Fava beans are the broad beans seen in falafel and not seen in minestrone.

One of the only beans available in Europe until the discovery of the Americas, fava beans make an excellent ground cover and a delicious meal. Being a legume, like peas and other beans, fava beans are able to fix atmospheric nitrogen to feed themselves and their neighbors (until seed development begins). Fava beans are a close cousin to vetch.

Fava bean plants

Fava beans can grow to 2- to 5-feet tall on erect stems. They have a taproot and large leaves. Fava beans can tolerate temperatures as low as 20°F. The seeds can even germinate at 40°F! They will grow better if you incorporate some compost into the soil before planting, but they can tolerate our heavy clay soil. The flowers are large and fragrant, attracting many different pollinators to the garden.

How to grow fava beans

Fava beans (Vicia faba) are a cool weather crop, so you will want to start your seeds in September or November, in warm regions, for a cover crop or green manure. Crops destined to be eaten should be planted in February and March. Fava bean seeds should be sown one or two inches deep, depending on seed size, and 4- to 5-inches apart. Rows should be 2 or 3 feet apart. Seedlings should be thinned to 8- to 10-inches after germination. Regular irrigation is necessary for full pod set. If it is a wet winter, no irrigation is needed. Mulching around the plants will help keep the soil moist.

Cling peaches. Freestone fruit. What do those words mean?

If you have ever bit into a sweet, juicy peach or nectarine, you may have discovered that the fruit practically fell away from the pit as you neared the center. Or, you may have had to fight for every morsel, leaving behind a ragged, fruit-covered pit. ​When the fruit comes away from the pit easily, it is called freestone. When the fruit clings to the pit, it is, you guessed it, a cling variety.

Texture differences

Freestone fruits tend to be more firm than clingstones. This makes them better suited for canning. The clingstone varieties are best for fresh eating, though you can certainly can them, or turn them into a delicious jam or chutney!

Harvest times

Clingstones are generally harvested May through August, while freestone varieties are harvested May through October.

Dodder is too bizarre for words.

This plant doesn’t even look like a plant. It looks more like a fungi, or an alien!

Thin yellow, red, or bright orange threads emerge from the ground and start twining around and draping over everything in sight. Everything, that is, if you’re a plant. Dodder (Cuscuta) is a parasitic annual. It gets most of its nutrition by inserting a straw-like structure, called the haustoria, into the plants it covers. Some species of dodder can perform a limited amount of photosynthesis.

The dodder plant

If you look closely, you can see that dodder seedlings are rootless, leafless stems. As the dodder plant matures, it may produce small, triangular leaves that look like scales. Tiny, bell-shaped, cream, pink, or yellow flowers may also be seen, but it is the extensive web of threads that will really catch your eye!

DODDER UPDATE (1/8/2018)
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​A recent study conducted by Virginia Tech and Penn State have  demonstrated that we are not the only ones involved with genetic modifications. Our instinctive outcry against GMOs may be a little outdated when we learn that plants, such as dodder, have been altering the DNA of their host plants for countless centuries. As dodder twines around a host and begins feeding, it inserts genetic information, in the form of microRNAs (miRNAs) and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), that halt the activation of protective gene sequences. These alterations in the host's DNA make it harder for it to protect itself and improves conditions for the dodder invasion. If that weren’t strange enough, it ends up that plants have been using genetic modification to fight off nematodes, fungi, bacteria, and insects for a really long time.

Birds in the garden: boon or bane?

The answer: both.

The presence of birds in a landscape indicates a healthy biodiversity. They eat many garden pests and may even help with pollination. That being said, birds can be a Royal Pain. They destroy seedlings, devastate crops, and can carry disease. Bird management can reduce the problems while increasing the benefits.

Benefits of birds
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The image of a red-breasted robin tugging an earthworm from the soil is an icon of spring. Birds also eat crane flies, stinkbugs, armyworms, moths and their caterpillars, millipedes, spiders, slugs and snails, crickets and grasshoppers, inchworms, katydids, grubs, cabbage loopers, cabbageworms, and countless other garden pests. You may be surprised to learn that hummingbirds often eat spiders, gnats. flies, and ants, especially when they are raising young. Some birds eat the mosquitoes responsible for Zika virus, along with several other diseases. Birds facilitate decomposition by eating foods and then leaving nutrient-rich droppings behind. As birds eat the seeds of fruits and other garden crops, they help spread seeds for future crops.

Birds as pests

As birds devour garden pests, they will also eat beneficial earthworms, centipedes, bees, and butterflies. But crop damage is the real problem. Birds love seeds, fruit, and nuts. They will dig up seeds, devour seedlings, peck holes in fruit, and decimate nut crops. They are particularly fond of pea, bean, melon, and squash seeds. Birds can be major pests if you are growing hazelnuts, almonds, figs, pears, peppers, peaches and nectarines, apples, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, grapes, saffron crocus or other bulbs, sorghum, or tomatoes. They can wipe out amaranth and quinoa crops. Birds can also carry diseases, such as San Jose scale. Scrub jays will steal eggs from your chickens and kill young chicks. Birds can also be troublesome when it comes to soil solarization. As they search for grubs and worms, they may lift the fabric, halting and reversing the solarization process. Finally, woodpeckers and sapsuckers can effectively girdle a tree as they feed if the holes are too numerous and go all the way around a tree trunk.

Birds and mixed crops

Some crops, such as sunflowers and currants, can be used to support biodiversity in the garden while still providing a harvest for your family. Fruit from currant bushes, and the seeds and leaves of sunflowers, are popular foods for many indigenous birds, especially goldfinches. You can protect your crops by placing paper bags over flower heads and fruit clusters, or you can simply grow more than you need and provide food for our feathered friends.

Local bird dilemma

Many European birds, such as sparrows and starlings, have made life difficult to nearly impossible for many of our indigenous birds. They take over habitat and food supplies, and are less fearful of humans, so our native birds are suffering. Bluebirds, goldfinches, and several wrens are being pushed into marginal habitats by these interlopers. In addition to habitat loss, they are also facing chemical toxins, cars, windows, plastic garbage, and improperly used netting. Their young are also vulnerable to squirrels, outdoor cats, and other predators. You can help these birds by installing native plants, providing a water source, and constructing bird houses with very small (1” diameter) openings. Anything larger and sparrows will pitch the eggs, kill the young, and take over. Birdhouses need to be placed on poles to be appealing to our native birds. Birdhouses hung from buildings and fences will not be used because they are vulnerable to predation.

Bird management

To reduce the damage caused by birds in the garden, tree cages can be erected around fruit and nut trees. These structures a much easier to build than they sound, and cost very little. You can also protect newly planted seeds and seedlings with row covers.

Birds are a mixed bag, but it wouldn’t be a healthy landscape without them.

Anthers are where pollen is made.

​Male flowers have a reproductive part called the stamen. The stamen is made up of a stem, called the filament, and the anther.

You can hand-pollinate many garden plants by removing the anther and touching it to several flowers. You can also accomplish this by taking a small natural bristle paintbrush first to the anther, and then to female reproductive organs within flowers, called pistils.

Etiolation describes how plants become long and white due to growing in too little light.

Eggplant is a tasty member of the nightshade family.

​Cousin to tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, and tobacco, eggplant (Solanum melongena) grown in tropical areas is a perennial. Here in San Jose, California, it tends to be a large annual. Your eggplant bush can grow to be 5 feet tall, but most are closer to 2 feet tall.

Botanically, an eggplant is a berry. This is because it is a fleshy fruit, without a stone, that grows from a single ovary. Within that fleshy fruit are many tiny black seeds. These seeds taste bitter because they contain nicotine alkaloids. Don’t worry, though. You would have to eat 20 to 40 pounds of eggplant to get the equivalent nicotine found in one cigarette.

How to grow eggplant

People have been growing eggplant since prehistoric times. It’s that easy. Originally from Asia, eggplant needs heat. Seeds can be started indoors a month before your last frost date. The seeds are small, so do not plant more than 1/4 inch deep. With plenty of heat and moisture, your seeds may germinate in as little as 7 days. Be sure to harden off your plants before installing them outside. They will need a spot with plenty of sun and good drainage. Eggplant prefers slightly acidic soil (pH 5.5 to 7.0), so acidification may be necessary here in the Bay Area. Plants should be spaced 18 to 24 inches apart. They will need a lot of water and regular feeding. Reduce competition with weeds by mulching around plants. Eggplants are available in several different sizes, colors, shapes, and patterns, plus there are early maturing varieties. Give ‘em all a try!

Eggplant pests and diseases

Aphids, armyworms, thrips, cabbage loopers, flea beetles, nematodes, lygus bugs, and spider mites will all want to feed on your eggplant plants. Damping off, mosaic, root rot, tomato spotted wilt, foamy canker, and verticillium wilt are common eggplant diseases. Eggplants are also susceptible to a condition called ‘shoe stringing’. Shoe stringing describes the way leaves become thin and leathery, with a chewed up appearance. The cause is unknown at this time.

Harvesting eggplant

Your eggplants are ready to harvest when the flesh does not spring back when pressed. Do not pull or twist fruit to remove it - this can damage plants. Instead, snip the stem just above the fruit. Eggplants have the best flavor when they are eaten within 24 hours of being picked. And they are best left on the kitchen counter and not in the refrigerator.

According to 13th century Italian folklore, eating an eggplant can make you go crazy. That claim was repeated in 19th century Egypt, when it was said that insanity was "more common and more violent" when the eggplant is in season in the summer. (Wikipedia)

There are many theories about the insanity claim. Personally, I think it may have something to do with the abundance of food your eggplant plants can produce.

Nocturnal brown moths (Trichoplusia ni) fly in at night and lay tiny hemispherical eggs, singly or in clusters, on upper and lower leaf surfaces. Adult moths live 10 to 12 days. Females can lay 300 to 600 eggs in that time. Two to ten days alter, pale white larvae emerge and begin feeding on the underside of leaves of cabbage, broccoli, and other members of the brassica family. As the loopers grow, they move to the upper side of leaves and feed heavily, leaving large ragged holes. They also feed on tomatoes, kale, radish, lima beans, lettuce, peas, peppers, beans, spinach, squash, sweet potatoes, watermelon, cucumbers, potatoes, thyme, and collard greens, leaving behind clumps of dark green droppings.

