Redlands, 5 May, cool with lingering rain clouds and frost reported in Cherry Valley this am.

Yesterday, I had a chance to listen to  a very interesting news story on NPR about our unseasonably late Spring and how it is impacting independent garden centers, home gardeners & farmers.  I found the report fascinating! I was amazed to hear that this time last year, nearly all the corn crops in our country had been planted where this year only about 70%. Lowes, which typically sees large sales of plants, hoses, garden tools in the Spring is seeing one of the lowest sales seasons on records. Independent garden centers are reporting low sales and the unseasonable need to bring in plants for protection from the cold – something we usually stop doing by this time of the year.

Here in the Inland Empire, this week has seen two storms, bringing unseasonably cold weather and a good amount of rain to our region. The storm that came in Tuesday was pretty mild, I still worked in the nursery and even had to irrigate [darn]. Yesterday’s storm made up for Tuesday’s, giving me a break, sending me inside to make a lavender infused pot roast, even a batch of oatmeal cookies with cranberries [a must needed and appreciated break!].

Before coming inside for the day, I took the camera and tried to capture the experience of this late Spring rain in our home garden. It was surreal, the way the rain drops looked on the young peaches, cherries and blueberries that are growing so beautifully. The way the edible bachelor button flowers[ which are reaching 3 feet tall or more] fell over with the weight of the rain.  It was so beautiful to see the garden this time of year experience something so unusual.

As I walked through the garden, thanks to the rain, it was so easy to reach down and  pull unwanted  weeds. It was so cool to turn off the irrigation in our gardens [people, please do the same during rain!], saving our family a couple days of water expense. It was great to realize that this late Spring is offering us many  un-looked for opportunities :  more time to plant our warm season garden[ tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash, melons, eggplants, etc] , more time to enjoy the cooler season crops of Fall & Spring [lettuce, kale, cress, arugula,  mustard, savoy, Mesclun, etc] less time spent watering, less unwanted critters [most really do not like cold weather].

I believe that the experience of gardening allows us an opportunity  to become more adaptable as individuals.  Sure, we can create the garden beds [raised or otherwise] choose what and when to plant, control the water and fertilizers – but all of this effort on our part is ultimately trumped by Mother Nature herself. When our gardens receive lots of rain, there goes much of the fertilizers we have so carefully and timely applied [do think of applying more fertilizer if it was due in the next 2 weeks or so]. When She brings cold weather in late May, our warm season crops growth slows down, some even decide to leave the garden completely.  There just is no controlling the weather. But why would we want to?

So, fellow home gardeners, as the weekend approaches along with warmer weather in the week to come, let’s use this opportunity to get weeds [or the remains of our fall gardens] pulled. Let’s amend our soil while it is soft to dig in. While it is cool, let’s get a 4×4 raised bed built. Let’s get our warm season gardens planted [except mountain communities, don't think we are out of the woods yet - maybe Fathers Day? and not to worry, we have sown plenty of shorter day heirloom  edibles just for YOU!]

A few final thoughts.  As we prepare for Saturday morning farmers market, please do give us a heads up of what you may be looking for. This makes it so much easier than trying to bring the whole nursery down to market.

On the topic of farmers market, as summer approaches [time to celebrate our oldests first year of college behind him , our daughters graduation from high school and her first summer of absolutely no homework and the small gap we growers have as we turn our focus to the fall edibles] we want to let you know that we will be traveling a bit and perhaps not at market each week in the summer months. Do follow us on facebook to keep up with us in the summertime!

 BTW, you can always find our naturally grown herbs and heirloom veggies @ Cherry Valley Nursery, Olive Ave Market & Farquhar Farms [7 days a week!] We THANK you in advance for your support of local agriculture , now, this summer and beyond!

 Futsu pumpkins will be arriving @ market soon. This is not your ordinary pumpkin – it is compact in its growth and BLACK! Supplies are very limited on this variety so reserve yours today!  Jarrahadale & Long Island Pumpkins join Futsu this 2011 season as well. Winter squash has been started so look for those in June/July -[ Buttercup, Turks Cap, Delicata & Table Queen ]

 New crops of tomato plants are starting to make their way to market late Spring, early Summer - Roma, Principe Bourghese, Roman Candle, Red Pear, Yellow Plum, Jaunne Flamme, Black Cherry, more Hawaiian Pineapple, Cherokee Purple.

And basil – lemon, anise, large leaf – look for these in both plant form and fresh cut bundles @ market in the weeks to come.

Redlands, 2 May, 11:03, sunny & clear.

The month of May is here, perhaps the very best month of the year for planting  edibles! Sure, many of us [myself included] have already begun planting warm season crops in our kitchen gardens [red & yellow Brandy wine tomato, Hawaiian Pineapple & Cherokee purple tomato, Boothby Blonde cucumber, Pasilla Bajio, Corno di Torro peppers, dill, cilantro, basil, for me last week] but for many, especially those friends in the mountain communities, May is the beginning of their planting season.

