Tomatoes Break-out!

I can't believe how big the tomatoes are getting! Of course, I always say that, as if tomato plants might somehow be smaller this year for some reason. Compare the difference between them now and on April 2nd. I'm finding homes for most of them, which is a good thing as the ones I want to keep need potting up real soon! Mr. C. says I need greenhouse #2 to go up.

The hunt for where to put the new raised beds continue. So far, choice #2 weighed in with "Partial Shade". Even worse than choice #1. I tried the SunCalc in bed 2 only to be dismayed with the result "Partial Shade". That was a shocker. But the change in sun angles does cause the amount of sun to change in the yard. That bed is ideal in the winter, very productive with swiss chard and other winter veggies (I was musing that's where the Brussels Sprouts should have been this winter). But I had a hard time last year with corn in that bed. I thought it was a lack of nutrients, but perhaps, I thought wrong. I've also stopped testing as the dark clouds have been hanging over our area. No rain, but not much sun either.

Tomorrow I will try choice #3, weather permitting. I'll also have to try to test bed 2 again to see if it was too cloudy that day. I'm thinking Sunday according to the weather predictions.

Sunny day

A quick shot of bed 1 with calendula and Rubine Brussels Sprouts. The marbles are just beginning to form. It's going to be a race to see if I get them before the season gets too warm for the plant. The plant looks much different from January. I think the plant is at least twice as large as it was in January. My seed charts are saying to start more Brussels Sprouts by seed in May. And the local farmers usually plant out starts around June/July. Speaking of local farmers, I wanted to remind myself when the artichokes starts go in field along Highway one. I noticed them on Monday, they look to be about 4 inches tall. Artichokes are grown as annuals around here, even though I know many gardeners who keep them as perrenials.

Sunshine is a welcome change. Mostly because I've been wanting to try my new toy. With so many tomatoes to plant I need to find a good sunny spot for the raised beds. Mr. C. has made four new ones and I've been trying to plan where to put them. And I thought I may have found a spot so I decided to test it with my SunCalc. As it takes 12 hours to do the test, I had to set it by 7 am and by 6:30 I was pacing around like someone waiting for the kettle to boil. Sadly, the spot is partial sun, not enough for tomatoes. Well, onto spot #2. I also now want to test bed 2 as I wonder if the oak tree shades the bed, making it a "partial sun" bed as well.

I've also done a soil test on bed 3. The pH is 6.5, slightly acidic. Nitrogen was N1- deficient. But at least it registered a little. I did grow beans in that bed last, before the onions. Phosphorus was P2 - adequate and Potash was P3 - sufficient. I'm undecided on what to do with the phosphorus reading. It occurs to me that I might have to use bed 3 for tomatoes. I'm planning on combination planting cosmos, sunflowers, and maybe chammomile and petunias. I'll especially do that if the other tomato beds end up in the front, choice #3 for the new beds.

Easter "Break"

Went up to see Mom for the holiday. Her dogwood trees were really stunning, despite the dark clouds and drizzle. Maybe that made them shine as they were the bright spot in an otherwise dark and damp day. Of course I had to check in with the fruit trees that I planted back in January. Espaliers, showing leaves and looking good. Craigs Crimson cherry, showing leaves and possibly branches, but all lower than the scaffold branches we were hoping would bud out.



Calville Blanc d'hiver, still a stick. Can't say the asparagus is going wild. But there are a few weak sprouts. Mom thinks the bunnies (aka wild jack rabbits) have been nibbling there, but I can't see any indication. I'm hoping it't not me (who probably didn't do enough research on how to plant asparagus) that is to blame. Seems there is a great deal of information on how to plant them that I discovered after I had done the deed.

Also, note to self: don't believe that the peach tree doesn't need horticultural oil in the winter just because it's a new tree and there aren't any that I can see. Poor thing has a good case of peach leaf curl, something I could have prevented.



We talked about what to plant in May in her garden. She said she's enjoying the Swiss Chard and that should be repeated in the fall with some Mustard. I took the tomato plants I gave her back to Elkhorn. She's going on a trip and I don't think the soil is going to be warm enough to plant them outside. So, it'll be easier to watch them at home in the greenhouse.

Keeping Count:
Rain in Elkhorn over the weekend was 1/2-inch.

Sunny break

It was a very nice day. Temperatures over 70's. Too bad I was at work. I guess I have been avoiding the whole rain issue as I didn't take the rain gauge readings for the last couple of days. I just dashed to the car and forgot to look. It's been a total of 1/2-inch for the last couple of days. The weather report says there's another system moving in, but not much chance for rain. I made sure the tomatoes were watered and checked some of the cuttings. I seem to have been successful with the Mimulus 'Jack', the mallow, and leonotis. So I potted them up quickly before sunset. I usually don't have much success with cuttings in vermiculite with hormones. My prefered method is cuttings into water. I really like my incubator. I have a small one modelled off something I read on a web site. If I can find the propagator description, I'll post it.

Angela Bares All

Angela's Northern California Garden Blog where she dares to bare all. I applaud her, and I know how hard it can be to be truthful in our gardening. Currently, the garden club that I belong to has a monthly "show off your best blooming plant". Last month, only a couple of our members had posted a picture and the web-master sent an email to remind everyone. I responded "does oxalis count? because with all the wet weather, it's the only thing in bloom that isn't snail eaten." I received a few emails that confirmed that was what was happening in my neighbor's gardens. One member said the snails were so large that they were pounding down the door for more cat food. Another gave her vote to me (and I hadn't even sent a picture). Maybe this month we can have a "who's soggiest" contest.

P.S. She seems to have had some odd bug with back-link and I've reposted this without the back link. It's still a good post.

signs that are telling you that you need to clean out the shed

While looking for something else, you come across another garden tool, that illicits the remark "I wondered where I had put that!" This happened on Sunday, when I was looking around for a weeder and found my triangular-frame weed whip instead. Which was fortuitous as I wanted to take some of the weeds down, but couldn't get to my electric string trimmer as Mr. C. had moved his new motorbike into the garage in front of it. Anyway, I find it very pleasant to work the weed whip, although the surplus oxygen can really mess with your head. If you haven't tried working a manual weed whip, it's a bit like practicing your golf swing by beheading dandelions. Unlike a golf swing, I tend to swing it back and forth.

swiff, swiff, swiff, swiff
"hey I wonder if this really does improve your golf swing?"
swiff, swiff, swiff, swiff
"ha ha, off with their heads!"
swiff, swiff, swiff, swiff
"left, swing left, that's the newly planted blackberries!"
swiff, swiff, swiff, swiff
"oh look, my transplanting trowel"
swiff, swiff, swiff, swiff

Well, it's a start. I think Mr. C thought I'd gone completely mad.

"Hey Percy, you know we have a string trimmer for that job?"

Yes, but it tends to be a chore, especially the gas powered ones. In fact, we have by far too many string trimmers, I prefer my electric one, but Mr. C. has 5 others all gas powered. All the noise and noxious fumes, you can't breathe and the neighbors can't wait until you finish. But a weed whip causes a mild euphoria partly because the wild grasses are at a more reasonable height and you've gotten a great aerobic workout after being couped up after many days of rainy weather.

Keeping Count:
1/8-inch rain from yesterday. More on the way.

A little sunshine

I called in late to work today. I needed a sunshine break. There are lovely poufy clouds in the sky and I'm told that it's the rain coming in for Friday. So, I'll enjoy it while it lasts. The next storm will be on it's heels, and the weather folks are saying that it will carry more rain than the impending Friday storm.


1/2-inch precipitation last of this storm, on to the next.

P.S. As it was sunny, I couldn't help but go out and take pictures to put into some of my past posts. The rain gauge shot is the 4 day measurement of the last storm (April 4th through 6th.)

