The Proper Soil Mix for a Raised-Bed Garden

I recommend amending your soil every year for your vegetable garden to give your vegetables the best start to the growing season.  We recently built a new fence and had to move my vegetable garden and replaced all of the soil. The best raised-bed gardens include a mix of topsoil and compost such as pine bark or wood chips, which allow for good water and nutrient retention and excellent drainage. 

If you need alot I would recommend a trip to Lynsgo for their vegetable blend which contains compost with manure.  It is a good general mix for all veggies.  If you just need a couple of bags I like the Doctor Earth Organic Vegetable Blend that includes earthworm castings, kelp, fish bone meal and lots of rich organic nutrients.

Top 10 Edible (and relatively easy) Plants from Garden to Table

I love the farm to table trend and it inspires me to grow my vegetables more and more.  Here are 10 edible plants that you can use this year from your garden to serve at your table.  You do not have to plant them in a vegetable garden necessarily but think sunny locations for these plants.
Lettuce- Incredibly easy and great for salads.  They grow really fast and you can try lots of varieties throughout the growing season. The biggest mistake is not harvesting them in time and they get dried out.

Tomatoes- Needs full sun, great soil and water.  More details about tomatoes to follow.

Zucchini- It needs extra space or can be trained on a trellis. You will be surprised how many zucchini one plant can produce. Think Italy and fried zucchini blossoms at home.
Beans- They are fast growing and best trained on a trellis or pole.
Chives- They are really easy to maintain and you just trim it and it keeps growing.
Basil- You need to pinch the flowers off to make it become fuller.  I place them between the thyme and oregano and the pest problems seem to decline.  Last year, I tried purple basil which was excellent.
Thyme- Lots of varieties to choose from and really easy year around.  They have a lovely flower and can be placed anywhere. Some formal gardens use it as a border.
Oregano- A great herb for cooking and available year around.  Last year, I had so much from three plants that I was thinking I was going to need to set up a booth at a farmers market.
Rosemary- you only need one since they can grow so big over the years.  I only have one tucked in a corner and it is 3 ft tall and used year around.
Strawberries- These usually don’t make it into the house in my house because I am snacking on them on the way in. They produce year after year if there are no frost issues.

Tips for Planting Tomatoes

Tomatoes are becoming available everywhere including Costco at the moment.  I would suggest waiting until later in the month for those of you who live in the San Mateo area when it becomes  a little warmer at night. Here are a few quick tips in planting tomatoes-

• Pull off suckers and lower branches to help produce roots along the stem
• Dig a deep whole bury part of the stem.
• Stake tomatoes plants as soon as possible. A simple way is to drive a  tall stake outside of the root ball (or 2 inches if it is a 4 inch container).  Tie with garden tape or twine. Cages are an option too
• Water regularly but not too much.

What has Gone Wrong with Your Tomatoes?

Most of us love fresh tomatoes from our garden but sometimes despite our best efforts something goes wrong during the growing season.  Here are some common problems and solutions to keep in mind.

• Splitting of the fruit starts to happen. The plant starts taking up large amounts of water, causing the fruit to swell with moisture until its skin cannot stretch anymore. This could be a sign of over watering and you need to cut back.  Also, be active about harvesting during this time. When a tomato plant starts producing fruit, it only needs about 1 inch of water per week.
• Greasy brown patches all over your plants means you have blight. If this is happening there is not much you can do to salvage the crop.  The disease will eventually kill your plant.  Remove the plant and hope that is has not affected the other plants. Blight causes a fungus to develop, which in turns produces millions of fungual spores that can travel through the air to other plants.
• All your ripe tomatoes are watery and tasteless.  This is due to over watering.  When a plant starts fruiting, it starts looking yellow and tired. That’s when we often rush out and water the plant to perk it up. This is the wrong thing to do and it ends up compromising its flavor and texture. So, when your plant starts to look haggard late in the season, leave them alone because they are busy putting all their energy into producing delicious fruit.
• Chew holes are showing up and ruining the fruit. Holes can be attributed to several different pests. The most common problem is slugs who love to snack on fresh tomatoes. Slug bait or traps are one option. You can also wrap a strip of copper tape around the base of your plant to prevent slugs ability to climb.  Squirrels can also be a culprit.

April To-Do List

• Start your vegetable garden. Experiment with one new vegetable this year.
• The selection of annuals is getting better daily.  Impatiens are now available.
• Continue weeding while it is easier with the moist soil.
• Check your sprinklers!
• Fertilize annuals, perennials , and  trees.
• If you have boxwood, azaleas or citrus that are yellowing feed them with ironite
• Summer bulbs are available.

Looking to Bring in Some Color This Spring with Perennials?

 

Perennials bring in the spring color like no other plants and can last for months and months and sometimes bloom more than once. These are great options for sunny areas of the yard. 

