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7,103 Garden Web Discussions | California Gardening

Heat wave! Anyone use shadecloth?
Posted by slowjane CA/ Sunset 21
10 Comments
doginthegardenUpdated I use shade cloth but will not put it up this early in the year, we'll cool down tomorrow for a while so shade will probably go up around late June. I rig mine on top of the bamboo framing that covers the entire raised bed garden ...
What fruit are you harvesting to close out April?
Posted by MrClint
11 Comments
Suzi AKA DesertDance So CA Zone 9bUpdated Verte, and Kadota. Both are ripening now.
plants around leach field?
Posted by susanwrites(9)
4 Comments
calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9Updated The leach field should not be a problem unless the soil is. A good draining soil will not cause a problem with any type of orchard or garden. Al
Wisteria - transplat or will it grow back
Posted by nhrdls(9)
1 Comment
nil13(z21 L.A., CA (Mt. Washington))Updated The wisteria will survive just fine. The problem comes if you prune it back to the ground. The good wisteria are grafted cultivars. This means that if you cut it back too far you will lose the fine blooming cultivar and be left wi...
Ground Cherries
Posted by macers(10/ sunset 20/21)
1 Comment
Capt123(9)Updated I would have the same question for the Bay Area. I have started like 10 plants from seeds and get them going OK, inside, but once I replant them outside, they all seem to die. They are in the start pods, so I'm not disturbing thei...
Would you eat produce in your garden you knew critters touched
Posted by homey_bird
28 Comments
gardenper(8)Updated The wine comment reminds me of the stories of people squishing grapes with their bare feet, but the wine still tastes good, right? One time my friends and I were at a restaurant and we saw a dead roach cooked among the saucy stir-...
How to Thin Watermelon Vines
Posted by fruit_n_vegetables
3 Comments
MrClintUpdated Watermelons need a lot of room to do well. The idea of pruning the vines probably comes from folks trying to grow them in too small of a space. I've taken the growing vines and directed them around in a bit of a circle around the ...
Distictis buccinatoria (Red Trumpet Vine)
Posted by chezron
10 Comments
widmarkUpdated Thank you for the input! I have planted several distictis riversii ('Rivers') along a north to south running chain link fence with its western exposure facing us. We thought the Rivers looked most symbiotic with an English style g...
Location of pepper trees in north Orange County
Posted by anadromous
4 Comments
rpmcestmoiUpdated Woodbridge in Irvine has a street (in MIT Great Streets book) called Pinewood that is lined with peppers, one of which took exception to a brand new BMW and cleaved it today. It was quite large and the roots were spongy. The Santa...
What is wrong with my Thuja?
Posted by grazynka
1 Comment
calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9Updated Take a sample into your county university extension service. You will have to leave lt for it to be seen by a specialist in conifer diseases. You will get an answer in just a few days. Al
Grewia occidentalis- freeze to ground or just lose leaves?
Posted by elvie
2 Comments
gyr_falcon(Sunset 23 USDA 9)Updated I live in Orange County. Infrequently we will get some frosts that brown the fronds of tree ferns and turn non-hardy aloes into mush. But I don't recall my Grewias showing any damage at all.
Are my tulips done?
Posted by imahousenewbie
9 Comments
Errant_gwUpdated I'm in the mountains and tulips and daffys are about the only thing I can grow successfully!
Small rodent in back yard - on walls
Posted by Lars(Z11a, Sunset 24)
26 Comments
devoletUpdated I'm not a fan of rats running around the garden either and have had damage from roof and river rats running through the downspouts. And they just freak me out. The dogs chase them. I found a veritable rodent condo complex in the j...
trees in wine barrels
Posted by Vasquez11
2 Comments
devoletUpdated Spray the interior of the barrels with water seal, one of the more safer formulas and let dry as the barrels will last longer. Or oil them to season the finish. They will rot slower and not disintegrate as I have had happen to me....
Silver lupine and slugs.
Posted by melle_sacto(Z9/Sunset 14 CA)
6 Comments
devoletUpdated Iron Phosphate is awesome and there are off brands of it that are less expensive than Sluggo. I have dogs in my garden and mutant slugs that would knock on the door at dinner time if they had knuckles. A sprinkle a day makes the t...
Looking for a defensive/security plant
Posted by CApug
14 Comments
devoletUpdated Dyckia Platyphlla Cherry Cola, it is dark, barbed, gorgeous, and mean. Puya plants which are a similar, and related to bromeliads; also barbed, one has turquoise blooms, and Firethorn as mentioned in earlier post. I have one, and ...
Hot Composting
Posted by fruit_n_vegetables
1 Comment
calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9Updated When your pile starts to cool off it is time to turn it. Also check the moisture content at that time. You are keeping alive the micro organisms that are making your green waste into compost. They require oxygen, provided when you...
Help! New to Composting
Posted by fruit_n_vegetables
1 Comment
napapen(ca 15)Updated It sounds like you are on the right track. I don't do hot compost but if you have time it is a good idea. You might consider a compost thermometer to see if you get up to 140 degrees. Hot compost mixes are usually a one time deal ...
Favorite blogs?
Posted by slowjane CA/ Sunset 21
3 Comments
wcgypsy(10 / Sunset 23)Updated Yes, hoovb's "Piece of Eden" blog "Digging"...Pam Penick's blog out of Austin, Texas (many similarities in climate) "A Growing Obsession" blog (Long Beach, Ca) "Danger Garden" (Portland, Ore...
Name of this plant
Posted by kristie_2007
2 Comments
wcgypsy(10 / Sunset 23)Updated Or a tiarella?
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