Saratoga News

Gardening

Red horsechestnut, a hybrid of red buckeye and common horsechestnut, grows best in full sun with regular irrigation. The abundant pinkish-red flower clusters attract hummingbirds.

Get veggies in the ground now so they get in the stomach later

By Tony Tomeo

It's hard to keep up with the garden this time of year. It seems something is always in need of pruning, hedging, watering, fertilizing or some other horticultural procedure. With all this work going on, planting things that will need even more work is sometimes neglected. It fortunately is not too late for warm-season vegetables to be planted, but the sooner they get into the garden, the sooner they will be able to enjoy the warm weather.

Popular warm-season vegetables that can be planted now include beans, eggplants, peppers, tomatoes, squash and lettuces. Pole beans are somewhat more rampant than the increasingly popular bush beans, but with support, they can climb upward and out of the way of other vegetables. Zucchini are probably still the most popular squash because they are the easiest to grow. Other summer squash, and even okra and pumpkins, can certainly add interesting variety. Winter squash will want to get started in warm weather as well, but can be planted as late as the middle of summer.

Some people also like to grow corn and watermelon, but these vegetables need plenty of room, water and warmth. Watermelons from local gardens are generally small and often bland. I like to grow corn only because I like the foliage and tall stalks. However, because I do not water it frequently enough, and it does not get very warm in my garden, the ears of corn that develop are only enough for the squirrels.

Corn is one of the few warm-season vegetables that should be planted in phases every two weeks or so to prolong productivity. As each phase is depleted, the next phase will be ripening. Another option is to grow different varieties that ripen at different times: early, mid- and late-season corn. Planting these different varieties in phases will prolong the productivity of each variety, but not prolong the season. They will all finish production as weather gets too cool for them in autumn .

Like most cool-season vegetables, many warm-season vegetables are most easily grown from seed. Beans and corn do not adapt well if planted as small plants or seedling. Corn is grown in such quantity that plants would be quite expensive anyway. Plants of the various squash are more adaptable, and only a few are needed, but they are still more expensive and not as easy to grow as seed.

Other warm-season vegetables, such as eggplant, pepper and tomato, are easier to grow from small plants or seedlings. They not only transplant well but are also substantial enough to get established before getting eaten by snails and slugs. If grown from seed sown directly in the garden, they are likely to get eaten as they germinate and emerge above the soil. Fortunately, only a few plants of each are needed, so the expense is worth the convenience.

The various lettuces and some other vegetables are attractive enough to be grown as ornamentals in the landscape. Bare fences often look better with bean vines. (String may be needed for support.) Growing vegetables outside of the vegetable garden leaves more room for tomatoes, peppers, okra and the other vegetable plants that might look rather awkward in the landscape.

Tree of the Week: red horsechestnut

Hikers in the Santa Cruz Mountains may have noticed the native buckeye, or California horsechestnut, beginning to bloom. The trees' rounded canopies will soon be covered with cylindrical trusses of small white and slightly fragrant flowers. It is unfortunate that they defoliate so early, usually by late summer, and are too much of an allergy problem to be practical in home landscapes.

The related red horsechestnut, Aesculus X carnea, is already blooming with larger 6-inch-long trusses of pink or red flowers that keep hummingbirds happy. The flowers' color against the green leaves provides a striking contrast. Bloom produces less bothersome pollen, but unfortunately lacks fragrance. Red horsechestnut is a sterile hybrid, so does not produce the large glossy seeds that characterize other horsechestnuts.

Leaves are palmately compound, which means each is divided into leaflets that extend from the same origin. The leaves turn uniformly brown before falling in autumn. Mature trees are about 25 feet tall and wide. Their shade can be a bit too dark for other plants below their canopies.

Horticulturist Tony Tomeo can be contacted at 408.358.2574 or at LGHORTICULTURE@aol.com.