Tomatoes, of course, but also peppers, eggplant and more
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These are not my eggplants, that's for sure -- they were growing at the Fair Oaks
Horticulture Center in 2019. Pretty sure they are the Fairy Tale variety, which is
an All America Selection winner. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)
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The advice for beginning vegetable gardeners always is to grow what you like to eat. Makes sense -- you can test varieties of tomatoes or beans and eventually find your favorites.
Conversely, don't grow what you don't like to eat. That has always kept me from even thinking about growing eggplant. I. Just. Don't. Like. It. Though some are so pretty! The Fairy Tale variety always catches my eye, with its purple and white stripes.
And then I remind myself that the vegetables would go to waste, not to mention taking up valuable space in my plot. And food banks prefer mainstream vegetables (no green and purple tomatoes, for example).
About half of the gardeners at my community garden grow cucumbers in summer. And about half of those complain every year that the cukes came in too bitter. (I think that's a weather issue, but anyone with more experience please fill me in.) In any case, that's another problem I avoid. My household consumes maybe two cucumbers a year, and I can usually trade something for those, so I don't have to grow them.
But I do grow peppers, both sweet bells and somewhat hot ones. I've had excellent luck with shishitos, Emerald Fire jalapeños, Count Dracula peppers (so pretty!) and serrano peppers. My bell pepper plants all got mixed up last year, but generally Orange Blaze and any variety with Wonder in the name do well.
I gave up growing watermelons during the last drought; I also don't grow corn anymore because it's a water hog and you need a lot of plants to get a decent yield. (I did learn that Sloughhouse corn is the Bodacious variety -- or at least it was back when I was researching varieties.)
Ah, but melons and squash! For years I grew wonderfully fragrant little muskmelons with the uninspired name of French Orange. I haven't been able to find seeds lately, and I used up the last of the seeds I'd saved on my own. I has success with Papaya Dew, a hybrid variety that's shaped like a football. My garden buddy Dan touts Ambrosia and he gave me two of the plants last year. Delicious! More of a typical muskmelon size than the little French Orange, they are back on my list for this year.
Zucchini and other summer squash grow so well here it almost doesn't matter which variety you try. But I do like the Raven and Black Beauty dark green zucchinis, and the various straightneck yellow ones. Over the years I've also grown Sunny Delight yellow pattypans and light green 8-Ball and Ronde de Nice round zukes, too. I'm less of a fan of the bumpy yellow crookneck squash, but they certainly thrive.
I love to talk vegetables, so tell us what you grow, especially your can't-fail varieties.
We already heard from one reader about tomato plans for this year.
Patricia Carpenter is trying out Unicorn, Polish Giant, Champion II, Momotaro and Sunny Boy. (I've grown that last one and it's on my list to try again.) Her tried-and-true are Big Beef, Nova, Sungold, Celebrity, Roma II, Mortgage Lifter and Lemon Boy.
She has grown but is still testing Purple Boy, Damsel, Sakura, Chocolate Sprinkles, Goliath Sunny and Moonglow.
Moonglow is fascinating: It's a yellow-orange variety that was tested in New Zealand against a red variety, Rosalita, for absorption of lycopene into the bloodstream. Both were consumed raw. The tests showed significantly higher levels of lycopene in people who ate the yellow-gold tomato.
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Flowers in My Back Yard Series
Aug. 25: Crape myrtles, Sacramento's unofficial tree of summer
Aug. 18: Pollinators adore scabiosa, aka pincushion flower
Aug. 11: Hardy hibiscus adds big tropical impact
Aug. 4: Dianthus a deceptively hardy flower
July 28: Naked Ladies put on summer show
July 21: Thank Luther Burbank for these long-lasting beauties (Shasta daisies)
July 14: How to keep hydrangeas happy
July 7: Grow these bright cosmos for bees and butterflies
June 30: Agapanthus adds blue fireworks to the garden
June 23: Easy-care gazanias fill those hot corners
June 16: Daylilies are perfect for water-wise gardens (and a lot more)
June 9: Grow coneflowers for pollinators -- and yourself
June 2: Sunflowers capture Sacramento's summer attitude
May 29: Are your roses going 'blind'?
