« July 2005 | Main | September 2005 »
August 29, 2005
Society garlic
Not edible, but quite spectacular.
Posted by Bob at 10:39 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 28, 2005
OTOH, some plants love the heat
Looking down on a succulent and a spiny cactus. Most succulents can't take the fierce heat in this garden area which bakes all day long. Not this one! It loves the heat.
Posted by Bob at 04:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 27, 2005
It's 100 and freaking 5 today
And too hot to go outside to garden or take photos. By Tuesday it should be down to a chilly 88...
September is the hottest month in Los Angeles.
Posted by Bob at 05:22 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 24, 2005
Okay, Let's Try It
A stake should be placed beside an apple tree to provide support. A 2 x 2-inch stake is generally sufficient. For trees on dwarfing rootstocks, the stake should be 10 feet tall and will remain in the ground for the life of the tree. Small trees can be easily overloaded with apples and will lean or break because of their weaker root system. Stakes for trees on M.7A and G.30 (semidwarfing) rootstocks should be 6 to 8 feet tall. Stakes on these trees are needed only in the first five years after planting to support the main trunk. After this time, the root system and the framework of the tree are generally strong enough to support the tree with fruit on it. After selecting a stake, drive it 2 feet into the soil. Secure the tree to the stake by a heavy no. 9 wire and a section of an old garden hose or some other material to prevent scraping off the bark when the tree moves in the wind
Posted by Sue at 05:43 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 22, 2005
The Frankenpumpkin grows
It's over two feet long, was grown from second generation seed, which was an apparent accidental pairing of giant pumpkin and nearby gourds.
Posted by Bob at 10:20 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 21, 2005
Grow Trees, Grow!
This is the hottest and sunniest corner of the garden, up against a south-facing fence, no trees ... until now!
Much needed shade and high density home orchard -- dwarf pluots, appriums, pears, apples, apricots, plums, nectarines.
4 times the variety in 1/4 of the space, as recommended by the Dave Wilson Company, an online tree nursery. We read it on the internet, so you know it must be true.
Posted by Sue at 02:46 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 19, 2005
Canna Lilly
The flowers are nice, however the leaves are even more spectacular.
Posted by Bob at 10:13 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 18, 2005
Blue Sage
Much easier to grow from seed than White Sage!
Posted by Bob at 09:34 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 17, 2005
Thai Pepper
These are prolific plants, producing lots of peppers per plant.
Posted by Bob at 07:15 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 16, 2005
Morning Glory
Not sure of the species, it's an heirloom and quite spectacular.
Posted by Bob at 07:47 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 14, 2005
Peppers!
The multi-colored ones around the top are Isleta. The thin red ones towards the bottom are Thai peppers. In the middle top are Jalapenos and Wenks Yellow Hots (which are mostly red), as well as a few others that I forgot to label and now have no idea what they are. Aargh.
The little reddish orange pepper in the middle is the first Habanero of the season!
Posted by Bob at 02:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 13, 2005
Miss Fall Tomato: Contestant #5
A gal named Jeanne, picking (perhaps Grushovka) tomatoes in her greenhouse on New Year's day.
(Something we aspire to).
Grushovka is a a Siberian variety "that produces oblong, rose-coloured fruits with an excellent flavour. ... Did well in pot culture."
Bob asks, "pot, as in 'among marijuana'?"
No, no, no.
Name: Grushovka
Type: Determinate, good for canning
Color: Rose
Fruit size: egg shaped, 3" long
Yield: "Abundant"
Days to maturity: 65
Minimum temperature: ???
Height: 2 1/2 ft
Follow the links for more tips for growing tomatoes.
Posted by Sue at 08:54 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 12, 2005
Miss Fall Tomato: Contestant #4
The Polar Trio
* Polar Baby (60 days)
* Polar Beauty (63 days)
* Polar Star (65 days)
All of them are determinate, short bushed, and "heavy producers".
All of them born in Alaska, and good in cooler weather.
How do I tell them apart, you ask?
Baby has small, sweet, 2 oz salad fruits. Beauty is "oblate" and attractive, with a "full" taste. Star has a star shaped mark on her flower end and is "sweet & tangy".
Source:
Tomatogrowers.com - $1.95 plus shipping
p.s. An interesting article on commercial early season tomato production.
http://www.hightunnels.org/warmseasonvegarticle.htm
Posted by Sue at 08:34 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
White Sage
My one surviving White Sage from probably 300-400 seeds continues to grow and thrive. They are VERY hard to grow from seed.
Posted by Bob at 08:03 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 11, 2005
Miss Fall Tomato: Contestant #3
Miss "Silvery Fir Tree"
This rare Russian heirloom has very unusual foliage which makes it a great choice for a decorative planter. The leaves are lacy, almost fernlike, delicate, and silvery. Unlike most tomatoes it grows well in overcast coastal areas ... however seems a wee bit fragile, temperature-wise, for the San Fernando Valley.
The internet debate rages on about yummiosity:
Geezer: Judging by just the first taste, it better improve or it is gone.
Dukerdawg: I love it! It is cranking out the tomatoes...And to me it has a great taste.
IMISSCOLO: Only tomato I know that really enjoys a hanging pot. Cranked out good tomatoes EARLY! Sharp tomato taste!
Earl from Ohio: Some love SFT, some think yuck. One has to grow it to find out which camp you're in.
Only YOU can decide. Is this SFT for the SFV?
