A Journal of Urban Living

Psyllid sounds like Cylon, but it’s more District 9 than BSG. These guys are smaller than Prawns or skin-jobs. Also they are not intelligent and don’t have guns. And they’re from Asia, via Mexico, not outer space.

Asian citrus psyllids in Echo Park! They carry Huanglongbing, a plant disease that threatens the state’s citrus industry.

So far, our Nagami kumquat, Meyer lemon, Bearsss lime and Valencia orange are psyllid-free. The Dept of Food and Ag is spraying insecticides that go by innocuous sounding names like Tempo and Merit. We aren’t even in spraying range, because the bug was found on a backyard calamondin south of the 101 in Filipinotown. I’m not one to panic, either about insecticides or the demise of California’s citrus growers, but I’m glad we won’t get sprayed. In the meantime, I’ll be on the lookout for eggs like this:

Right now, I’m more concerned about getting the poor trees out of the pots and doing something about those nasty leafminers who are threatening my supply of cocktail ingredients.

In yet another example of our cutting-edge sensibilities, we attended the LA Urban Rangers‘ excellent tour of Malibu’s public beaches on the very same day that the LA Times profiled the Rangers. Thanks, local paper, for saving me the effort of explaining the concept.

Besides the lovely scenery and temperate morning, the highlight of the tour was watching the legendary Huell Howser at work:

He was definitely a hands-on TV producer, steering and positioning his interview subjects. I guess that shouldn’t surprise me – he’s old school! He even made us gather ’round and wave at the camera. I sorta wonder what the tour was like without his direction and presence.

The Rangers were way fun and the tour was super-educational. A couple of execs from the state Coastal Conservancy were also there, so we peppered them with questions about the property owners’ legal maneuverings, which they answered diplomatically.

Here’s another shot of Peter, the group and Huell looking on:

They were perfect this year. Plump and sweet and tart.

I was expecting to get scratched and overheated like last year, when we struggled to fill three boxes because the canes were so picked over by birds and people. But once again the cool June favors the garden and the bushes were full of with fruit.

Underwood Family Farms charges $5 admission. Berries were $3/lb. We picked just under 10 lbs. Figure a pint of berries costs $3-4 at the farmers market or in a grocery store — we got a good deal.

Still, I hate paying someone else for the privilege of picking. But raspberries don’t do well in the wild here and we missed blackberry (evil invasive staining weed) season.

Here’s what 10 lbs. of raspberries and 3 lbs. of strawberries looks like.

Tomato tasting at Loteria Grill

Today we went to a tomato tasting at Loteria Grill in Hollywood.It was hosted by Tomatomania! who sold us all those interesting seedlings last March, a food blog I’ve never heard of called SippitySup and Loteria. Admission was one homegrown, correctly identified tomato — which for us means FREE! because we are swimming in tomatoes.

We decided to pick the tomatoes just a couple hours before, but the plants have slowed down a bit. There was only one ripe Black from Tula. I forgot to pick the adorable little Red Currants who live in a container out back unfortunately. That’s ok tho, b/c I got to show them off at a party a couple weeks back — I brought a small salad bowl full, and people ate them like candy.

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Here’s what happened to those tomatoes:

Others became confit, caprese salad, sorbet and tomato water soup a la Keller.

Figures that we leave town for 10 days, just as the first tomato is beginning to blush. Not that I’m complaining about a vacation!

Well, now we’re back and there are more tomatoes than I know what to do with.

basket of goodness

In the hat, Ramapo. In the basket, start at the Gypsy pepper and go clockwise: Ramapo, Black from Tula, Costoluto Genevese, Jaune Flame. Also Swiss chard (Neon variety) and radishes.

ripe

You can’t tell, but the plants are so heavy with fruit and branches that they’re toppling over their sturdy cages. That’s the Jaune Flame on the left with the orange orbs of goodness. The best producer is definitely the Ramapo. The prettiest are the wrinkly Black from Tulas that go from burgundy at the bottom to dark greet at the neck.

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poor beans

Something is nomming the beans! We can’t figure out what is eating them before we do.  Several sprouted but were scissored off at the ground by somebody nibbling on their stems. Very upset about this. Once they reach the structure that Peter lovingly built for them, they still get munched around the edges. Hope the 2nd planting will fare better.

Al, the veteran Master Gardener who runs the LA Community Garden Council, says it’s grasshoppers, but I haven’t seen a single one. I think it’s something that comes out at night, like slugs. That would be good, because the late summer heat will do them in. If that’s the case, I’m not going to launch an all-out campaign.

Purchased as seedlings March 29 at Tomatomania! and planted about a week after that. We amended the soil with “zoo poo” — free compost custom blended by the Dept. of Parks and Rec. with herbivore excrement from the LA Zoo in their custom mixer. It was broken down for a while earlier this year because of an OSHA investigation (yikes!) so we are glad the piles of compost are back. At the lovely compost center, they also sell composters and free mulch. So far we’ve stayed away from the mulch because it might contain eucalyptus, which has some nasty chemicals which inhibit growth or sprouting.

The plants have gotten one treatment of fish juice and are laden with blossoms, flowers and fruit.

Black from Tula (where is Tula anyway?)

We chose varieties for variety (duh!) and suitability to our climate — a blazing hot hillside about 15 miles inland between the LA basin and the San Gabriel Valley in Southern California. Pure Mediterranean. The tomato was domesticated and bred not far from here in Mexico, so we’re hopeful.

• Costoluto Genevese: an ugly Italian heirloom that does well in the heat
• Black from Tula: tasty heirloom that’s more like purple than black
• Ramapo: a hybrid beefsteak developed by Rutgers and named after the NJ hills where I grew up
• Jaune Flame: a productive golfball-size orange
• Country Taste: another hybrid that likes the heat

Behind our apartment building we have three pots so we chose 3 varieties that do well in tight quarters:

• Red Currant: the tiniest cherries of them all. So cute you want to string them on a necklace!
• ???: already forgot what this one is but it’s red and suited to containers.
• a volunteer: We planted cherries and heirlooms in pots in the backyard last year, recycled some of the soil and this one popped up in a houseplant! He’s doing great now, so we’ll see what he is.