The end of summer garden blues

THE GARDEN FANATIC

“To everything there is a season...”

-- The Bible

“No man needs a vacation so much as the man who has just had one.”

--Elbert Hubbard

The season of tourists (also called summer) is nearly over in

Laguna. It’s marked by the closing of the festivals, the last

performance of the pageant, and the observance of Labor Day. The

first tangible result of the end of summer will be the availability

of parking downtown again. All that’s left of summer is whether the

ball players will strike or not.

Although the days are becoming noticeably shorter (the sun is now

behind the hills when I leave for work), the occasionally warmer day

can leave us in an unwanted state of inelegance. This includes the

garden.

Q: I have planted Better Boy tomatoes and they are HUGE and have

plenty of fruit, but the leaves at the bottom of some of the plants

are turning yellow and getting dry. I water about every other day.

They get plenty of afternoon sun and I have not fertilized as of yet.

What’s up?

A: It is natural for tomato plants to lose some of their bottom

leaves during the season. They should be fertilized once a month,

with a general purpose/vegetable product. Water should be applied at

the rate of two inches a week, as the fruit ripens. Try to cut down

on the watering, to avoid “watery” tomatoes.

Q: I have just planted a “Gold Kist” apricot. When do I prune it?

A: Pruning occurs during the winter, right after the leaves have

dropped. You won’t have much time to wait, because the apricot is one

of the first to bloom. Young trees are generally pruned lightly, to

encourage an uprighthabit of growth and crops that will insure proper

spread.

Fruit is borne on spurs that form on the prior year’s growth. They

will remain productive for about four years. The ultimate goal is to

keep a balance between fruiting spurs and new growth.

Catharine writes about our recent vacation this week. She

experiences and sees life with such wonder and glee.See you next

time.

* STEVE KAWARATANI is the owner of Landscapes by Laguna

Nursery.He can be reached at 949 497 2438, or e-mail to

plantm@lagunanursery.com.