How to Plant:

To decide when to plant, look at the crop time listed on each packet, then count backwards from your average first fall frost date. One thing to keep in mind is that the hours of sunlight are declining now. So, it may take a couple more weeks over the crop time listed on the packet for your crop to mature. Though, crop times aren't as important for greens (like lettuce, kale, mache, spinach, etc.) that you can pick when at any stage of their growth.

If it's very hot outside in your area, you can start seedlings indoors then transplant outside in a few weeks. Or, start them in flats in a shady area outside where the temperature is slightly cooler.

To see a handy chart listing average planting times for fall crops, click here.

From Botanical Interests http://www.botanicalinterests.com/gardening_notes_tips/fall_garden.html

The Perfect Peach

Original post from City Dirt http://www.citydirt.net/newsletter/2010/07/21/the-perfect-peach.html

People transplanted to Northern California usually have an "aha" moment when tasting their first peach at a farmer's market here. You realize that is how a peach should taste. While you may feel some bitterness toward all the past peaches you ate prior to this moment, the new world that open ahead of you diminishes this anger. A peach is not just a peach in Northern California. They have names that sound like shades of lipstick: Red Haven, Autumn Flame, and Cal Red.

According to Kashiwase Farm salespeople at the Marin County Farmer's Market at Civic Center, all varieties peaches--and nectarines and plums have their own characteristics and things to look for when picking them out, but the best way to pick out a perfect peach, generally speaking, is to look for the boldest colors. Don't look for pale or perfect. The more color, the more flavor. And when picking out nectarines, the speckles are from sugar, so the more blotches, the sweeter the nectarine.

Some of the late July and August varieties to look for include:

August Lady: Classic yellow peach, ripens in mid-August high quality fruit which is a firm, flavorful fruit with a rich, red color, crisp flesh texture at commercial maturity

O'Henry: You will find these at the markets from now until mid August. Choose the deepest red and purple fruits you can find; these have lots of flavor and are perfect for grilling. Toss them in summer salads with goat cheese or ricotta.

Cal Red: These are late summer golden-red beauties, found at Frog Hollow Farm at Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market and at the Edible Schoolyard. Make a peach cobbler out of these and your friends and family will love you even more.

White Opal: These are very pale and super-high sugar content and very low acidity. It has hints of vanilla and is perfect for making bellinis. (See recipe below).

Growing Your Own Peach Tree

If you are a container gardener, the good news is, that you can grow miniature or dwarf peach trees in containers and avoid problems with a disease that commonly afflicts peach trees: leaf curl. Start with good, well draining soil. Use organic fertilizer and water regularly. When fruit starts forming on your peach tree, pinch off every third peach, or enough so that they will have plenty of room to grow and get larger. When selecting your fruit tree, keep in mind how many chill hours you have in the winter, how large the tree can get--do you want a dwarf or ultra-dwarf, and if you're going to get just one tree, it needs to be self-fertile. Keep in mind donut varieties like the Saturn Peach, as they have a delicious, delicate flavor, are small trees and require low chilling hours, which is great for California.


Recipe: Dry Creek Peach Bellini by Dry Creek Peach & Produce

Puree all ingredients below:
½ c. water
1/4 c. (approximately) lemon juice
½ - ¾ lb. white peaches
2 tsps. sugar
Strain the puree and then pour into a pitcher (preferably glass). Add one bottle of chilled Prosecco or sparkling white wine and stir. Serve in chilled champagne glasses and enjoy!

Look what's blooming at Sloat Garden Center this week! part 2

Pictured above: rudbeckia and hydrangeas,
purple lisianthus, orange erysimum and gala apples