July 22, 2018 Master Gardeners

On Sunday, July 22 from 9 am to 1 p.m., we’re pleased to welcome our Green Tent regulars, the UC/CE LA County Master Gardeners .  As usual they’ve planted up some veggies and herbs for you to bring home to your garden. And, as always, they’re free, AND you can also take free packets of seeds!

This month you can choose from:

Teddy Bear sunflowers!  Just like their name, they are fluffy (and maybe even cuddly!!)

Sweet Bell Peppers:  your perfect summer accompaniment to salads, grilled veggies, and a perfect veggie for roasting or stuffing.

Heirloom Vietnamese cilantro: it's mild and delicate with an extra citrus twist. The plants resemble regular cilantro but the foliage is topped with fine cut, frilly leaves.

A couple of winter squashes: Delicata and Early Butternut (don’t worry, they grow in summer, they just have hard shells)  and Patty Pan squash, a cute little summer scalloped squash that kids love and works well on skewers.

Long Island Mammoth Dill:  A distinctive taste, try this feathery herb on fish and the classic, potato salad. Save the seeds so you can pickle your cucumbers!

Large leaf container basil (Italian Cameo)  Make lovely Caprese with these, a tomato and some burrata or mozzarella, or just toss it into your dishes for that great basil flavor

Bush beans (no staking needed) and pole beans (trellis these) — yellow and green long beans you can eat right off the vine.

And Icebox Watermelon Rainbow Sherbet — these lovely little seedlings produce three varieties of early maturing watermelons, with yellow, orange or pink flesh and weigh in at 4 to 7 pounds with thin, green striped rinds and dense, crisp flesh.

As our heat continues, be sure to water your garden but please be aware of best drought practices.  Visit Be Water Wise for some tips.

For some more great ideas and information about growing great veggies, check out the Master Gardner's website.

And PLEASE remember to bring all those excess six packs from your spring plantings, so the MGs have something to put NEXT month’s seedlings into for you!