MONTEREY BAY MASTER GARDENERS Î June-July 2007
GARDENING ON THE EDG E
NEWSLETTER OF THE MONTEREY BAY MASTER GARDENERS
Number 124 — June/July 2007
2ND ANNUAL SMART
Mark Your Calendar!—Tom Karwin, MG99 and Betsy Shea, MG04
The 2006 Faire was such a phenomenal success—we’re doing
it again!
The Monterey Bay Master Gardeners, in conjunction with the
Parade of Ponds, will present the second annual Smart
Gardening Faire at Skypark in Scotts Valley on Saturday, June
23, 2007 from 9 AM until 4 PM. This free event for home
gardeners will present up-to-date knowledge about
horticulture, water conservation and sustainable gardening
and landscaping for novice and experienced gardeners. The
events of the day will include talks by highly qualified
speakers and demonstrations by local gardening and
landscaping groups plus a marketplace of plants and garden
related items. The day will be rounded out with children’s
activities, live music and food booths.
Visit www.smartgardening.org for compete information.
SPONSORS
The Faire’s organizing committee appreciates the support of
these sponsors: Scotts Valley Water District; San Lorenzo
Valley Water District; and Santa Cruz Water District. The
Faire offers them a venue to provide public information on
water conservation through the use of drip irrigation and
other methods. Their information is most timely now as we
anticipate severe drought conditions.
2nd Annual Smart Gardening Faire
Downtown Tree Walk
Dust Mulching
Growing Tomatoes Upside Down
The Tomato That Ate The Driveway
Thinking Outside the Ring
Flower Confidential: A Book Reivew
1
GARDENING FAIRE
EXHIBITORS
We are expecting up to fifty exhibitors for the 2007 Faire. The
exhibitors represent local gardening groups, ecologically
minded landscapers, recyclers, and more. We are asking each
exhibitor to include sustainable gardening informationt, e.g.
tips for both beginning and experienced gardeners. Many
exhibitors also will have demonstrations and plant sales. The
current list of exhibitors is on our website:
www.smartgardening.org.
MARKETPLACE
Several nurseries including FezQ in Carmel Valley, Crescent
Hill Nursery, Astone’s Protea, Surf City Growers and Terra
Sole Nurseries will have booths. Artists, including some
artistic Master Gardeners, will offer garden-related art for
purchase.
CHILDREN
The Life Lab Science Program will present a full day of garden-
oriented activities for children, making the Smart Gardening
Faire a family event. Life Lab activities are being partially
sponsored by the Valley Women’s Club.
DEMONSTRATIONS
Attendees can learn to build a professional-grade waterfall
and pond, in a major demonstration continued on page 2
MBMGs and School Gardens
Two Must-Have Resource Books
Second Quarter Meeting of MBMG
Summer Veggies in the Youth Garden
Water Conservation Tips
What’s Blooming in Your Garden?
2 June July 2007 Î MONTEREY BAY MASTER GARDENERS

by professional pond builders from Brookside Water Garden SENIOR CENTER

Center from 9 AM to 12 Noon. This demonstration at the
Smart gardening Faire will be the first stop in this year’s
Parade of Ponds.
Other demonstrations, many hands-on, include the following:
• Tool sharpening
• Plant propagation
• Composting
• Experts will answer questions on plant problems
SPEAKERS
In keeping with the mission of the Monterey Bay Master
Gardeners, the Faire’s activities will focus on educational
presentations. We will have speakers at three sites within the
Faire, as follows:
RECREATION ROOM
10:30: Angel Guerzon “Invasive Plants Introduced through
Horticulture”
11:30: Joe Biondo “The World of Succulents”
12:30: Fran Albrecht “Creating Deer-resistant, Drought
Tolerant Container Gardens”
1:30: Fred McPherson “Watersheds, Climate Change and the
Effect on the Home Gardener”
2:30: Bobby Markowitz “Rainwater Harvesting in the Home
Garden”
3:30: Monterey Bay Master Gardeners “Planning & Creating a
Garden in Your Child’s School”
10:30: Alrie Middlebrook “Designing California Native
Gardens”
11:30: Monique Smith Lee “Bats – Our Friends in the Garden”
12:30: Thomas Wittman “Non-toxic Burrowing Rodent
Control”
1:30: Barrie Coate “Trees in the Home Garden Landscape”
2:30: Renee Shepherd “Rainbow Gardening – The Ultimate
Kitchen Garden”
SPEAKERS’ TENT
A new feature will be instructive presentations by several
local garden societies, some offering demonstrations of their
particular gardening expertise. Read the schedule and the
most current lists of speakers and topics on our website:
www.smartgardening.org.
MUSIC
The Cabrillo College Farmers Market String Band will play
during the day to add to the festivities.
DIRECTIONS
Take Highway 17 to Scotts Valley
Leave Highway 17 at the Mt. Hermon exit.
Continue .7 mile on Mt. Hermon Road.
Turn right on Kings Village Road.
Follow Kings Village Rd. to the end.
Turn left into Skypark. Î

DOWNTOWN TREE WALK

SANTA CRUZ
SATURDAY, JULY 21
9:00 AM
CITY HALL COURTYARD
WALKING TOUR LASTS 1 1/2 - 2 HOURS
CALL PARKS AND RECREATION
DEPARTMENT MAIN OFFICE
(831)420-5270
FOR MORE INFORMATION