Cabbage looper description

​There are actually several different cabbage looper species, usually based on their favorite food. All cabbage looper larvae reach 1-1/2 inches long and end up pale green. They start out white but, as they feed, they turn green. They move in a classic ‘looping’ inchworm motion. The adult moth is brown.

Cabbage looper control

Unlike other inchworm larval forms, cabbage loopers are resistant to Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). Luckily, they have many natural predators in the form of big-eyed bugs and parasitic wasps. Avoiding the use of broad spectrum pesticides can help these beneficial insects protect your crops. Hand-picking cabbage loopers can also reduce damage.

Bacterial wilt is a disease that causes plants in the squash family to wilt.

Bacterial wilt is an infection by the Erwinia tracheiphila bacteria. It affects cucumbers and muskmelons the most but can also infect pumpkins and squash.

Symptoms of bacterial wilt

Damage caused by bacterial wilt looks like feeding damage caused by squash bugs. As bacteria multiply within vascular tissue (veins), they clog the xylem, which makes the plant wilt. The sap of an infected plant will be milky-colored and able to create a slimy string. (Ew!) This wilting occurs more slowly than the fungal disease sudden wilt.

Disease carriers

Striped cucumber beetles and spotted cucumber beetles carry this disease. The Erwinia bacteria that cause this disease can live in the gut of their carriers for quite a long time. The bacteria can be transmitted as these pests feed and through contact with frass.

Bacterial wilt treatment

Unfortunately, there is no effective treatment. Once a plant is infected, it is too late. Since the infected plant poses a health risk to its neighbors, remove it and throw it in the trash. Sanitize any tools that come into contact with the plant with a household bathroom cleaner. To reduce the chance of infection, controlling beetle populations and maintaining healthy plants are your best bet.

Oleander aphid description

Like other aphids, this species is small (1.5 to 2.6 mm), pear-shaped and soft-bodied. Oleander aphids, in particular, are bright yellow, with black legs, wings, and cornicles. Cornicles are tiny spikes on an aphid’s back that can excrete defensive fluid. [My dog did that once, after he got into some old pork bones. It wasn’t pretty.] Actually, these defensive fluids are cardiac glycosides that the aphids take from their host plants! Cardiac glycosides are known heart poisons. Luckily, these pests cluster on new stems and are easy to spot. And those defensive fluids won’t hurt you.

Aphid lifecycle

As much as I dislike aphids for their plant-damaging and disease-carrying capabilities, I have to give credit where it is due. These soft-bodied bugs really are amazing. Female aphids (and almost all of them are female) are viviparous and parthenogenetic. Wait! Come back! Let me explain. Viviparous means that offspring develop within the mother, the way we do. Parthenogenetic means fertilization by a male is not needed to produce offspring. Not like us. Most aphids do not have wings. But, when they become too crowded, or when a plant starts senescing (dying), some adult aphids emerge with wings. That would be something like all human beings being born 40% smaller, simply because we start running out of room and resources. Hmmm… But I digress. Let’s get back to aphids.]

I have no idea what ‘gurs’ or ‘gans’ are, but you get the idea - we’ve been fighting over water rights for a really long time!

Good water management

Many years ago, while living in an RV and traveling the country, I stopped at a midwestern diner in the wee hours of the morning for some breakfast. The old men who filled the booths and sat at the counter had but one topic of conversation: rain. They were comparing notes on how many hundredths of an inch fell on their respective properties. It was not what I expected, but it made me realize how much science there is behind irrigating crops properly. Good water management means understanding the necessary timing, volume, and application method best suited to your garden and landscape plants.

Farmers deal with irrigation water in terms of acre-feet. One acre-foot refers to how much water is needed to cover one acre of land (43,560 sq. ft.) to a depth of one cubic foot. If you do the math, that ends up being 325,851 gallons of water! Per acre. Each week. You see why drought is such a Big Deal in the world of agriculture! Now, as home gardeners, we will never be using water at those rates. Instead, we have to look at our garden spaces as micro versions of the same calculations. Instead of acre-feet, we need to look at square feet.

How much water does my plant need?

One of the most common gardening questions asked is: How much water does my favorite garden plant need? And the answer is always: It depends. [This invariably irritates some people, but it’s the truth.] Water needs are a function of too many variables to give a pat answer. Soil structure and makeup, plant variety, microclimate, stage of development, life stage process, plant size, root depth*, and exposure to heat islands are just a few of those variables. In California, UC Davis recommends one inch of water each week during the peak of summer. To fill a one foot by one foot area with water to a depth of 1 inch uses 0.623 gallons.

For example, let’s say you have a 4’ by 6’ raised bed:
    
    4 * 6 = 24 sq. ft.
    24 * 0.623 = 14.952 gallons

Your raised bed should receive 15 gallons of water during the peak of summer. In spring and fall, half that amount should suffice. Now, if you dump 15 gallons of water into that raised bed all at once, most of it will percolate down through the soil and disappear from the plants’ root zone*. It is far better to water every day during summer. This would mean adding a little more than 2 gallons to our example bed each day of summer.

* How deep do garden plant roots go?

