Potato Experiment

I have been looking lustfully at English potato barrels. They look so nice and I like the idea of slipping up the sides and sneaking a few new potatoes. And I have relatives in England who might be persuaded to buy such pots and ship them to me. But not for the hefty cost of £35 each! (about $70 and I'm not including what it would cost to ship)

My greatest success with potatoes was when I put them in the raised beds. But they were difficult to dig up at harvest time and I've been chasing potatoes in that bed ever since. I'll admit that it's fun to find them when turning the bed in Spring and Fall. But I tend to find them with the fork stuck straight through the center of the spud and then the ones I miss pop up in odd places, like where the garlic is growing now. Strangely enough, I've even found potatoes in the planters on the deck 12 feet above the garden! My only guess is a bird re-planted a spud it had dug up.

So container planting is my preferred method, but I haven't found a pot that reliably produces a big crop. So far all my other "potato tower" and container potatoes have been of limited success. The "potato tower" barely yielded the same weight as the starter potatoes that I put in. Once I had a sizable crop from a container (where the potato sprung up magically). I keep planting that same pot, but it's never produced the same yield.

I've been hoping that an American vendor would show some interest in buying potato pots, and then I would purchase from there - but it hasn't caught on. I did notice Gardeners.com now sell potato grow sacks, but I'm afraid the gophers would make short work of those. But why not look for a pot the same size as the grow bags? I have some "tree size" pots that I now have some potatoes growing in. I believe it is classed as a #15 tree size pot and it measures 15" in diameter and 18" tall. The picture here shows them next to a pile of classic "1 gallon pots".


It's smaller than a wine barrel half, therefore easier to harvest. So I think this might work. I placed 3 starter spuds in each on top of 8-inches of soil. I covered the starts with 3 more inches of soil. And as they grow, I've been adding in more potting soil. And they are growing like gangbusters. I have high hopes for these new "potato pots".

By the way, these were planted near St. Patrick's day - the time when my Granddad used to plant his annual spud crop. However, with the temperate climate here, I'm lucky to be able to plant potatoes 3 different times a year (from my own starts) and if these pots work out, I might try a go at a 4th crop kept in the greenhouse over winter.

Where does the money go exactly?

"The income tax has made more liars out of the American people than golf has."

- Will Rogers (1879 - 1935)
Illiterate Digest (1924), "Helping the Girls with their Income Taxes"


Well, another year, another tax bill. And no, I do not wish to know how much your refund is; sour grapes on my part. I should be used to it by now. A refund coming my way has been such a rare occurrence that I can scarce remember that I did get one. Once, from the feds, many years ago and I think it was for about $15. I should have hung the check on the wall, marking the day permanently in my personal history, but I think that same year the state charged me $50 so it was a borrow from Peter to pay Paul year. But what does this have to do with gardening? Well, as the electronic packets were flying forth and back from my computer to the tax slurping server, all I could think about was this little corner of the garden. This is where I want to put in some retaining walls and fruit trees. And I was thinking for the amount of money I just sent to the government, I could have afforded the stones and materials to build this part of the garden and I would have been able to hire some help to build said walls.

But then they'd have to pay taxes, poor sod.

Well, I guess I'll just have to pull out my $7 hoe (taxes paid on it too) and keep the weeds down for a while longer.

Rain

What a dry year it's been. Especially when last year we Californians were all moaning about whether or not the rainy season would ever end. I've heard that Santa Cruz is talking about water restrictions.

February we saw about 3 inches of rain, March only 5/8-inch. And yesterday we only saw 3/8-inch. There's more in the forecast for Saturday, but I'm already watering the garden. It has felt odd, seeing that many times, I don't start watering until April.

So, I guess I'll be glad to see more rain Saturday, except I've made all these plans, like checking out the Dahlia Club sale. Oh well.