Dust Mulching — Paul McCollum, MG04

One way to help conserve moisture, especially in the summer
vegetable garden, is by ‘dust mulching.’ A day or two after
watering, cultivate around plants to fluff up the soil so the top
layer dries out more readily and creates a mulch to keep water
where it is needed most: around the roots of the plant. The
depth should be 1” to 1 ½” and extend to just past the drip line
of the plant. Continue to stir the soil every few days to keep
the soil loose and airy and don't apply any other mulch
material over it. Loosening the soil on the surface creates tiny
air spaces that inhibit the capillary action that draws moisture
from below. Without the dust layer, moisture is sucked to the
surface and lost to evaporation. Be sure to get the plant off to a
good start with normal irrigation for a couple of weeks before
trying this technique. Try this with one of your Early Girl
tomatoes and one of your apple trees. Usually the result is a
little smaller plant with a little less yield but the taste is more
concentrated. Several tools work but a Shuffle or Hula hoe is
well suited to work up the soil around your plants. Î
MONTEREY BAY MASTER GARDENERS Î June-July 2007 3

Growing Tomatoes Upside Down —Pat Davis, MG06

Ed Note: I spoke with Pat at the March quarterly meeting when she was determinate plant grows to a certain height, stops, and all the
getting ready to try the upside down method of growing tomatoes at her fruit ripens at once, then it dies. So…..I chose an indeterminate
Santa Cruz patio home. Pat was willing to share her experience with all of tomato plant. When I first brought it home, the plant was not
us. Here is part one of her story – we will check on her plant again in the quite mature enough to survive what I was about to do to it,
next edition of GOTE. Kathleen so I had to let it grow for another week or two. One of the
things I learned in the Master Gardener classes last year is to
be patient regarding my plants.
When the day came to plant my tomato plant, I read the
detailed, illustrated, directions that come with the Topsy
Turvy™ planter (also available on their website shown above).
Should you want to use this innovative system, do not try to
skip the step regarding the string and placing the whole set-
up waist high. There is no doubt that you need BOTH hands
to get the tomato and the soil into the planter.
When I was watching the presentation at the Garden Show,
the salesman demonstrated how he would place a frozen
plastic bottle of water into the top funnel of the planter to
water the tomato plant slowly. This is also the easiest way to
fertilize the tomato.
My plant is still alive (which is a miracle in itself after what I
put it through) and I’ll keep you posted on how it is doing.
Just looked – I have flowers! Î
At the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show I was
intrigued by a device being sold by a very good salesman, and
stopped to watch his presentation. I walked away with a bag-
like thing (about 18 inches long, and 10 inches in diameter) to
grow tomatoes UPSIDE DOWN. The planter is sold under
the name Topsy Turvy™ (http://topsyturvys.com/).
First let me explain why I would resort to such an unusual
tomato-growing method. I have a patio home—patio in the
front, patio in the back. There is full sun where there is
cement; no soil where I also have full sun. I have tried
growing tomatoes in a planter--I quickly learned what white
flies could do to a tomato plant. I also experimented with a
tomato in partial sun. Another failed experiment. I consider
this new concept to be my last attempt to grow tomatoes in
my yard.
At the Cabrillo College Farmers Market I spoke with a
woman who was selling tomato plants, and she suggested that
I use an indeterminate tomato plant. Being the novice Master
Gardener that I am, I didn’t know that there are determinate
and indeterminate tomato plants. I learned that the
determinate plant is also known as a “bush tomato.” This
Make Your Own Upside-Down Planter —Christina Kriedt. MG06
Drill a 2” hole in the center of the bottom of a 12” plastic to support the plant and the other to fill the pot with potting
hanging planter; place a 6” piece of landscaping fabric over the soil; tamp the soil and add herbs or annuals in the top of the
hole; cut a slit in the fabric large enough to push your tomato pot. Basil is a good companion for tomatoes, or borage which
plant through from the bottom of the planter; insert your discourages tomato horm worms.
tomato plant—a small-fruiting variety will work best— http://www.netscape.com/viewstory/2007/05/19/how-to-make-an-
through the hole and the fabric, upside down, of course. Either upside-down-tomato-planter/
hang the pot or have someone hold it while you use one hand for complete instructions with photos. Î
4 June July 2007 Î MONTEREY BAY MASTER GARDENERS
Confessions of a Reluctant Gardener:
The Tomato That Ate The Driveway— Christina Kriedt, MG06
Well, it didn’t really eat the driveway—that’s the Hollywood
version. But there grew from an inoffensive crack alongside my
driveway, a volunteer Solanum esculentum var. cerasiforme
(formerly Lycopersicon lycopersicum) that eventually covered
concrete to the tune of
nearly 200 square feet.
One determined
indeterminate annual-
or-tenderly-perennial
cherry tomato plant.
There’s something about
a thick mound of
poisonous, hairy leaves
that warms my heart’s
cockles every year. My
mouth waters at the
very mention of the
juicy globes that garnish
them from July through
September. Ah! The
definitive taste of
summer. Safe to say,
there’s nothing ap-
petizing about the green parts which really are poisonous, and
can in fact cause death. My research doesn’t tell me just how
many leaves and/or stems you must ingest to effectively depart
this earth, so I’ll assume, for the sake of caution, that one
should eat none.
From a technical standpoint, a tomato is a berry, unlike a
strawberry, which is not a berry at all, but an ‘accessory fruit,’
the seeds being those little achenes (the actual fruits) that are
stuck all over the outside, and the leaves of which are edible
and medicinally useful, so they say. The tomato berry is a fruit,
except when you add it to an ambrosia salad, when it is
actually—wrong. So, it is a fruit that does its best work with
basil and fresh mozzarella. To me, that makes it a vegetable;
but do not confuse it with “vegetable flannel, a textile
material, manufactured in Germany from pine-needle wool, a
down or fiber obtained from the leaves of the Pinus
sylvestris.” (http://www.dictionary.net/vegetable) Therein lies
the problem.
So this cherry tomato plant, which almost went the way of
other uninvited greenery there on Oakland’s E. 16 th Street,
grew and grew and grew. And before long, the fruits appeared
and appeared and appeared. For months people walking by
