Stay warm inside and plant seeds
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Dwarf varieties are among my tomato seed
purchases this year. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)
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When it's so cold outdoors this week, it's nice to think of warmer days and summer vegetables.
There's still plenty of time to start seeds for tomatoes and other summer favorites. For a little extra help, check out an online Zoom class this weekend, presented by the Solano County master gardeners.
"Starting Seedlings for Summer, Even When It's Cold Outside" will be hosted by master gardener Alex Russell, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 26. The Zoom link is here .
Last year I started all my tomatoes in late January and early February. Three weeks later, several had collapsed from inattention (I had a busy winter!) and I had to start them again -- what a waste of seeds and time. With a trip planned in the middle of the month this year, I decided to delay my seed-starting until after I returned.
The tomatoes include my favorites, Juliet, Big Beef and Lemon Boy, while this year's experiments include some of the new dwarf heirloom tomato varieties developed by the Dwarf Tomato Project and sold on the TomatoFest online store. The link will take you to a detailed description of the project, which started in 2005. For the seed listings, go here.
The distinction between dwarf tomatoes and compact determinate ones is important: The flavor apparently is better, and "these dwarf types are very distinctive in having a thick central stem, stout compact growth, and dark green, crinkly looking (so-called rugose) foliage." They top out at 3 to 4 feet in height, apparently.
This project has produced 30 varieties of open-source seeds. Many gardeners have limited space for tomatoes, so I'll be interested to see how these grow out in a Sacramento summer. I bought seeds for 4 varieties:
-- Uluru Ochre, 65 days, a 6- to 12-ounce "uniquely colored" orange-black tomato (SF Giants colors!). Indeterminate.
-- Dwarf Hannah's Prize, 75 days, 6- to 12-ounce, red with some light striping.
-- Dwarf Golden Gypsy, 75 days, 8- to 18-ounce, yellow-gold. Indeterminate.
-- Rosella Purple-Dwarf, 78 days, 6- to 12-ounce purple-black (similar to Cherokee Purple). Indeterminate.
Stay tuned this year for progress reports on these varieties.
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Food in My Back Yard Series
June 17: Help pollinators help your garden
June 10: Battling early-season tomato pests
June 3: Make your own compost
May 27: Where are the bees when you need them?
May 20: How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days
May 13: Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can
May 6: Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success
April 29: What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?
April 22: Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)
April 15: Grow culinary herbs in containers
April 8: When to plant summer vegetables
April 1: Don't be fooled by these garden myths
March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth
March 18: Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space
March 11: Ways to win the fight against weeds
March 4: Potatoes from the garden
Feb. 25: Plant a fruit tree now -- for later
Feb. 18: How to squeeze more food into less space
Feb. 11: When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants
Feb. 4: Starting in seed starting
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Garden Checklist for week of June 22
Mornings this first week of summer will remain comfortably cool – just right for gardening!
* Water early in the morning to cut down on evaporation. Check soil moisture and deep water trees and shrubs. Keep new transplants and veggies evenly moist. Deep water tomatoes to encourage deep roots.
* From seed, plant corn, melons, pumpkins, radishes, squash and sunflowers.
* Plant basil to go with your tomatoes.
* Transplant summer annuals such as petunias, marigolds and zinnias. It’s also a good time to transplant perennial flowers including astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia, salvia and verbena.
* Tie up vines and stake tall plants such as gladiolus and lilies. That gives their heavy flowers some support.
* Dig and divide crowded bulbs after the tops have died down.
* Feed summer flowers with a slow-release fertilizer.
* Mulch, mulch, mulch! This “blanket” keeps moisture in the soil longer and helps your plants cope during hot weather.
* Avoid pot “hot feet.” Place a 1-inch-thick board under container plants sitting on pavement. This little cushion helps insulate them from radiated heat.
* Thin grapes on the vine for bigger, better clusters later this summer.
* Cut back fruit-bearing canes on berries.
* Feed camellias, azaleas and other acid-loving plants. Mulch to conserve moisture and reduce heat stress.
* Cut back Shasta daisies after flowering to encourage a second bloom in the fall.
* Trim off dead flowers from rose bushes to keep them blooming through the summer. Roses also benefit from deep watering and feeding now. A top dressing of aged compost will keep them happy. It feeds as well as keeps roots moist.
* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushier plants with many more flowers in September.
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