The Universe in a Grain of Sand

It's really not a garden blog if you don't have pictures to share. At least I see it that way. I'd thought I'd "check in". All's well, I just don't have many pictures. The daffodils have faded, the ceanothus is also fading. Most of my spring flowers have moved on. The arugula is bolting as is the Giant Red Japanese Mustard. Right now I'm concentrating on cleaning up what hasn't survived, turning beds for summer vegetables, and putting in more hardscape. And frankly, some of the pictures are a bit gruesome, not something I'm quite ready to publish. And really, how many tomato start pictures can anyone stomach? I'm only half through potting up this year's batch and my regular "adoption families" are waiting with anticipation. Lots of sprouts, but just as I went out with my camera, I'd discovered a snail had found them first. So, no sprout pictures (and back to the potting bench to re-do my work).

But Mr C. seems to notice the beautiful in even the very tiniest of things. I had sort of ignored the orchid pictured above. It's a Dendrobium kingianum. They are quite easy to grow here and like the same environment that Cymbidiums enjoy. And it's in bloom, I just hadn't thought to take a picture. But my husband did, and looking at it this way, I can see just how beautiful it is, even if it is the size of the tip of my pinky.

Touring the UCSC Arboretum

Last Saturday, I spent the morning touring the UCSC Arboretum with one of the garden clubs I belong to. I really enjoy this arboretum, especially at this time of year because many of the collections are in bloom. There is an emphasis on Mediterranean garden plants from South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and California. Although the garden isn't formal, I've always had a fun time tramping about and taking pictures. The hummingbirds are particularly fun to watch, with their mating displays and other antics. First the club was given a short history of the Arboretum by Ron Arruda, the curator of the South African Collection. Then, a few of the volunteers spoke about volunteer opportunities available. I love Proteas and Leucadendrons so I'll share a few of my pictures:

Protea Nerifolia 'Bishop Desmond Tutu'

Leucadendron argentatum
This plant is a 30 foot tree

In addition to the gardens, there is a gift and plant shop called Norrie's. It is completely run by volunteers and you can purchase plants that have been propagated by the volunteers from plants found in the gardens.

Close up of the yellow Leucadendron

Here are some cuttings from the gardens. You can see how just a few of these plants make fantastic arrangements:

Leucospermum (Pincushion flowers)

A variety of Leucadendron

History of the Arboretum:

http://www.library.ucscarboretum.org/history/index.php

Arboretum main web page

http://www2.ucsc.edu/arboretum/index.html

Expectantly thinking of summer

Please spot the nut job. She's standing under the apricot tree, up on her toes, straining to see if there are apricots. The flower petals just recently dropped. The pollen has barely had time to travel down the style to the ovary. Or has it?

Yes, I'm thrilled to say that there are lots of these tiny fuzzy knobs all over the tree. I might actually have to thin this year (fingers crossed). The five I had last year were just enough to wet my palate. I'm terribly excited to see these fruits, so small they haven't burst the flower collar yet.

Now in the other corner of the garden, this is what you don't want the cabbages to do:

You can tell that a cabbage is about to bolt when the leaves start to feel loose and "fluffy" versus tight and compact in a ball. A cabbage that is about to bolt can be slowed down by grabbing the head and twisting it so the root rotates in the ground and breaks some of the roots. But, if a cabbage seems like it's about to bolt, it's better to harvest it. My problem is that they look so enchanting in the garden. They are lovely, gigantic rosettes and sometimes I'm too enamored with them to harvest them.




I guess I kept hoping it might get bigger. Oh well. But it does make an interesting pattern.


The tomato seedlings are up and I'm now brushing them everyday. Brushing them involves lightly running your fingers over the seedlings, almost like tickling them. Outdoors, of course, this slight motion back and forth would be caused by breezes, and the stress strengthens the stems so the plant is stronger and stockier. I was taught this technique by another gardener who loved my seed starts, but felt they could be a little stronger if I had added more light and brushed them regularly. My first ones would fall over at the slightest hint of a breeze. A few have their first true leaves, so I think next week I'll start to pot some of them up.

