Now that spring's coolness is changing ever so slightly and increasingly from daytime temperatures in the 70s to the 80s, it's time to change your watering patterns. 
     Until now, frequent surface sprinkling (perhaps every day or every other day) has fostered excellent seed germination and kept seedling transplant roots moist. 
     Now it's time for less frequent (perhaps twice a week) but deep watering (down to six inches or more) to entice roots to grow down "chasing" the water as defense from the heat at the surface from the coming summer's blasting sun.
      ​The watering patterns you begin now will help or hinder your plants' abilities to thrive--not just survive--during the extensive and extended heat of summer that’s coming.
​
Germinating Seeds
Water the beds or flats several times a day until the plants are up, and then at least once a day until the second set of true leaves develops. "True" leaves look like miniature versions of mature leaves.

Transplanting Seedlings and Small Plants
After transplanting plants into their new homes, form a 5-to-6-inch donut basin around each plant and fill it with water several times to make sure that the water sinks several inches down below the extending plant roots.  Do this twice a week for two weeks, by which time the plant roots should be well-established and the plant growing vigorously.   

Strong Growth
Less-frequent and deeper watering pattern (perhaps continuing the twice-a-week deep watering) encourage roots to grow deeply into the soil for moisture rather than spread barely below the soil surface. During hot, dry spells, these deeper roots will have access to deep moisture for continued strong growth. This watering pattern will also save you time and irrigation water, since the deeper watering will evaporate less.

The Buried 5-Gallon Bucket Technique
Sink a 5-gallon nursery container with holes in the bottom into a garden bed.  Fill with water, and the holes will gradually release the water into the soil about 9 inches deep, so it can spread directly to plant root zones and roots remain consistently moist however hot the summer temperatures are.  Adding a small shovelful of manure or compost into the container will enable each watering to add nutrients as manure “tea” or compost “tea” exuding out of the bucket's bottom holes.  

Water Early in the Day
Overhead irrigation is fine to keep foliage clean, but must be finished earlier enough in the day so that foliage dries completely before sunset. Fungal and bacterial diseases thrive in warm, moist conditions and can develop overnight.

Watering the Lawn
Change watering lawn timing to only once a week or ten days. Let the grass tell you when it needs to be watered – it’ll wilt slightly and turn from bright green to dull green. Water deeply enough to thoroughly moisten the soil down to the bottom root tips, 6 to 12 inches deep. Then allow the surface of the soil to dry between waterings so the lawns are healthier. Diseases develop when grass blades and the soil surface are constantly wet, especially when the weather's warm and overnight.

    Trellises provide support for greater fruit production per square foot of soil and for longer periods because more leaf area is exposed to sunlight for more effective photosynthesis, and more air circulation means less fruit rot and ground-insect attack. Vines spreading on a trellis can also provide shade for a porch, patio, or wall. Crops grown on a trellis are easier to pick and cleaner, not available to snails and slugs, and not prone to ground rot.  Some vines need more guidance and anchoring onto the trellis than others, but all will grow well with proper fertilization and irrigation.

Heavy Fruit
Support heavy fruits on shelving, in netting, or with rags or old nylons. If left unsupported, their weight will drag the vines down from the trellis.

Short cages
Short cages originally marketed for tomatoes are perfect for shorter plants like 2-foot-tall flowers, bush beans, peppers and eggplants.

“A” Structure
A six-foot-tall structure in the shape of an “A” is especially helpful for harvesting fruits on that hang down, like pole beans and cucumbers, since the fruits are so much easier to see than “lost” somewhere in bushy plant foliage.

Cane Berries
Spread upright berry canes evenly along the trellis wire for good airflow of developing foliage that’ll bear blossoms and fruit.  At the top of the trellis wire, prune strong new canes to a foot to redirect growth to fruiting sideshoots instead of even longer main vines.

Tomatoes
    “Determinant” varieties will grow to 3 or 4 feet tall so one 5-6-foot trellis will usually suffice.
    “Indeterminant” varieties may extend to 8 or 10 feet high, so I stack a second trellis on top of the first one.

Upright and Horizontal Stakes
    To anchor a long row of trellised plants, I stake one corner of each trellis with an upright stakes and then tie in additional ones horizontally at the top of each trellis and stretching along the whole batch.  
    This technique effectively sturdies the entire row of plants as they develop through the summer, and it’s especially helpful later in the summer and fall when the plants are huge and full of heavy fruit.  I’ve done this ever since the year that the Santa Ana winds blew down my whole row of plants following my deep watering.

     Tried your hand at sowing seeds but not had much success?  There are several reasons that may be the problem.  Poor germination of seeds may result from several conditions.