Why is May the “magic” time to plant most edibles? The treat of frost is nearly gone. Notice I said nearly. Just last year, there was snow in our mountain [and higher elevations] on Mothers Day. In any case, this is the one month that so much can be planted in our gardens as we are in the middle of Spring and the relentless  heat of summer is still a bit away.

Although we have seen [and will see more] days of temperatures in the high 80′s to loq 90′s this Spring, lettuce CAN still be planted along with other delicious leafy greens [arugula, mustard, cress, sorrel, cilantro, etc]. I like to dedicate about 30% of my edible garden to the “salad” – basically leafy greens that can be eaten raw. Do check out our Malabar Spinach [not a true spinach but tastes like one and is used just like one] which has just made its way to market this last weekend. It is a vining perennial [yeah!] and when established in the cooler Springtime temps does well in the Summer heat.

Another note about leafy greens. In order to enjoy fresh greens daily [or several times a week] we really should not rely on just one or two plants. What a burden for those guys! Try to plant some new plants every week [or other ] so that you can rotate the plants you are harvesting from. Planting leafy greens is not a one time deal like planting a  tomato plant, or melon vine.

Speaking of tomatoes and melons, this is a great month to get them in. When planting tomatoes, do plant the varieties that bear larger fruits [beefsteak varieties] sooner than later this month to allow them ample time to grow their large fruits. Peppers & melons too, need more days to mature so go ahead and get them planted this month.

What else should you look at planting in the month of May?

Beans -Heirloom Rattlesnake pole bean has been at market for a few weeks now. This pole bean has a brilliant green and purple stripped look and the beans are delicious fresh or dried [do consider drying some and putting them away with dried chili peppers & oregano from your garden.] We also are proud to offer the heirloom Kentucky Wonder Pole Bean. Hands down delicious especially when steamed with summer savory!  [Found some more edamame that was hiding in the nursery. Let us know if you would like them and we will bring what we have to market]

Melons – People, I have to say this is the crop we must all decide to grow! I know, you don’t think you have the space for them – but that is why we are growing melons that bear smaller fruits so that you can grow them on a trellis [with support] or vertically [the magic word for gardening on 2011!] Nothing is better in summer than the sweet, juicy treat of melons – most of which you just won’t find unless you grow them yourselves. Sakata, Tigger, Ogen, Ananas, Crenshaw -quintessential summer fruits from around the globe. Do add these to the garden, won’t you?

Chard - Magenta chard will be on hand near the middle of the month. Do enjoy these as a young green in a fresh salad or sauteed slightly with fresh garlic and onions in olive oil. 

Eggplant - Listada de Gandia, a delicious and quite beautiful Italian heirloom eggplant.  The fruits are petite  and egg shaped, very   tender and delicious! We are limited in these, so they will only be brought to the farmers market on Saturday mornings. If you would like some for your garden, please let us know and will will hold them.

Peppers – Purple  & Yellow Bell, Corno di Torro [ The largest of the sweet stuffing peppers, it is incredible fresh or roasted] Pasilla Bajillo [famous for mole]

Cucumbers – Lemon, Boothby Blonde [is a white cucumber with yellowish/green colors, very few seeds], Fin de Meaux [used fresh or to make cornichon pickles]

Parsley- Flat leaf Italian

Squash - Ronde di Nice [like the "8 Ball", small and tender round], Contessa Romanesca [Italian wiht an awesome nutty taste]

Tomatoes -  So many, with new varieties arriving end of the month [Roma, Lemon Plum, Purple Russian - to name only a few and to keep you guessing]

and……BASIL! It’s time to add the most desired of all summer [maybe all herbs] to the garden. Like lettuce, plant several plants, staggering their planting times. We know how you all love your basil so we have lemon, sweet, large leaf, anise, spicy globe, Thai & cinnamon [some are more limited] for you to grow, savor and enjoy this year!

Psst…we are even growing basil to bring to Saturday market as a cut herb bundles  starting in June! Now when you pick up your basil plants, you  can take  home a freshly harvested bundle to enjoy that very same day! How awesome is that?

More to plant in May-

Cilantro, dill, chives, thyme, tarragon, sage, rosemary, lovage, malabar spinach, spinach, chervil, summer savory, oregano, mint, lavenders [so much more to say about these beauties here pretty soon], collards, marjoram, nasturtiums, borage , arugula, cress &  mache.

As to watering: Questions have been coming in about how much and when to water. As many of you know, I use a sprinkler that circulates to water our garden. Watering in the early morning or late afternoon/early evening is best [evening I think is better but I have been known to water in the middle of the day when I see someone droopy].

And for how long?  I like to deep water – so a good 11-15 minuites. University of California Agriculture & Natural Resources offers additional  information to assit with watering questions [plus info on how to manage pests...].  Using a soil probe is another way to see how deep the water is getting.

Enjoy the day!