Picture taken on 21 March just after I arrived home from work. They're leaning towards the last rays of sunset.

Listening to Amy Stewart, author of Flower Confidential

Again, I was kicking myself for not bringing my camera. I went to Amy Stewart's talk at Capitola Books, promoting her new book Flower Confidential. I've been following Amy's writing over on her blog, and then at Garden Rant where she is a contributer. But as her new book is out she hasn't had much to contribute to Garden Rant. But I always enjoy reading her work.

And I sat in the audience wondering why I don't go to more of these author talks. As I am taking this writing class, I found I was learning a lot about the writer and the process of writing. I think the only thing that I find to deter me is that I'd spend a whole lot more money on books if I went to the talks more regularly. And that is a dangerous temptation for me.

Amy Stewart's book is very enlightening, if you've ever wondered about the flower industry at all. I find that the subject is parallel to where our food comes from (before the grocery store). She does touch on many current topics like sustainable production techniques, organic growers, fair trade, and carbon footprint. Even in the first few chapters, I know the names of people she is writing about; Luther Burbank, Leslie Woodriff, Ted Kirsch, etc. First of all, I have a passion for plants and when all you can think about is plants, you start to learn the names of hybridizers, growers, resellers, garden authors, and the lot. I was similarly amused when I read The Orchid Thief, as I recognized many names there too, since I had been a suscriber to American Orchid Society for years. I didn't think I'd like the book as I had judged it by its cover. First of all, it's not a ghost orchid, which is what the plot revolves around. Secondly, and perhaps the most disturbing aspect is that the cover is a picture of a Phalaenopsis and it is upside down! But I digress.

And secondly, much of the writing in Flower Confidential is about places that are local to where I live. On my way home, I pass greenhouse after greenhouse. Nurseries here grow everything from exotic succulents and orchids, to poinsettias and carnations. Colorspot - the company that grows many of the annuals in Home Depot, has it's main growing facilities only a few miles from my home. So maybe the plant disease is an airborne contagion, but I think the problem simply caused me to gravitate to where the plants are. I must be near them. [grin] She also writes about Bonny Doon Garden Company, which is a florist located on Pacific Avenue in Santa Cruz. I love her bouquets and would pass up a delicious meal in a fine restaurant in trade for one of her creations. She brought 2 arrangements to the book talk that were to die for. And I love the fact that many of the arrangements come from local gardens & nurseries. As much as I appreciate the lovely roses from South America, I would rather have locally grown flowers.

By the way, I should note that I ended up loving The Orchid Thief, despite the cover. And so far, I am really enjoying Flower Confidential.


Here's a little description of the book in the author's own words:

Cutting Day

My favorite day at my garden club is cutting day. It's the day when we get together and bring branches from our gardens and we all make some cuttings. The idea is that we will propagate plants that are successful in each others gardens. And as we all have similar soil and climate conditions, this can be a real boon. Here are some of this year's cuttings:


The picture below is from a Leonotis leonurus that I grew from a cutting last year (just before it was going to bloom - not currently blooming now, though). It's one of my favorite plants, and I've never seen one at the nursery.




I've gotten some great plants this way, although I'm not 100% successful. But even a few plants are greatly appreciated.

Oops.....

This morning I was musing to myself "I wonder when the poison oak is going to spring back to life so I can try to eliminate it." That being said, I should also mention that I'm hugely allergic to it.

Then I looked down and noticed a vine. I grabbed it and thought "what's this?" Of course, I was standing dead in the center of a huge patch of poison oak with one of it's newly sprouting tendrils in my hand.

You can imagine the next few choice words......

Oh no. Not again.

