California Fruit & Vegetable Gardening: Plant, Grow, and Eat the Best Edibles for California Gardens PDF
Preview California Fruit & Vegetable Gardening: Plant, Grow, and Eat the Best Edibles for California Gardens
CALIFORNIA FRUIT & VEGETABLE GARDENING CALIFORNIA FRUIT & VEGETABLE GARDENING CLAIRE SPLAN MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA contents Dedication 6 acknowledgments 7 where in california are you? the usda hardiness zone map 8 Gardening in california 11 Growing Your Own: The Garden 15 ● How to Get Started 16 ● Starting at the Beginning with Seeds 34 ● Creating the Perfect Soil 42 ● Watering & Other Necessities 50 Pests & Diseases 61 ● Bugs 62 ● Diseases 76 fruits, herbs, nuts & vegetables 87 Almond Corn Peach Apple Cucumber Pear Apricot Eggplant Pecan Artichoke Fig Pepper Asparagus Garlic Persimmon Avocado Grape Pineapple guava Banana Guava Plum Basil Kale Pomegranate Bean Kiwi Potato Beet Kohlrabi Quince Blueberry Leek Radish Brambleberry Lettuce Rhubarb Broccoli Loquat Spinach Brussels sprouts Melon Squash Cabbage Okra Strawberry Carrot Olive Sweet potato Caulifl ower Onion Swiss chard Celery Parsley Thyme Cherry Parsnip Tomato Cilantro Passion fruit Turnip Citrus Peas glossary 226 resources 233 for further reading 235 photography credits 237 garden notes 238 index 248 meet claire splan 255 dedication For my mother, Beverly Splan, who taught me the importance of playing in the dirt. 6 CALIFORNIA FRUIT & VEGETABLE GARDENING acknowledgments Writing this book was one of the biggest challenges I’ve ever attempted and one I’m certain I could not have faced alone. I know very well that there are unseen contributors to any book that is ever produced, and this book is no diff erent. I’d like to thank Billie Brownell and Kathy Franz at Cool Springs Press for their considerable guidance in getting this book written. Th anks also to Chris McLaughlin, who performed the unenviable task of making sure this book refl ects the reality of California gardening—the good, the bad, and the ugly. Th ank you to Tracy Stanley and Michele Lanci at Quayside, as well as countless other individuals who contributed to the making of this book. And to Katie Elzer-Peters, who passed my name on to the folks at Cool Springs Press, a very big thank-you. And to my family and friends who have long supported my dream of writing a book: You’ve been very patient! Th anks! 7 where in california are you? the USDA hardiness zone map Cold-hardiness zone designations were developed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to indicate the minimum average temperature for that region. A zone assigned to a plant indicates the lowest temperature at which the plant can normally be expected to survive. California has zones ranging from 4b (the coldest) to 11. Th ough a plant may grow in zones outside its recommended zone range, the zone ratings are a good indication of which plants to consider for your landscape. California is a big place with many diff erent climates. Before you start planning your garden, take a look at the map here and identify your USDA hardiness zone. Th is magic number will be an important aid in your plant selection. You’ll fi nd much more information about the USDA zones, as well as other zoning systems, in the section “What’s Your Number? Zones and Chill Hours” starting on page 26. 8 CALIFORNIA FRUIT & VEGETABLE GARDENING AverageM inimum ZONE Temperature 4B - 20 to -25 5A - 15 to -20 5B - 10 to -15 6A -5 to -10 6B 0 to 5 7A 5 to 0 7B 10 to 5 8A 15 to 10 8B 20 to 15 9A 25 to 20 9B 30 to 25 10A 35 to 30 10B 40 to 35 11 40 and A bove 9
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