Southern California Coastal & Inland Valleys
May, 2010
Regional Report
Different varieties for different harvest timing
If you plan to preserve some of your garden's bounty, you may prefer to grow vegetable varieties which will be ready for harvest all at one time. On the other hand, if you'd like to harvest over a long period of time for eating fresh or processing in smaller batches, reseed or transplant seedlings every two or three weeks for continuous harvests.
Corn as bean supports
Corn stalks make convenient pole bean supports. Plant the beans after the corn is six inches tall, no sooner, or the beans will outgrow the corn.
Let newly-planted perennial veggies grow
Take no harvests this year from the asparagus, artichokes and rhubarb you planted this spring. Let these plants use all their energy to develop good root systems, instead of expending it sending up more shoots.
Destroy peach-leaf curl infected leaves
Carefully collect and destroy all leaves affected by peach-leaf curl or other diseases. Do not compost these leaves or use them as mulch, as this will spread the diseases.
Prune and root cuttings
Prune tips of azaleas, carnations, chrysanthemums, fuchsias, geraniums, impatiens, lavender, marguerites, marigolds, petunias, rhododendrons, rosemary, sedums and zinnias to gently shape the plants and encourage them to bush out. Root these cuttings for more plants to share.