There's Still Time to Propagate for the Tour Plant Sale! —Bonnie Pond, MG00
It's June 1. The snails ate the cuttings you so carefully
propagated in March. What can you propagate now that will
be ready for the September Masters Tour and plant sale? Just
take a good look around your garden. Anything that will be
blooming in September, perennial or annual, will sell.
helped themselves to the irresistible, sun-warmed treats. I fed
them to my family at nearly every meal, as my children will
undoubtedly complain. I’ll bet no one in the neighborhood had
a cold that year, we all ate so much Vitamin C. (Ounce for
ounce, cherry tomatoes
provide more nutritional
value than large
tomatoes, because most
of the nutrients are
contained in the skin;
http://www.blendtec
.com/superfoods.aspx). And
don’t forget lycopene. I
was in heaven.
But it wasn’t all angels
and haloes. That vine
afforded me my first
encounter with, and
most massive infestation
of, Manduca quin -
quemaculat—aka tomato
hornworms. They were
horrifyingly plump and
green, and I don’t mean environmentally friendly, not my
environment. So I collected the hungry hornworms, placed
them ceremoniously on the walkway, about thigh-high, and
smashed them with a brick.
I never did get the green splatter out of those white cotton
slacks.
My tomato plant wouldn’t have won any blue ribbons for size;
really serious vines can reach 65 feet. (Personally, I find that
difficult to believe.) Hornworms have yet to visit me in Santa
Cruz, although one of my cousins does occasionally.
Explorers brought the tomatl to Europe from Peru (like the
related potato). My father, who was a WWII pilot in North
Africa and Europe, wrote in his memoir: “The runway ran
right down the middle of an Italian farmer’s tomato patch.
When we got out of the plane we saw the beautiful little
Italian tomatoes. We filled our helmets with them. After living
in the hot, dry desert for so long, I, for one, never tasted
anything so good as those tomatoes. I guess the farmer that
owned them was hollering all over the place and I hope
amends were made, some time or other.” I hope so too, Dad. Î
There is more than one way to do it:
• divide clumps of perennial plants after they bloom
• if you have too much of a good thing, share it
• bulbs in packages can be planted in containers now
Happy digging, separating and potting!
MONTEREY BAY MASTER GARDENERS Î June-July 2007
Thinking Outside the Ring — Christina Kriedt, MG06
The ‘Japanese’ tomato ring allows you to grow 5 lush tomato
plants around what is essentially, or actually, a 3" x 3’
compost pile. The system takes advantage of the tomato’s
adventitious rooting capability: it will grow roots all along the
stem wherever it touches soil. The wire ring provides your
plants with support, the compost supplies the plants with
nutrients and water, and the growing plants disguise the
compost pile and actually make it almost attractive.
Use 4' tall heavy-gage chicken wire and four to six strong
bamboo or plastic poles. Place your poles 18" apart, either in a
ring or a square. Encircle the poles with the wire, sinking the
bottom 6” - 8” of the wire into the ground. Tie the ring
together .
Begin to fill your cage with compost materials and plant your
tomatoes around the outside. Their roots will grow into the
nutrient-rich compost. Water into a depression that you make
in the top of the compost and tie the stems to the wire as they
grow. (The idea originated in South Carolina; apparently, no
Japanese tomato gardeners were involved.) Î
Flower Confidential: A Book Review—Sue Tarjan, MG06
If you've ever admired a cellophane-wrapped bunch of flowers
while standing in a supermarket's checkout line and idly
wondered how it came to be there, Flower Confidential: The Good,
the Bad, and the Beautiful in the Business of Flowers (Algonquin
Books 2007) is the book for you!
Flower Confidential delves into the
breeding, growing, and selling of
flowers throughout history with
special attention given to the
contemporary cut flower industry
and the Dutch, of course, the first
and still foremost power in the
world of flowers. But this is no dry,
technical tome. In fact, the author,
Amy Stewart, begins locally, near
her home in Eureka, California, and
proceeds to draw her readers in not
just with her deft handling of the
subject matter and her obvious
expertise but with her palpable love for the flowers and her
ability to connect with the people she interviews and the
places she visits all over the globe.
For example, her account of the eccentric lily breeder Leslie
Woodriff, who gave the world the 'Star Gazer' lily, folds in a
generous pinch of the science behind flower genetics together
with the colorful history of Arcata's Sun Valley Floral Farms,
which made the beautiful bulb a household name. From old-
fashioned plant breeding, she segues to high-tech gene
splicing, taking us to Florigene, an Australian company
currently engaged in extracting genes for blue pigment from
5
plain old compost bin
Parts of a tomato leaf
tomato-disguised
compost bin
petunias that they then feed to bacteria in order to infect roses
with the desired gene, all part of the centuries-long quest for a
blue rose. Along the way we're treated to a fascinating
discussion of why and how flowers bother to wow us animal
types with those eye catching colors followed by one equally
enthralling as to why some flowers smell so good, some smell
so bad, and others don't smell at all!
Stewart returns to the Pacific Coast next to check out
growers from Año Nuevo Flower Growers to Sun Valley's
Oxnard branch before heading to the flower fields and
greenhouses of the Netherlands and Equador. She gamely
follows the harvested flowers to Miami International Airport,
where 88 percent of all the cut flowers sold in the United
States enter the country, to get a glimpse of the blooming
scene at its peak just ten days before Valentine's Day before
moving on to visit the Dutch flower auction only to arrive full
circle back in Santa Cruz on Pacific Avenue at the little flower
kiosk outside Bookshop Santa Cruz.
The book concludes with a thought-provoking rumination on
the future of florists in general and a typically hectic snapshot
of Valentine's Day in the life of one florist in particular. The
author wraps her subject up nicely with some hints on caring
for cut flowers and a few interesting statistics. Also included
are notes and a selected bibliography.
This is Amy Stewart's third book. Her first two books, From
the Ground Up: The Story of a First Garden (set in Santa Cruz) and
The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms, are
also must-reads for California gardeners. For more
information, visit Amy Stewart’s web page at http://
www.amystewart.com/media.html. Î
6 June July 2007 Î MONTEREY BAY MASTER GARDENERS

