Five things to do in the garden:
Fruit. Longan (Dimocarpus longan) is related to lychee. While the peel of lychee is pinkish-red and bumpy, that of the longan is brown and smooth. In both cases, however, the interior aril, or pulp, of the fruits is white and grape-like in texture. While lychee fruit is noted for its fragrance and sweet-tart flavor, the longan’s flavor is more musky but often preferred by fruit connoisseurs . Longan is more cold-tolerant than lychee, exhibiting hardiness down to 22 degrees. Longan is also less water-needy, having the same irrigation requirement as a lemon tree. In Southern California, longan makes an attractive, heavily foliated tree reaching 15-25 feet in height and spread, yielding hundreds of fruit from summer into fall. You can find four longan varieties at Papaya Tree Nursery in Granada Hills (papayatreenursery.com). Longan trees are also available by mail order from vendors who sell their trees on Etsy.com.
Vegetables. Now is the time to plant pumpkin seeds for a Halloween harvest. Enrich soil with a copious quantity of compost and, to be safe that your soil drains perfectly, create mounds that are several inches tall and a foot wide. Plant six seeds to a mound and thin to the three most robust seedlings that develop. Vines can spread to 20 feet, so make sure you allow sufficient room for them to roam. Pollination is critical so bring in bee-attracting plants which include anything in the daisy family, from sunflowers to yarrow to coreopsis to cosmos, as well as lavender, borage, Salvia species, and mints. Pumpkins do require regular watering, although you can ease up on irrigation as your pumpkins begin to reach full size in early fall.
Herbs. Lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus) is highly sought as a culinary herb. It grows in full sun, even if the tips of the stalks may burn. This is not a concern, however, when it comes to cooking since it is only the bottom of each stalk that is meant for this purpose. After removing a stalk, peel away the fibrous layers to reveal the inner white stalk or heart. Cut off the root end, then mince several inches of heart above it, utilizing the chopped pieces in soups, sauces, and stir-fries. You can still use the rough, unpeeled upper portions of lemon grass stalks for making tea. When working in or cutting lemon grass, make sure to wear gloves since the stalk surfaces are sharp and can easily cut through your skin. Due to its somewhat drab appearance, you won’t find lemon grass at nurseries, although it is widely available through Internet vendors.
Flowers. Sunflower seeds can be germinated either in or out of the shell, although shelled seeds will sprout more quickly. You can germinate store-bought sunflower seeds as long as they are not roasted, and you can sprout sunflower seeds from birdseed mix, but in this case, they should still be in the shell. Attached to the mother plant, an individual sunflower lasts for two to four weeks before it fades. But bushier, usually dwarf varieties, will produce sunflowers throughout the growing season, from spring into late summer. These are often grown in containers and used as cut flowers. When detaching a sunflower for a vase arrangement, cut the stem at an angle for maximum water absorption. Before placing the stem in ample water, to prevent desiccation, make sure to remove all leaves that would be submerged and would invite water mold. Daily, cut off a small piece at the bottom of the stem, always at an angle, and change the water to extend your sunflower’s vase life.
This spring I have seen dozens of slime molds growing on the mulch around my fruit trees. Slime molds may appear white, yellow, or orange with the unfortunate, if justifiable, names of scrambled egg slime and dog vomit slime mold (Fuligo septica). Formerly classified as fungi, slime molds have the capacity to actually ambulate like slow-moving snails in their plasmodium stage of development. Slime molds are now classified as protists, placing them in the same category as most algae. While they are decomposers like bacteria and fungi, slime molds may also feed on these organisms. Although standoffish, slime molds actually facilitate breakdown of mulch into minerals that are essential for plant growth. When it comes to plant health, slime molds are completely benign and may even control soil-dwelling, pathogenic micro-organisms in addition to improving drainage through their soil aeration capacity. Without your doing anything, slime molds completely disappear within a few days of their appearance.
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