I've started this year's tomatoes. I'm only planting those seeds that succeeded last year. So many didn't make it. The ones that did, I preserved the seeds, even if I didn't like the variety or it didn't produce many tomatoes. Tomatoes that made the list:

1884 (raised in the greenhouse)
Anais Noir (also raised in the greenhouse)
Azoychka
Basinga
Beauty Lottringa
Black Plum
Cherokee Purple
Cream Sausage
Florida Pink (raised in the greenhouse)
German Strawberry (greenhouse)
Great White
Heart of Compassion
Jaffe's Cherry
Japanese Oxheart
Jersey Devil
Kentucky Beefsteak
Marmande
Northern Lights
Roma Pompeii
Peche Jaune
Silvery Fir Tree
Sunset Red
Ukranian Heart
Ukranian Pink Pear
Orange Russian

(If you've reached this page by google search and wonder why I'm only listing these varieties, please read my post "Garden Mistake Confessions". Then you can try to find specific varieties if you wish.)

But on the other side of the greenhouse I was surprised to see this:


The German Strawberry, the Anais Noir, and the Ukranian Pink Pear have all sprouted from what I thought was a dead stump. And the German Strawberry has been busy this winter. I found a couple of rotten tomatoes from the freeze. If I had noticed them sooner, they would have been eaten. Too bad.

Thoughts in the garden today.....

How many wonders are in the corners of a garden?

Seeing the bright colors of the flowers

Tasting sour sorrel leaves

Hearing a carrot go pop when you pull it from the soil

Watching a lizard as it finds a warm spot in the sun

Discovering that an onion flower smells like onions

Enjoying how the birds feed their young and finally teach them to fly

Nibbling sweet sugar snap peas straight from the vine

Surprised by a frog leaping out of the watering can

Having a butterfly land on your arm

The wonders of a garden are as infinite as the world

And all within reach of home.

A bee working an onion flower in the garden.

spring

bright green leaf buds swell
white blossoms drift in the breeze
weeds even look good

Strolling in the garlic forest?

The picture is this year's crop of elephant garlic or Allium ampeloprasum. They won't be ready to harvest until July or August. But I was amused by this point of view. I've raised this batch over the years I've lived here. I got them from a gardener, years ago. I didn't have a yard, so I put a few of the bulbs in my father's yard. They've been growing and flowering there for 6 years while I lived in Aptos. Then, when Mr. C. and I moved to Elkhorn, I went by Dad's to see if I could find any bulbs. There were only 2 left. For the last 3 years I've been increasing their numbers. This year there are 15 plants, and I will finally get to have some elephant garlic this summer.

Elephant garlic has larger bulbs than regular garlic and a milder flavor. In fact the plant is more closely related to leeks. Don't make my mistake of growing both together as I couldn't tell one from the other until harvest. Also, a benefit to growing your own garlic year after year is that the plants become more adapted to your specific growing conditions, making stronger and bigger bulbs. Save a few of the biggest for planting next season.

Elephant garlic makes a lovely flower, but it's best to cut them out to get bigger bulbs. You can sauté the scapes (unopened flowers) in butter or olive oil.

Although, with the sniffles that have been going on here, I was wishing I had more now. Garlic is a good expectorant and helps with chronic bronchitis. Although I think if I grated it into honey (as is the recommended procedure for coughs), Mr. C. would run out of the house as if I was trying to poison him. I guess I'll just have to slip some garlic chives into his eggs for breakfast.

Dune Restoration - Planting out

I spent Saturday with the Beach Garden Project, in Marina (Monterey County, CA). I finally took my plants that I had sprouted out to the beach to be planted out. Here's a shot of the Artemesia from January 27th:

I may have mentioned that my beach aster (Lessingia filaginifolia) hadn't sprouted much. I thought perhaps I hadn't collected the seed properly or perhaps some other blunder. But Joey (the project coordinator) said the soil mix was too mossy and many of them had failed. So it wasn't just me. (phew!) On the other hand, my Sagewort (Artemisia pycnocephala) was very healthy and nearly every cell had a plant. (And by February it was lush and shaggy) She was delighted to see such a healthy tray. Here's a long distance shot of my tray as the plants are being positioned onto the dune:

After spending the morning transplanting into sand dunes, I will never complain about my garden soil again. You have to dig a little to get beyond the dry drifting sand, and then make sure that the wet sand is all around the transplant. Then you make a water well around the plant, and I'll admit, there were some dry spots that made that pretty challenging. Also, each of the plants have to be oriented the correct direction behind the straw wind break. Basically the straw plugs are placed into the dune to help stabilize the sand sheet. By observing which way the wind predominately blows from, the transplant is placed behind the break to give it some protection. Add to this the steep and crumbly hill you are working on, it makes for a difficult task. Here's a planted transplant:

And here's a picture of the straw plugs that are placed in the fall to stabilize the sand sheet. Some of the plants have already been planted in this photo:

There were about 15 volunteers who showed up and we were able to transplant about 1,000 plants. The project volunteers sprouted about 10,000 plants and had transplanted 9,000 on weekends during January and February. What is unique about this dune restoration project is the variety of native species that are started and transplanted. There are up to 20 different plant species that are used. This is more species than other projects attempt to propagate. Here is a sample:

So we finished transplanting, cleaned up our trays and cell plugs, and hoped that the clouds would bring a little rain for the transplants (which it did lightly sprinkle). Despite the sore muscles, I felt good knowing that I'd done a small good deed in the larger garden of the world.

Extreme Gardening

Ah the blog has been neglected. It seems when I'm up to my eyeballs at work with technical documentation, I run out of words by the time I get home. Well, I don't think I'm in any danger of publishing a novel.

I did want to share a funny thing that went around a mailing list I'm on. One of our members wanted to show off her new gardening duds:

"This year I have some new duds. The netting suit from Cabelas which fits over even winter jackets has given me great peace of mind after being bitten twice this year by ticks. The suit also covers the head.

The Harley helmet (my husband's) is to soften the blows of the red shouldered hawks - once they finish their nest and until the chicks fledge the parents will attack if we are within 200 feet of their tree. I was whacked twice last year - just think of where those talons have been."

The things we do just to get out in the garden! :-))

Cabbage

Not bad for a cabbage that was full of holes in November. This was the cabbage the caterpillars were bent on devouring (see my previous post "what's bugging me".) Now it is ready to pick. It's not as solid as I could have wished for, and it only measures 7-inches across, but I'm glad to have a cabbage. Four more are about to follow - that is if the sow bugs don't eat them before they are big enough. I was out hunting snails and slugs tonight and noticed dozens of sow bugs eating one of the lower leaves. I looked for the "salad bar" sign but found none.

I wish I could find the tag in order to remember the cabbage variety.

Working between the showers

Protea 'Pink Ice'

Thank goodness it's raining a bit and the weather is warmer. It was great to be out in the garden this weekend, even if all I was doing was clearing brush and getting ready to remove the old propane tank. I've finally had a moment to take the pictures off the cameras and upload them. Life's been busy with little time left to mill about in the garden (or the web).

Saturday Precipitation: 1/2-inch
Sunday Precipitation: 1/4-inch

What a lovely weekend.

After the freezing temperatures we've been having, I was glad to see it had warmed up over the weekend. In fact Sunday was warmer outside than it was inside the house.

I actually had to water the garden, which is strange for January. We've only had 1/4 inch of rain this month and since I think we'll be having a warming trend this week, I thought I better water the beds. Fortunately, the swiss chard, red mustard, cabbages, carrots and beets sailed through the cold temperatures just fine. A couple of things froze out, like some volunteer cosmos, a nasturtium, and some of the calendula that had just sprouted. But nothing of note. My fuschia arborescens took a hard hit. But it should be back just fine. It's had quite a struggle of late, first there was the rain which caused a growth spurt. Then the wind storms came through which snapped off all the new growth. (I took the opportunity to daub them in root tone and attempt some propagation.) Now the poor thing is 3/4 frost damaged. I was planning on pruning it to be a bit bushier but I'm a bit stumped at the moment as how I should prune it now. I think it will be best to wait for a bit longer. I'll see if there's some buds next weekend.