Rooting depth changes, depending on the variables mentioned earlier, but you can use the information below from UC Davis for a general idea for mature, full-sized plants:

Katydids are cousins to crickets, grasshoppers, and mole crickets, and you might not want them in your garden or landscape.

There are over 250 different species of katydid in North America (over 2,000 species worldwide). The name ‘katydid’ refers to the sound made by males when they are trying to attract receptive females.

Katydid identification
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Katydids can be difficult to see. It’s not that they are small, because they aren’t. Mature katydids can range from 1/2” to nearly 5” in length! The difficulty lies in their resemblance to leaves and the fact that they are mostly nocturnal. During the day, they hide out in trees and shrubs, blending with the foliage. They tend to have a bright green, blade-like body, with large hind legs. They look a lot like flattened grasshoppers, but with extra long antennae (or ‘horns’). Very often, the only notice you will get that katydids are present is the damage they cause and a male’s strident chirp.

Katydid lifecycle

Katydids (Tettigoniidae) start out as oval-shaped eggs that are laid in rows, at the end of summer, in the soil and in host plant stem holes. These eggs often hatch out looking like tiny adult katydids with big heads and small wings. Nymphs of some species of katydid mimic spiders or leaf-footed bugs in their early stages of development to avoid being eaten. As they feed and grow, they shed their outer exoskeleton and go through several instars before reaching adult size. As summer nears its end, males start singing to attract females. Females use the volume and fluency of a male’s chirp to judge his fitness level. In order to ensure a healthy pregnancy for the female, male katydids provide their (temporary) mates with a ‘nuptial gift’ of sperm and highly nutritious food.

What are heat islands?

The term ‘heat islands’ refers to land that used to be soil, bushes, and trees, and is now concrete, asphalt, and buildings. Before all that development, natural cycles and the permeability of the soil kept things cooler and healthier for plants. All the impervious, manmade materials that now cover up 3% of the earth’s landmass absorb heat, creating a zone of higher temperatures called heat islands.

Do I have heat islands?

Unless you live in a tent in the wilderness, yes, you have heat islands. Driveways, patios, extended foundations, concrete paths and walkways, roofs, sidewalks, and the street in front of your home can all create their own heat islands.

How do heat islands impact landscape plants?

Plants installed in or near heat islands must contend with soil temperatures that can be 50 to 90° hotter than the air. This means, on a scorching summer day, when the air is 95°F, your plants’ roots may be struggling to survive temperatures as high as 185°F! All this strain takes its toll. Most trees reach what is called a ’thermal death threshold’ at 115°F. Held too long at temperatures above this point and even the healthiest tree can die. Even if they survive, plants growing in heat islands have significantly shorter lifespans and are more susceptible to pests and disease. Also, things don’t cool down for these plants as the sun sets. While we may enjoy the lower temperatures of evening, concrete and asphalt hang on to all that absorbed heat, slowly releasing it into the immediate area, making evenings the hottest part of your plants’ day.

Impact of heat islands on water use

Plants growing in heat islands need as much as 50% more water than the same plants grown elsewhere. Since a mature tree can use up to 250 gallons of water a day during the peak of summer, that percentage can translate into a lot of water! Also, if you re growing edibles, such as cucumbers, peppers, lettuce, broccoli, or cauliflower, in a heat island, the stress can cause these foods to turn bitter, or bolt.

How can you help plants in heat islands?

City managers are working toward reducing the heat island effect and you can. too! Use these tips to help your plants survive the heat island effect:

1. Proper irrigation is the number one way to help these plants thrive (or at least survive). Frequent, shallow watering does more harm than good. It encourages a shallow root system that will dry out more quickly. Infrequent, deep watering will encourage a deeper root system that helps plants protect themselves.
2. Avoid feeding these vulnerable plants during the peak of summer. Adding fertilizer stimulates new growth, which uses a lot of water and puts demands on the plant’s overall system. Would you want to move everything you own into the garage on a 150°F day? Yep. You’d probably fall apart, too.
3. If you will be adding plants to a heat island, do it at a time of year when they will be able to develop an extensive root system before high summer temperatures hit. Of course, then you have the issue of potential frost. Also, be sure to select plants that can tolerate a lot of heat. This would be succulents, such as echeveria, sedums, or aeoniums.
4. Improving soil structure and condition can also help plants growing in heat islands each the water they need. Our heavy clay can turn into concrete on a hot day. Incorporating aged compost, worm castings, or aged chicken, horse, or steer manure can increase the number of macropores and micropores in the soil, giving roots a path to cooler temperatures down below.
5. Mulching heat islands with a thick layer of wood chips is a good way to reduce temperatures by shading the soil. It also slows water loss through evaporation and makes it harder for weeds to get established.

Since plants that are growing in heat islands are already under a lot of stress, be sure to monitor for pests and diseases regularly, so that you can apply treatments right away, before things get out of hand.

