How To Grow Japanese Maples In Hot Climate

In our garden we have four different types of Japanese Maples.  So how do you care for a Japanese maple? And how about caring for them in hot sunny southern California? Well, I will show you our trees and tell you how I care for them.

Red Emperor Japanese Maple

We have two large and two smaller Japanese maples. This large red Emperor Maple is four years old. It gets direct afternoon sun in the summer so caring for it is important. Japanese maples are an investment and can be very expensive. This tree cost us $250 four years ago and now they are double that price at the same nursery so you want to take very good care of your Japanese maples.

Bloodgood Japanese Maple

This tree is by far the most sensitive to the summer heat so we planted this one in a mostly shaded location. It receives dappled morning sun only. With a low growth pattern we lightly top it in fall and trim the sides to keep the pathway clear.

Japanese Maple Green Leaf

Taking Care Of Your Japanese Maple Tree In Hot Weather

1. At the time of planting if you can choose a spot that has afternoon shade but morning sun, that is ideal. However, I have my emperor maple in mostly afternoon sun and it can get scorched a little in triple digit temps but now that it is older, it is doing well tolerating it. If you have a very young maple you can shade a little with an umbrella or something, it would help in a heat wave.

2. Japanese maple are shallow rooted so mulch well. Some I have planted in the grass which works well to protect the roots and keep the moisture in. Once a year I clean below the trees and lay a nice thick layer of mulch or wood chips over the ground.

3. Keep soil moist but do not over water. The do not like soggy standing water. Our Japanese maple get water from our automatic sprinklers but in the summer I lay the hose around the base in different areas about twice a week for a longer soak. Do this especially if some really hot days are ahead.

4. Fertilize every spring with Fox Farm fertilizer  especially for Japanese Maples. This bag lasts me about 2 years but makes such a difference in the growth and leafing of our trees.

Growing Dutch Iris

Tips for growing Dutch Iris, the easiest spring bulb.

My irises are blooming!!

Tips for Growing Dutch Iris:

I love spring blooming Dutch Iris as they are carefree and every year you get more and more. My garden is full of purple and yellow Dutch iris that are from the first bulbs I bought over 20 years ago and have moved from one house to another.

1. In fall buy a bag of the bulbs and plant according to package directions. I have never even fed mine. They seem to thrive on neglect.

2. Water at least once a week through winter and when the green tips emerge.

3. Mine bloom in March and April. I enjoy and cut for bouquets.

4. Once blooms are spent I cut the plant back to about 6-8 inches to clean up the area but leave the greenery until it has full browned and then they are easy to pull out and toss. The dying stalks are what feeds the bulbs for next year. 

5. Every few years, dig up in winter and divide. This keeps them coming back year after year in mass and better than ever!

How to Grow Tomatoes In Containers

With a small urban backyard, I have to be creative with growing areas so besides in the ground, or vertical I am also a fan of how to grow tomatoes in containers. Even in an apartment, if you had sun on a patio, you could grow a nice hanging pot of tomatoes.

7 Tips For Growing Tomatoes In Containers

1. Pick a spot with at least six hours of sun.

2. Choose varieties that grow best in your area or for containers. I do cherry tomatoes as those don't need much support due to weight.

3. Choose the correct container. One large enough so that it doesn't dry out too fast and can support the root growth.

4. Use premium potting soil for vegetables. Tomatoes produce a lot so need a good soil.

5. Feed regularly. I mix in a slow release vegetable fertilizer as well as feed when I am watering using a liquid form. When plant is first starting out I use Miracle Grow but once buds set, I switch over to a blooming fertilizer. It this point I want lots of blooms and not lots of leaves. This is my all time favorite liquid bloom fertilizer and it will help your tomatoes set tons of fruit.

6. Water daily if your weather is dry. The tomato I have in the hanging basket with moss, I will water twice a day if hot or windy. If you wonder how often should I water my tomato plants in pots...everyday unless it is raining or you have standing water in a saucer below.

7. Trim off the lower branches and sucker shoots. You don't want a huge out of control plant that tips your container over. Focus on blooms and fruit. Growing tomato plants in pots and pruning is usually a must.

