California fuchsias bring an easy-to-grow and drought-tolerant pop of color to your garden. Find out how to grow these beautiful perennials in your garden by reading our expert guide below. Nothing beats California fuchsia for a touch of red in your garden in the late summer and early fall. These drought and pest-tolerant perennials are easy to grow and attract garden-friendly critters like bees and hummingbirds. The small to mid-sized perennials are perfect for dryer climates where rainfall is unpredictable. Besides their beautiful red to scarlet trumpet-shaped flowers, many gardeners love their fuzzy foliage for a touch of gray in their garden. Below, we’ll cover how to plant your California Fuchsia. We’ll also cover how to keep them healthy throughout the year. What Is It? The California fuchsia, Epilobium canum, is native to the American Southwest, including California, Arizona, and New Mexico. They thrive throughout California and Southern Oregon and grow wild on coastlines and near creeks in drier areas. The plant is a perennial that loves full sun to partial shade. The healthiest plants can grow to two feet high and three feet wide. They have fuzzy leaves that are light gray or green, depending on the cultivar. Its flowers are typically bright red to scarlet. If vivid reds in your garden aren’t your thing, don’t worry. Some cultivars have pink or even white flowers. The California fuchsia is also known as the hummingbird trumpet or hummingbird flower. This is because the plant attracts several species of hummingbirds and even bees. These animals feed on the sweet nectar inside its trumpet-like flowers. Most nurseries across the West Coast and Southwest sell the seeds. There are many cultivars and three subspecies with different sizes, flowers, and leaf colors to choose from. You can also find a related native fuchsia species called the Humboldt County fuchsia (Epilobium septentrionale). The plant is low-growing with trumpet-shaped flowers, thin stems, and silvery leaves. Planting California fuchsia is one of the easiest flowers to plant in gardens throughout the West Coast and Southwest. To propagate, you can choose between planting seeds, stem cuttings, or simply planting a runner from another plant. To propagate by seed, sow seeds barely covered in flats with drainage holes or a seed starting tray. Use a premium potting soil mix containing coarse perlite, vermiculite, sand, and peat moss. Place the trays in the refrigerator for a few weeks or leave them outdoors for natural stratification. After sowing, keep the soil moist during the plant’s stratification and germination phases. Keep your seedlings in a shade house until they’re ready to plant. Once your plants develop their cotyledons and the first leaves emerge, transplant your plants into 5” Cube Pots with the same soil you used during sowing. As your seedlings grow, you can add a small amount of all-purpose vegetable fertilizer to stimulate growth before planting. When your seedlings are mature, they are ready to be transplanted in your garden. Plant California fuchsias 24” to 36” apart in the late spring or early summer. You can expect to see their brightly colored flowers appear in July and last until mid to late fall. Some gardeners have reported seeing flowers hanging on until January!

Summer is the season of tomatoes! If you like cherry varieties, ‘Cherry Falls’ is the type for you. It’s quick-growing and fast to fruit, sprouting delicious, bite-sized fruit two months after planting. Give it the care it needs, and it’ll reward you with baskets full of cherry tomatoes. I used to think determinate tomato varieties were less ideal than indeterminate ones. Boy, was I wrong! Determinate tomatoes, though they develop all at once, are great for gardeners with short growing seasons. They also work well for home cooks who like to can or preserve their tomatoes. Unlike indeterminate pole tomatoes, bushy determinate ones flower and fruit all at once instead of throughout the growing season. There are hybrid varieties that produce fruit earlier than most other types. ‘Cherry Falls’ is one such variety. It grows a wealth of cherry-sized tomatoes before pole types sprout flowers! Whether you’re growing this kind for the first time or brushing up on how to care for it best, this guide has all the information you need to keep your crop happy, healthy, and productive. What Is It? ‘Cherry Falls’ is a hybrid tomato variety that grows clusters of grape-sized fruit. Though it’s determinate, you can prolong its growing season by harvesting consistently. Routine picking can encourage new growth that sprouts fruit after the first harvest. Native Area All of our current tomatoes originated from wild ancestors in South America. The ancient Inca Empire had farmers, gardeners, and growers who cultivated new varieties from wild specimens near Peru. These new types spread throughout the world through trade, after which breeders in other countries bred new tomato types. This is why, nowadays, different countries have their favorite tomatoes. Quick-growing, determinate varieties are popular in cold areas like Canada and Russia, while indeterminate types are widespread in gardens with warm, frost-free climates. Characteristics ‘Cherry Falls’ grows short vines that max out around 18 inches long. Off the vines sprout multiple new shoots with flower clusters and, eventually, fruit! The short vines may grow longer than 18 inches if they hang down from raised beds, planters, or hanging baskets. The tomatoes themselves have a sweet, semi-tart flavor that sweetens the longer they sit on the vine. They’ll give when you squeeze them, indicating they’re ripe and ready to eat. The small, round fruits are perfect for fresh eating, salads, and sauces. The foliage isn’t as dense and bushy as other types. It’s incredibly ornamental! You’ll appreciate the spear-shaped leaves and compact stems. This variety’s size is perfect for container growing. Planting Whether you purchase seedlings at the store or grow them from seeds, they’re easy to care for and transplant into the garden. They appreciate warm temperatures, consistent moisture, and bright light. How to Grow ‘Cherry Falls’ thrives in a wide range of gardens. Give it the care it needs, and it’ll provide you with bushels of fruit throughout the summer. Plant many in a large pot, or give each one its own home and space. No matter how big or small your yard is, this tomato will easily tuck into every empty nook and cranny. Maintenance Tomatoes are high-maintenance because they typically need caging, fertilizing, and plenty of water. ‘Cherry Falls’ is significantly easier to care for than most other types. You may give it support if you’d like it to grow upright, or let it drape over the edges of containers and baskets.

