Re: August: What to Plant in Northern California and Central Valley and Coastal Areas

**sanderson** 8/31/2016, 8:59 pm

You are back! Happy to see you back gardening.

Yardslave 8/31/2016, 11:48 pm

Thanks S', good good to he back and catch up on with the SFG posts and see what needs attention around my gardens. I have to remind myself more often to schedule vacations around my gardens, cause it's real hard to play catch up after a long vacation.....that and go through the mail to find the bills piling up- that's another story.

**sanderson** 9/1/2016, 2:22 am

I liked taking a vacation early Oct. The summer stuff is out and the winter plants are just in. I have drip that I can set for lots of watering while we are gone. Maybe April would be another good time. Winter plants (except garlic, onions, carrots and parsnips) are out and summer plants are in.

**sanderson** 8/2/2017, 3:14 pm

Gads, it's already August! Depending on the Zone, there isn't a lot of planting or starting seedlings at this time. For the hotter zones, water, mulch, water, shade and water are the main activities at this time. Stay on top of harvesting in the heat.

Now, September is a great month for starting the winter crops: kale, Swiss chard, bok choy, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, root crops, peas, garlic, etc. Very Happy

What is everyone doing?

Yardslave 8/2/2017, 4:47 pm

The only thing I'm "planting" is mouse traps in my SFG beds. The voles are going like gangbusters. They have decimated at least 80% of all my tomatoes- I'm so disheartened- the majority of all this season's harvest has now gone down the throats of those cursed rodents Evil or Very Mad

**sanderson** 8/2/2017, 7:41 pm

Oh, no! I am so sorry. Have they invaded due to the domino effect of the wet spring? Rain = lots of grasses growing = vole population explosion = vole invasion. ??

**Scorpio Rising** 8/2/2017, 7:42 pm

Yardslave wrote:The only thing I'm "planting" is mouse traps in my SFG beds. The voles are going like gangbusters. They have decimated at least 80% of all my tomatoes- I'm so disheartened- the majority of all this season's harvest has now gone down the throats of those cursed rodents

Are they eating the fruits or the roots? Aren't they underground kinda things? Like moles? But smaller?

countrynaturals 8/2/2017, 8:48 pm

Yardslave wrote:The only thing I'm "planting" is mouse traps in my SFG beds. The voles are going like gangbusters. They have decimated at least 80% of all my tomatoes- I'm so disheartened- the majority of all this season's harvest has now gone down the throats of those cursed rodents

Why is it always the tomatoes they get? We don't have rodents cuz we have so many cats. Here it's the weather and chickens that get my tomatoes. Next year mine will all go into the Salad Bar where the chickens can't get them. Still looking for some varieties that can survive our heat. Evil or Very Mad

countrynaturals 8/2/2017, 8:55 pm

I'm planting some snow white cherry tomatoes to bring in the house this winter. I also transplanted a squash from a Jiffy Pellet to a peat pot on the deck. It's too blasted hot to put anything out in the world. Evil or Very Mad

**Scorpio Rising** 8/2/2017, 9:32 pm

countrynaturals wrote:
Yardslave wrote:The only thing I'm "planting" is mouse traps in my SFG beds. The voles are going like gangbusters. They have decimated at least 80% of all my tomatoes- I'm so disheartened- the majority of all this season's harvest has now gone down the throats of those cursed rodents
Why is it always the tomatoes they get? We don't have rodents cuz we have so many cats. Here it's the weather and chickens that get my tomatoes. Next year mine will all go into the Salad Bar where the chickens can't get them. Still looking for some varieties that can survive our heat.

Right????? Why always the tomatoes??!!!???!!!!! Mad

BeetlesPerSqFt 8/3/2017, 9:49 am

Scorpio Rising wrote:
Yardslave wrote:The only thing I'm "planting" is mouse traps in my SFG beds. The voles are going like gangbusters. They have decimated at least 80% of all my tomatoes- I'm so disheartened- the majority of all this season's harvest has now gone down the throats of those cursed rodents
Are they eating the fruits or the roots? Aren't they underground kinda things? Like moles? But smaller?

The other name for voles is meadow mice. They are adorable, chubby mice that are voracious beasts that I don't mind in the yard, but don't want in my garden. I have traps, too, for the few that don't respect my fence and burrow in under it. I built an Eliot Coleman style trap box to house a pair of them - too many bird visitors to the garden to risk uncovered traps. I also tried using a plastic gutter piece as a cover, but the spacing is a little too tight for the traps I have, and the edge of the gutter keeps settings the traps off if it gets jostled lightly.

countrynaturals 8/8/2017, 10:06 am

I replanted corn, yesterday. My Walla Walla onions are up. I planted those out of frustration. I'm sure it's the wrong time of year, but they can't do any worse than the last ones that I thought I planted right. My Burpee order has shipped, so I will be planting butter beans, Sweet 100s, and Sungold tomatoes, soon. I also need to replant artichoke seeds -- only one came up.

**sanderson** 8/2/2018, 3:39 am

This July was a hot and smokey one. Now we are in August, you know, the hot month of summer. It's hard to reinvent the wheel for each month, every year. So, I'm just quoting what I wrote last year at this time.

sanderson wrote:Gads, it's already August! Depending on the Zone, there isn't a lot of planting or starting seedlings at this time. For the hotter zones, water, mulch, water, shade and water are the main activities at this time. Stay on top of harvesting in the heat.

Now, September is a great month for starting the winter crops: kale, Swiss chard, bok choy, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, root crops, peas, garlic, etc.

What is everyone doing?

countrynaturals 8/2/2018, 10:35 am

countrynaturals wrote:I replanted corn, yesterday. My Walla Walla onions are up. I planted those out of frustration. I'm sure it's the wrong time of year, but they can't do any worse than the last ones that I thought I planted right. My Burpee order has shipped, so I will be planting butter beans, Sweet 100s, and Sungold tomatoes, soon. I also need to replant artichoke seeds -- only one came up.

What a difference from last year. This year, I'm being treated like a criminal, not allowed on my own property. Some of our neighbors found a way back in and they're watering whatever's left of our plants. Sad

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