The seeds of summer

Many of us got back into planting vegetable gardens this year after some rain and, hopefully, relief from our four-year California drought.

Those of us who do plant veggie gardens gain tremendous satisfaction from feeding ourselves and others from what we have grown. We can control what we plant and what we feed the plants and, thereby, what we eat.

So I consulted Lydia Constantini, manager of Sonoma Mission Gardens, for hot tips on what to do in our gardens this summer.

Constantini says it’s time to start fertilizing your vegetable garden. Keep everything looking green and healthy with a good quality vegetable-formulated fertilizer.

“Tarragon, is the paragon of herbs,” says Constantini. “It’s a perennial and great to just roughly chop a little and throw into a mixed green salad for an occasional burst of anise. Plant basil, parsley, arugula, and cilantro so you have a continuing crop through the summer.

Gophers or deer got your tomatoes? You still have time to plant replacements, she says.

“Now that the heat is up, peppers will take off so, again, if you missed planting them earlier, do not despair, they will catch right up. Fertilize everything on a regular basis and don’t spare the water… skip a shower or two.”

Plant beans, corn and cucumbers for continued summer harvest, and get pumpkins in the ground for fall fun.

Grow winter squash now. Lots of folks think you grow acorn and butternut squashes in the winter because it’s “winter squash.” Exactly the opposite, grow them now and keep the fruit well into the winter to enjoy then.

Olive growers should pay attention to their spray schedule to prevent the olive fruit fly damage. They have the arsenal at the nursery, as well as beautiful “fruitless” olives at the nursery in every size imaginable. Constantini says, “I was greedy and got my hands on quite a few trees as there is a bit of a shortage in the landscape world.”

Finally, hang your yellow jacket traps away from your food area and replenish with bait every six weeks or so.

Get down and get dirty.