Summer is here and the weather’s warm in San Diego gardens. Many flowers are fading, but the summer vegetable garden is in full swing.
Troubleshoot Tomatoes
Tomatoes having problems? Here are some answers to common tomato-growing issues:
- Yellow leaves – could be caused by ozone and other pollutants. Try other varieties to see if they work in your garden.
- Wilting and dying plants – verticillium or fusarium wilt may be causing this. These are fungal diseases that can live on in your soil. Throw away the dead plants and don’t replant tomatoes in the same spots. Looks for tomato varieties with VF resistance.
- Defoliation – tomato hornworms are large, striped caterpillars with a horn-like tail. Pick off the worms or use Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). It is fatal to the worm, but won’t harm other beneficial insects.
- Cracked fruit – is caused by irregular irrigation. Water deeply in a 2-foot radius around each plant, increasing irrigation as temperatures rise.
- Blossom drop – occurs naturally if daytime temperatures exceed 90 degrees or nighttime temps drop below 55. Once temperatures regulate, plants will start to blossom again.
- Blossom end rot – is a brown, sunken area at the base of the tomato. This is caused by a calcium deficiency, but fertilizing is usually not the answer. Your soil probably has enough calcium for the tomato plants. But when the plants aren’t getting consistent water, the calcium doesn’t get to the fruit. Keep the soil moist at all times. Mulch your vegetable beds with straw to help hold in moisture.
Planting in Your San Diego Garden
If you managed to get everything in the ground before summer started, your plants will thank you. You really shouldn’t do a lot of planting now that the weather has warmed up because the heat is stressful for plants.
What can you plant during summer’s heat? You can still plant summer vegetables for a late harvest, and you can add summer annuals. You can also start planting spring blooming bulbs.
Fire Blight on Fruit Trees
Look for fire blight, a bacterial disease, on apple, loquat, pear and quince trees. Canker symptoms can show up on trunks and branches. A watery bacterial ooze will come from the cankers that will darken and leave streaks on the tree’s branches or trunk. It will turn the tree’s leaves brown or black and cause them to wilt. They usually won’t fall off the tree even though they look like they should drop. Blossoms will look like they are soaked in water. They will then turn brown or black and shrivel. Fruit will get dark, shrunken spots and then shrivel.
If you find fire blight on a tree, cut out the infected area. On large branches, cut about a foot below the infected tissue. On smaller branches, cut about 6 inches below the infection.
San Diego Gardens Tips Source
A lot of information for San Diego Gardens comes from the Master Gardener Association of San Diego County. They are a great resource for all of your gardening needs including planting, pests, vegetables, and water use. They even have a free hotline where you can get your home gardening and pest control problems answered.