I was able to prune the apricot and the pear. Neither were pruned very hard as the pear is nearly perfect in shape and size. I guess I should remove some of the spurs so that it will renew them. One major branch was taken out of the apricot. It's shading the center and although that branch had lots of growth from last year, I decided it is better for the overall tree to open it up. This summer I need to do a little height adjustment. I prefer to pick fruit while standing on the ground instead of on a ladder.

I also pruned out old canes from the blueberries, and cleaned up any rose bushes that I could see. I know there are 3 or 4 more to clean up. I can't wait to settle them into the perennial bed.

I'm moving the temporary beds that the tomatoes were in last year to the back of the yard. I noticed that Bambi has made a visit and nibbled some of the penstemon and sheared back one Alstromeria. I think this might be the year I add the water scare crow. I'm also trying to decide what to plant in those beds. I'm considering strawberries if I can get some quail protection. I only got one or two strawberries last year because the quail snatched them as soon as they were ripe enough. At least they ate those and left the blueberries alone. Although I think the flash tape was the only reason I was able to have a crop.

My garden is only growing ice.

Rain water frozen in my weeding bucket.

Brr. Big Brrrrr. It's an understatement. Will someone turn the heat back on in California? I spent the weekend at Mom's (which wasn't any warmer!). Although it was a 3 day weekend, I had no real motivation to get out into the garden, it's just been too darn cold. Just to prove it, here's a picture of some of the growing ice that was in my weed bucket. That was Saturday. I was stunned to see ice had formed in so many places in the yard. We haven't ever seen this sort of weather, even last March when we had that weird ice storm that dumped snow in Santa Cruz through Rio del Mar.

You know it's cold when the Oxalis has frost damage. Too bad it doesn't kill the blasted stuff. But I'm pleased that last summer's work of mulching around the greenhouse and beds 1 and 2 has kept the weeds down. Except for the occasional rogue Oxalis, there's been nothing poking through the four pages of newspaper & 3 inches of bark on top. I'm noticing a need to add more bark here and there, but yippee, no weeds to pull so far. I hope the trend continues when the soil warms up.

Saturday I barely went out to look and see what was frost damaged. I forgot about a dendrobium in the green house and it looks terrible. What a shame. But I see no reason why it shouldn't recover. Stupid of me to forget it in there. I plucked some ripened parsley seed heads. I really want more of those plants here and there as the beneficial insects love them. Even now (when it's a tad warmer, however) they buzz all over the blossoms. The rhubarb that was looking full and perky last week is drooped over the sides of the pot now. I was wondering when it was planning on becoming dormant.

Once I got to Mom's on Sunday, there was similar damage here and there, but most things are looking okay for her. I do worry about the kaffir lily which was looking a bit sad. But I wasn't even sure it would survive in Lincoln. Time will tell. I found time to prune the cherry tree, the espalier pear and espalier apple. I still have the peach, apricots and second apple tree to prune. And I really need to treat the peach with horticultural oil. Well, I'll be back in a couple of weeks. I'll try to finish then.

Happy Solstice

Northern Flicker

Gods rest ye merry garden folk,
Let nothing you dismay.
Remember that the Sun returns
Upon this Solstice day!

The growing dark is ended now,
And Spring is on it's way.
O, tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy!
O, tidings of comfort and joy.

The Winter's worst still lies ahead,
Fierce tempest, snow and rain!
Beneath the blanket on the ground,
The spark of life remains.

The Sun's warm rays caress the seeds,
To raise life's songs again!
O, tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy!
O, tidings of comfort and joy.

(Looking forward to sunnier days, aren't we all?)