Pests thrive in monocultures. The best defense (or weapon) against pest pressure is to plant a diverse variety of (preferably native) perennials and annuals in or around your kitchen garden that will attract beneficial insects and other creatures who feed on pests. Diversity is key!!

Yes! Most people when they are having pest issues want a quick fix. Of course we all want to prevent bugs from destroying all our hard work! But most pesticides are “broad-spectrum” meaning they don’t target just the bad guys. They will kill all bugs indiscriminately, which ultimately just makes the problem worse! Building an ecosystem is a better long-term solution.

Summers in Central California are HOT. If your plants are wilted in the middle of the day at the peak of the heat, then they are most likely just transpiring (losing water through their leaves) faster than the roots can pull water in from the soil…they will perk up when the temperature drops. If plants are wilted first thing in the morning then they may need more water or they may be suffering from a disease.

The best way to tell if you need to water is to stick a finger in the soil and see if it is damp. Most plants like damp soil but not soggy. A little know fact is that plant roots need oxygen…too much water can essentially drown your plants. So if the soil is dry 1” below the surface, you probably need to water. If it’s soggy, let it dry out a bit.

There are a lot of factors that figure into the answer to this question so it’s tricky to give a short answer. You want to water enough to dampen the soil without drowning your plants. Our native clay-loam soil holds water very well, so if you’re watering an in-ground garden a slow steady application less frequently is best. If you are growing in pots or raised beds, you probably want shorter, more frequent watering as the water drains from raised planters more quickly and they are often filled with more porous soil mixes.

In our climate the period of time where winter vegetables kind of go “dormant” is called the Persephone Period. In our area, this period runs from about mid-November to late January. Generally winter vegetable plants don’t die during this time, but they don’t grow much if at all, due to the shortened day length.