Flag Sale

Only 5 More Days!
Ends August 9^th!

50% OFF

Everything in the Flag Zone (behind Bobbi's)

Sale Includes Plants, Pottery and More

All Specially Flagged

Too hot to contemplate digging but yearning to create a garden? Make your patio or deck a paradise with container plants. You can offer a plant a starring role in its own container or a supporting role in a combination of colors and textures. Arranging different plants in a container is easier than you might think. Noted Horticulturist  P. Allen Smith's recipe for plant combos is summed up as a thriller with fillers and spillers. If you remember that recipe, choosing plants is easy. Your thriller is usually tallest, your fillers bushy and the spillers trail over the edge of the pot. 

If you want a garden of eatin' try a grouping of containers. How about a large pot or two with a hardy banana and/or a dwarf citrus, plus a couple of medium pots with blueberries, then add a low bowl or 2 with salad greens. Tuck in a few edible flowers like nasturtiums or pinks (Dianthus) for color, add a few herbs like thyme or sage and voilà, a patio paradise.

If an edible garden isn't your idea of paradise, but a colorful low maintenance garden is, try New Zealand flax, bougainvillea, lantanas, lavenders or geraniums, either solo or in combinations. Container gardens of succulents are fun to create and fascinating to watch grow. You can assemble container gardens of colorful annuals and rotate them seasonally or use perennials, shrubs and trees for more permanent décor.

Let the Nursery Pros at Yamagami's help you create your own patio paradise. We have all the supplies you'll need to succeed as well as the best selection of plants around.  Enjoy your summer time outdoors in a paradise of your own making.

Time to prune your apricots if you haven't already. Do not prune them in winter because that's when they are susceptible to a nasty disease called Eutypa dieback. As you can tell, it causes die back of branches and there is no effective control except prevention, so prune now.

Last chance to “summer prune” your other fruit trees to control size. Basically you will be cutting new growth back by 50%. This reduces the tree's burst  of spring growth, helping to keep it to a manageable size.

Fertilize and deep water your fruit trees after harvest to help them recharge for next year's crop. We recommend Dr. Earth's Fruit Tree Fertilizer for optimum plant (and planet) health.

Time to prevent the annual autumn raccoon grubfest on your lawn. Those masked rascals like nothing better than a moonlight grub hunt. They can rip up an entire lawn in just days (actually nights) as they feast on nearly dormant (and plumped up for the winter) grubs. ACT NOW if you have experienced this before, if your neighbors have, if you see brown patches in your lawn or have seen June bugs around.  These are all warnings that you will likely be a target this fall.

Apply Green Light Grub Control to your lawn and surrounding flower beds or groundcover areas. It kills all white grubs, even the immature stages. It will also take care of cutworms, sod webworms and many other pests.  One application lasts an entire season.  Act now and save yourself grief later.

A common mistake made by beginning vegetable gardeners is harvesting a crop at the wrong time. Since ripeness varies according to planting time, the weather in any given year, the variety of the particular vegetable planted, and many other things, one can't just say "Harvest this vegetable on August 20th." Here is a general guide for harvesting many commonly grown summer vegetables.

Beans (snap): Pick before you can see the seeds bulging. Pods should snap easily into two. Check daily, as they will get tough quickly.

Beets: You can harvest and eat the green tops that you thin out of the rows. Beets are somewhat a matter of preference when it comes to the right size. Most prefer a diameter of 1.5 to 2 inches, but they are ready any time after the shoulders come above ground.

Cantaloupe (muskmelon): The color should change to beige and the fruit will "slip" from the stem easily. You may be able to notice a sweet smell when ripe.

Chard (Swiss): Harvest outer leaves as they become large enough to use, allowing younger leaves to continue to grow.

Collards (kale and mustard): Harvest young plants or lower leaves on older plants. Leaves should be young and tender. Taste improves with cool weather.

Corn: Pick after the silks become brown. The kernels should exude a milky substance when pricked.

Cucumber: Check daily and harvest early (if harvesting for pickling, even earlier). Timing and length will vary with variety. The fruits should be firm and smooth. Over-ripe cucumbers can be very bitter or pithy, even before they start to turn yellow.

Eggplant: Slightly immature fruits taste best. The fruits should be firm and shiny. Cut rather than pull from the plant.

Garlic: The garlic tops will fall over and begin to brown when the bulbs are ready. Dig gently, don't pull, and allow to dry before storing. Shake off dirt rather than washing.

Leeks: Harvest leeks when they are about 1 inch in diameter.

