A while back, I gave a couple garden talks at Bonfante Gardens.
After the talks, I always take questions. More often than not, a
few primary subjects always come up. I would like to provide a few
answers to some of the more common gardening questions.
A while back, I gave a couple garden talks at Bonfante Gardens. After the talks, I always take questions. More often than not, a few primary subjects always come up. I would like to provide a few answers to some of the more common gardening questions.
Don’t waste beer on snails. Yes, we’ve all heard it before. Place a shallow tin of beer in your garden, snails will be attracted to it and die happy. Well, I believe it’s just a waste of good beer. For one thing, snails are picky about their beer! They will not come to stale beer. Who knew that snails had such good taste?
The best methods of snail control remain either hand picking or bait. Go out at night with flashlights in hand and pick snails to your heart’s content. I salt them down in a bag and throw them in the trash. Or, there are dozens of snail baits on the market, including new types that do not contain methaldehyde, and can be safely used around pets and toddlers.
Try growing tomatoes in pits. I almost always get a question about growing tomatoes. It serves to reason in that tomatoes are the No. 1 home-grown vegetable. Always start out with a good tomato variety suited to the area, and always plant in the hottest part of your garden.That accomplished, consider planting tomatoes in pits. Yes, you heard right. Dig down as much as two feet if you can in our rock-hard adobe soils. Place your tomato transplant in the bottom of the hole and add compost and loose soil. As the vine grows, keep adding soil and compost until you’ve filled the hole. This method encourages the tomato to send out roots all along its stem, as well as deep in the soil. More and deep roots will translate to a healthier, more vigorous plant.
Starting seeds can be as simple as using a wheelbarrow. I get questions about how best to start seeds. Do you use peat pots, plastic versus clay, etc.? Well, consider using your old wheelbarrow! In our mild climate, you usually don’t need an elaborate indoor set-up for seed starting. To make a highly portable outdoor seedbed, drill drainage holes in an old wheelbarrow and fill it with seed-starting mix. Sow your seeds right in the wheelbarrow and move it to give the seedlings sun or shade as desired, or to protect from a cold spell. When it’s time to transplant the seedlings into the garden, just wheel your wheelbarrow right up to the site.
Don’t use Juicy Fruit gum against gophers. Yes, and while you’re at it, don’t place human hair down gopher holes either. These may be wives’ tales and may have even worked once upon a time, but the only tried-and-true method of getting rid of gophers is with traps. Always place a chain on your trap so it doesn’t disappear down the hole. You might try spreading a little mint or parsley on the trap after setting it to get rid of the human scent.
A cheap fertilizer? I get this question quite often. Consider borrowing weeds from the sea.
Since we live near the ocean, take advantage of a great natural soil amendment: seaweed. Seaweed contains all the trace minerals that plants need for ideal growth. Use seaweed as a mulch or work it into the soil at planting. But first spread it out on the pavement and spray it well with a garden hose to remove salt residue.
