Come the first week of July, I'm watching the garlic crop very closely.
I want to harvest it after the bulbs have filled out but before the individual cloves split away from the main part of the bulb. I plant an entire 4-by-4-foot bed of garlic, so I don't mind pulling up one or two plants early to see how the crop is progressing.
The secret to a good garlic crop, besides planting the cloves between October and December, is heat.
If you pull up a plant in May or June when the strappy foliage is tall and beautiful, you'll be disappointed. The head of garlic will be small and, well, pitiful. But wait until early July after we've had about three weeks of hot weather, and the head of garlic will be large and beautiful. Of course, the leaves will be turning yellow and drying up.
"Farmer Fred" Hoffman says a good tip to remember is when four of the seven leaves have turned yellow, it's time to harvest the garlic.
When in doubt, though, just pull one up to see how the crop is coming along. This year, I timed it just right. The garlic is beautiful.
I'll save three or four of the biggest, best bulbs to plant this October and start the process again.
– Pat Rubin
Another incentive to grow tomatoes
Those delicious, sweet tomatoes growing in your backyard garden could be worth $2,500 this August when the NatureSweet Tomatoes Homegrown Tomato Challenge returns to the Sacramento area.
On Aug. 23, two grand prize winners will walk away with $2,500 each for the best tomato in the small and large fruit categories. Runners-up will receive a $250 Raley's gift certificate.
It all happens at Raley's, 25025 Blue Ravine Road, Folsom. Sacramento Bee features writer Allen Pierleoni and Home & Garden writer Pat Rubin will be among the judges tasting and choosing the sweetest tomatoes.
Call (800) 315-8209 or visit www.naturesweettomatoes.com for more information.
– Bee staff
Get Planting
Vegetable seeds to plant in July
Snap beans, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, chard, corn, cucumbers, kale/collards, summer squash.
Flower seeds to plant in July
Alyssum, celosia, marigold, periwinkle, sunflower, zinnia.
Source: Sacramento County Master Gardeners Seed Planting Schedule
Gardening Advice: Pour earwigs a cool one
Reader Sharyl Martin offers this tip on thwarting earwigs: "My niece put beer out for the snails and slugs and got a can full of drowned earwigs, so that's another safe method to try for killing the little wretches."
Bee Garden Update: Pests are pestered, for now
Peace reigns once more in the garden.
I look over the barrier we built to keep four- and six-legged varmints out, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
No more skunks digging in the paths and in the garden.
No more earwigs destroying the lettuce, marigolds and parsley.
Instead I can concentrate on what's happening with the plants:
• The arugula needs cutting back before it goes to seed all over the garden.
• A few of the Romaine lettuce plants are starting to elongate and produce flowers. That's not what I want, so I'll harvest them now while they still taste good, and plant something else.
• Cucumber vines are climbing the netting support, and I see pencil-thin cucumbers.
• Peppers are forming, tomatoes are getting plump, and all is well.
Sigh.
– Pat Rubin
ONLINE: To read about The Bee's garden, go to www.sacbee.com/hg.
10 weekly fire safety tips
1. Locate all fire hydrants in your neighborhood.
2. Never prune near power lines. Call your local utility company first.
3. Landscape with fire-resistant plants.
4. Maintain all plants by regular watering and by removing dead branches, leaves and needles.
5. Landscaping should be spaced so that fire has no clear path to burn up to the house or nearby plantings.
6. Cut weeds and grasses 6 inches or shorter.
7. Remove lower tree branches at least 6 feet from the ground.
8. Create a defensible space of 100 feet around your home.
9. Soak fireplace ashes or barbecue coals in water before disposing of them.
10. Store gasoline only in an approved container and away from any occupied buildings.
Source: Northern California Resource Center, California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection, California Fire Safe Council, Firesafe Monterrey, California Fire Safe Council, Shasta County Fire Safe Council
We Tested It
New products are always showing up on the shelves of garden centers and hardware stores. But do they do the things they claim? And are they worth the money? This week, The Bee’s Gwen Schoen evaluates a product and lets you know what she thinks.
WHAT: PetZoom grooming brush
HOW MUCH & WHERE: $19.95 plus $6.95 shipping and handling from www.petzoom.com and As Seen on TV
PRO: Can be adjusted to the length of the pet's hair. To clean the brush, you click a button and the brush pushes trapped hair out to the end of the bristles. Our sensitive dog seemed to enjoy the brush, and it was easy to clean.
CON: It appeared cheaply made, but it held up to many brushings with no problems. It didn't seem to do as good a job on curly hair as straight. We don't think it's a good value for pets with very short hair and few grooming needs.
RATING (out of 5): 4 stars
