Garden Journal: Fruit and Nut Trees

Today, we had the fruit and nut trees pruned and fed with organic food. Again, we are probably a couple of weeks late as this should have been done during December or January. But, the leaf buds have not yet burst on the trees, so we’ll see what happens.

In addition, the trees received the following spray (per the California Master Gardener Handbook):

almond: dormant oil

apple: dormant oil

apricot: dormant oil & fixed copper (micro-cop)

cherry: dormant oil & fixed copper

peach & nectarine: dormant oil & fixed copper

pear: dormant oil

plum & pluot: dormant oil

 

Gardening Journal: Pruning and Planning

After three weeks of what was probably the flu, I ventured outside into my yard and vegetable garden today. The sunshine and fresh air were delicious. With some help from my boys and a lot of help from my spouse, we managed to prune all of the roses, butterfly bushes, Mexican sage, canna and hydrangeas. (How is it that it took hours to do all of that and resulted in many truckloads of clippings, but only took seconds to type it?) I think we are a bit late, but we’ll see. We also fed the roses their annual half to full cup of rabbit food. I also made arrangements to have our fruit and nut trees pruned, sprayed with dormant oil and free copper, and fed with organic fertilizer later this week.

Then, the planning and dreaming started! I surveyed my veggie garden and . . . well, let’s say I have the opportunity to have a lot of fun there. 🙂

Here’s how my six beds look today.

018021022023025027028The good news is that the crab grass in the last bed pictured did seem to be deterred by black plastic. Everything else, however, looks in need of a fresh start. My plan is to start with new weed block and mulch on the paths before weeding the beds and turning in a nice layer of steer compost in each. After that, I’m not sure what I’ll plant this year. Therein, lies the fun!

I do want to try one new thing this year, though. I bought these lovely morning glory seeds today.

030I’m going to sow them around the walls of the garden in hopes the horse wire will act as a trellis and give my garden some beautifully colored walls. My concern is that the wires will become too hot in the sun and watering may be an issue, but I figure it’s worth a try for $4.40.

While at the store, I couldn’t resist these lovelies, either.

029These are destined for my patio, along with a nice top coat of mulch to block weeds.

I also want to clean up my bird feeders and replant the planters on our deck.

For tonight, however, I’m spent from the day’s pruning and planning. I foresee a hot shower, a hot cup of chocolate coffee, and a couple of episodes of Midsomer Murders to round out a perfect day.

Vegetable Garden

Much to my dismay, my vegetable garden has become a source of
disappointment this year. I had high hopes for this year because we
leveled more space, expanded my raised beds from three to six and
doubled the height of the new beds for easier access. We also fenced
the area and put down weed block and mulch. With all of that time,
effort and money, I could not help but get my hopes up.

Something, however, is definitely wrong. It may be that we had a very
cool summer in June. Or, the dirt in the new beds may not be what I
wanted. (I thought I ordered one thing and got another.) Inadequate or
inconsistent water may have played a part. Any one of these could have
weakened the plants to permit a virus to attack.

Whatever the cause, the plants are producing, but not thriving. And for
the better part of the summer, it’s bothered me. Last night, however, I
decided to focus on the positive.  Here are the results of my change of
heart.

polebeans.jpgI
have never had luck growing beans in my garden. Actually, these are
from a second planting, after something came in and nipped my earlier
plants off at the base. I have no idea if I will get any beans, but I
just love the way their delicate tendrils gracefully entwine the
netting. And they appear to be growing by leaps and bounds as those
were not there a week or so ago. You just have to love a plant that
thrives!

eggplant.jpgOkay,
I realize that this isn’t miraculous, but that looks to me to be a
perfect eggplant! Note the unblemished color and perfect shape. This
one has Szechuan Eggplant in its future!

sunflower.jpgFinally, how can anyone feel disappointed in a garden that produced this sunny, happy creature?