Last Day Of February

February

Its been a warm winter here in Northern California with just a couple storms that gave us a lot of rain. Still in a horrible drought. Still watering plants with grey-water. Still wondering how I'll keep it all alive during the summer. Still wondering how I'm going to keep the creeps out of my garden. I'll try growing squashes around them and make it harder to get in. I guess that's all I can do unless I want to invest in fencing. Which isn't an option. But on a happy note, the deer and bunnies don't bother me at all.

My peas have done well despite the soakings. Ive been having them in stir-frys every other evening and I gave a few away. And I am always walking out to the patch to graze. I don't let them get very big because I cant stop eating them! They really did get pretty beat up by the storms, but they bounced back. Tall Telephone is taller than me now (I'm almost 6 feet tall) and starting to produce. The Golden Sweet Snow Peas are doing great.  The Cascadia and other peas that I saved from last year (I didn't keep good records and don't know what exactly I planted) are doing well.  I didn't do anything special to the soil this time around. Just stuck em in the ground and they grew. But I did rotate them to a different part of the garden and next time I wont crowd them as much. They have brown spots on the bottom leaves from overcrowding. Most of these seeds were left overs from the season before and all germinated just fine.

I planted a lot more garlic this year and it is going gangbusters. Its taking up a lot of space, so I wont have quite as many different kinds of vegetables this year. But when they are done, I can plant some fall crops. I have to pare this garden journey down despite all the car washings I have seen lately. And I love garlic so much that I don't care. I don't think you can have enough!

The Calendula are still growing and happy. They never died back. Ive got nasturtiums growing everywhere, which makes me happy as I just love them. They look pretty lush in patches along the sidewalk . They are invasive, but I don't have a problem yanking out the ones that go where they are not invited, There are not as many blooms now as they have in Spring, but the leaves are gigantic. I'll probably plant them in baskets out in my back yard this year. The dead tree has not been cut down yet, so I cant really plant anything permanent until it is, but nasturtiums strewn about would be fun now that we get more sun back there.

The weather has been glorious for February, so I am outside a lot and people love to stop and talk about my garden. I love to step outside from my work in the studio and look at the natural spots of color here and there. It heals me from the pressures of modern life.

 I dug up a strip alongside the house and I'll plant flowers - maybe some vining flowers  and more marigolds. In fact, I just ordered passion flower seeds and then didnt realize that they can take a year to germinate. Big sigh. I'll just have to go visit a nursery, I guess. I want some lush, trailing and climbing stuff. I want this place prettified. I did transplant my rootbound rose bushes - and they are THRIVING now that they can spread root, get some sun, and breathe! And for the shady front of my studio, I will be replacing the roses with ferns. This is a Mother Fern. I didnt even know I was getting a mother fern or what that is. I just knew that I wanted a fern and that it was love at first sight with this one. But now I'll have baby ferns to plant in the shady parts of the back yard! Its all coming together.

The Tweakers Stole My Tomatoes

They did. I literally walked out my front door in a rush to get to the Post Office one day and ran right into two meth heads walking out of my garden with a big bag of the last of my unripe tomatoes.  I was taken by surprise and a little intimidated by the one - who got into a car much nicer than mine, btw - but I did maneage to sternly scold them and told them to ask next time. Right. Thats gonna happen...........

I saw it coming and I was warned. They made off with my biggest pumpkin and the one tweaker was always making comments on the garden when he walked by. He was, in an off-handed way, telling me that he was about to steal from me. Thats how it often works. But in broad daylight. In front of people. Nobody lifted a finger to stop them or tell me.  I know the one guy and see him around a lot. I doubt that I will be able to not say something to him in the future. I called the cops and felt like an idiot for doing so. But when I went to the last police liason meeting, they did express the need to know every little thing that these guys were up to. Its just tomatoes, but they were my tomatoes. And I was so very proud of them. :(

I either have to find another place to grow tomatoes or I have to build a fence that I cant afford. Its always something, isnt it. But I grew some damned fine tomatoes and I can now take that knowledge elsewhere.


On that note, the plants were shutting down and I recently pulled them up, dug in a bit more aged chicken shit, tore down and built back up my bean poles, and planted peas and garlic. Lots of garlic. Im just going to plant things that have worked for me in the past and keep my fingers crossed........

The Summer Of My Deep Content

The link to my blog was broken this summer and I didnt have the patience to fix it. So I gardened and focused on other things instead. All that double digging, chicken, and rabbit manure, and burying fish under my tomato plants did its' magic for me. I got 5 huge tomato plants - two Early Girls that I bought at Whole Paycheck, and three that my sister had given me (I dont know where from) - with loads of the most delicious fruit that I can remember eating in a long time.

Not only did I eat lots of tomato sandwiches, but I made sauce, shared with my friends and neighbors and my freezer is full of tomatoes and green beans. The beans are still blossoming and growing and  producing. I might get enough to can a few jars before the plants shut down, but I can officially say that I am sick of green beans.

I grew another fairly large french pumpkin that someone stole. And I have a rogue spaghetti squash that I never planted - it just came up and gave me a huge baby.