Monterey Bay Master Gardeners and School Gardens

Monterey Bay Master Gardeners’ interest in school gardens
began with the Anzar High School garden and is expanding
with the recent award of grants to two additional schools so
far this year. Maryanne McCormick has been involved with
the Azar project for over two years and is employed by the
school to develop the project into a full-fledged working
garden and integrate it into the school’s curriculum in addition
to the role of MBMG Liason. Alicia Molina has led the effort to
help schools write MG grant proposals to help get the projects
underway.
— Kathleen Sonntag, MG06
In this article you will find information about two school
gardens, Anzar High and Bradley Union and the exciting
progress that has been made. Since the Bradley Union project
began in April 2007, we will be able to follow it from the
beginning.
Be sure to contact the liason for any of these new projects
(table below) or Maryann McCormick for Anzar High School
so that you can get involved. It’s a wonderful way to
accumulate those volunteer hours.

MG GRANT
MG LIAISON APPLICATION
SUGGESTED INITIAL
SCHOOL NAME SCHOOL CONTACT/PRINCIPAL
ASSIGNED RECEIVED STEPS
Mission Union
Elizabeth Bozzo, Principal
Grades K-8 Contact Principal;
Ebozzo@monterey.k12.ca.us Chris Carrier Yes - $500
36825 Foothill Road Site visit
831-678-3524
Soledad, CA 93960
International School of Monterey,
Monterey Chrissie Jahn, Principal
Contact Principal;
Grades K-8 Cjahn@ismonterey.org Diana Huang Application sent
Site visit
1720 Yosemite Street 583-2165
Seaside, CA 93955
Henry F. Kammann Elementary
Estella Vasquez, Principal
School
evasquez@monterey.k12.ca.us Contact Principal;
Grades K-6 Cathy Baker Application sent
Telephone: 753-5665 Site visit
521 Rochex Street
Salinas, CA 93906-3426
Harden Middle School Chris Carrier
Grades 7-8 ccarrier@earthlink.net Contact Principal;
Alicia Molina Yes - $500
1561 McKinnon Street Abel Valdez, Principal Site visit
Salinas, CA 93906 796-7300
Bradley Union School
Catherine Reimer, Principal
Grades K-8 Gina Strup and Contact Principal;
creimer@monterey.k12.ca.us Application sent
224 Dixie Street Tammy Tahara Site visit
(805) 472-2310
Bradley, CA 93426

BRADLEY SCHOOL The Bradley school project’s first workday was held in April.
The group of volunteers built and installed four raised beds
and prepared them for planting. The entire fenced garden was
cleared of weeds and leveled for the beds. The plan is for their
after school program coordinator, Linda, to continue with the
project with the help of the parents and volunteers.
Gina and Tammy are the liaisons assigned to help with lesson
plans or any gardening issues that come up. MBMGs who
helped get this garden started were Chris Carrier, Gina Strup,
Tammy Tahara and Alicia Molina.
MBMGs helped with the design layout. They explained what
to watch out for such as learning about the prior use of the
garden area to determine if any soil inspections needed to be
taken. (The site just outside of the school was a landfill for the
community trash. It continues to be tested for gases.) Safety
considerations for the children, such as no ponds if the area
will not be supervised or locked when an adult is not present
were considered. Another safety issue is shading for the kids
when working outside (it gets to be 124 degrees at times later
in the year!) They’ll have their growing challenges in that heat.
MONTEREY BAY MASTER GARDENERS Î June-July 2007 7

ANZAR HIGH SCHOOL

Maryann McCormick first started the project at this high In early 2006, a hot house was built by the Agriculture
school school in 2005 – it was to be a farmer’s market. The Explorations class and a garden gazebo was built by students
need for a place for the school to grow its own produce enrolled in a construction class. The hoop house is home for
evolved into this school garden project. Over the past 2.5 starter veggies. The gazebo, donned with Anzar High Eagles
years an enthusiastic group of MBMGs, Anzar High parents (also made in the construction class) acts as a gathering spot
and students have transformed a 70’x120’ plot of rugged, for students.
ground-squirrel infested land into a bountiful productive
garden. In addition, MBMG volunteers, students and parents
planted an orchard with a variety of fruit trees ranging from
apples and pears to pitted fruits to fig. There are 27 trees
occupying approximately ¼ acre of Anzar High property.
Gopher baskets for protection were built by MBMG and many
students.
Barbara Schilling; Paul McCullom; Martha Cepress; Paula
Anthony; Bobbie & Richard Walstrom; Deedee Hannanina;
Betsy Shea; Peter Quintanilla; Barbara Gordon all provide
volunteer support to the garden by working with Maryann,
parents and students enrolled in service learning at Anzar
High – usually Juniors and Seniors. MBMGs have taught
various classes including fruit tree selection and
understanding climate zones, rose selection, irrigation, pest
management etc. MBMG can volunteer hours any time during
the school year to help maintain the garden as well as in the
summer when students are gone.
This year, MBMGs along with students planted 45 grapes
The project is becoming a full-fledged working garden that is plants, creating a perimeter fence for the vegetable garden.
integrated into the school’s curriculum. Approximately 18 Plans are in the works to create an ornamental garden that
gopher-proof vegetable boxes all built by students under the will be situated at the entrance of the school. Irrigation has
auspices of Maryann and other MBMGs are now over flowing been installed and mounds created. Maryann has been
with a variety of vegetables sold at the May farmer’s market, keeping us all posted on the group email.
used in the school’s culinary arts center in cooking classes,
sometimes supplements school lunches and is given to local The garden has inspired an incredible level of generosity
food pantries. among businesses in both Monterey and San Benito counties.
For the school year 2005-06, the Anzar garden received
Student involvement provides an option to fulfill the school’s approximately $9000 of in-kind and cash donations including
service learning requirement. There are about 20 students $1000 from MBMG. Some other donations came from
working in the garden and classroom 2-3 days a week. (including but not limted) Home Depot, Graniterock, Trees of
Culinary arts students harvest crops. The garden is also used Antiquity, Earthbound Farms, Aromas/San Juan Community
in the curriculum of other high school classes this term. Foundation. Î

