Yes, I know, you've been looking and I wasn't here. The reason is that I have been finishing work on a new, third edition of Golden Gate Gardening. It is bigger and better, more up to date, and includes information as well as planting calendars for inland gardeners as far as Walnut Creek and San Jose. It will be out in February 2010 and I will be listing lectures and booksignings that I will be giving in the spring to celebrate its arrival.
I plan to get back to my blog now and continue to report on my garden and observations of nature in the City. I will be tell you about the year's experiments with leafminer and onion downy mildew control, and the results of my tomato late blight trials. I have been taking photos and will be showing them in posts.
Today was nicely warm and sunny in my home garden, as was yesterday. It is still wet after those two early rains we had. They may not help the overall water picture much, but they sure did make a difference to my gardens. It seems as though rainfall makes the garden happier than irrigation water even if the irrigation was adequate. Plants perk up after a rain as if to say, "Oh yes, that's more like it. Hope your fall garden is growing well. Be back again soon!
Re: Squirrels that eat your tomatoes, etc.
A remedy that has worked for me for a couple of years is to twine the most obnoxious, scary rubber snakes I can find among the bushes. Maybe it's just luck, but we have squirrels galore and none on the tomatoes.
Judith Dean
Master Gardener Class of '06 and a grateful pupil of yours.
Posted by: Judith Dean | October 28, 2009 at 10:27 PM
Hello,
I've been reading and referring to your Golden Gate Gardening book for over a year now. I live near the coast - in Oxnard. It's difficult to figure out when to start seedlings in such a mild climate - your planting calendar helps. I wish there was something more specific to our coastal area - but your book is pretty close.
I'm looking forward to the new edition.
Yasi
Posted by: Yasi Paulson | November 16, 2009 at 08:43 AM