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Greetings!
September 28, 2010 set the all time recorded high of 113 degrees F in Orange County. Thankfully this year the weather is incredibly mild, almost too cool.
It's very apparent that Tomato plants are still a big draw. Last weekend we sold well over 100 grafted tomato plants! Not a single plant left. Let me know how productive your plants are this fall and winter, so that I can determine if it will be worth ordering grafted tomatoes next year. Please note that these were supposed to be sold for about $7-$10 each so your results have to be pretty good to be worth the expense next spring. Of course, if your plant survives and produces for several years, then we'll have to start selling grafted tomatoes, pepper, melons, cucumbers, eggplant, etc.
By the way, one strategy used by hot house growers to manage their grafted tomato plants for long periods is the following. They only allow a single stem, trimming off all branching. This single stem is supported by clipping it to lines hanging from above. The goal is to keep the growing end in the most light with the ripening fruit below it at the best picking height. As the stem continues to elongate they lower and coil the older harvested portion on the floor under the supported end. The old foliage and flowering/fruiting spurs are removed after each section is harvested to discourage diseases.
October is a great month to start your cool season crops. The soil is still warm enough to germinate seeds. It's a perfect time to plant cool season basics like broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, lettuce, peas, and raddish along with cool season herbs like cilantro. By November it's faster if you start seeds indoors then transplant into the garden.
We won't be carrying very many vegetables this year (one official day per week to sell is too limiting) but by next spring we are supposed to have a permanent facility within the Great Park.
I was hoping for warmer weather this week, not only for the tomato plants, but for some other plants that I'm growing and hoping to offer to you before the year is out. One is available below |
Basil Pesto Perpetuo quart $4
This is a relatively new version of basil. Pesto Perpetuo is a columnar plant 2' or more tall and reportedly, doesn't bloom. It also has a reputation for being more tolerant of dry soil and cool temperatures. It also will grow indoors in a bright window. If you want to make pesto you'll need at least 5 plants.
We also have the more traditional Basil Italian Large Leaf. Grow basil indoors or bring in at night when temperatures drop well below 55 degrees F. This can happen at any time in fall, but usually after mid-October.
From November to April, basil should be grown indoors in a bright window.
Purple Sprouting Broccoli jumbo pack $3 This is supposed to be the tastiest broccoli flower buds and foliage. It is planted now and harvested late winter-spring. Be sure to treat with spinosad when the heads develop.
Swiss Chard Rainbow jumbo pack $3
I've always been amazed by how easy Swiss Chard is to grow and by its longevity and beauty. It's also considered to be one of the most nutritious vegetables eaten. Mature leaves are picked allowing the plant to continue to grow and flourish. Best eaten when steamed, boiled, stir-fried or baked.
French Lavender Lavandula dentata quart $4
French along with Spanish and Goodwin Creek (a French hybrid) lavender are the most recommended types because they bloom most of the year and are relatively easy-to-grow. It is highly important, however, that you start with a good plant. If the wholesale nursery grew the plant in compost (other than peat) the plant will eventually get root rot unless the drainage is perfect. Please note that only English lavender is suitable for culinary use.
French lavender is an evergreen shrub that grows 3' tall and 5' wide and blooms with short spikes most of the year, heaviest late fall-winter. This is the green leafed version of French lavender.
We also have Goodwin Creek lavender in quarts. It is similar in size and bloom habit.
Both are from Do Right's Plant Growers, our best supplier of lavender.
Dahlia Mystic Haze quart $4
This is very similar to Dahlia Mystic Illusion (with yellow flowers) that we offered about 5 weeks ago. Earlier this year, June 2011, it was voted "best new plant" at the National Plant Show in England. The flower color is a bit more apricot than the photo. Mature plants will grow 2+' tall and wide and bloom June-November if dead headed. The burgundy foliage makes the plant stand out. Dahlias die to the ground by winter and re-emerge mid spring.
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Christmas Bush Senna bicapsularis 5-gallon $30
This evergreen bush is native to northern South America. It grows quickly to about 10 feet tall and wide and is often trained as a small tree. The bright green leaves are pinnately divided into 5-6 pairs of leaflets. Christmas Bush puts on a spectacular show of yellow flowers from early fall to late winter.
Easy to grow. Situate in sun. Provide moderate water initially. Established plants become tolerant of short periods of drought. Prune hard after bloom and during early summer to control size. Thrives on neglect.
Excellent background and on slopes. Christmas Bush can attract Sulfur butterflies whose caterpillars feed on its foliage.
  Blue Ginger Dichorisandra thyrsiflora quart $20
First, please note that the true flower color in the pictures above should actually be purple-blue, not true blue. My camera cannot capture the color properly (internet photos I've seen are also mostly incorrect). I keep my plant just outside by kitchen on a grape-covered patio. Second, I fell in love with this plant when I saw it used extensively in Hawaii over 20 years ago and for over a decade didn't think it could succeed locally outside of a greenhouse. In its third year, this plant has attained 5+' of height and about 4' of width and blooms from late summer well into fall. About 1/3 of this plant is missing because it was used for propagation. Blue Ginger is native to Tropical America and is not a true ginger, but related to Wandering Jew. It is a clump-forming, evergreen perennial but does get a bit ragged in winter. The deep purple-blue flowers have a distinct white streak that shows when fully open. Protect from frost. In fact, due to their lack of size, I recommend you keep the young plants we are offering indoors (at least at night) for their first winter (actually November through March). Do not expect much, if any, growth until next spring. They are best in part sun. My plant gets sun for a few hours in late afternoon. Ample moisture. When repotting, be sure to use our Laguna Hills Nursery TROPICAL Potting Soil. Most other potting soils result in severe tip burning (browning) of the foliage.
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Please visit us at our farmer's market locations
EVERY SATURDAY 9am-2pm
SoCo Farmer's Market South Coast Collections Retail Center
3314 Hyland Avenue, Costa Mesa
Exit 405 north on Harbor, left on South Coast, right on Hyland
EVERY SUNDAY 10am-2pm
The Great Park Farmer's Market The Great Park, Irvine
Exit 5 at Sand Canyon, south on Marine Way (parallels east side of 5), follow signs.
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26285 Verona Place
Mission Viejo, California 92692
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