• The seeds may be too old, poorly stored, or planted too deeply.
• The soil temperature may be too low or too high.
• The soil moisture may be too dry or too wet.
• The soil may have too much fresh manure, which burns the seedling roots but is wonderful after it's aged a month or so later for transplanting then.
• Soil that forms a crust kills germinating seeds before they can break through the soil surface.
• Carrot seeds are notorious for being too weak to push away the soil on top of them.  To avoid this problem, sow carrots and radish seeds together – the radishes will sprout almost immediately, keeping the soil surface “moving” until the carrot seeds finally come up, sometimes a good 3 weeks later!

     To lessen these issues, cover the seeds with a thin layer of compost, potting soil, grass clippings, potting mix or other light-textured substances – rather than the heavier soil.
     Then, keep the area moist but not soggy until two "true" leaves develop.  "True" leaves are the ones that look like tiny versions of the mature leaves. Sprinkling the bed with a fine spray of water several times a day also helps to keep it from crusting. If a muddy slurry results from irrigation, it will dry into a crust.
 
Try Some Herbs!
     Herbs to sow or transplant include anise, basil, borage, burnet, catnip, chervil, chives, cilantro (when it's seed, it's called coriander), comfrey, dill, fennel, lavender, marjoram, mint, oregano, rosemary, sage, savory, tarragon, and thyme.
     Many perennial herbs make attractive, drought-tolerant, trouble-free landscaping plants.      
     Herbs that also produce indoors are dwarf green or dark opal basil, chervil, chives, dill, marjoram, oregano, parsley, savory, and thyme – as long as they get lots of direct sun and fresh air.
 
And Edible Flowers!
     Add to your garden some edible flowers for their foliage and their bloom. You may already grow some – the edible portion of artichoke, broccoli, and cauliflower are all immature flowers. Nasturtium leaves and flowers taste peppery. Squash blossoms have a cucumbery flavor. Some marigolds taste unpleasantly strong, but others are mild.
     Be sure, however, to harvest only flowers and foliage that haven't been sprayed with a pesticide not registered for food.

​Interested in starting a garden or improving the one you have? Consider taking one of the University of California Los Angeles County Master Gardeners Grow LA Gardens class series!
 
The Grow LA Gardens Initiative, a series of four-week classes offered around Los Angeles County, is a great way to learn the basics and connect with fellow gardeners.
 
Experienced UC Master Gardener volunteers lead the small classes where participants learn the ins-and-outs of soil preparation, irrigation, planting, pest management, and harvesting. In addition to learning the basics of successful gardening, participants meet other gardeners in their community and build a new network of gardening friends. They will be offering classes in-person, virtually, and a hybrid (virtual, in-person).
 
Spring classes start as early as March, with the later sessions ending in late May. There is a new site for our classes in Artesia.
 
Grow LA Gardens Class Schedule
SPRING 2026
Classes will be in-person unless stated otherwise.
Hybrid is a mix of online and in-person classes.
https://ucanr.edu/county/los-angeles-county/grow-la-gardens-class-schedule

Boyle Heights (Hybrid)
Address: 400 South St. Louis Street, Los Angeles, CA 90033
Dates: 3/8, 3/15, & 3/22, and 3/29 (Sundays; the first 3 sessions are online and last session is in person)
Time: 9:30 am to 12:30 pm
To register: 
https://surveys.ucanr.edu/survey.cfm?surveynumber=48729
Contact: Malissa Strong, 
glavgboyleheights@gmail.com
 
The Farm at Fairplex
Address: 2118 N. White Avenue, Pomona, CA 91768
Dates: 3/1, 3/8, 3/15, and 3/22 (Sundays)
Time: 9:00 am to 12:30 pm
To register: https://fairplex.com/event/master-gardeners-grow-la-vegetable-gardening-class-6/
Contact: Jeff Warner, 
FairplexVictoryGarden@gmail.com
 
Fountain Community Garden
Address: 5620 Fountain Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90028
Dates: 3/7, 3/14, 3/21, and 3/28 (Saturdays)
Time: 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
To register: https://surveys.ucanr.edu/survey.cfm?surveynumber=48724
Contact: Jake Sarver, jakesarver805@gmail.com
 
LA Green Grounds' Teaching Garden
Address: 5500 Boden Street, Los Angeles, CA 90016
Dates: 3/8, 3/15, 3/22, and 3/29 (Sundays)
Time: 9:30 am to 1:00 pm
To register: 
https://www.lagreengrounds.org/2026spring_glag
Contact: Florence Nishida, 
lagreengrounds@gmail.com
 
Long Beach Jewish Community Center
Address: 3801 E. Willow Street, Long Beach, CA 90815
Dates:  4/18, 4/25, 5/2, 5/9, and 5/16 (Saturdays)
Time: 9:00 am to 12:00 pm
To register: https://surveys.ucanr.edu/survey.cfm?surveynumber=48723
Contact: Teri Wohlgemuth, 
teriwohlgemuth@gmail.com OR
Stephanie Prien, sprien62@gmail.com
 
Los Angeles County (Virtual)
Address: Online 
Dates: 3/28, 4/4, 4/11, and 4/18 (Saturdays)
Time: 9:30 am to 12:00 pm
To register: https://surveys.ucanr.edu/survey.cfm?surveynumber=48731
Contact: Joy Ahrens, joyahrens@aim.com
 
Niemes Elementary Nature Center (Hybrid)
Address: 16715 Jersey Avenue, Artesia, CA 90701
Dates: 3/14, 3/28, 4/11, and 4/28 (Saturdays; all sessions will be in person except 4/11 which will be held online)
Time: 9:00 am to 12:00 pm
To register: https://surveys.ucanr.edu/survey.cfm?surveynumber=48725
Contact: Rebecca Guillen Pérez, 
rguillenz65@gmail.com OR
Briana Ancona, b.ancona02@gmail.com
 
Santa Monica Ishihara Park Learning Garden 
Address: 2909 Exposition Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90404
Dates: 4/11, 4/18, 4/25, and 5/2 (Saturdays)
Time: 9:00 am to 12:00 pm
To register: https://surveys.ucanr.edu/survey.cfm?surveynumber=48726
Contact: Jeffrey Prince, jeffreysmuse@gmail.com
 
South Pasadena Community Garden 
Address: 1028 Magnolia Street, South Pasadena, CA 91030
Dates: 3/15, 3/22, 4/19, and 4/26 (Sundays)
Time: 9:00 am to 12:00 pm
To register: https://surveys.ucanr.edu/survey.cfm?surveynumber=48722
Contact: Polly Schiffman, 
​pollyschiffman123@gmail.com

With our continuing daytime temperatures in the 70s and low 80s, and nighttime temperatures in the 60s, these conditions are excellent for starting seeds and planting transplants.  Besides the cool-season varieties like lettuces and greens, tomato plants are also good for getting planted now.  (However, tomatoes are the only warm-season plants that will get growing now; other warm-season lovers like beans, cukes and squash will just “pout” if sown or planted now – so wait at least a month of more daytime and nighttime  warmth before adding them to your garden.)
 
Two main tomato planting techniques will encourage roots to form along the length of the buried stem. Again, tomatoes are the only plants that will do this; other plants must be planted at the same depth that they’ve grown.
 
Upright, Deep-Planting
The upright deep-planting method is generally chosen by gardeners in areas with warm springs and summers and those that have loose soils in raised beds. The root ball is a good 4-8” deep, so with regular watering it’ll remain moist through the hot summer.  Set the plant and its entire root system upright into an eight-inch-deep hole deep enough to bury the plant up to its top set of leaves. Fill in the hole with soil, and pull extra soil into a circular berm about nine inches out from the plant.  This will become the watering hole to fill weekly or twice weekly according to the weather.  Immediately after planting, fill the berms with water three times to make sure all the soil is thoroughly moistened. 
 
Horizontal Planting
The horizontal planting method is more useful for gardens with cooler springs and summers and soils that are heavy and don’t drain well. The root ball remains more shallow, so it won’t fall victim to drowning.  Turn the plant on its side so it's laying down sideways in a three-inch-deep trench long enough to accommodate the entire root section and half of the plant stem. Gently bend the plant's top two leaves up above the soil surface.  Remove the remaining leaves, fill in the hole with soil and pull extra soil into a circular berm several inches out from the plant.  This will become the watering hole to fill weekly or twice weekly according to the weather.  Immediately after planting, fill the berm with water three times to make sure all the soil is thoroughly moistened. 

     Perhaps the item that has helped me the most in referring back to my recent garden activities and comparing them to the current situation in the garden has been a calendar, the kind that has a beautiful garden picture on the top side and the month’s worth of days at the bottom.  For me, this is more effective than an official journal that I have to flip through pages, because the calendar enables me to see the entire month at once – and therefore more easily consider visually what I’ve done when and when the results showed themselves. 
 
     In the month-all-at-once layout, I start logging what I did on “Sunday” and write straight across the weekdays through to “Saturday”, beginning a new line for each main topic activity, such as “Seeded, Transplanted, Watered, Pruned.”  I also note any weather specifics such as “cloudy, rainy, sunny, and temperatures like 70s day 50s night.  All this detail is easily referred back to weeks or months later to see perhaps why seeds didn’t come up or tomato blossoms fell off, or how long it’d been since I’d planted beans and consequently which varieties to sow again.
 
     This all got started years ago in early January when I had difficulty determining which of several beautiful gardening calendars to choose.  I purchased 3 of my favorites, but instead  of admonishing myself for excessive spending, I devised uses for each one – one for the kitchen where we keep our family appointments, one for the bedroom as a pleasant morning awakening picture and evening bidding adieu to the day, and one for my “official” garden notes. 
 
   So, instead of limiting yourself to one 2026 calendar, choose several.  Surely you can invent more uses for the extra ones!
 

I’m one of those people who’s always on the lookout for gifts for friends and family, no matter what time of year.  Knowing their individual preferences and passions, I constantly have the excuse to keep my “alert” brain button on whenever I’m out and about.  Of course, the obvious resource is every nursery and garden center and online source you can think of.  You never know where you’ll find a treat that matches a friend’s gardening persona.  This makes any trip to the grocery store or hardware store or even big-box store a broad realm of possibilities and great fun to boot. This also is a treat for you, since this enables you to appreciate every gardening-related item you see, considering who would love to have it.
 
Here are some of the items that I wish someone would have purchased for me when I first began gardening some 60 years ago, so I wouldn’t have had to go through so many inferior-grade tools before figuring out that the quality ones were expensive for a reason – they’d last through my lifetime and perhaps beyond!
 
Hand Gloves with Elasticized Wrists
Over the years, many styles of gloves have become available.  The ones I have come to prefer are of lightweight but sturdy fabric and with elasticized wrists to keep out dirt.  An additional technique in keeping hands clean and not drying out while working is to lavish on hand lotion before inserting your hands into the gloves.  Especially during hot weather, the lotion will combine with your perspiration, providing soothing lubrication and washing up nicely afterwards.
 
Hand Pruners
I prefer Corona’s pruners, and absolutely love my “small hand” type.  Over the years, I’ve tried other brands, but Corona’s fit my hand the best.  Make sure you choose the right size by grasping the open pruners between your thumb and fingers, as if you’re about to clip a twig.  If you can easily close the pruners to make that cut, they’re the correct size.  If your fingers can barely control the other handle, the pruners are too large for your hand.
 
Watering Wand
A great watering aid is the watering wand, which provides full-strength water quantity delivered with delicate force through many tiny holes, and the various lengths and slight bend enable many uses.  
 
Long-Handled Digging Fork
Garden forks are more useful than shovels in accomplishing a lot of work lifting soil with less strain on your back because the soil is loosened and turned in smaller clumps.  The forks are often available in a short 4-heavy-tine version with a 31” handle and a “D” or “split YD” or “T” handle grip.  A better version, I’ve found, is the long-handled 4-heavy-tine style with a 48” handle because the long handle provides much more leverage when digging and lifting, and it requires much less bending.  Do choose the 4-heavy-tine digging/spading fork rather than the 4-thin-tine manure fork or 5-thin-tine hay fork.
 
Decorative Pots
Onto the fun and pretty stuff!  Pots are wonderfully attractive additions to your garden, whether unadorned clay or glazed beauties.  Choose containers that are deeper than wider, to enable plants to fully develop their root systems and consistently supply irrigation water as gravity pulls it down to the bottom of the pot.  You can adapt pots without drainage holes by placing another smaller pot with the plant inside the larger holeless pot.  Fill the space between pots with potting mix for insulation, and tip out the accumulated water frequently. 
 
Reference Books

• The Sunset Western Garden Book: The Ultimate Gardening Guide, Flexibound – 2012 is still the latest and most comprehensive edition
• University of California Master Gardener Handbook -https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/Details.aspx?itemNo=3382

 
Your Favorite Local Nursery
Full-service nurseries like Armstrong's and Green Thumb and many independently-owned nurseries are excellent in both their knowledgeable staff and the breadth of the plant choices they provide, mostly of varieties that are appropriate for their locales.  They also carry a variety of seeds, cards, pots and fun “garden toys”.
 

​     In ancient Rome, circular wreaths were symbols of victory and celebration.  In 16th century Germany, fir or spruce wreaths were laid flat on a table with a candle lit on the first Sunday of Advent.  Today, the wreath symbolizes continuity and tradition.
     Evergreen boughs brought indoors by Druids were honored as sacred plants that didn't die, and hence that the house would also survive the winter.  Primitive tribes in Europe hung evergreens above their doors during the winter solstice to offer woodland spirits shelter and, they hoped, bring good fortune and health.  Today's garlands continue to brighten our doors and window sills, mantels and tables.
     Creating decorations that include treasures from your garden carry special personal meaning, whether for your own home or as gifts to friends.  Your creation can be as simple as a bunch of favorite herb branches tied with a ribbon, or as complex as a large and intricate wreath embellished with many sentimental items from a person's lifetime.
     Materials can encompass anything you can get your hands on -- from grapevine trimmings off the back fence and herb sprigs from the kitchen garden, to pine cones from an excursion to the foothills, to posies you dried or chili peppers you strung last summer. 
     Looking at "regular" items in a new way can also reveal many opportunities.  Green and red bell peppers add holiday colors to a wreath on the front door.  An oddly-curled overmature Armenian cucumber or long-necked gourd becomes the focus in a table arrangement. A tree ornament becomes special when it's the only one on a wreath hung on a child's door, signifying his or her special place.
     Anything and everything becomes fair game when it comes to decorating.  The essence of creativity is bringing materials together in a new and exciting way -- it's all up to you and your innate cleverness and sense of humor, and “seeing” possibilities in your garden.

     We almost got all the way through August without a heat spell, and then it landed with a vengeance, although nowhere near as bad as we’ve had in the past (remember 113 degrees on July 10, 2018 or 115 degrees on September 6, 2020?).  In the meantime, we had some nice veggies and flowers to delight our tastebuds and flower vases.  I always consider September to be the transition month from summer’s heat to fall and winter’s chill, but since we never know what weather patterns will prevail over the next two months, I prefer to sow and transplant for both seasons. 
     If the weather continues to be summerish, I’ll plant more beans, cucumbers, and squash – although I’ll make a point of choosing varieties that’ll mature fruit in a minimum of days to catch whatever warmth still remains. 
     On the other hand, since I know the weather will ultimately turn chilly, I’ll plant all of my overwintering cool-season crops like beets, bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chard, chives, collards, endive, garlic, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, green onions, short-day bulb onions (like Grano, Granex, and Walla Walla), parsley (the flat-leaf type is more winter-hardy than the curly one), parsnips, peas, radishes, spinach, and turnips.
     With this technique, regardless of which way the weather actually goes, I’ll have some yummies to harvest from the garden.
     And, in another month, I’ll resow or transplant more of the cool-season veggies with perhaps greater success in their germinating and surviving than now in this hot-hot-hot weather.
      

Our continuing cool July weather provides more opportunities for gardening than is usual for mid-July.  Whereas the “normal” hot summer gardening activities usually concentrate on watering and harvesting, this year we can continue seeding and transplanting more heat-loving vegetables and flowers and vines, as long as the air temperature falls within the range of 65 to 95. 
 
Here are some tips when seeding in soil or a container:

• Best to use for vegetables like beans, cucumbers, and squash.  They will germinate quickly and grow strongly, whereas vegetable transplants will struggle reacclimating after being pampered in a greenhouse.  The exception is tomatoes, which will do fine.
• Incorporate compost into soil to a depth of about six inches and one foot in diameter to aid in absorbing and draining irrigation water.  This benefits all kinds of soils, from sandy (it helps absorption) to clay (it helps drainage).
• Create a planting hole about four inches deep and wide.
• Fill basin with water several times to thoroughly wet soil.
• Tuck seeds about an inch deep around the edges of the hole.
• Water in three times to assure that the entire area of loosened soil is saturated.
• Water every other day for a week, and then once a week while air temperatures are above 80 degrees.
• Place cage or trellis to enable vines to climb and keep their fruit off of the soil.

 
Here are some tips when transplanting into soil or container:

• Best to use for flowers, not vegetables (see above).
• Incorporate compost into soil to a depth of about six inches and one foot in diameter to aid in absorbing and draining irrigation water.  This benefits all kinds of soils, from sandy (it helps absorption) to clay (it helps drainage).
• Create a planting hole about four inches deep and wide.
• Massage the plant’s rootball, loosening established roots so they can easily spread out into the new soil mix.  Cut off any circling roots.  If this is not done, the existing roots may continue circling and ultimately girdle the plant, killing it.
• Place plant into the bottom of the hole and press soil gently around rootball.
• Water in three times to assure that the entire area of loosened soil is saturated.
• Water every other day for a week, and then once a week while air temperatures are above 80 degrees.
• Place cage or trellis to enable vines to climb and keep their fruit off of the soil.