Bradley School volunteers Anzar School students learning about gardening

8 June July 2007 Î MONTEREY BAY MASTER GARDENERS
Two Must-Have Resource Books —Tom Karwin, MG99
Gardeners of the Monterey Bay area have the pleasure of
gardening in one of the most floriferous areas of California and
the world. The natural characteristics of the area support a
wide range of plant communities and an extensive flora,
representing about 75% of the plant families that make up
California’s extensive floral resources.
In this environment, gardeners can benefit from reference
materials that provide overviews of the area’s taxa. The
California Native Plant Society recently has published two
books that are valuable resources for the area’s gardeners.
Morgan, Randall, et al (2005). An Annotated Checklist of the
Vascular Plants of Santa Cruz County, California. Santa Cruz:
California Native Plant Society, Santa Cruz Chapter.
This book is the third and most complete catalog of the
county’s vascular flora. It builds upon earlier works, dating
from 1893 and 1961, respectively. The authors of the new book
state that the purpose of this checklist “is not as a guide to
identification, for which other sources are available, but rather
as a status report on the current distribution, nomenclature,
and rarity of all taxa known to occur in the County, including
those that have been recently discovered or remain
unpublished.”
The book lists the county’s genera in three sections (Ferns &
Fern Allies, Dicots, and Monocots), each of which is organized
by plant families. Most of the genera are listed with notes
indicating the floristic region in which they are found. (The
County has been divided into thirteen floristic regions.)
The authors have provided extensive appendices, including
lists of invasive exotics, rare and endangered plants, endemics
and near endemics, and other useful information.
SECOND QUARTER MEETING of the MONTEREY BAY MASTER GARDENERS -- Open to the public
Saturday, June 9, 2007, 10 am to 2 pm
Sierra Azul Nursery
2660 East Lake Ave. (HWY. 152), Watsonville, CA 95076
(across from the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds)
Our advanced training at this quarterly meeting will be
presented by Jeff Rosendale, owner of Sierra Azul (retail) and
Rosendale (wholesale) Nurseries in Watsonville. Jeff has
created the inspiring demonstration garden of Mediterranean-
planted mounds at Sierra Azul and will give us a tour of the
garden, describing the mound building process and the many
xerophytic plants it contains. Over 30 years in the nursery
business, Jeff has been involved in both wholesale and retail
growing and sales. He was also President of the Board of
Directors of the UCSC Arboretum. For more information
about Sierra Azul and a preview of the advanced training,
please go to the website, www.sierraazul.com. You will also
find a link to a map there.
Upcoming Meetings: September 29th and December 1st
Matthews, Mary Ann. (2006). An Illustrated Field Key to the
Flowering Plants of Monterey County, and Ferns, Fern Allies
and Conifers. Monterey: California Native Plant Society,
Monterey Bay Chapter.
Similarly, Mary Ann Matthews’ book builds upon two earlier
works that were published respectively in 1964 and 1973. It
also incorporates illustrations and other material from The
Jepson Manual and Illustrated Flora of the Pacific States.
As indicated by its title, the purpose of this book is to support
the identification of the flowering plants of the County. It
pursues this purpose with a key identification system that the
author has adapted from several sources, with the goal of
making it usable by both non-professional and trained
botanists.
The author notes, “because information in this book has been
assembled from so many different sources, a number of
inconsistencies have crept into the text.” The final product has
a non-standard format, but the departures from traditional key
identification texts have been made to increase the book’s
usability of the book for non-professionals.
Key identification can be challenging for the casual gardener,
but this book makes the process as accessible as it can be, and
includes a large number of helpful line drawings of the plants.
Anyone who gardens in Monterey County and seeks to
identify plants of the area will find this book to be an
invaluable reference tool. Many of the plants almost certainly
occur in Santa Cruz County as well.
These two books are extraordinary resources that amount to
great gifts by the authors and local chapters of the California
Native Plant Society to the gardeners of the Monterey Bay area.
Î
Schedule for the meeting:
10 to 11 – MG Business Meeting (please contact one of the
meeting coordinators if you have an item for the agenda)
11 to 12 – Tour of Sierra Azul Demonstration Garden
12 to ? - Lunch and Shopping Opportunity
(stay as long as you like)
Bring your own lunch, beverage, hat, sunscreen, comfortable
shoes, and folding chair (if you like)
Please note there will not be a potluck lunch or raffle this time
due to the outdoor nature of the day. There is a shelter for us
to sit in for the business meeting, however.
We look forward to seeing you on June 9!
Marcia Charland (459-7945 / mgracec@sbcglobal.net)
Lin Eucalyptus (728-4195 / linny@cruzio.com)
Your Quarterly Meeting Coordinators Î
MONTEREY BAY MASTER GARDENERS Î June-July 2007
Summer Veggies in the Youth Garden—Kathleen Sonntag, MG06
As the days get longer and the sun gets warmer we start to
hunger for summer vegetables and fruits. Tomatoes ripened
on the vine, peas and beans bright green and bursting with
flavor. Zucchini, melons…. Add to that basil, parsley, cilantro,
and other favorite herbs. Today we are more conscious than
ever of the need to eat locally grown foods in season. We visit
the flourishing farmers’ markets and grow our own produce if
we can. OR, how about a Saturday morning at the Youth
Garden to awaken your senses?
To find an outstanding example of a potager (kitchen garden),
we need look no farther than the Youth Garden next to the
UCCE building in Watsonville. Since 1998 it has been a
MBMG volunteer project. It is a place where youth can
complete community service, learn about gardening, and
become involved in marketing projects that benefit victims of
crime. Recently, youth have been making and selling
birdhouses and wreaths to cover the operational costs of the
garden. They deliver food grown in the garden to economically
challenged citizens in South County. They learn valuable
gardening and life lessons from the dedicated Master
Gardeners who volunteer, especially the hardworking Youth
Garden coordinator, Candice McLaren.
If you are getting your own garden going, there are things you
have to do before planting. Candice has a crucial piece of
advice based on the experience she had in May – check out
