Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Not so tired tires

I'm going to "borrow" this idea from Karen Manasco of Wuv'n Acres Gardens. I distinctly recall Tios Raymond and Danny cutting up a tire in Abuela Trini's yard in Pixley, CA, and making a flower container out of it. Little did they know they were decades ahead of their time in recycling!

Karen cautions that it's "not a project for lazy people," and she lists several other tire projects (kids' tunnel, motorcycle swing, and tire sandals) on her web site: www.wuvie.net/tireplanter.htm

Weeds, weeds everywhere!



Why so many weeds?? Why? Why? Why?  




And to Adam he said: "Because you ... took to eating from the tree concerning which I gave you this command, ‘You must not eat from it,’ cursed is the ground on your account ... thorns and thistles it will grow for you, and you must eat the vegetation of the field. In the sweat of your face you will eat bread until you return to the ground ...”


~ Genesis 3: 17-19
     I recall reading this account in the Bible and thinking, "Aha! That's why we have weeds! Thanks a lot, Adam!"




     Among the gems growing in my yard and pictured here are:
- Bermuda grass
- Creeping woodsorrel
- Crabgrass
- Dandelions
- Stinging nettle
- Chickweeds


- Purslane
- Groundsel
 
- Kikuyu grass
- Mallows
- Mistletoe
- Puncture vine
- Spotted spurge

     I'm sure I've forgotten, or have not yet identified, even more ... ugh.
     Weeding is one of those thankless, yet necessary, evils of gardening. Does anyone ever remark,  "Oh, look at what a lovely stack of weeds!" Nope. Friends will comment on the grapes, the hollyhocks, the irises ... even the persimmons, before they'll notice the lack of weeds. It's like doing dishes. No one wants to do it. No one will say, "What a clean sink you have!" But leave ONE DISH there and oh boy, you're a lousy housekeeper. Same thing with the weeds. Yank and pull, shovel and remove ... but leave one patch of clover, one little spotted spurge ... then you turn around and KUH-BAM! The offending plant takes over that one neglected spot in the garden ... and THEN friends pop over. "Uh, love what you've done with the garden ... NOT!"
     Well, I won't lie, folks. There ARE weeds in my yard! In the rose border along the driveway, in the flower borders in the front yard ... they've taken over the "cactus yard," in the fruit orchard, in the front summer garden that needs to be completely yanked out! Dang it,(pardon my French) they're everywhere. 

     I'm just kooky enough to think I can control all those weeds without spraying pesticides everywhere. I've got shovels, hand tools and lots and lots of buckets to collect the weeds. Try as I might, these uninvited plants keep popping up. There's got to be a better way!
     First, identify the problem, in other words, know the weed and how it propagates (spreads so darned fast) and maybe I can weed smarter, not harder. But how? I'm no expert : - (
     Thankfully, the UCCE Master Gardeners of Tulare and Kings Counties are pros. These good folks conducted a Plant Propagation workshop Saturday at the Mill Creek Trailway (in Visalia, CA). While I learned some good ideas on starting more plants without breaking the bank, I also picked up a Pest Notes handout. Aside from plant diseases and management methods, there's a loooooong list of weeds on the sheet. On their actual web site, each link explains how that weed spreads and the best way to control it. 

     Not on the list, but definitely out in my field is California Jimson weed, a.k.a. "Datura." At first, I admired the large trumpet-shaped flowers that opened at dusk and twirled closed at morning. Like a big sister to my little morning glory vine. Little did I know that this plant is highly poisonous and is said to have caused "many deaths particularly among experimenting teenagers." Oh, those teenagers! Let's just not go there, kiddos. While some cultures still use it as an herbal medicine, I think avoiding all hallucinogen-inducing plants is the safest route for me!
     Well, I'd better get to it. Nobody likes looking at weeds, just like that eyesore sink full of dishes. Besides, I can just hear the compliments now ... "Look, what a fabulous stack of weeds!"


Friday, September 21, 2012

How it began

Remember when it was just an overgrown field?

     There's packets of seeds on my dining room table. Broccoli, cabbage, onions. What do I know of growing a winter crop? Not enough. But I'll approach this task like I do most aspects of life: calmly and confidently ..... while reading everything I can get my hands on about it!
     I think of how far this plot of earth has come, and yet, how far it has to go. When we moved into our home, the neighbor's 7 acres of dying walnut trees was a sad sight. With each spring, the foxtails and grass would grow, dry out in the summer and become a frightening fire hazard. The neighbor weeded and tilled it with a tractor in fall, and the process would start all over again with the winter rains.
     Unemployed, I filled my hours taking care of my yard - mowing the lawn, adding nectarine, apricot, peach, tangerine and apple trees to the plums, trellising grapes over the arbor, and splitting the irises to spread purple and white blooms to the fence line. 

The plums usually wind up being made into jam. Guess I could try drying some for prunes?
The Granny Smith apples will be used in pies this year.
Purple and yellow irises were already on the property of our home.  I'll add some to the backyard and give the gophers "snacks" so they'll leave the irises alone!

     Next door, however, I couldn't help but notice the weeds. The neighborhood children dragged an abandoned couch into the lot. Stray dogs left "their business" behind. Homeless people dug through a pile of boxes.
     "Hey Neighbor, would you mind if I took over this section, and grew a garden until the land sells?" I asked.
     "Go ahead," he said. First things first, I put up a fence!
Our grapes grow so abundantly, the chickens get to enjoy some before I make jelly out of the crop.

My magenta hollyhocks remind me of the flowers Mom grew on the south side of our Tipton home. I was terrified of the bumblebees they attracted!
Remembering Tipton
     Recalling the huge garden my parents had at our childhood home in Tipton, I knew this would involve a lot of weeding, watering and bugs. There was an apple tree for our youngest brother, a peach tree for me, a fig tree for mom. 

This is the house in Tipton where we lived until I was 12. The garden was in the back and there used to be a hydrangea, ivy, and trees in the front yard. Dad had planted oleanders along the east perimeter for privacy. Mom grew hens and chicks in a flower bed.
     I can still taste the fig jelly mom made, recall the joy of shucking sweet corn like a summer-time present, and the buzz of bumble bees around the bursting columns of hot pink and maroon hollyhocks.

A garden of my own
Taz ... hard at work!
Close-up of canna leaf shows bold red and green variegated pattern.
     So now, I can create my own garden. I can design the layout and mood of the area. I would take care of the plants and the watering. I could invite friends to sit and enjoy this one small part of God's planet where serenity grows amongst the almond trees, canna plants and tomatoes. 
     It's been 3 years since I've had a full-time job. Instead of a newsroom or classroom, I work outdoors. My staff consists of 4 cats, a small doggie and 25 chickens.
The chickens are ALWAYS hungry!
     The night shift includes foxes, an owl, bats, possums and the occasional skunk. We're thinking of adding goats to our company. Although the surrounding neighbors' dogs want to join in as freelancers, the answer is always, "No!" (They're hungry and I'm not running a KFC.)
Scaredy, one of our other 4 cats.

     It's taken months of mowing down foxtails and overgrown grass, tilling, digging out barbed wire and downed telephone polls, dismantling a broken-down shed, unearthing bicycle parts, plucking out broken shards of beer bottles, and tugging at crumpled up buried tarp to get the plot ready.

This spring time shot shows the grass and weeds just getting started.

     Downed limbs and tree stumps had to be chainsawed and stacked into firewood. And now with fencing in place to keep stray doggies out, I can finally start adding manure to enrich the soil. The bare plot looks like this:
One portion of the land with transplanted cannas in the background, pots with flower starts and tomato plants on the left.

I've started moving my collection of free grape stakes to the future winter garden. A commercial grape grower in Selma was giving away grape stakes. Free ... yeah, I can afford that!
     As The Vegetable Garden website suggests for our Zone 9, I'll be planting broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, onions and radishes.
Check them out at: http://www.thevegetablegarden.info/resources/planting-schedules/zones-9-10-planting-schedule

     Now, it's time to send those gophers packing, till in manure, set seeds and set up soaker hoses. See you at sunrise : - )