|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
| Do you have a gardening question? The UC Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County can help. Our volunteers are part of the University of California’s Cooperative Extension program, and we are trained to use research-based information to educate our fellow residents on home horticulture, pest management, and sustainable landscape practices specific to our area. Our monthly “Ask a Master Gardener” column will answer your questions and offer tips. Have a question? Email lifestyle@embarcaderopublishing.com |
How can I get more peppers from my plants?
Make peppers more productive by planting different varieties closely together. You will get more peppers per square foot because the plants support each other and provide protection from sunburn. Plus, they look lush and beautiful. After planting, it is a good idea to remove flowers and fruit from large-podded plants the first four to six weeks to encourage deeper roots and more foliage. Learn more pepper tips by consulting our Growing Great Peppers and Chiles page.
June gardening tips
Be on the lookout for spider mites
As hot, dry weather arrives, watch for spider mites on vegetables, fruit trees, berriesand ornamental plants. Early signs are leaves that have become stippled with white dots. Heavily infested leaves may turn yellow and fall off. Check leaf undersides with a magnifying glass for tiny moving dots. To control spider mites, keep plants well-watered and dust-free, use mulch and ground covers, and provide regular irrigation. For infested plants, apply a water spray or mist to leaf undersides daily. Natural predators include predatory thrips and lacewings. Here’s more information on controlling these pests.
Don’t forget about your yard’s shady areas
Do you have shady areas in your landscape and wonder what to plant? Start by determining what type of shade you have — full, partial or dappled. Use the UC Davis Arboretum Plant Database and choose “sun exposure” in your search to research which plants grow best in your conditions. Check water requirements and group plants with similar needs. Evaluate the soil. Soil closest to a home might be dry, and soil under mature trees might be too compacted to support other plants. Enjoy your shady areas — they offer cool shelter on hot days, fewer weeds, less water usage and lower maintenance!
Add herbs to your garden
Santa Clara County provides a year-round climate that is well-suited to growing a variety of culinary and aromatic herbs.
Herbs are a great choice for beginner gardeners as they tend to be easy to grow and care for. They are a wonderful addition as borders to your vegetable garden, or can be easily grown in containers on a patio or balcony.
See Herb Gardening Basics for information on successful herb gardening. It includes information on growing, propagating, harvesting and preserving herbs.
Let your kale grow throughout the warm season
Kale is primarily a cool-season crop in our area, but you don’t need to remove it when the weather turns warm. It will grow year-round and even for several years. The
problem you are likely to see in the summer is that it gets buggy. If you can tolerate the giant whiteflies and aphids, you can leave it as a decoy plant to attract the pests away from your other plants and to feed the lady beetles so that they will stick around.
Kale grows well in the ground or in containers and is not picky about soil. If the plant gets too big and grows a tall stalk, about the size of a walking stick, you can cut off the top, remove the lower three or four leaves along the stalk, and stick it back in the ground and keep it watered. It will regrow easily. You could also wait for it to go to seed and then grow a new crop from seed. It will probably be pest-free again and pleasantly edible when the weather turns cooler. More Information: Kale
Prevent whitefly outbreaks
Whiteflies are tiny, sap-sucking insects that may become abundant in vegetable and ornamental plantings, especially during warm weather. They excrete sticky honeydew, may be covered with black sooty mold (see UC Pest Note on Sooty Mold) and cause yellowing or death of leaves.
June gardening events
UC Master Gardener gardening events are taking place throughout the county this month. Here are some of them, with more listed on our events page.
Plant Clinic online – Tuesday, June 9, Online
Open Garden Saturdays- Palo Alto – Saturday, June 13, Palo Alto
Worms: The fun way to compost! – Saturday, June 13, San Jose
Low-water lawn alternatives – Saturday, June 13, Mountain View
All about air plants – terrific tillandsias – Saturday, June 13, Sunnyvale
Garden to glass: Refreshing waterwise infusions – Wednesday, June 17, Los Altos
When composting goes rotten – Thursday, June 18, Online
California native plant sale – Saturday, June 20, San Jose
Learn about companion planting, and do a little sketching – Saturday, June 20, Cupertino
Open Garden Saturdays- Palo Alto – Saturday, June 20, Palo Alto
Grow your own herbs and unlock your kitchen’s potential – Saturday, June 20, San Jose
Succulent open house & sale – Saturday, June 27, San JoseOpen Garden Saturdays- Palo Alto – Saturday, June 27, Palo Alto
Management of heavy whitefly infestations is difficult. The best strategy is to prevent problems from developing in your garden or landscape. In many situations, natural enemies will provide adequate control of whiteflies; outbreaks often occur when natural enemies are disrupted by insecticide applications, dusty conditions or interference by ants. Avoid or remove plants that repeatedly host high populations of whiteflies.
In gardens, whitefly populations in the early stages of population development can be held down by a vigilant program of removing infested leaves or hosing down with water sprays. Reflective mulches can repel whiteflies from vegetable gardens, and yellow sticky traps can be used to monitor or, at high levels, reduce whitefly numbers. If you choose to use insecticides, insecticidal soaps or oils such as neem oil may reduce but not eliminate populations. Systemic insecticides may be more effective but can have negative impacts on beneficial insects and pollinators.
For more information, see UC Pest Note on Whiteflies.
Would you like to ask a UC Master Gardener about a plant problem? Submit questions to our Help Desk online. Join our Zoom Plant Clinic Online on June 9 from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm where you can directly ask gardening questions to a Master Gardener. You can also subscribe to our monthly Tips and Events newsletter. San Mateo residents can also find gardening advice on the UC Master Gardeners of San Mateo and San Francisco website. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok
