Claire Splan - California Fruit & Vegetable Gardening: Plant, Grow, and Harvest the Best Edibles for California Gardens

Revised and Updated Edition

Fruit & Vegetable Gardening

Plant, Grow, and Harvest the Best Edibles for California Gardens

Claire Splan

The reality is that while gardening in California is in many ways a remarkably easy endeavor, it is in other ways quite challenging.

The USDA Hardiness Zone Map

Cold-hardiness zone designations were developed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to indicate the minimum average temperature for that region. A zone assigned to a plant indicates the lowest temperature at which the plant can normally be expected to survive. Though a plant may grow in zones outside its recommended zone range, the zone ratings are a good indication of which plants to consider for your landscape.

The most recent update to the USDA zone map was released in 2012 and is based on 30 years of weather data. California has 13 zones ranging from 5a (the coldest) to 11a. Before you start planning your garden, take a look at the map here and identify your USDA hardiness zone. This magic number will be an important aid in your plant selection. You can also go to the USDA website (planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb) and plug in your ZIP code to confirm your plant hardiness zone.

Youll find much more information about the USDA zones, as well as other zoning systems, in the section Whats Your Number? Zones and Chill Hours starting on .

W eve all seen the commercials, and we know the stereotypes about California: blue skies; endless sunshine; orange groves; rolling vineyards; everything healthy, lush, and green. And its mostly truewell, up to a point.

The reality is that while gardening in California is in many ways a remarkably easy endeavor, it is in other ways quite challenging. The same temperate climate that can make for blessedly long growing seasons can also provide garden pests an opportunity to thrive without the killing freezes that keep their populations in check in some parts of the state. Fertile soil doesnt just grow good tomatoes; it also grows bad weeds. And that endless sunshine has at times led to drought and water rationing. Add to that the little complication of climate change. Yes, its real. Yes, its already happening. And it is changing the way things grow in our gardens.

But I think the biggest challenge that California gardeners face is this: its all just so tempting! Its so easy to think that anything will grow here, that all you have to do is plop a seed or a plant in a hole in the ground and it will reward you with flowers, fruit, veggies, next years seeds, and maybe a preventative for heart disease and cancer too. Not that Im opposed to any gardeners enthusiasm. I applaud it. I practice it. I depend upon it. And I get tripped up by it often enough to keep me humble and remind me that there is always more to learn, and that nature is never finished teaching us whos really in charge here.

When I was working on the first edition of this book, it occurred to me that writing about gardening in California was like writing about gardening on planet Earth. California is not a small place, and it is known for its diverse environment. Unlike most other states, California is a smorgasbord of climates and microclimates. We dont have just a few USDA horticultural zones running through the state, we have thirteen of them. And when you consider Sunset zones (developed by Sunset magazine), the number shoots up even higher. Soil types? Weve got em all, from the sandy coastal areas to the hard clay of the inland areas, with pockets of beautiful loam in between. Soils can be more acidic in the north where rainfall is high and more alkaline in the drier south. My experience gardening in the Bay Area is pretty different from that of someone gardening in the Southern California desert, or the Sierras, or the Central Valley, or the Northern California coast. In the end, gardening, like politics, is always local.

But somehow, it all works. It must, because Californias agriculture industry plays a major part in feeding the world. Food wants to grow here. And from the Native Americans who first farmed here to the hippies who returned to the land, Californians have always loved to grow food.

We love to eat food, too. And that foodie culture that emphasizes fresh fruits and vegetables, grown locally and organically whenever possible, is a driving force in Californians renewed interest in growing fruits and vegetables at home. We may not all be able to cook like Alice Waters, but we can follow her lead by incorporating the freshest possible produce into our daily diets. It doesnt get any fresher than something crisp and juicy picked right from your backyard.

Whether you plan to grow just a few fruits or veggies to supplement what you buy in the store or farmers markets or aim to grow as much of your produce as possible, the methods are pretty much the same. But as I warned earlier, dont succumb to the temptation of growing everything all at once. Start with a few crops, then add a few more. Rotate planting spaces to keep the soil healthy, and sow seeds successively to prolong the harvest. Add some fruit trees if you have the space and some perennial vegetables that will provide harvests for several years from that one planting. Think long term and high nutrition, and just keep planting.

Most important, remember that gardening is not a project to be completed; it is a path to follow. Some days, some seasons even, are rocky and rough and less rewarding than youd hoped, but others are lush and simple and beyond bountiful. Every gardener has an occasional bum crop, and every gardener has an occasional bumper crop. Treat your land with respect, practice sustainable gardening methods, and keep planting. You will be rewarded. And remember the words of another land-loving Californian, Robert Louis Stevenson: Dont judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.