D's Blog

Hi 

The big news is the La Sumida Rose Field will open Saturday 3/29/08.  

I am enclosing pictures of blooming California Natives this week. From top to bottom: Bush Anemone, Hummingbird Sage, Douglas Iris hybrid,  and Island Bush Poppy.

Come see us soon!

D

Judi's Blog

Spring seems to be in the air and everyone is ready for planting. The summer garden may be started now.

 You can begin your veggie garden with cool season tomatoes like Early Girl and Stupice. Lettuce, peas, chard and herbs can  can be planted. You may want to wait a week or two before planting cucumbers and eggplant. As for summer color, you can begin putting in your perennials and anuuals. 

This is a good time to prune back your leggy shrubs and tropicals. They will come back with the warmer, longer days.

Pruning, planting and feeding are what spring is all about.  Also weeding, cleaning and planning.

It's very important to remember to go through your garden and empty anything that might be holding water from the rains. Mosquitos are a big problem. The larvae wigglers are hatching out now. So be aware. Walk around your yard or patio and empty any containers and water holding objects.

There is a lot to do, so remember: the garden doesn't have to be put together in one day or weekend. You can add to it all summer long.

Have fun, learn , and enjoy

Judi

P.S.

For those of you who read the Independent this week:

They were inaccurate. The plant in the picture was not a Scotch Broom  as they said. Instead of going to management for accurate information  their source was our newest  (two weeks) employee in training. 

Their caption made it sound like La Sumida is unaware and doesn't care about the environment.  We have worked very hard to help our customers to be responsible and considerate of the environment. We all need to be aware of the footprint we leave behind.

D's Blog

Happy March

We have been busy in the nursery gearing up for the "spring rush". Warm season bedding color, vegetables, and herbs are arriving weekly. We have a lot of beautiful Australian shrubs in bloom in the Sun Section. Come see the Tea Trees, Wax Flowers, Grevillias, etc. We love them all.

Yes, tomatoes are here. Unlike many of our chain competitors, we do not put them out in February. We want your tomato growing to be successful. When nights are too cool tomatoes tend to succumb to blights and other disease.

While April and May are the best months for planting tomatoes we know you want to get started.  I like to put in "early" or "cool season" tomatoes to start. Some favorites are Early Girl, Stupice, and Sungold Cherry. 

Sunday March 9 is the date for our popular tomato seminar. There are two sessions: at 10am and 1pm. Typically the morning session has been more crowded. Judi and I will both be there so don't forget to say hi.

Hope to see you soon, D

Judi's Blog

Ok, I know that last week it was hot and we had temperatures close to 80 degrees.  It felt like spring was here.  Everyone was asking me, “where are the impatiens?"  And "why don't you have the tomatoes yet?"  This is Santa Barbara; don't we only have one season?  Can't we plant anything, anytime?

No, we can't. It's February. This week it’s cooler.  The nighttime temperature can still drop into the 30's again.  When you are tucked into your nice warm bed (with the heater on), the plants outside are dealing with frosty nights, cold soil, foggy mornings and maybe sunny days. Cold-tender plants like, tomatoes, squash, peppers, eggplant, cukes as well as bedding plants like begonias and impatiens will suffer with the cold soil and cool nights.  It retards their growth pattern and subjects them to disease, like Early Blight and other fungus problems.

So even though you will find the summer veggies available elsewhere, try to hold off.  Just a few more weeks of preparing your beds and waiting until the soil is warm and the weather is stable makes a huge difference to the health and productivity of you plants later this summer.  They will take off so much faster when you plant them when both the soil and air temps are warm.We will have all the warm season veggies the first week in March.  And don't forget, we will have our annual tomato class, March 9.  Learn everything you need to know about growing the best tomatoes you can.Be patient, we have all summer.  Get out and enjoy the sunshine, listen to the birds and pull a few weeds.  The tomatoes are coming!!!

P.S. If the buds have not opened on your fruit trees you still have time for one more dormant spray.

D's Blog

Hi everyone

Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words so I thought I would try to add some this week. These are pictures of Rosemary, Manzanita, and Chasmanthe blooming on the bank while much of the rest of the garden is taking a break. I am always very interested in plants that bloom in late fall and winter. Ever year I vow to add more.

The weather has been beautiful . I wonder if it signals an early spring or Mother Nature has surprises in store. At any rate, enjoy it.

Take care, D

Judi's Blog

Thank goodness for the break in the rain. I was beginning to wonder if I was ever going to have chance to do my pruning. Although I am very thankful for the much needed long, slow soil soaking moisture, I needed to get my roses pruned before Superbowl Sunday.

January tends to be our coolest month. A slight temperature increase in February along with the ever so slightly increasing day length can cause growth spurts that can catch you by surprise. So don’t put it off too much longer.

So out into the garden I went. First I spent a few moments to a little much needed sun and listen to the birds. I must have seen at least ten different types. They were happy to be out in the sun too.

O.K. quit stalling, time to get to work. Luckily my husband Joel helps me. It makes the job go so much faster. We were able to do about thirty rose bushes before the sun started to go behind the trees and it began to get cold. When the sun goes down, I go in. The roses were done and ready for dormant spraying.

Tomorrow if it doesn’t rain I will try to get to it. Don’t forget: if it does rain within two days after spraying, you should re-spray again.

P.S. Next time you are in the nursery let us know that you read our blog and if there is anything you would like to hear about or have us discuss.

Judi

D's Blog

 

It’s raining, it’s pouring… It’s wet and it’s cold.  It’s great to get some rain though.

 Today I wanted to remind everyone about the dangers of tramping around on and working with wet soil. We are all anxious to get back in the garden. Resist the urge. Working wet soil (especially clay soil) compacts it and ruins structure for a long time. The earth is very saturated and we need to give it a break.

I am especially frustrated because I still need to finish spraying my roses and I haven’t even started on my fruit trees yet. Which reminds me, if you dormant sprayed right before the rain you will have do it again.

 I am going to use this time as an opportunity to organize my garage and garden shed. Maybe I will sharpen and clean my tools. I also need to go through my garden products and see what I should eliminate and what I should purchase. For a reward I can redo my patio containers on the veranda. We do have a lot of beautiful color in stock. Of course sitting in front of the fire with a book is another alternative.

 It’s pretty quiet at the nursery during the rain. We use the time to clean, redo and organize.

Hope to see you all soon, D