your irrigation system completely first! Well, maybe remove
the weeds first, then check the irrigation. It should be in place
and operating correctly before you plant. Then turn the soil,
add compost and plant young seedlings or sow seeds.
A combination of young plants and seeds were planted in the
9
Youth Garden in May There are several varieties of
tomatoes—Early Girl, cherry, Sun Gold, and Ace—that will
provide tomatoes all thru the summer. The team of MGs and
youths also planted zucchini, parsley, basil, peas, Swiss chard,
leeks, carrots, some sunflowers from seeds and two ambrosia
cantaloupes. The salsa garden plants include tomatoes,
tomatillos, green onions peppers, and garlic.
Since Candice and the other volunteers are there every other
week or so, birds and bugs used to have ample time to do their
damage; however, since bird netting was installed, much less
damage occurs. Unfortunately, the tomatillos we planted early
on were eaten—not by us! We also lost our cantaloupes.
The added bonus of a Saturday morning spent in the Youth
Garden—above and beyond the pleasure of tending the plants,
working with each other and the young people—is preparing
and consuming a delicious dish prepared with the produce
from the garden. Sometimes there is fresh salsa to go with
chips. Often the cooking team creates a pasta dish using Swiss
chard, tomatoes and whatever else is ready to eat (a little basil
and garlic, perhaps).
Candice reports that in 2006, 95 Master Gardeners
volunteered 350 hours on 13 Saturday mornings, and 102 teens
completed 408 hours of community service. Since 1998,
Master Gardeners have contributed over 6000 hours in the
Youth Garden! On May 12, we had 7 teens and 6 Master
Gardeners- Joanne, Paula, Chris, Liz and Alan S and Candice.
Steve was our Probation Officer.
If you haven’t pitched-in lately, consider spending a few hours
on this project. Those who have always go home glad they
made the effort. Î
10
Water Conservation Tips for the Home Lawn and Garden
Excerpted from Publication 8036, University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources
— Pamela M. Geisel and Carolyn L. Unruh
LIMIT TURF AREAS
• A lawn is almost always the single largest user of water in
the home landscape. Many gardeners have large expanses of
turf that are never used but require considerable time, effort,
and resources to maintain.
• Use turf only where it serves a purpose, such as in play or
entertainment areas. Select water-efficient grass varieties
suited to your local climate.
• Replace nonessential turf with ground covers, mulches, or
hardscapes such as decks, walkways, patios, or dry creek .
PUT P L A N T S IN T H E R I G H T P L A C E S
• Select low water use plants that are appropriate to your
climate. Consider the use of California natives from your
climate zone. Most need regular watering until they are
established, but will require less water thereafter.
• For ease of irrigation, group plants with similar micro-
climatic needs in the same watering zone. Lawns, water-loving
plants, and container plants require frequent irrigation while
many trees, shrubs, perennials, bulbs, and ground covers need
less frequent irrigation. Established trees and plants may need
just a little more water than they receive in rainfall, and some
established, drought-tolerant trees, shrubs, and ground covers
may survive with average rainfall alone.
• Limit the use of ornamentals that require frequent irrigation
and group them in areas where they can be watered together.
Productive garden areas, such as a veg-etable bed, may also
require larger amounts of water than the surrounding
land-scape. Plant low water users farther away from the house
or where irrigation may not be as readily available.
IRRIGATE EFFICIENTLY
• Water only as much as is necessary and adjust your
irrigation schedule periodi-cally—each month, ideally—to
reflect seasonal changes in temperature, wind, humidity, and
rainfall. Your irrigation system should be customized to
provide only as much water as is needed for each grouping of
plants.
• Extreme differences in microclimate areas require distinctly
different irrigation regimens and should be irrigated with
separate valves or systems.
• Use an efficient watering system such as drip or soaker hoses
to minimize water loss through evaporation or runoff. Turf is
best irrigated with sprinklers.
• To further reduce evaporation, operate your irrigation system
during the cooler hours of the early morning rather than during
the heat of the day or in windy weather.
Al’s Corner will be back in the next issue
June July 2007 Î MONTEREY BAY MASTER GARDENERS
• Infrequent, deep watering encourages deeper root growth
and results in plants with greater tolerance of fluctuations in
soil moisture.
• Check your irrigation system regularly for leaks, broken
heads, faulty valves, and other malfunctions. Be sure that
misdirected water is not running off onto drive-ways,
sidewalks, or streets.
MULCH, MULCH, MULCH!
• A thick layer (3 inches or more) of coarse mulch acts as
insulation for your soil and significantly reduces evaporation of
soil moisture. Mulching helps maintain a consistent soil
temperature and protects roots from the heat and drying effects
of summer weather.
• Keep mulch several inches away from the trunks of trees or
shrubs as it may harbor insects or pathogens that promote
root and crown diseases such as Phytophthora root rot
(Phytophthora spp.).
• Mulch can effectively reduce weed growth by blocking the
sunlight needed for weed seeds to germinate. This reduces
competition for soil moisture and reduces the time needed for
garden maintenance.
• Organic mulches such as bark products, humus, and leaves
break down over time, resulting in improved soil structure and
the slow release of small amounts of nutrients.
• The soil under the mulch should be checked periodically to
be sure that irrigation water is reaching the soil and the root
zone of desired plants.
APPROPRIATE MAINTENANCE
• Heavy pruning can lead to excessive plant growth and
increased demand for water. To shape and direct plant growth,
prune lightly during the winter dormant season or very early
spring.
• The overuse of fertilizers results in rank growth and heavy
water consumption. Apply nutrients only when plants need
them and use low concentrations or slow-release formulations.
• Reduce weeding chores by pulling unwanted plants before
they mature and produce seeds. Weed growth can be kept in
check with the use of mulches and dense ground covers to
block sunlight from reaching weed seeds.
• Mow lawns sonewhat higher during very warm weather.
This reduces the growth rate and the demand for water,
promotes deeper toor growth, and lessens the likelihood of
sunburn injury. Taller turf also shades the soil and reduces
weed seed germination. Î
MONTEREY BAY MASTER GARDENERS Î June-July 2007 11

