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At the State Fair, a microcosm of growing issues

Heat and gardening questions and a sad orchard

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Kathy Morrison PUBLISHED JUL 21, 2022

This may look like a great crop, but this miniature

peach tree at the State Fair Farm should have been

thinned before the fruit started to ripen. Branches

are in danger of breaking. (Photos: Kathy Morrison)

Been to the State Fair yet this year? It has returned, but in a limited form, shaped by the three tumultuous years since the previous one. (What hasn't changed: Cal Expo is a scorching heat island in the late afternoon. More shade, please, everywhere.)

Back in the Farm area, where the UCCE Sacramento County master gardeners hang out in the open-air answer booth, we see the effects of the pandemic on gardening up close. Apparently because of staffing shortages, the vegetable areas were planted later than usual, so the plants aren't as big as they typically are at this time. No ripe tomatoes this week. The pepper plants aren't filled out. The herbs are not lush. The corn is not as high as an elephant's eye.

Oh, and the myriad weeds are tantalizing certain people (including me) who want to grab a trowel and start digging them out.

Looks like codling moth damage on this apple tree, which also

needs to be thinned.

But it's the Farm's orchard where the years of neglect really show. The fruit trees are in desperate need of pruning and thinning. Branches are so loaded with small nearly-ripe fruit that breakage seems inevitable. Some of the apples show evidence of codling moth damage . A friend spotted fireblight in one of the pear trees -- and that was not long after she had commiserated with a fair visitor who was fighting fireblight in her own backyard trees.

Because, after all, the master gardeners are there to answer questions and even solve problems, if possible. And at the very least, lend a sympathetic ear.

Two shifts in the Farm booth revealed gardeners' concerns about:

-- Zucchini. It's typically so easy to grow, but it's a problem vegetable this year. Lack of pollination, attacks of whiteflies or squash bugs, and leaves turning yellow were among the question topics. (Probably too much water was the answer to that last one.) Here's a little more on growing squash .

-- Lack of production from vegetables. Beyond zucchini, this is a noticed problem with tomatoes, melons and cucumbers. Blame the heat wave (and lack of humidity) for this: The pollen dries out too fast for the flowers to be pollinated.

-- Vertebrate pests . Squirrels are the least of it, apparently. Rodents and birds are dining extensively on people's vegetables and fruit this summer. Blame the heat and lack of water sources for some of it, use barriers where possible, and try to distract them with bowls of water or seeds away from the growing food.

-- Insect pests. In addition to the whiteflies, the typical summer pests include spider mites, aphids and thrips -- sometimes all on the same plant. Quick hard sprays of water, delivered in the morning on the underside of the leaves, can help fight them. And the water will help also with humidity as it drips into the soil.

-- Planting schedules and plant choices. "Is it too late to plant ...?" got an immediate "yes" in many cases, followed by "it's too hot for baby plants!" Wait til fall, folks, when the heat should subside and planting will be easier on the plants and the gardeners. One foothills couple who asked about growing avocados were told gently that it's not an ideal tree for their region, but hey, citrus does great there! Ever thought of growing mandarins?

Still plenty to see at the Farm at the State Fair, which runs through July 31.

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An article about gardening.

Keywords:

UCCE master gardeners Sacramento pests pollination zucchini orchard trees insects State Fair vegetables rodents heat The farm July orchard pests

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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.

Send us a gardening question, a post suggestion or information about an upcoming event. sacdigsgardening@gmail.com

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