Here are some of my current tomatoes:

Other great tomato articles:
How To Save Tomato Seeds
How To Grow Tomatoes From Cuttings
How To Plant Tomatoes The Right Way

Why I Keep Gardening Despite Failures - Dealing With Spider Mites In The Garden

This year, gardening has been challenging. From a scorching spring, high humidity and an infestation that has affected the plants and me, I have kept at it. 

Here is why I keep gardening despite failures.

1. This is why I garden in the first place. Growing organic food from my yard is my #1 goal. It is a hobby but also gardening is a skill. You cannot just throw seeds in the ground and WA-LA you have an abundant vegetable garden.  This year we have struggled with spider mites. From biting me and destroying my plants, it has been a learning curve to learn how to get rid of spider mites in the garden. I have found Capt. Jack's spray to be the best answer. That and spraying my plants with a blast often to disrupt the spiders.

Week of 6/25 in the Home and Garden - June Garden Haul

This week in the home and garden has been marked by hot weather and garden abundance. This is just one picture mostly of my garden haul for one day. Every year we struggle with pests and blights that affect things. I have not been able to grow any good cucumbers in my front garden for a few years. I suspect it is because I grow so many tomatoes out there and they are not good garden companions.

We have watered a lot to keep the yard going during the triple digit temps but things have cooled. Our house is ready for the fourth of July with some patriotic garden decorating and as always lots of vintage goodness. I hope you enjoy this montage...

Patriotic Garden Ideas - Decorating The Old Coop

As the 4th of July approaches, we are getting our patriotic garden ideas out there and as usual we are decorating the old chicken coop in red,white and blue.

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Five On Monday - What's New In The Garden

Boy is summer here. Five on Monday with what's new in the garden....sunflowers, zinnias, the old coop and Tugg.

Oh the garden is full summer mode. I am picking little bouquets of zinnias all the time. The more you cut them, the more they will bloom. I have growing tips for great zinnias so check it out.

I still have our old coop even though the chickens are long gone. You can read why we don't have chickens any longer. The coop gets decorated for the 4th of July. I am making a video and post of it. We had so much fun playing with it and making it cute. Decorating the old coop makes it garden art I guess.

Our garden is giving us much surplus. We do have some critters fighting us for the goods though and that is so frustrating. I am making some videos of our urban garden. Find our gardening and other tips on our Youtube channel. You can see them and subscribe all right here.

Oh this dog. Tugg is one of the Chiweenies we adopted from the shelter. Someone once told me that Daschunds can be stubborn and I see some of that in her but she is the biggest character and so funny. Her personality is so funny. This is her preferred spot to sit when dad comes home as he scratches her back and spoils her. She knows she is his favorite. We always say it is a Tugg's Live...

Have a great week everyone...Last week of June. Where is the year going?
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Backyard Garden Tour - May 2017

Would you like to see a backyard garden tour of our little piece of Heaven? See the barbecue area and the vintage sink where the Mr. makes all that barbecue magic happen. We have been working hard and our perennials are so full and ready to bloom.




Please like and share our videos. Hope you enjoy!

Five On Friday - Vegetable Garden Bed 5/19 and Update

Update video of our front yard vegetable garden, old chicken coop, white garden and patio tomatoes.

The little chicken coop out back remains in the garden. I tried to give it to a couple people who wanted larger coops instead, so it sits as I think, cute garden art. It is 7 years old now so made pretty well for under $200.

My white garden, in the shade of the Emperor maple is starting to grow. I can't wait until it fills all in. I have always wanted a white garden but in our tiny backyard garden, we have to create smaller versions of garden rooms.

The petunias are doing well and have loved our rains this last week. Yes, we had rain in May.

Last year, I grew this patio tomato plant by just tucking into a large pot that already had flowers in it. Just remember to feed weekly. You can see it did wonderfully and produced a lot of cherry tomatoes I think due to the tomato fertilizer I use on my container tomatoes.

