Five things to do in the garden this week:
Fruit. The nuts on a pecan tree in my neighborhood are ripening now. The green fruits, or husks, with one pecan per fruit, are turning brown, and the shells inside are cracking open. Clusters of two to six fruits are seen at the ends of branches. “Western Schley” is the variety most suitable for the Los Angeles area. A major concern is its size, growing to 80 feet tall, so you would need a rather large yard to accommodate it. Speaking of size, your yard would ideally have two or even three different pecan varieties for maximum production of nuts, even though “Western Schley” would produce a moderate crop on its own. Pecan (Carya illinoinensis) is the only major commercial nut tree native to North America.
Vegetables. Portuguese kale or Tronchuda Beira is prized for its giant blue-green leaves — up to 20 inches long and 14 inches wide — with white midrib veins that are thick and fleshy. The leaves are sweeter than those of conventional kale; however, only younger leaves are tossed into salads while older leaves are cooked, often with potatoes. Now is an excellent time to plant this cole crop, along with the many members of the cabbage family, taking care to protect young plants with floating row cover from those white cabbage butterflies. Portuguese kale seeds are widely available through Internet seed vendors.
Herbs. Plant parsley now. Once it sizes up, you can harvest it several times a week, 52 weeks a year. While not overly fussy, parsley grows best in rich, heavily composted soil. One of the reasons for parsley’s persistence is its biennial growth habit. A biennial is a plant that requires a minimum of two growing seasons to flower and complete its life cycle. So while waiting for it to flower, you keep harvesting its leaves. By nipping flower buds when they do form, you can extend the vegetative phase of growth, and there are reports of four-year-old parsley plants that were never allowed to flower. The two most common parsley varieties are flat leaf or Italian, growing up to three feet tall, and curly leaf, which reaches about one foot in height. Flat-leaf parsley is more desirable from a culinary point of view since it is more powerfully flavorful and easier to chop than curly-leaf parsley. Curly leaf’s advantage is its more ornate look, whether growing in the garden or used as a garnish. As a bonus, parsley attracts many beneficial insects, pollinators, and butterflies, including swallowtails.
Flowers. I have a patch of California poppies that flower all year long. As of the end of August, I counted 52 flowers in this planting. These are plants that have been in the ground for close to three years. Upon investigating the subject, I found that this phenomenon is fairly common, and California poppies have been known to live this long and longer. I should mention that these poppies benefit from the water that is applied to adjacent fruit trees. It is also noteworthy that they are backyard volunteers whose seeds blew in from a front yard planting. Volunteer plants tend to be stronger than others since they are opportunistic in finding the proper conditions for growth without being arbitrarily located in a garden spot of our choosing, but not necessarily in the best location for reaching their potential.
Indoor plants. Philodendron “Black Cherry” Pink Princess is taking the world of indoor plant lovers by storm. As you might imagine, it has dark, nearly black foliage with pink to red variegation. It does best in an exceptionally light soil mix consisting of 40% orchid bark, 30% perlite or pumice, 20% peat moss or coco coir, and 10% high-quality potting soil. Keep it out of hot sun to avoid burnt leaves. This variety is widely available through Internet vendors.