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Ozone can be stressing your garden

Hot, smoky conditions create dangerous pollutant levels

Leaves, with one showing ozone damage
These pictures compare a normal tulip tree leaf
and one exposed to too much ozone.
(Photos courtesy National Park Service)




Smoky skies and record heat make gardening -- or just about any outdoor activity -- intolerable right now. Usually our gardens cope better with these conditions than we do; they can filter out the pollutants and conserve their resources.

But the air is so bad now, even plants are feeling ill effects.

Today (Monday) will be the 22nd consecutive Spare the Air Day for the Bay Area -- and the greater Sacramento region, a record for this current streak of poor air quality. Driving, operating gas-powered equipment, barbecuing and other activities are discouraged (if not prohibited).

The past few days that bad air has been accompanied by excessive heat, creating a ground-hugging layer of ozone. That's making our eyes water -- and our plants suffer.

Ozone is created by a combination of wildfire ash and other pollutants (usually nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds), intensified by bright sunlight and triple-digit heat. It can prevent a plant's leaves from properly doing their job. Ozone enters the leaves' stomata and burns the leaves' tissue.

Signs of ozone damage include dark stippling and bleaching of foliage. Plants lose their vigor and stop blooming or yielding fruit. Ozone damage weakens the plant and makes it much more susceptible to pests and disease.


What can you do to help your plants cope? Keep them hydrated. Offer them some afternoon shade. Wash ash and soot from leaves.

And continue to "Spare the Air." These smoky conditions are expected to last at least through Wednesday.

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Garden Checklist for week of Oct. 6

Get ready to get to work! Cooler weather is headed our way mid-week.

* Clean up the summer vegetable garden and compost disease-free foliage.

* Harvest pumpkins and winter squash.

* October is the best month to plant trees, shrubs and perennials.

* Before planting, add a little well-aged compost and bone meal to the soil, but hold off on other fertilizers until spring. Keep the transplants well-watered (but not wet) for the first month as they become settled.

* Dig up corms and tubers of gladioli, dahlias and tuberous begonias after the foliage dies. Clean and store in a cool, dry place.

* Treat azaleas, gardenias and camellias with chelated iron if leaves are yellowing between the veins.

* Now is the time to plant seeds for many flowers directly into the garden, including cornflower, nasturtium, nigella, poppy, portulaca, sweet pea and stock.

* Plant seeds for radishes, bok choy, mustard, spinach and peas.

* Plant garlic and onions.

* Set out cool-weather bedding plants, including calendula, pansy, snapdragon, primrose and viola.

* Reseed and feed the lawn. Work on bare spots.

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