You have to stay upbeat

All this rain can get a person down, but some gardeners know how to stay upbeat:

Angela's Northern California Garden Blog: No lines at the checkout!
Now if I could just get Mr. C. to stop saying "It never rained like this in England! Isn't this supposed to be sunny California?"

Rain Count for my little corner of Elkhorn:
5 Apr 2006 1 1/4-inch
4 Apr 2006 1 1/4-inch
3 Apr 2006 1/2-inch

Tomatoes, Finished!

Final count of this year's Tomato Monster participants is 124 plants and 37 varieties. Only a few didn't sprout and I lost the only Dagma's Perfection to a potting accident (smashed the poor bugger when I dropped the tray, alas). The "no shows" were Purple Calabash (an heirloom that was grown by Thomas Jefferson at one point), Ananas Noir, and Green Giant. I'll have to try them some other time.


Fortunately, quite a few of these will be adopted out by friends and family. But I'm excited to go forward with 37 varieties. I think I'm going to have to come up with some new ways to keep the plants warm, but I'm hopeful that many will be okay with the coastal temperatures.

Next bit of news is that the assumed-apricot has fruit on it. I was looking at a flock of itty-bitty birds (I can't seem to identify them) when I noticed some fuzzy lumps on a branch. Upon closer inspection, I could see lots of fuzzy lumps and a few were even an inch long. Hurrah! I may get apricots! I suspected that the lack of fruit was because there wasn't a pollinator, and I think I guessed right. I'm very pleased that the 4 in one pluot I've introduced to the garden must have been the key. I wasn't completely sure it would pollinate the apricot, but it seems to have worked out. My next step, if this hadn't succeded, was to plant a self fruitful apricot and see what happened, but I'm glad that I can choose whether or not I want another apricot tree.

Other exciting news is that Mom's "stick" (Calville Blanc d'Hiver) is budding out and showing signs of life. We are still holding our breath on the Lapin cherries, but my tree and Mom's tree are showing some swelling buds. Keeping our fingers crossed.

ROFLMAO

Store Wars
A little April humor. I was laughing so hard this morning I woke Mr. C up. But then he got a good laugh too.

There's a break in the clouds. Better get out there and get more work in the garden, 'cuz my part of the rebellion is growing my own.

1/2-inch precipitation last night.

Garden Mistakes or April Fool's jokes I play on myself

I just noticed this "note to self" in my other garden journal:
"Remember not to plant turnips next to the rutabegas."
This is because the plants are too similar to tell one from the other. The little row marker I set out (wood tongue depresser) happily composted itself right there in the row and my effort to harvest a few turnip greens to add to a stew or stir fry were quickly thwarted. And I couldn't find any reference material to see if rutabega (or as Mr. C calls them "swedes") greens are edible. I am leary just because I know how many greens are not edible - i.e. potato, rhubarb, etc.

So my next "note to self" is "Remember not to plant the leeks near the elephant garlic". I thought I could tell the difference. I mean, elephant garlic has these slightly destinguishable ridges if you run your fingers along the leaves, while leeks are smooth. But what I noticed recently is that leeks, once they are a bit bigger, seem to be getting these same ridges. Great. Now which are which?

Garden Dreaming

Now other than clearing the downspouts, I am dreaming of re-working the compost areas. I have 3 worm bins that I put most all of the household food scraps in. But I would like to have a better set up for my garden scraps compost. I am very happy with the worm bins, and I have thought maybe I should expand them again, but I'd be really pleased if I could successfully create a "hotpile" compost system.

Rain, rain, here to stay?

I was talking with my neighbor (as I was upgrading the RAM in his computer - but that's another story) about the very wet March we've been having. He bought the house next to us that at one point, we had made an offer on. I was attracted to the already built raised beds and the sunny exposure that his home enjoys. But it was more expensive than the home we are now in, and we dropped the offer.

He says, when he lived in Gilroy, he used to keep an extensive garden. And in the early days here, he was often busy puttering around the raised beds that I had so coveted in the beginning. But he used a small rototiller to turn the beds and I think he broke the gopher wire lining in the bottoms. Needless to say, the gophers had a hey day in his new garden and he abandoned the raised beds and hasn't grown any veggies since. But we still exchange ideas and supplies over the fence. I am usually happy to share any "bumper crop" and he gives me gardening "stuff" that he isn't using. I think I won't elaborate on what the "stuff" is, but any gardener would know what a hobby fisherman can contribute to a garden.

He was saying (while I fiddled with the computer case) that even though there is so much rain coming down, he doesn't mind. Mostly because, soon enough, we will have no rain at all. I have to agree. Even though the "storm door" opens and dumps rain throughout CA, I simply remember what rain we don't get, and I can shrug it off. I find the end of summer more depressing, when everything is dry and parched and it's near impossible to do anything new. It's our version of winter. Better to sharpen the tools and clear the shed, than to garden.

The other pressing job is potting up the remainder of the tomato starts. I peeked into the greenhouse to see how they were doing and I was quite impressed by the growth on the ones in 4-inch pots. Also the sugar snap peas that I transplanted in bed one are nearly 2-inches tall. Boy, the level of excitment here is dizzying. ;-)

Precipitation
30 March 2006 1/4-inch
29 March 2006 5/8-inch
28 March 2006 3/8-inch

Keeping Count

3/4-inch rain last night. Boy did it howl and pour.

First warm dry day

So the past couple of weeks have been cold. But the tomatoes have been holding up well. I haven't had enough daylight after work to do any more potting up, but I decided to water the sprouts tonight, even with night-time fast approaching.

I felt a little guilty at work all day as I had dashed off without opening the door to the greenhouse. The last few days of the week I've remembered and when I get home, I wondered why I bothered as it is sharply cold and the greenhouse doesn't have any residual warmth for the night. So I head off this morning, forgetting to open the door until I am at least 2/3rds the way to work. But I figure, how warm can it get, even though Pete Giddings was talking about a warming trend for today. At lunch, I stick my head out the door and start to worry that the greenhouse might be getting too warm, and how the little plants were on the verge of needing a drink. Cross fingers and hope all is well. When I arrived home, they seemed to be okay (phew). I need to buy an auto vent for the hatch. Then at least during the spring and fall, I can leave the door closed and feel that some fresh air will get in if it gets too warm. I've also considered a solar fan, but it's a sight more expensive than the vent opener. And it would require cutting a hole in the roof.

Keeping Count

Precipitation
3/21/06 3/4-inch
3/19/06 1/4-inch
3/15/06 3/8-inch
3/14/06 3/4-inch
3/12/06 1/4-inch

Potting up the Tomatoes

Started the task of potting up tomatoes today. The weather has been relentlessly cold. Since last weekend where there was ice/snow on the ground at nearly sea level, there has been no warming. The soil temperatures have dropped back to 52 degrees. I'm taking a risk leaving the tomato babies in the greenhouse, as my greenhouse is small (8'x6') and passive solar. I don't heat it at night. But I don't think it's going to get much colder than 40, crossing fingers.

So I potted in the greenhouse just to stay out of the chilly winds. I don't mind the cold, but the wind will cut straight through you. So I stand in the nice 70 degree greenhouse and trot out to sift potting soil and water in the transplants. (Mr C. watched for awhile and came up with an idea to build me an actual potting bench from some left over metal shelving he has). I ran out of pots after about 50 so I need to collect some more.

My back is tired and I am wishing that I had another day to the weekend. Had to work Saturday on a OS upgrade. Took a comp day last Thursday to go to the SF Garden show. I'll try to post some pictures of that later. But I'm guessing the week will be long with users calling in with whatever problems show up that weren't caught in the test upgrade. And for some reason, I never feel rested for the work week if I don't have 2 consecutive days off. Mr. C says I should call in for a sickie. But I'll see.

Also, I transplanted some of the sugar snap peas that I started March 6th. I transplanted some purchased starts of lupines and columbines and generally cleaned up and re-arranged bed one. I still have 2 rubine brussels sprouts plants and one looked like it was about to set sprouts. The calendula planted next to them are beginning to bloom and the elephant garlic, leeks and onions are still looking good. My plan is to clear the bed in May/June when the garlic finishes and do a short crop of beans. Of course this depends on many things with the garlic being the priority crop. Whether I make this a veggie bed again or a grain bed for the winter, is hard to say. The thing I noticed is that it didn't get much sun around the soltice as the tree shadows keep it in the shade.

Really weird weather here

Nothing really happened here in Elkhorn. Lots of electrical storm and thunder to the north of us. Had Mr. C and I not gone out to the hummingbird day at the UCSC arboreteum, we'd probably wouldn't have seen the snow. Wow, snow at sea level in CA. Amazing. See the eucalyptus in the background?

Rebirth of the Tomato Monster

One of the things I was busy doing in February (and not blogging about) was taking a couple of classes. Nothing hugely academic, but enlightening and light hearted Saturday lectures. I did take the Tomato class offered by Cynthia at Love Apple Farms. That was worth the time and money. And I'm afraid the Tomato Monster 2006 has already raised its fiendish head and laughed.



The class was better than my expectations. I have even more information and Cynthia had great advice and suggestions, especially regarding coastal varieties. The picture above is the flat that I seeded, taken from her extensive collection of 300 different varieties of tomato. Her enthusiasm was infectious. Now I have about 150 little sprouts that need potting up. As I may have mentioned already the tomato gods are making me their monkey. When I took the class, I was about 2 weeks from taking a short vacation in Canada (Toronto/Niagra area). I erroneously believed that if I didn't water the mostly dry mix, the seeds wouldn't sprout. And I wasn't too worried that they would mold as it was rather warm in February, as I may have mentioned. I figured I'd water them in just before leaving and I'd see cute little sprouts when I returned, and I wouldn't have to bug anyone to babysit the seedlings. Anyway, just two days before Mr. C. and I were to leave, I noticed the tray in the floor was turning quite green. About 45 little seedlings were staring me in the face. I cursed mildly, watered the flat, and started looking for a plant sitter. The next morning, I went to look and 35 more had popped up. By the time I delivered them to Dad (who had offered to look after them) there were nearly 100 little sprouts. Dad did a great job and they have been slowly putting out their first true leaves. I'm thinking the slowing is mostly due to the decrease in temperature as lately the weather has been a bit of a bear. (Tonight it was predicted that snow level may get as low as 500 ft and as I write this, there's a terrific thunder and lightening storm about 12 miles to the north of us.) I'm picking out the varieties I most want to try and I will put many into the Watsonville garden. But there will be many to give away and I'm quite happy at the prospect of another tomato filled fall.

Lastly, I have a singular picture of the Tomato Monster 2005. It was taken in December and half of the bed has been cleared. The space was about 15x15 ft. and you might see a few tomatos left on the vines.

Keeping Count

I was absolutely amazed at the rain gauge this morning. For all the rain and wind and howling it read 1/4 inch. It rained some yesterday as well, but didn't even make it to the 1/8 inch mark. Maybe the rain gauge isn't very accurate if the rain comes in sideways. I've always wondered about that.

This was an exceptionally cold storm. Snow level dropped to 1000 feet and the "mountains" around the Salinas valley are wearing snowy white mantles. I could see my breath I as left for work. Very unusual for our area, especially in the morning. I've always advised people who want to visit California to come during the off season. October is one of our nicest months. February is also pleasant and potentially more green. Last month was a terrific example as most of the days were warm and breezy. Felt like spring was within reach. But anyone who grows fruit trees here knows it a false spring. March will come in with a howling gale and won't let up until April or so.

I heard someone say that the snow levels will be dropping to 500 feet. And I happened to notice a car in downtown Santa Cruz with snow on his roof and windshield.