Reducing heat islands on your property

There are many steps you can take to reduce the number of heat islands on your property. Not only will this help your plants to be healthier, it also reduces energy bills (if you use A/C), water consumption, and emissions from energy production. Here are just a few of the ways you can reduce the number of heat islands on your property:

• Trees and plants - trees create shade that can reduce temperatures by 20 to 45°F, and all plants reduce temperatures by 2 to 9°F through evapotranspiration​
• Permeable materials - driveways, paths, and patios can now be made with pervious asphalt, concrete, or interlocking pavers that allow air and water to pass through, recharging groundwater supplies and reducing heat absorption, releasing heat back into the atmosphere more quickly
• Cool or reflective roofing materials - designed to reflect light and heat away from your home
• Green roof - rooftop gardens and green roofs use plants to create shade and lower the surrounding air temperatures; they also provide extra insulation
• Water features - ponds and fountains can offset some of the heat island effect

Brussels sprouts: prehistoric weapons, baby cabbages, or healthy garden addition?

Many years ago, my mother showed up for a Thanksgiving dinner armed with what looked like a medieval weapon. Having never seen the unopened flower buds still attached to the stalk, it confused me, at first. If you have never seen Brussels sprouts growing on a stalk, you are in for a surprise!

A little history

Brussels sprouts (Brassica oleracea) were first grown as far back as the 5th century throughout the Mediterranean. The Romans liked them, so they moved around quite a bit. They were widely grown in Belgium, back in the 16th century, hence the name Brussels. These plants prefer cooler, coastal weather, so they are a winter crop in California. Lucky for us, a touch of frost actually makes Brussels sprouts sweeter! In fact, California grows Brussels sprouts on several thousand acres each year.

How to grow Brussels sprouts

Brussels sprouts seeds can be planted in the Bay Area in July and August, and transplants can be put in place as late as September. Brussels sprouts and other cole crops love growing in raised beds, with their nice loose soil with plenty of nutrients. (It makes weeding a lot easier, too!) These plants do not perform well in poor soil. Each plant will need an area 2 to 3 feet square, so thin accordingly. Seeds should be planted 1/2 an inch deep and watered well. Keep the soil moist until germination occurs. A nice light mulch can help keep that moisture in place. If you are placing transplants, be sure to dig the planting hole large enough to accommodate the root ball plus the stem, up to the first set of true leaves. Mud them in by watering thoroughly, to eliminate any air pockets, and water every day for the first week. After that, allow the soil to dry out between waterings to prevent fungal diseases.

Pests and diseases of Brussels sprouts

Like other members of the cabbage family, Brussels sprouts are host to many different pests: earwigs, cutworms, flea beetles, beet armyworms, crickets, cabbage aphids and cabbage maggots, whiteflies, loopers, imported cabbageworm, harlequin bugs, nematodes, slugs and snails, thrips, wireworms, and diamondback moths are the more common pests here in California. Brussels sprouts diseases include downy mildews, powdery mildew, bacterial leafspot, bacterial soft rot, while mold, verticillium wilt, phytophthora root rot, clubroot, and ring spot (black blight). Clearly, with so many fungal diseases threatening our Brussels sprouts, moisture is a factor. Brussels sprouts should be on a 2 to 4 year crop rotation to break these disease triangles. Research shows that intercropping Brussels sprouts with fava beans has been shown to reduce pest damage significantly.

Caring for Brussels sprouts
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As your plants grow and start to produce buds, break the lower leaves off, over a period of a few weeks, starting from the bottom of the plant. Brussels sprouts are susceptible to sunburn damage and will bolt if temperatures get too high. You can help prevent these problems by covering them with a 50% shade cloth or a double layer of row covers. You can also plant them in a location that is protected from direct sun in the hottest part of the afternoon. This isn’t much of a problem as we get into winter.

Biochar is being touted as an environmentally friendly way to remove carbon dioxide from the environment, while amending your soil, but is it as friendly as proponents claim?

What is biochar?

Biochar is charcoal made from plant matter burned in a low oxygen environment. You know those big chunks left over in your fire pit? That’s pretty much biochar.

How does biochar act as a soil amendment?

Biochar is said to increase the fertility of acid soils (low pH). In areas where the soil is more alkaline (high pH) soil, biochar wouldn’t be a good idea whether it works or not. It is also claimed to act as habitat for many beneficial soil microorganisms. This may or may not be true. How many living things do you find in your fireplace?

How is biochar supposed to help the environment?

Enthusiasts claim that burning vegetation and burying the resulting biochar will sequester tons of carbon in the soil. Of, course, it’s not that simple. The initial burning, alone, releases carbon into the atmosphere.

Bottom line: not enough research has been conducted to prove the claims being made about biochar.

My suggestion: stick with mulch and compost, and drive less.

Echeveria identification

It can be difficult to distinguish between different types of succulent plants. They nearly all grow in a rosette shape, have thick, rubbery or waxy leaves, and tend to have hairs or spines. They also tend to spread, self-propagating wherever conditions are favorable. Echeveria, in particular, tend to reproduce by generating stalked offspring, called ‘offsets’, that appear from underneath in a behavior frequently called ‘hen and chicks’. Echeveria are polycarpic, which means they can produce flowers multiple times. In winter, many echeveria plants lose their leaves, though not all.

Echeveria pests and disease

Rot and frost are problems for echeveria. Frost, particularly after a rain, can kill most succulents. Leaves that have begun dying off should be removed to avoid spreading fungal disease throughout the plant. Mealybugs and aphids can be troublesome.

Aeoniums are a genus of plants that take little to no care and look better each year.