• Alstromeria- comes in a varity of colors. It is great for clipping and putting in vases and lasts for up to two weeks.
• Catmint- love the purple flowers that provide a cottage garden feel.  It is great contrast with white roses
• Cornflowers- it is a striking looking flower to enjoy
• Coreopsis- daisy like flower in lots of great colors
• Forget Me Nots- classic with petite flowers. 
• Gaura- a great white punch for the garden and the butterflies love it.
• Rudebeckia- summer color with its “sun flower like” flower
• Heuchera- it seems like every year they are coming out with a new variety. They are known for their interesting leaves.  I like to use them in containers with other plants too.
• Lavender- lots of great varieties. One of my favorite classic looking french lavenders that doesn’t get so big and woody is the Hicote Lavender.
• Jerusalem Sage- this is a new favorite of mine.  The yellow flower is very cool looking and the foliage looks good year around.
• Yarrow- they have been expanding the flower color options.  The most common one is yellow in color
• Penstomen- love this plant and blooms for months and usually twice in the season.  There are lots of colors to choose from especially in the pinks and purples
• Salvia- lots of varieties and colors to choose from for your garden and very low maintenance.

Come to the Dark Side- Deep, Richly Colored Foliage Brings Drama to a Garden

Some of my favorite gardens are the ones that weave in dark colors to add a layer of complexity to the garden. Your eyes gravitate to the dark colors to see what they look like.  It helps to bring depth and texture to the garden

What we call “black” in the garden is actually shades of deep red, purple, brown and bronze.  When using black plants, opening up your color palett

What we call “black” in the garden is actually shades of deep red, purple, brown and bronze.  When using black plants, opening up your color palette is a must.  Green is the default color for foliage, so when incorporating black plants, it’s important to give thought to smoothly transitioning from the greens of most plants to the darkness of your garden star attraction.  Some color pairings make the task easier than others. Here are options that offer plenty of contrast without ever looking over done.

Black and Blue- Adding a splash of black foliage to blue flowers gives a nice punch.  Most black leaves have undertones of blue and purple in them so they compliment each other.  A good example of this is a blue/ purple penstomen, black colored heuchera, and purple lobelia .

Black and Silver- This is a moody combination that is stylish and modern.  Gray shines in gardens and looks great when mingled with darker leaves.  Amazing red phorium, Jerusalem sage and lavender is striking in a garden.

Black and White- We all love to wear it and it’s always in fashion so why not try it in the garden.  This is a high contrast power couple that makes the white pop.  I think mixing in some green is important with this combination too.  I have used this most often in potted plants for interesting table or side table color. I have in my garden in a shady area a combination of the Laceleaf Japanese Maple in ‘Ever Red’, oak hydrangeas and lopopetalum ‘razzleberri’. The loropetalum’razzleberri’ has green leaves with a touch of red at the tips which provides a nice transition from the deep red in the maple to white in the hydrangea.

Black and Chartreuse- This can be very striking in potted plants for annual color and fun to experiment.  I have tried it in combination with other colors too.  Both colors are striking so you need to use them both sparingly.

It is important not over do it with black plants. Decide on a few starring attractions, then surround them with supporting cast. Most black plants need light to look their best or they also get lost in the absence of light.

e is a must.  Green is the default color for foliage, so when incorporating black plants, it’s important to give thought to smoothly transitioning from the greens of most plants to the darkness of your garden star attraction.  Some color pairings make the task easier than others. Here are options that offer plenty of contrast without ever looking over done

Black and Blue- Adding a splash of black foliage to blue flowers gives a nice punch.  Most black leaves have undertones of blue and purple in them so they compliment each other.  A good example of this is a blue/ purple penstomen, black colored heuchera, and purple lobelia .

Black and Silver- This is a moody combination that is stylish and modern.  Gray shines in gardens and looks great when mingled with darker leaves.  Amazing red phorium, Jerusalem sage and lavender is striking in a garden.

Black and White- We all love to wear it and it’s always in fashion so why not try it in the garden.  This is a high contrast power couple that makes the white pop.  I think mixing in some green is important with this combination too.  I have used this most often in potted plants for interesting table or side table color. I have in my garden in a shady area a combination of the Laceleaf Japanese Maple in ‘Ever Red’, oak hydrangeas and lopopetalum ‘razzleberri’. The loropetalum’razzleberri’ has green leaves with a touch of red at the tips which provides a nice transition from the deep red in the maple to white in the hydrangea.

Black and Chartreuse- This can be very striking in potted plants for annual color and fun to experiment.  I have tried it in combination with other colors too.  Both colors are striking so you need to use them both sparingly.

It is important not over do it with black plants. Decide on a few starring attractions, then surround them with supporting cast. Most black plants need light to look their best or they also get lost in the absence of light.