What’s Blooming in Your Garden in June and July?

The following is exerpted from the What’s Bloomin’ database which is based on observations made by Monterey Bay Master
Gardeners in Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties. The entire database is online at http://www..montereybaymaster
gardeners.org. Please send your data to Annette Longuevan at bloomingepoll@gmail.com. Photos by Christina Kriedt

Alstroemeria hybrid Achillea millefolium Aquilegia sp.

June Hemerocallis spp. Strelitzia reginae Heliotropium arborescens
Abutilon spp. Hibiscus spp. and hybrids Sutera cordata Hemerocallis spp.
Aechmea spp. & hybrids Hydrangea spp. Trachelospermum jasminoides Hibiscus spp. and hybrids
Aesculus hippocastanum Hypericum perforatum Tropaeolum majus Hydrangea spp.
Agapanthus hybrids Iberis sempervirens Verbena bonariensis Impatiens spp. and hybrids
Agastache foeniculum Impatiens spp. and hybrids Veronica spp. and hybrids Ipomoea spp.
Allium schoenoprasum Indigofera spp. Viola spp. Jasminum polyanthum
Alstroemeria hybrids Ipomoea spp. Zantedeschia aethiopica Lamium maculatum
Amaryllis belladonna Jasminum polyanthum July Lathyrus odoratus
Anthemis nobilis Kniphofia uvaria Abutilon spp. Lavatera assurgentiflora
Antirrhinum majus Lamium maculatum Achillea spp. Lavendula spp.
Aquilegia spp. Lathyrus odoratus Aechmea spp. & hybrids Leonotis leonurus
Begonia sp. and hybrids Lavatera assurgentiflora Agapanthus hybrids Lilium hybrids
Brugmansia spp. Lavendula spp. Agastache foeniculum Lobelia erinus
Camelia spp. and hybrids Ligustrum spp. and hybrids Allium schoenoprasum Lonicera spp.
Campanula spp. Lilium hybrids Alstroemeria hybrids Lychnis coronaria
Centrantus ruber Lobelia erinus Anthemis nobilis Mirabilis lindheimeri
Chrysanthemum spp. Lonicera spp. Aptenia cordifolia Nemesia strumosa
Cistus spp. Lupinus spp. and hybrids Asclepias tuberosa Ocimum hybrid
Clematis spp. Lychnis coronaria Borago officinalis Oenothera spp.
Cuphea hyssopifolia Magnolia spp. Bougainvillea hybrids Origanum vulgare
Cyclamen spp. Meconopsis betonicifolia Brugmansia spp. Pelargonium spp.
Dahlia hybrids Moluccella laevis Callistemon spp. Petunia hybrida
Dianthus barbatus Nandina domestica Campanula spp. Philadelphus spp.
Dicentra spectabilis Nemesia strumosa Canna hybrids Phyla canescens (P. nodiflora,
Dymondia margaretae Nicotiana alata Chrysanthemum spp. Lippia nodiflora)
Epiphyllum hybrids Ocimum hybrid Coreopsis spp. Plumbago auriculata
Erigeron karvinskianus Oenothera spp. Correa spp. Primula spp.
Escallonia spp. and hybrids Origanum vulgare Cuphea hyssopifolia Rosa spp. and hybrids
Eschscholzia californica Paeonia hybrids Cyclamen spp. Rosemarinus officinalis
Fallopia japonica 'Reynoutria' Pelargonium spp. Dahlia hybrids Salvia leucantha
(Polygonum cuspidatum, or Petunia hybrida Dianthus barbatus Satureja montana
Reynoutria japonica) Phlomis fruticosa Echinacea purpurea Solanum lycopersicum
Fragaria chiloensis Phygelius capensis Erigeron karvinskianus Sutera cordata
Fuchsia hybrida Pieris japonica Eschscholzia californica Thunbergia alata
Geranium spp. Primula spp. Fragaria chiloensis Trachelospermum jasminoides
Gerbera jamesonii Rosa spp. and hybrids Fuchsia hybrida Tropaeolum majus
Grewia occidentalis Salvia leucantha Geranium spp. Verbena bonariensis
Hebe spp.and hybrids Satureja montana Gerbera jamesonii Viola spp.
Helianthus annuus Senecio hybridus Grewia occidentalis Zantedeschia aethiopica
Heliotropium arborescens Solanum lycopersicum Hebe spp.and hybrids Zingiber officinale
12
Etcetera: Relevant Internet Miscellany—Christina Kriedt, MG06
Fresh tomatoes can be enjoyed year-round when they are grown
hydroponically indoors under lights. They are reputed to be superior
in flavor and nutritional value to their common outdoor cousins. It’s
a little troublesome, but might be worth the effort if you’re a real
tomato enthusiast. Search online for more information. Î
The best variety of tomato for dry farming is ‘Early Girl” according to
‘Sunset’ magazine’s Lauren Bonar Swezey. Prepare the soil deeply
with plenty of organic matter before planting, then stop watering
altogether when the plants set fruit. The result should be much more
flavorful tomatoes; and, as a bonus, you’ll use less water during the
dry summer season. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1216/is_n4_v189/
ai_12884209 Î
More tomato growing tips:
Pinch off all the flowers until the plants reach at least one foot tall;
sprawling tomatoes are more susceptible to pest and disease attacks.
http://www.organicgardening.com/feature/0,7518,s1-5-16-193,00.html Î
“Once the tomato plants are about 3 feet tall, remove the leaves from
the bottom 1 foot of stem. These are usually the first leaves to
develop fungus problems. They get the least amount of sun and soil
born pathogens can be unintentionally splashed up onto them.
Spraying weekly with compost tea also seems to be effective at
warding off fungus diseases. Pinch and remove suckers that develop
in the crotch joint of two branches. They won’t bear fruit and will
take energy away from the rest of the plant. But go easy on pruning
the rest of the plant. You can thin leaves to allow the sun to reach the
ripening fruit, but it’s the leaves that are photosynthesizing and
creating the sugars that give flavor to your tomatoes. Determinate
Cabbage, Brassica oleracea var. capitata Purple salsify, Tragopogon porrifolius
G A R D E N I N G ON T H E ED G E
Newsletter of the Monterey Bay Master Gardeners
Editor
Assistant Editors
Design/Layout
Circulation
CONTRIBUTORS Lin Eucalyptus
Paul McCollum Pat Davis
Tom Karwin Betsy Shea
Kathleen Sonntag Bonnie Pond
Christina Kriedt Candice McLaren
Sue Tarjan Maryann McCormick
Marcia Charland Alicia Molina
June July 2007 Î MONTEREY BAY MASTER GARDENERS
type tomatoes tend to set and ripen their fruit all at one time, making
a large quantity available when you’re ready to make sauce. You can
get indeterminate type tomatoes to set fruit earlier by pinching off
the tips of the main stems in early summer.” http://gardening.about.com/
od/vegetablepatch/tp/TomatoTips.htm Î
“If the growing season is just about over and your tomato plants still
have a crop of green tomatoes on them, don't rush to harvest them
green and then let them ripen indoors. To encourage the green
tomatoes on your vines to ripen before frost, remove any remaining
flowers. The flowers won't have time to mature into fruits anyway
and removing them will signal the plant to finish setting seed by
ripening existing tomatoes.” http://gardening.about.com/od/growingtips/qt/
Green_Tomatoes.htm Î
FRIED GREEN TOMATOES 2/3 cup fine dry bread crumbs or
3 medium, firm green tomatoes cornmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup milk 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 beaten eggs 1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 Cut unpeeled tomatoes into 1/2 inch slices. Sprinkle slices with salt
and pepper. Let tomato slices stand for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, place
flour, milk, eggs, and bread crumbs in separate shallow dishes.
2 Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a skillet on medium heat. Dip tomato
slices in milk, then flour, then eggs, then bread crumbs. In the skillet,
fry half of the coated tomato slices at a time, for 4-6 minutes on each
side or until brown. As you cook the rest of the tomatoes, add olive
oil as needed. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Î
Swiss chard, Beta vulgaris cicla
Kathleen Sonntag
Sharon Ettinger & Christina Kriedt
Christina Kriedt
Jan Olafsson
Hotline: 831-763-8007
MONTEREY BAY MASTER GARDENERS Î June-July 2007 13