May 26: Zinnias are the summer flowers every garden needs
May 19: Plant dahlias now for late-summer flower power
May 12: Know your coreopsis from your bidens
May 5: Mums the word on Mother's Day weekend
April 28: Majestic Matilija poppy is worth a look
April 21: Celebrate roses, America's favorite flower
April 14: Small flowers with outsized impact
April 7: Calendulas do double duty
April 3: Make Easter lilies last for years to come
March 31: In praise of a pollinator magnet (small-leaf salvias)
March 24: Azaleas brighten shady spots
March 17: The perfect flower for beginners? Try zonal geraniums
March 10: Keep camellias happy for years to come
March 3: Fruit tree blossoms are a fleeting joy
Feb. 27: Are your roses looking rusty?
Feb. 24: Treasure spring daffodils now and for years to come
Feb. 17: How and why to grow wildflowers
Feb. 10: Let's talk Valentine's Day roses
Feb. 3: Why grow flowers?
Local News
Sites We Like
Garden checklist for week of Aug. 16
During this break in the heat, feed your garden. Make sure to water before and after applying fertilizer.
* In the garden, direct seed beets, carrots, leaf lettuce and turnips.
* Plant potatoes.
* Harvest tomatoes, beans, squash, pepper and eggplants to prompt plants to keep producing. Give your plants a deep watering twice a week, more if planted in containers. Also, give them a boost with phosphate-rich fertilizer to help fruiting.
* Watch out for caterpillars and hornworms in the vegetable garden. They can strip a plant bare in one day. Pick them off plants by hand in early morning or late afternoon.
* Feed citrus trees their last round of fertilizer for the year. This will give a boost to the fruit that’s still small.
* Mulch can be your garden’s best friend – it conserves moisture while blocking out weeds. But don't let mulch mound around stalks, stems or trunks. That can promote rot.
* Camellia leaves looking a little yellow? Give them some chelated iron. That goes for azaleas and gardenias, too.
* Pick up after your fruit trees. Clean up debris and dropped fruit; this cuts down on insects and prevents the spread of brown rot. Then feed fruit trees with slow-release fertilizer for better production for next year.
* To prolong bloom into fall, feed begonias, fuchsias and container plants. Always water before fertilizing.
* Fertilize fall-blooming perennials, too. Chrysanthemums can be fed until the buds start to open.
* Prepare for a fall full of flowers by paying a little extra attention to your garden. Cut off spent blooms from roses, annuals and perennials, then give them a boost of fertilizer. Make sure to water plants before feeding. Roses will rebloom about six to eight weeks after deadheading.
* Indoors, start seedlings for fall vegetable planting, including bunching onion, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, radicchio and lettuce.
* Sow seeds of perennials in pots for fall planting including yarrow, coneflower and salvia.
Contact Us
Send us a gardening question, a post suggestion or information about an upcoming event. sacdigsgardening@gmail.com
Food in My Back Yard (FIMBY) Series
Lessons learned during a year of edible gardening
WINTER
Is edible gardening possible indoors?
Hints for choosing tomato seeds
Why winter is the perfect time to plant fruit trees
When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants
How to squeeze more food into less space
Plant a fruit tree now -- for later
Win the weed war by tackling them in winter
Tips for planting bare-root trees, shrubs and vegetables
Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space
Ways to win the fight against weeds
FALL
Add asparagus to your edible garden
Soggy soil and what to do about it
Plant artichokes now; enjoy for years to come
It's late November, and your peach tree needs spraying
What to do with all those fallen leaves?
Prepare now for colder weather in the edible garden
Plant a pea patch for you and your garden
As citrus season begins, advice for backyard growers
We don't talk (enough) about beets
Seeds or transplants for cool-season veggies?
How to prolong the fall tomato harvest
SUMMER
How to get the most out of your pumpkin patch
Summer-to-fall transition time for evaluation, planning
To pick or not to pick those tomatoes?
Enhance your food with edible flowers
Why won't my tomatoes turn red?
A squash plant has mosaic virus, and it's not pretty
Tear out that sad plant or baby it? Midsummer decisions
How to grow summer salad greens
Weird stuff that's perfectly normal
SPRING
Help pollinators help your garden
Battling early-season tomato pests
Where are the bees when you need them?
How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days
Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can
Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success
What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?
Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)
Grow culinary herbs in containers
When to plant summer vegetables
Don't be fooled by these garden myths
Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth
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