‘Allstar’ is a highly productive, low-maintenance strawberry variety that backyard gardeners love. Its delicious berries and resistance to common strawberry diseases make it an easy pick to add to your garden wishlist every season. Join organic farmer Jenna Rich as she shows us how to plant, grow, and care for ‘Allstar’ June-bearing strawberries. Summer is almost upon us, and for me, nothing signals summer quite like strawberry plants beginning to blossom and set fruit. A summer day isn’t complete until I’ve picked and consumed a handful of fresh berries! ‘Allstar’ strawberry plants are vigorous and wildly productive, so I recommend this variety if you want to work berries into your everyday snacks like I do. They can grow in containers, raised beds, or ground. Get your jam and pie recipes ready; you’ll need them! Let’s talk about one of my, and so many other gardeners’, favorite strawberry varieties, the June-bearing ‘Allstar’. What Are ‘Allstar’ June-bearing Strawberries? ‘Allstar’ might as well come with a home gardening gold star. It’s beloved for its low-maintenance attitude, classic strawberry flavor, and high yields. Plus, it’s virtually disease-free! Fruits are big and juicy and ripen in early summer. Its thin skins make it perfect for fresh eating, desserts, and preserves. Unlike ever-bearing varieties that supply small to medium-sized fruits all season, ‘Allstar’ is June-bearing. This type of strawberry produces a main flush of large berries in peak summer, around June and July. They require a period of dormancy and grow well across zones. Appearance The plant features dense, medium to dark green, glossy foliage and grows to about nine inches tall and 12 inches wide. The flowers are white and five-petaled with yellow centers. The berries are bright orangeish-red, large, and plentiful. How to Grow ‘Allstar’ is relatively low-maintenance, but to be rewarded with delicious, large berries, the plants require a few basics. Sunlight Strawberry plants require full sun to grow properly, and yields will be best when they receive six to ten hours daily. Less sunlight may result in leaf drop and a decrease in productivity. Plants will appreciate some afternoon shade. Consider using shade cloth during periods of prolonged, harsh sunlight. Water The soil should be consistently moist but not waterlogged, and plants should receive at least an inch of water weekly. Root rot and disease spread quickly in soggy soil. Add compost to adjust soil consistency and help with drainage. Soil ‘Allstar’ strawberries require well-draining, loamy, and fertile soil. They’ll appreciate a healthy application of well-aged, organic compost worked in before planting. Plants can adapt to various soil types. Amend the soil until the pH is between 6 and 6.5. Mulch Mulch around your plants to reduce weed pressure, help retain soil moisture, and protect the crown from cool temperatures. If rainfall has been ample and the soil is exceptionally moist, hold off on mulching during the summer, as this could cause root and crown rot. Add several layers of organic straw mulch before the first fall frost heading into winter to protect plants from frost damage and cold temperatures. Remove any mulch put over the plants for winter protection to fertilize and clean up winter debris. Some gardeners choose to reapply mulch for the season, but it’s a personal preference. Climate and Temperature Requirements Before planting out, temperatures should be comfortably between 50°F (10°C) and 80°F (27°C). Excess humidity can cause disease, and cold temperatures may cause damage. If temperatures dip below 50°F (10°C) for a prolonged period, cover plants with row cover. The foliage of ‘Allstar’ is hardy enough to stick around into winter, creating a ground cover. Fertilizing Prepare the soil by mixing lots of well-aged compost and a potassium-rich fertilizer, spreading about ⅓ cup around each area where a plant will grow. Use a high-quality, all-purpose, well-balanced (10-10-10-) fertilizer on your strawberry plants. Feed new plants every two weeks with slow-release fertilizer. Follow the instructions and dosages as per the package instructions. Harvesting When berries begin ripening, get your harvest buckets ready in late spring to early summer. Harvest often to keep berries from spoiling and avoid picking early. Strawberries won’t ripen once off the vine. Pruning Pruning is unnecessary for strawberries; monitoring and removing runners will help control their spread. Runners will begin to appear in the spring as the day length increases. In year one, removing runners allows the plant to focus energy on establishing a solid root system. Propagation Propagating strawberry plants is fun and easy. Purchase bare roots from reputable sources, plugs, or plants at your local nursery, or create new plants by potting up runners you removed from established plants. You can even start them from seed!