Q: I have a globe eggplant that was beautiful last year. Apparently, it is a perennial because it continues to grow (slightly elevated bed, facing south, close to the house, in Lakewood). My problem is that so many of the eggplants turn yellow. They are actually kind of a beautiful golden color, but they should be deep purple, almost black. The plant is laden with fruit, but they don’t seem to ripen. If I don’t pick them, the plant stops blossoming, so I try to pick the most ripe ones 1-3 times/week, even though they are really not at all ripe. Do you have any ideas for me?
A: Sometimes it can be tricky to figure out when to harvest your eggplants. This is especially true when you are growing varieties that ripen to white, orange or green. In general, if you press on the fruit (gently!) with your thumb and you leave a dent in the fruit, it’s ready.
When the weather gets hot, eggplants can prematurely turn yellow due to sun overexposure. Try using a shade cloth to protect those tender eggplants from sunburn, but don’t forget to watch them carefully so you don’t miss out!
As you’ve discovered, some summer vegetables can overwinter in milder climates. We have successfully overwintered bell and chili pepper plants in our inland valley garden. After the last harvest of the year, we cut the bushes back to about six inches and placed gallon milk jugs filled with water between the plants. (The year that we tried this, our family was going through one to two gallons of milk per day so we had an ample supply of empty jugs.) The water-filled jugs provided enough frost protection, and we were able to get another season out of our plants —until the gophers came and ate most of them.
Q: I have a plum tree that I planted about 10 years ago. Around the fourth year, it started producing and the tree was full of plums. Since then, the blossoming has not done as well, and I have little or no fruit. The tree appears to be healthy and grows well, but for some reason, does not want to fruit. Do you have some advice to help the tree produce better?
A: If your tree is otherwise healthy, there are several conditions that can prevent flowering and/or fruiting. Temperatures below 27 degrees can cause open blossoms to fall off. On the other hand, lack of winter chill hours (generally, hours below 45 degrees) can prevent blossoming as well.
Hot, windy conditions can dry out blossoms and cause them to fall before they have a chance to be pollenated.
Although many stone fruit are self-fertile, others require a pollen source. If there was a pollen producing tree in your neighborhood that was then removed, that could account for your one good year.
If you have space, perhaps planting a “friend” for your tree will give you a plum crop again. For more information, visit http://homeorchard.ucanr.edu/The_Big_Picture/Pollination/
Looking for more gardening tips? Here’s how to contact the Master Gardener program in your area.
Los Angeles County
mglosangeleshelpline@ucdavis.edu; 626-586-1988; http://celosangeles.ucanr.edu/UC_Master_Gardener_Program/
Orange County
ucceocmghotline@ucanr.edu; 949-809-9760; http://mgorange.ucanr.edu/
Riverside County
anrmgriverside@ucanr.edu; 951-683-6491 ext. 231; https://ucanr.edu/sites/RiversideMG/
San Bernardino County
mgsanbern@ucanredu; 909-387-2182; http://mgsb.ucanr.edu/