Left: Gladiolus hybrid. Right: Rosa hybrid. Photos by Christina Kriedt, this page and previous

Sources — Christina Kriedt, MG06

Our Sponsors
Sierra Azul Nursery http://www.sierraazul.com, 763-0939
San Lorenzo Lumber Company http://www.sanlorenzolumber.com/santacruz.html, 423-0223
The Garden Company http://www.thegardenco.com/, 429-8424
FezQ Carmel Valley, 659-1268
Bokay Salinas, 659-1268
Hidden Gardens Aptos, 688-7011
The Potting Shed Aptos, 685-1626
Wild Rose Landscape Design Aptos, 539-5841

Smart Gardening Faire Bradley School

www.smartgardening.org Facts and photos: Alicia Molina
http://schools.monterey.k12.ca.us/~bradley/
Downtown Tree Walk
(831)420-5270 Anzar High School
Facts and photos: Maryann McCormick
The Tomato That Ate the Driveway
http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/browse_school
vegetable flannel: http://www.dictionary.net/vegetable
/ca/4926/
tomato nutritional value:
http://www.blendtec.com/superfoods.aspx Summer Veggies in the Youth Garden
Facts: Candice McLaren
Topsy Turvy™ Tomato Planter
Photos: Candice McLaren and Christina Kriedt
Photos: Christina Kriedt
http://topsyturvys.com/ Flower Confidential: A Book Review
Make Your Own Upside Down Planter http://www.amystewart.com/media.html
http://www.netscape.com/viewstory/2007/05/19/how-to-
UC ANR ‘Water Conservation in the Home Landscape’
make-an-upside-down-tomato-planter/
Publication 8036: www.anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8036.pdf
Flower Confidential
Amy Stewart: http://www.amystewart.com/media.html

I used to visit and revisit it a dozen times a day, and stand in deep contemplation over my vegetable progeny with a love that nobody could
share or conceive of who had never taken part in the process of creation. It was one of the most bewitching sights in the world to observe
a hill of beans thrusting aside the soil, or a rose of early peas just peeping forth sufficiently to trace a line of delicate green.
~Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mosses from and Old Manse, 1854~

Copyright © 2007 MBMG. All rights reserved

14 June July 2007 Î MONTEREY BAY MASTER GARDENERS