I grew some delicata that didn't seem to have any bug issues. It could have used a bit more water and fertilizer, but I was happy with the yield. I will definitely be planting more of those next spring. The other squashes didn't do great this year. But they might have been planted too close together. I tried a new one - a lemon squash that was a disappointment. But I had lots of carrots, turnips, Kale, radishes, and the most amazing garlic Ive ever seen.

I saved some of that crop to plant after I pull up the beans. And I have lots of new Kentucky Wonder pole bean seeds for next year.

I planted a lot of onion starts but most of them disappeared. They didn't die - just disappeared. And I grew a great Habanero  bush with lots of peppers. 

So for the most part, despite the drought and using most of my grey water, I did pretty good.

I had a few heirloom tomatos in bins and pots that were moderately successful. Nothing to write home about. Things just do better in the ground for me. But Im still eating from them. Cherokee Purple for the most part. And there a few rogue cherrys that did pretty good and will produce til frost.

I tried growing some things in the backyard, but they still dont get enough sun hours out there.

That powdery mildew struck in full force while I was on vacation and I couldn't get to it in time.  And the cucumber beetles and stink bugs were insane. I just let them have their way this summer. But next year will be a different story.

After the beans and tomatoes are done, I'll put in my garlic and peas. Ive got two kinds of kale, some chard and bok choy. And more carrots.

I just dont know whats going to happen with this drought. I seriously cut back on water and let everything by the street die. I save probably 90 % of my grey water and use if for flushing the toilet and watering plants and garden. I never once let the hose run unattended for for very long. I didn't do much watering in the back yard. And still my landlord called to tell me I'm using too much water. WTF. I used way less than last year. So we'll see. Its about to be a disaster out there - no water - no crops - no food: not pretty.

A Friend Is Dying

 My old Elm tree in the backyard is dying. It has the blight that has killed so many elms in this country. It was sick and we knew it wasnt going to live forever. Some elms down the road had to be chopped down last year,  but this die-off happened suddenly. The leaves came out at the start of Spring as always, and then all of a sudden, it's leaves started turning brown and bit by bit, all the green disappeared and dropped to the ground.

 Ive kind of been in shock. When I moved here, the backyard was a huge selling point with its shady overgrown landscape. You couldn't really grow much underneath it, but  the tree offered a refuge from the summer heat. I have no windows - only doors and no insulation.............so the shade cooled off my house. Now its all bright and dry back there and my home and workshop is like an oven. I'll have to get a patio umbrella and some hefty fan action. I'm raking leaves in June, which feels kind of eerie.  The tree is going to have to be chopped down and Im going to be staring out at a hideous wall. Right now, I feel as if I might as well be living back in the city with its bare walls.

I guess on the upside, there will be enough sun to grow  things out there now. To everything it's season, but the whole vibe and beauty of the yard has been destroyed. A friend is dying Im so sad. I'll have to adapt, but it wont be easy.

Thinking of Cabbages

So now that there is actually hope for me and my little garden,  Im thinking of starting seeds soon to plant for Fall and Winter. I want to try cabbages and broccoli as soon as I put my current seedlings in the ground. I also want to look like the girl in this Barbier print - but I would need to lose a few pounds.

I dont know if I'll have time or room for all of these - but some are spoken for. I just start them indoors and they always come up. I put them outdoors instead of under my skylight this year because I have a new kitten. They seem to be doing just as well. Ive got several different kinds of peppers and tomatoes - with lots of onions.

The Garden Is In

I got a late start on putting in my garden this year. I was extremely busy again - business-wise - and all I had any time to do was to double dig and amend my soil. I shouldnt put that down, as I was doing all of that using a foot that was recovering from some hefty surgery last fall. But I did want to be further along.

HOWEVER, by not planting so early in April, like I did last year, I avoided the hungry bug invasion and cold wind from off of the straits. I have some holes in the first crop of bean seedlings, but they are all thriving at this point in time. I have only found two cucumber beetles so far - as opposed to a bazillion. And they were off in the field somewhere.

I planted pumpkins from last year's large pumpkin. I have been putting empty  plastic planters in the middle of the squash hills and over the roots of the tomatoes. This is enabling me to save water by using more greywater. But now that Ive dug and double dug, amended with compost, fresh soil, and aged chicken manure, the water is soaking into the ground a lot easier and the soil isnt caking as badly in the sun.

Im going to let the pumpkins and other squashes climb over the compost pile in the field.

So this is what Ive got planted thus far:
5 tomatoes
Zuchinni
Yellow Crookneck
A French Pumpkin
Dellacata Squash
Lemon Squash
Three kinds of cucumbers
Garlic that will be ready soon
Carrots
Radishes
Turnips
Beets
Kale
Chard
Various Lettuces
Cilantro
Chives
Dill
Bee Balm
Marigolds
Valerian
Calendula

Ive got more tomatoe seedlings that I started from seed, but will go in pots soon. Ive also got peppers and lots of onions.

We'll see how it goes. Im saving as much water as I can for this. Im saving my dish water, anything that I wash vegetables and my hands with.........Im not doing as much laundry as I was. Not taking as many showers.