Name: Silvery Fir Tree
Type: Determinate
Color: Bright Red
Fruit size: 4 - 6 oz.
Yield: "Productive"
Days to maturity: 55 - 65
Minimum temperature: 60F
Height: 2 ft
Sources:
Seeds of Change $2.59 plus shipping
Posted by Sue at 01:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 10, 2005
Miss Fall Tomato: Contestant #2
Miss "Bush Early Girl Hybrid"
She's "meaty" and "tasty" ... so yummy she's won several taste tests out there in internetland.
Bill from Wyoming says:
Determinate plant, looks a lot like the Pilgrim plant. This is somewhat of a small plant with tons of tomatoes . We probly got a dozen tomatoes off each plant before September. This was this year's big winner for us. We'll plant a lot of these next year.
Name: Bush Early Girl Hybrid
Type: Determinate
Color: Bright Red
Fruit size: 5 oz. in clusters
Yield: "High yielding"
Days to maturity: 54-59
Minimum temperature: Will produce in cool weather
Height: 18"
Source:
Burpee - $2.25 plus shipping
Posted by Sue at 04:39 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 09, 2005
Miss Fall Tomato: Contestant #1
Miss Siberia
Horticultural fiction has it that a Russian tomato smuggler brought this variety to Canada in 1975. Well, I read it on the internet, so I know it's true! This tomato wins the "Miss Popularity" prize in Alaska. (Note the insect chomp marks to the right...)
Name: Siberia
Type: Determinate
Color: Bright Red
Fruit size: 3 - 5 oz.
Yield: About 30 per bush
Days to maturity: 48
Minimum temperature: 38F
Height: 2-2.5 ft
Sources:
Hume Seeds - 1.49 plus shipping
Victory Seeds - 1.95 plus shipping
Posted by Sue at 10:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The first Habanero
The Habs are finally ripening. These are the hottest of all the peppers, with much competition for who has bragging rights for the most fiery variety. This one is growing in an Earth Box.
Posted by Bob at 08:23 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 06, 2005
Tomato Freaks
Romeo: "the Roma tomato king."
We were late for the tomato extravaganza, but still gorged ourselves on Arkansas traveller (yum!), Japanese black something, and a bunch of red ones out back that were great but unlabeled. Vowed to arrive early next year. We're on their mailing list now.
I'm planning the fall crop of tomatoes -- early producers from Oregon, made for cold climates with warm days and cool nights. Perfect for the SFV in the fall.
While we were at the Sepulveda Community Garden Center, we wandered around to admire the plots. One man we stopped to speak to was growing taro. He said, while Hawaiians eat the root, Indians eat the leaves, spreading a spice mixture between leaves layered like phyllo dough, then rolling, tying and steaming the whole.
Posted by Sue at 09:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 05, 2005
Tomatomania!
(Aside: Is Burpee going GMO?)
So you think you know your tomatoes... Hah.
Join us at the Encino Tomatomania, Saturday (Aug 6).
Admission: One Correctly Identified Tomato.
Posted by Sue at 10:33 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 04, 2005
Fresh Ideas for Fall
THE leap is infectious. It's only fair that you should know. The first time you order seeds from a catalog will not be your last. These tiny, enigmatic packets of life arrive by mail in homely manila envelopes, delivering one of the gardener's happiest and holiest moments of the year.
... The garden cliché in the East and Midwest — curling up in an armchair beside a fire, sipping cocoa and poring over seed catalogs on a blustery February day — can still be part of your yearly regimen, but in a summery, Southern California way.
While the majority of the nation's gardeners spend the weekend toiling in a stifling, dank, mosquito onslaught, you, oh wise one, can loll under a poolside umbrella, sipping a mojito, scanning seed catalogs and dreaming of autumn days.
...
While those other gardeners bust their humps bringing in a single harvest before the first frost, you get to fantasize about the cool, crisp snap peas your second harvest of the year will produce. You can imagine your fall-winter garden providing chervil, radicchio and butter leaf salads — picked, rinsed, tossed, dressed and enjoyed right there on the patio under mild November skies.
Posted by Sue at 11:38 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 03, 2005
Revolutionary Drip System
A small-scale drip irrigation system was developed by Chapin Watermatics, Watertown, New York. It was designed to help small-scale farmers produce crops in areas with erratic rainfall, using little water.
Called the Chapin Bucket Irrigation Kit, the basic kit contains a simple filter and two drip lines 15 metres (about 50 feet) long (users provide their own buckets). Water flows down from the bucket through the filter lines, then drips into the soil next to the plants. This system makes efficient use of precious water.
The kit also comes with instructions on how to make raised beds that contain local materials such as green manure and animal manure to provide cheap sources of plant nutrition.
The Chapin Living Waters organization now distributes bucket kits (10 gal), super bucket kits (35 gal) and 1/4 acre kits to third world countries at subsidized, affordable cost to the recipients. Drip line from the kits is rated to last 4-5 years.
Bob and I are contemplating something like this for next year's garden. Watering the 4' square raised beds we have now takes a lot of time and wastes water.
More links:
http://www.ssu.missouri.edu/IAP/Harambee/09_Irrigate.html
http://www.hydrosource.com/web_clp/971101/chap2.htm
Posted by Sue at 09:28 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 01, 2005
The Yellow Perfection tomato
Very tasty and juicy. Prolific too.
Posted by Bob at 05:18 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack