Planning for September Watering Ban

Amarcrinum

Plumeria

Plumeria

Self-sown sunflower

Ruellia brittoniana 'Purple Showers' Mexican Petunia

Mulberry fruits following pruning

Fuji apple

Firespike - red sparkle flower - Odontonema strictum. I always wish it would bloom for 4th of July!

Begonia cuttings rooting. For detailed instructions, see Propagating Begonias From Cuttings - 10/29/16 blog -- https://www.gardeninginla.net/blog/archives/10-2016

Succulent cuttings are easy to root and don't want much water - perfect for our current situation!

     We thought it was bad enough that we were limited to a few minutes of water once or twice a week.  Now comes the notice that the Metropolitan Water District will be doing repair work on a pipeline leak from September 6-20 and requests residents in the affected areas to eliminate all outdoor watering during that time.  [For more information on who’s affected and the specific new restrictions, go to https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-08-15/pipeline-leak-prompts-watering-ban-in-parts-of-l-a-county] 
​     With the heat promising to continue at least another two months of blistering sun, this feels pretty desperate for our gardens.  But with my tomatoes finishing up their harvests (since I didn’t plant successive plants in May in expectation of the extreme heat now), and beans and squash and cucumbers already done some time ago, I was looking forward to preparing my soil for cool-season crops and getting seeds started.  Now with this added water ban, I will hold off on the seeds and plants but can proceed with the soil prep.
 
Holding Off On Seeds and Plants
     Between the heat probably continuing through at least October and into November (as in past years), and the complete lack of irrigation water through the end of September (and who knows what we’ll be allowed following that) – it feels unwise to start seeds or plant seedlings before mid-November (if we’re lucky) since we won’t be able to provide them with the water they’ll need to get fully established, especially during hot weather. Best to wait for cooler weather so seeds and plants will more successfully thrive.
 
Preparing Soil for Cool-Season Crops
     Because neither pulling up dead summer-bearing plants nor incorporating amendments require water, those two tasks seem to be what we can manage at this point.  This is a good thing to accomplish, especially if your summer crops seemed less than vigorous, demonstrating the need for more nutrition to break down in the soil for the new cool-season crops.
 
Plan the Layout of Your Cool-Season Garden

• Consider which new crops should follow spring and summer ones.  Follow heavy feeders with light feeders, and vice versa.
• Heavy feeders include beets, broccoli, cabbage, celery, collards, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, endive, escarole, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, okra, parsley, pumpkins, radishes, rhubarb, spinach, squash, and tomatoes.
• Light feeders include carrots, chard, garlic, leeks, mustard, onions, parsnips, peppers, potatoes, rutabaga, shallots, sweet potatoes, and turnips.
• Some vegetables are more tolerant of salty areas in the garden. If an area has received repeated applications of manure or other concentrated fertilizers, the salt content may be high. Asparagus, beets, kale, and spinach do well under these conditions, but celery, green beans, radishes, strawberries and most fruits cannot tolerate it. Other vegetables and cantaloupes, figs, and grapes are generally of medium tolerance.

 
On the Positive Side
     This warm weather is an excellent time to make cuttings of succulents.

• Cut 3-6” sections
• Let them dry for a couple of days to form dry callouses over the cut edges
• Pot them up in potting soil or garden soil
• Water once to “melt” the soil closely around the calloused edges to foster new roots
• Place pots into filtered light (just a bit of direct sun during the day)
• Water once more before September 6
• After September 20, water them once every two or three weeks, just to barely moisten the soil.
• By late November, they should have rooted nicely and can be transplanted.

 
For more task possibilities - hedged by the heat and lack of water - see September