Yesterday I made a video update on the front yard garden bed. Watch it above and if you would like to follow us on Youtube you can go to our channel and hit subscribe on the right.
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Two Weeks In The Little Front Yard Garden

The garden has really started to burst. We have so many green tomatoes right now and I see a few cherry tomatoes ready for picking. Come see what the garden has done in two weeks in the little bed out front.

How We Cook Our Fresh Greens

This time of year our garden is bursting with all types of greens. Here is how to cook greens so they keep all their nutrients and so tender and delicious.

First Day of Spring - Wisteria Blooming

Happy first day of spring everyone!!
A mini garden tour of our blooming wisteria vine.



You can follow me on Youtube to keep updated on our new videos. A veggie garden tour is on tap for Sunday.

Growing Sweet Potatoes, Dehydrating Tomatoes & New Soft Inexpensive Sheets - Frugal Friday

Now that summer is over we are back on a regular blogging schedule and it is time to bring back Frugal Fridays. I love saving money and sharing our frugal tips with you and a little bit of daily life in our home.

I checked the sweet potatoes we grow in the old wheel barrow this week. I have more out in a front planter but they need at least another month. I think the sweet potatoes out back can be dug up in another couple of weeks. I want to have them cured by Thanksgiving. Here is the post on how we grow sweet potatoes in an old wheel barrow.

Last Christmas I asked for a Nesco dehydrator so I could try dehydrating some of our garden surplus to save for our pantry and long term food storage. First, I did a bunch of herbs and when I had a bumper crop of tomatoes one week, I did tomatoes. Four trays dehydrated down to a quart sized mason jar of dehydrated tomatoes.

Aren't they gorgeous? I used some the other day in a pot of pasta and they tasted so good. I just soaked them in some hot water and put them in water and all.

I needed new sheets for our bed and I picked up these from Walmart. I had bought them in blue for my girls and when they were so soft and cozy, I snagged some for us. I think they were around $30 for a queen set and they are so soft so if you need a set of sheets and don't want to spend a lot of money, I recommend these. I don't have the package still but they are their mid priced sheets.

How To Save Tomato Seeds

One way I save money and garden frugally is by saving my own seeds. Here is how to save tomato seeds.

Growing your vegetables and even flowers from seeds saves so much money. One pack of seeds around 

$1 to $2 can give you many plants where even at our local garden center, one plant is over $3 now.

How to save tomato seeds:

1. Make sure you are using a tomato where the seeds will actually germinate. Grocery store tomatoes might not germinate if they are gmo so try heirloom plants and organic ones to start with. You can try with anything though because what do you have to loose.

2. Pick a great tomato at the peak of season. When you slice it just save some of the seeds in a dish. 

3. Rinse the seeds under cool water in a strainer.

4. Now lay out the seeds on a plate to dry thoroughly. I like to dry them on a plate and not paper so they don't stick.

5. Store in a cool dry place to save for planting next season. These printable seed packets are perfect for saving your vegetable seeds.

You might like these other posts:

Here's how to grow tomato plants from cuttings.
Tomato plant gift idea.
A guide on how to plant tomatoes the right way.

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What Vegetables To Plant In Fall & A New Raised Bed

If you are wondering what vegetables you can plant in fall then check out my detailed post. This year for us a couple new things are going in as we now have the old coop fence repurposed in the garden to use along the back and I am excited to have two varieties of peas put in. We also made a new raised bed to grow more food.

Here is my list for this year of What Vegetables To Plant In Fall:

• Peas
• Snow Peas
• Bok Choy
• Asian Greens
• Swiss Chard (Two varieties)
• Green Beans
• Parsley (Germinates better in cooler weather)
• Cauliflower
• 1 Black Beauty Zucchini
• Beets (Chioggia and Bulls Blood)
• Buttercrunch Lettuce

In Containers:

• Carrots

Making A New Raised Garden Bed:

Around and between our two newest fruit trees, the hubby dug out some of our lawn and framed with pressure treated fencing he cut and nailed into shape. We have a small wire fence to keep pests out. Our plan is always to have less lawn and more vegetable gardening space. This is not a large bed but again it is more space to try a couple new rows of fall crops.

After the frame was cut and put in, we made sure we had no more lawn in the area. For us we have invasive St. Augustine so we wanted to make sure we removed it all. Not as bad as crab grass but I didn't want any roots down in there. I then framed all the edges with thick layers of newspaper. This will help block any new grass I might have missed and also decompose and attract worms. They love paper.

Then I filled each bed with a mix of steer manure and planting mix.

Front Yard Vegetable Garden Update

Because of lack of sun we have our main vegetable garden in the front yard. As the season winds down, here is a vegetable garden update.

I feel the continued drought has affected the Southern California garden somewhat but I still managed to produce some good results this summer growing season.

My Personal Gardening Library

I have been an avid gardener my entire adult life. Before the Internet I kept a few books I constantly referenced as my personal gardening library, the best gardening books worth keeping.

Of course gardening in Southern California, our conditions are different than many other areas and in the last few years our weather is changing even more. I can remember frosts that would come in December and kill off my tomato vines but I cannot remember the last year that that occurred. We are definitely hotter here and more humid.

Back before the Internet often my book of choice at night or for vacation was a gardening book. I have given many away, saved a few but these are some, old and new that are worth sharing.

Hardbound:

Sunset Western Garden Guide  - I think this is the book I referred to the most over the almost 30 years gardening. It is the best southern California or southwest gardening book I have had. So dogeared that my husband bought me a new fresh copy a couple of years ago.

Encyclopedia of Country Living - Not only about gardening, but a valuable all in one resource.

English Country Gardens  - Rosemary Verey, the authority on English gardens. Such a beautiful book and actually a good read.

In The Garden - A very old journal of gardening tips I picked up at a library sale. No longer in print from what I can tell.

On My Kindle:

Gardening Without Work  -  By Ruth Stout, a real organic gardening icon.  Here methods of using deep mulch methods is amazing and as well perfect for areas suffering from drought. I also have her biography on my Kindle as she is a real hoot.

Mini-Farming  - Raising all you can on a 1/4 acre peaked my interest and this is my newest book I downloaded onto my Kindle. I try and grow as much as I can using intensive gardening methods so this book peaked my interest.

I am sure there have been others I do not remember as I have been gardening for almost three decades. Wow that makes me feel a bit old saying that but it pays to do a little research because it can save you money in the long run on what and where and how to plant for your area and for the seasons.

How about you? Please share any really good gardening books you feel are worth collecting.

5 Reasons You Should Garden Often

5 Reasons Why You Should Garden Often

Gardening is a relaxing way to escape the stresses of daily life, but this hobby has other benefits that may well surprise you. From banishing stress to improving brain health and even boosting the immune system, here are five reasons you should be gardening more often.

Frugal Seed Starting - Frugal Fridays

I always try to garden as cheaply as I can and frugal seed starting is easy when you reuse many household items that you would be throwing in the trash. Seed starting can be expensive if you are buying seed starting trays, lights and special pots. Here are my frugal gardening ideas for spring seed starting. A busy week here so I am sharing with you a day early.

Clean Your Coffee Maker And Kill Weeds At The Same Time

Here's a frugal tip on how to clean your coffee maker and kill weeds at the same time. About once a month I clean my coffee maker and Keurig brewer. While I was standing there one day I thought it was such a waste to dump all the white vinegar down the drain when I descale my Keurig. What else could I use it for?

How To Use Vinegar To Kill Weeds

I knew vinegar kills weeds and I always have some in my driveway or in the yard. I use organic ways to kill weeds only in our yard and garden. So now when I clean my coffee maker Keurig brewer, I always take the hot water vinegar mixture straight out to the yard, while it is hot and pour over the weeds. Within a day the weeds are dying and after a couple of days they are brown and dead.

If you need to kill a small patch of grass, say around a sprinkler, this works great as well. Using vinegar in the garden is organic and leaves no toxic residue. I never use Roundup any longer and have not for years. Find organic ways to kill weeds is easy if you do a little research.

Read our post on how to clean coffee maker with vinegar and use it on your Keurig brewer as well.