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Consider sharing bountiful harvest with less fortunate
By Tony Tomeo
Summer certainly started out with mild weather, but it finally seems to be warming up. Although some of your flowers, vegetables and fruit trees are delayed from the mild spring, they should be starting production soon. It is always advisable to pick vegetables as they ripen so that energy can be diverted to the development of more vegetables, maximizing production. Likewise, spent flowers should be removed so that energy otherwise used for new blooms is not wasted on seed production.
Fruit which is dropped by loaded fruit trees should be removed frequently throughout the production season to minimize the spread of various diseases, including brown rot and apple scab. Rotting fruit left on the ground also breeds flies. Because fungal diseases thrive and eventually overwinter in fruit, it should not be composted, but discarded. Most fruit trees drop extra fruit at a greater rate as it reaches maturity.
An unfortunate characteristic of most fruit trees is that all the fruit ripens at the same time in overwhelming quantities. Canning and drying are useful for preserving the fruit that you have put so much work into, but ultimately some of it must be given away. This can also be true of your vegetables.
Fortunately, there are several organizations that accept donations of produce for distribution among those of us in need. Most food banks can only accept nonperishable items, so produce needs to be taken where it can be served fresh. In Campbell, Second Harvest Food Bank (266-8866); in Los Gatos, Saint Luke's Pantry (354-2195); in Saratoga, Grace United Methodist Church (252-8268); in Willow Glen, Martha's Kitchen (293-6111) and Sacred Heart Community Services (278-2160) can all use your surplus vegetables and fruit.
Because each accepts donations on selective days and hours, it is advisable to call for information on their schedules and locations.
Fruit trees that were not properly pruned last winter will probably be presenting problems now. Branches which are sagging under the weight of ripening fruit sometimes need to be propped up with notched sticks. Long branches often develop permanent downward curves, which are challenging when the trees are eventually pruned. Corrective pruning is not recommended until winter, so it is best to make the trees as comfortable as possible until then.
Although most modern cultivars of fruit trees do not require culling (removal of some of the fruit to allow substantial space between individual fruit), this procedure performed early enough minimizes the weight of fruit on poorly structured trees. Fewer fruit will be produced, but it will be of superior quality and size.
With warmer weather, powdery mildew can be a problem on the foliage of apples, grapes, crape myrtle, dahlias, roses and begonias. Although the fungus is promoted by crowded and humid conditions, it can occur in any environment. Crape myrtles used as street trees surrounded by pavement are somehow afflicted by it. Unfortunately, chemical control is often the only option for complete control. However, infections may be maintained within a tolerable range simply by not planting susceptible species where conditions are conducive to powdery mildew. Also, it is always best to irrigate around such plants early in the day so that they will dry off quickly.
Warmer weather is also stimulating blooming annuals and perennials. If you still need more flowers in your garden, it is not yet too late to plant petunias, marigolds, alyssum, lobelia, impatiens, zinnias and verbena. Remember to remove flowers of annuals and perennials as they finish to encourage secondary blooms.
If your annual flowers are planted in mass plantings or beds, it is necessary to remove any remaining cool-season annuals first. However, if your planting is informal, many annuals, which are actually perennials, may be pruned to the ground, allowing the roots to remain until cool weather is conducive to their regrowth.
Plant of the Week: Mountain Laurel
It is purely coincidental that mountain laurel, Kalmia latifolia, is the state flower of Pennsylvania and native to the Allegheny Mountains, where many of my favorite tree species are from. I have habitually refrained from writing about any species based on my preference for it; but this one is worthy of more attention and is becoming more commonly grown. Because of the mild spring, mountain laurel can still be seen in bloom.
It is in the same family as rhododendrons and azaleas and shares their requirements: rich, acidic, well-draining soil, regular irrigation and shelter from direct sun exposure. It is therefore primarily available through nurseries which stock rhododendrons, although it may need to be ordered by them from the growers. Mountain laurel grows slowly to six feet tall and wide, but is usually smaller.
Their form is unrefined, informal and not conducive to shearing. They perform best when allowed to grow uninhibited. Glossy dark green leaves are about three inches long. Of course, what mountain laurel is grown for is its showy flowers, which appear from May to June. One-inch-wide flowers are borne in circular, five-inch-wide clusters. Individual flowers, depending on cultivar, may be spotted, striped or banded in interesting patterns of contrasting colors, which range from white to pink to red and burgundy red. Some produce flowers with scalloped edges. Mountain laurel is useful to garden enthusiasts who want something different.
Horticulturist Tony Tomeo can be contacted at 358-2574.
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Saratoga, California Since 1975