While I generally prefer edibles, sometimes you have a space in the landscape that you just can’t find the right plant for - aeoniums might be what you need. And while they may not be a familiar flavor, many aeoniums are edible. You have seen these plants many times before, but you may be surprised to see just how lovely they can become, given the chance.

Aeonium [ay-oh-nee-um] is a group of succulents known to the Greeks as aionos, which means ageless. They earn this name because they are monocarpic, meaning each rosette produces only one flower and then it dies. Originally from the Canary Islands, Morocco, and Ethiopia, these rugged succulents can thrive in the hottest weather. They perform well in containers and can be grown indoors if they receive enough light.

Aeonium identification

Most of the aeonium plants you see today are hybrids and they can look very similar to other stonecrops, such as sedum and echeveria. The biggest difference is that aeoniums often have fine hairs or spines on the edges (margins) of the leaves. Also, the leaves, which can be rounded or pointed, tend to be somewhat thinner than echeveria. When aeonium produce a flower, it is actually an inflorescence (a cluster of flowers) on a stalk that can reach 3 feet in height. These flowers can be very striking. The surface of aeonium leaves may be fuzzy, sticky, or smooth, and the stems can be scaly, smooth, hairy, or fissured. Plants stressed by drought or sunlight may exhibit red or purple highlights. This is not a concern. It is just what they do.

Types of aeonium

Most aeonium are classified as either low-growing or large. The large varieties include A. arboreum, A. holochrysum, and A. valvredense. Low-growing varieties are A. smithii and A. tabuliforme.

Caring for aeonium

Being tropical, these plants need strong light, good drainage, and watering only after long periods of dry soil. They do need protection from freezing temperatures so some sort of cover should be provided between the first and last frost dates. Too much rain can also cause rot.

Pests and diseases of aeonium

Aphid and mealybug infestations of the plant crown (where the stem meets the roots) can often be spotted by the presence of protective ants. Since many of these plants are edible and they contain a lot of water, many herbivores will feed on them, including squirrels, tortoises, and rabbits.

Propagating aeonium

Being succulents, aeonium are easy to propagate from a leaf. This is best done in autumn, when plants are actively growing. Simply take a healthy leaf from the plant and place it in good soil, in bright shade, and water occasionally. Aeoniums readily self-seed, if they are in a good location.

The range of shapes, textures, and colors make these plants easy to play with when creating a rich visual tapestry in a landscape.

Pollinators are animals that carry pollen from flower to flower. This pollen then fertilizes female flowers, allowing plants to produce fruit and seeds.

Without pollinators, we would be in a bad way. The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture tells us, “Of the 100 crop species which provide 90 percent of the world’s food, over 70 crops are pollinated by bees.”

Fruit set failure often means there are not enough pollinators. Insufficient pollination can also lead to blossom drop, crooking, and poor harvests. Today, we will find out who the pollinators are and how to attract more of them to the garden.

How does pollination occur?

Some plants have the ability to self-pollinate. If pollen grains can be moved from the male (anther) to the female (stigma) within the same flower, it is called autogamy. If pollen grains are carried from the anther of one flower to the stigma of another flower, while still on the same plant, it is called geitonogamy. When the pollen must be taken to the stigma of a different plant it is called cross-pollination, xenogamy, or allogamy. In some cases, self-pollination occurs before the flower even opens! This is called cleistogamy, but it has nothing to do with pollinators, so we will leave those flowers to themselves - which is what they seem to prefer anyway.

How do pollinators move pollen?

Even in the case of self-pollinating flowers, something is needed to break the pollen loose from the anther so that it can stick to the stigma. Note for those with allergies: pollen is very sticky. Rubbing or rinsing with water will not remove pollen. Soapy water is needed. So, as pollinators land on a flower, pollen sticks to them. Walking around on a flower knocks pollen loose to fall on the stigma and to stick to the body of the visitor. Next, that visitor flies, walks, or crawls away, carrying that pollen with them. When they visit the next flower, pollen is knocked loose from the anther and the pollinator’s body and the chance of fertilization starts going up. Some pollinators end up looking like Charles Schultz’ Pig-Pen, a walking cluster of pollen grains. Others have evolved with pockets on their legs! Honey bees and other apid bees have a pollen basket, or corbicula, on their legs that hold pollen wetted down with nectar. Other bees have a pollen basket called a scopa, on their abdomen. Whether they carry it on purpose or not, pollinators are drawn to flowers for several reasons.

How flowers attract pollinators

Plants have evolved with specific characteristics that attract the best pollinators for their needs. In some cases, the relationship is very specific. Figs are only pollinated by a fig wasp. No fig wasp - no figs. In most cases, plants go for the hard sell to attract as many pollinators as possible, using several different characteristics:

• petal color
• aroma
• flower size
• flower shape
• amount of nectar
• differing nectar recipes
• depth and size of the inner petal cluster (corolla)
• petal patterns, called nectar guides, that can only be seen in ultraviolet light

Installing a wide variety of plants is one of the best ways to attract pollinators.

Who are the pollinators?

There is far more to pollination than just the 1,000 different species of native, mostly non-stinging bees in California (4,000 nationwide; 20,000 worldwide). Bats, flies, moths and butterflies, beetles, birds, wasps, even lizards and monkeys can be pollinators. For that matter, so are we! As we walk through the garden, pollen attaches to our skin and clothing, to be deposited on the next plant we approach. We have also been known to hand-pollinate plants on purpose. More often, pollinators co-evolve in mutually beneficial relationships with their nectar and pollen food sources.