Lettuce (Head): Harvest once the head feels full and firm with a gentle squeeze. Hot weather will cause it to bolt or go to seed rather than filling out.

Lettuce (Leaf): Harvest the outer leaves once the plant has reached about 4 inches in height. Allow the younger, inner leaves to grow. Leaf lettuce can be harvested in this fashion for quite some time. If seed stalks begin to form, harvest the whole plant immediately and refrigerate.

Okra: Harvest frequently, figure about 3-4 days from flower to mature pod. Err on the immature side--the pods get woody and tough as they get older. Remove old pods, even if you missed one too long, so they'll keep producing. Wear gloves and long sleeves when harvesting; okra has small spines (they look like hairs) that can make you itchy--even 'spineless' varieties have some.

Onions: Onions can be dug once at least half the tops have ripened and fallen over. Allow the onions to dry in the sun.

Onions (bunching): Dig before bulbing starts or before they become too thick (over 1/2 inch diameter).

Peppers (bell, sweet): Fruit should be full size but still green, firm and crisp in texture. If red fruits are desired, leave on plant until red color develops.

Peppers (chile): Fresh fruit should be full size, shiny green to slightly red, firm and crisp in texture. Dry red fruit should be allowed to turn completely red and dry on plant.

Potatoes "New" potatoes can be harvested when the tops start to flower. Carefully dig at the outer edges of the row. For full size potatoes, wait until the tops of the potato plants dry and turn brown. Start digging from the outside perimeter and move in cautiously to avoid slicing into potatoes.

Pumpkins: Once the pumpkins have turned the expected color and the vines are starting to decline, they can be cut from their vines.

Squash (Summer): Pick young and check often. The skins should be tender enough to poke your fingernail through.

Squash (Winter): Color is a good indicator of winter squash maturity. When the squash turns the color it is supposed to be, cut from the vine.

Tomatoes: For the best taste, harvest tomatoes when they are fully colored and slightly soft to the touch. Gently twist and pull from the vine. If your plant looks like it may be over-producing, you can also harvest some as they start to ripen and let them finish indoors. If you like fried green tomatoes, harvest as they reach full size (or just as the first color change begins, if you like them a bit less tart).

Watermelons: The white spot on the bottom of the melon should change to yellow when ripe. Some people can hear a change in the sound made when the melon is thumped with a finger.

With summer here, garden herbs are kicking into high gear, producing lots of pleasing, aromatic foliage that is great for cooking and potpourris. Freshly harvested leaves are wonderful for cooking, but you might want to preserve some to use later in the year or to create sachets that will fill your home with wonderful scents. The best time to harvest is in the morning when dew has dried but before the heat of the day.

There are two ways to air-dry your crop. The first is to hang it up. With large-leafed herbs such as basil, rosemary, and sage, snip off the leafy stems, then tie the cut ends together with string and hang the bundle upside down in a warm, dry place (out of direct sunlight) with good air circulation. The herbs should be dry and crisp in two to three weeks. You can then strip the leaves off the stems and store them in airtight container for later use. This method is also a great way to dry lavender.

The second way to dry herbs is to spread them out to dry. With fine-leafed herbs such as oregano and thyme, simply remove the foliage from stems and spread the leaves on a cookie sheet or piece of clean window screen and set in a warm, dry, airy place away from direct sun. Stir them up every few days to turn them over. Once the leaves feel crisp, you can store them in an airtight container for later use. 

A quick and easy way to dry herbs is using your microwave oven. Do be careful though. Start by putting two layers of paper towels on the bottom of the microwave, add a layer of herbs, then cover with two more layers of paper towels. Turn the microwave on high for two minutes, then check your herbs for dryness. If they are not done, move the herbs around, run the microwave for 30-60 seconds and check again. Repeat this process until the herbs are dry. It is important to rotate the herbs and check often during this process. Parsley dries especially well by this method.

Tarragon, chives, dill, fennel, and lovage all freeze well and it's easy. Rinse and dry freshly picked stems, then just strip leaves from stems and place in zip-lock freezer bags. Basil can be puréed in a food processor or blender with a small amount of olive oil, then frozen in ice cube trays. Then place the frozen basil cubes in zip-lock freezer bags. Do not freeze completed pesto though, as the garlic will become bitter.

Many herbs can still be planted for fall harvest too. If your basil and parsley are starting to bloom, replant. Herb plants are available year round. They make such a difference in flavor and are generally easy to grow. Let the Nursery Pros at Yamagami's show you how!