How to attract pollinators

First and foremost, get rid of the toxins that kill these beneficials. Broad spectrum insecticides, herbicides, and pesticides, even when they claim to be safe, should be avoided. They cause too much of an interruption in the normal, natural cycle of things. Yes, it means a few more pests in the garden, but it also means less toxins and more pollinators.

Second, pollinators need fresh water. While you do not want to create mosquito breeding grounds, bird baths, fountains, and other water features make lovely additions to the garden while providing water for pollinators.

Third, you need to provide adequate food and shelter for pollinators. Now, before you go out and buy one of those new fangled bug hotels, know that research does not show they are effective. In fact, these artificial clusters end up being breeding grounds for pests and diseases of pollinators! Most native bees are ground-dwelling, so they wouldn’t use them anyway.

Gimme shelter

You can certainly install a bat house, but most of the shelter you provide will be the same plants you install to provide pollinators with food. Use these strategies to provide shelter:

• create different canopy layers, using trees, shrubs, and smaller perennials
• leave some dead wood in place for nesting sites
• leave some leaf litter on the ground for beetles to hide under
• leave some areas of bare ground for ground-nesting bees

Plants that attract pollinators

Plants can be divided according to the pollinators they attract:

• Bats - dull white, green or purple bowl-shaped flowers that open at night, strong aroma: cactus
• Bees - shallow, bright white, yellow, or blue flowers: salvia, borage, rosemary, sweet alyssum, lavender, sunflowers, calendula, zinnia
• Beetles - dull white or green, bowl-shaped fragrant flowers: crab apple, magnolia
• Birds - red, orange, or white funnel-shaped flowers with strong perches: scarlet gilia, bird of paradise    
• Butterflies and moths - yarrow, salvias, marigold, calendula, mint, artichoke, peas, beans, broccoli, milkweed
• Flies - flat or umbrella-shaped flowers: Queen Anne’s lace, flowers of carrot, parsley, dill, fennel, parsnip, cilantro, and celery
• Hoverflies - (second only to bees) - flat or umbrella-shaped flowers: fennel, daisies, carrots
• Hummingbirds - red, tubular flowers: penstemons, salvias, lobelias, fuchsia, and honeysuckles

Butterflies also benefit from access to your compost pile and a patch of mud. They use the mud as a source of both water and minerals, and they enjoy eating rotten fruit.

Since those days, I have come a long way in my view of cauliflower. Apparently, so has the rest of the world. The peppery flavor of this cruciferous treat now grace menus in every meal. Grilled slabs of cauliflower are used as burgers, pureed cauliflower provides a low-starch replacement for mashed potatoes and potato pancakes, and the list of cauliflower recipes is getting longer every day. If that weren’t reason enough to add cauliflower to your foodscape, here’s another reason: you can grow cauliflower twice a year in some regions!

​Cauliflower plants

When we eat cauliflower, we normally assume we are eating a flower, but we’re not. That is only true if you are eating broccoli. The part of a cauliflower that we normally eat is botanically known as ‘inflorescence meristem’. This plant tissue is a cluster of undifferentiated plant cells that form a ‘curd’. You know, the stuff Little Miss Muffet ate, sitting on her tuffet. Okay, she was eating a dairy product, but the appearance is similar.

How to grow cauliflower

As a cool weather crop, cauliflower seeds can be started in January, February, and March, for an early summer crop, and again, in September, for a winter crop in regions with hot summers. If you are organized, you can also install cauliflower plants in August and October, but that means getting your seeds started beforehand. Cauliflower cannot survive scorching summer heat, so don’t waste your time with late maturing varieties. Seeds should be planted 1/2 inch deep in small containers and then transplanted when they look sturdy. Each plant will need an area 1-1/2 to 2 feet square to reach full size. Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea) uses a lot of water, so frequent irrigation is critical. As heads mature, protect them from sun damage by folding leaves over the flower.

Cauliflower varieties

While normally white, cauliflower varieties now come in purple, yellow, green, and orange. In my family garden, the best varieties are Snow King, Snowball, and Snow Crown.

There is also a crazy, spiky looking hybrid, Romanesco, that you may want to try.

Powdery mildew, verticillium wilt, phytophthora root rot, clubroot, and damping off are common cauliflower diseases. Cauliflower plants are also subject to blindness, buttoning, and whiptail. Blindness describes a plant that never grows a head. Buttoning occurs when several days of excessive cold hit, causing plants to rush to create flowers that end up being significantly smaller than normal. Cute as a button doesn’t really fly in the world of cauliflower - though individual minis might look amazing on the Thanksgiving Dinner table! And whiptail refers to the strap-like leaves that occur when there isn't enough molybdenum in the soil. Excessive salt in the soil, competition from weeds, and insufficient water or nitrogen can also cause problems. Basically, if the plant thinks it's on the verge of death, it will panic and produce tiny heads, rather than no heads at all.

Harvesting cauliflower

Leave your cauliflower heads to mature fully before harvesting. When it is done growing, it will be fully open. Cut the plant off at soil level and leave the below-ground portion to feed the soil, worms, and soil microbes.

Buffalo hopping from tree to tree? The image made me laugh, so I decided to make this pest the Garden Word of the Day.

Buffalo treehoppers (Stictocephala bisonia) get their name because they have a triangular head that looks like a buffalo in profile. Sort of. These native pests are only 1/4 inch long and bright green to brown. Because of the color and shape, they are difficult to see. Some individuals develop a horn-shape to the head that looks like a thorn. You can walk right up on one and not even know it’s there, until it leaps into the air and flies away.

Buffalo treehopper lifecycle

Every summer, male buffalo leafhoppers take to the trees and sing their tiny hearts out, but we can’t hear them. If we could, they would sound something like cicadas, or crickets. His song attracts females for the normal reproductive activities. Late summer through early autumn, females lay eggs using a blade-shaped ovipositor that cuts a series of slits in twigs and stems. Each cut may contain a dozen eggs. The next year, in late spring, nymphs emerge. They look like miniature adults, but with feathery spines. After several molts, they emerge as adults.

Damage caused by buffalo treehoppers

Well, they break off entire branches, right? Just kidding. These small pests begin their destructive behavior during the nymph stage when they drop to the ground and feed on grasses and herbaceous plants. As they mature, they begin feeding on many different fruit trees, particularly apple, pear, cherry, prune, and quince. They also feed on ash, hawthorn, elm, and locust, and a wide variety of herbaceous (non-woody) plants.

Calcium inside plants

We all know that calcium makes for strong bones and teeth. It also helps plants stay healthy. Calcium is critical to plant growth and development. Plants use calcium to build strong cell walls, move materials across cell membranes, grow primary root systems, and maintain the cation-anion balance. [Cations and anions are electrically charged atoms of minerals that plants use for food.]

Researchers learned, in 2016, that the movement of calcium molecules in plant root cells triggers proteins that tell the plant that nitrogen-fixing bacteria are nearby. This causes the plant to start building nodules on the roots that will serve as homes to those helpful bacteria. Bottom line, as calcium walks in the door, the welcome mat for nitrogen-fixing bacteria gets unrolled, setting the stage for healthier and more productive plants. [This stuff amazes me.]

Calcium deficiency

​Calcium deficiency is often caused by irregular irrigation. Unlike more mobile nutrients, such as nitrogen, calcium does not move around within a plant easily. Once it stops traveling through the xylem, it pretty much stays where it is. This is why calcium deficiency is rarely seen in older plant tissue. Normally, calcium is moved through a plant by evapotranspiration, which uses a lot of water. Calcium deficiency can also occur when there is too much nitrogen in the soil, causing plants to grow faster than they can move the available calcium. When plants do not have enough calcium, you may see stunted growth, leaf curling, dead terminal buds and root tips, and leaves with brown spots along the edges that spread toward the center. These damaged areas make it easier for pests and diseases to strike. Some crop-specific symptoms of calcium deficiency include:

• apple - bitter pit
• cabbages - tip burn and heart rot
• carrot - cavity spot
• celery - black heart and stunted central leaves
• strawberries, caneberries, lettuce, spinach, artichoke, cauliflower - leaf tip burn
• peppers and tomatoes - blossom end rot

Drought and minerals

Minerals, such as calcium, are affected by drought in ways that might surprise you. Reduced water supplies often mean we get our tap (irrigation) water from reservoirs that are scraping the bottom of the proverbial barrel. That water already has high salt and mineral contents. The chemical reactions that occur between those salts and plant nutrients can make life difficult for everyone involved.

​California pistachio growers have found that, by adding more calcium to the soil, they can reduce the amount of salt absorbed by plants. This is not something you should attempt in your garden because what you just read is an oversimplification of a complex condition. I only use it to point out the amazing balancing act going on all the time to get you the foods you love. Another factor that involves drought and calcium is drip irrigation emitters. They tend to get clogged by calcium the same way your coffee maker and iron do. If your region has hard (high mineral content) water, you may want to invest in a filter.

Sources of calcium

Before adding calcium to your soil, it is important to find out what it already contains. Most soils west of the Rocky Mountains contain abundant calcium. The optimal range is 1000-1500 ppm. A soil test, conducted by a reputable lab, is the only way to know for sure. Over-the-counter soil tests are not reliable or accurate enough. If you are growing anywhere there used to be an ocean, there’s probably plenty of calcium already present. If you live east of the Rockies, it’s a different story. Agricultural lime and calcium chloride sprays can replenish depleted soils. Sorry, but egg shells do not add calcium to your soil.

Calcium uptake problems

Let’s assume that your soil has plenty of calcium in it and that you are watering regularly and properly. Other problems can interfere with a plant’s ability to absorb this important nutrient. Excessive potassium (K) is one. Too much magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), iron (Fe), or ammonium (NH4+) can also slow the uptake of calcium. Soil alkalinity or acidity (pH) also plays a role.

The molecular balancing act that occurs between minerals within your soil and plants is mind-boggling, to say the least. Suffice to say, your average gardener (or gardening blogger) only groks the tip of this iceberg. This is not something to guess about. Get your soil tested. Your plants will thank you.