The drought is far from over and may continue into next year. In general, my drought adaptation strategies worked. Here are some of the most valuable lessons: 1. I brought my high-value veggies inside the back yard so that they would get over spray from the lawn sprinklers, which we can run3 times a week.…
A few weeks ago I harvested and ate fresh new potatoes and peas. All the frustration of this garden season vanished. Those mouthfuls were well worth my efforts. My output is down at least 50% this year. I didn’t plant as much and what I did just isn’t up to par. However, I have and/or…
It’s been a while since I have posted! I was certain that the gardening season was over when we got the “no outside watering” notice. However, the City lifted the ban after 3 days…so I am watering again. Somehow, things are still trying to grow. The season is not a total loss. I picked eggplant,…
We got notice this morning: no water use outdoors…at all : ( Hopefully this will only be for a few days, until water towers fill. Not much else….we will see what makes it.
I had an outbreak of flea beetles. I didn’t know what they were at first. I wasn’t too concerned because they didn’t devastate anything earlier in the season. The primary damage was lots of tiny holes in leaves of mostly cabbage family stuff (kale, pac choi , etc) and radishes. But then, some plants wilted…
It seems that my garden is finally getting into gear. I was looking into magic wands and considering enlisting garden fairies to get out there and do something, but things are taking a turn for the better. I noticed that some veggies are really trying to grow. For example, five cabbages actually germinated (in a…
Some of the garden is doing great….other parts not so great. Potatoes are the best of all this year. I have 5 or 6 kinds out there, including All Blue. Several varieties are blooming, which means potatoes are beginning to form down below. Blooming Norland (red) Potatoes The plants in the hay bales are mature and doing…
I am getting a steady supply of lettuce and a few peas from the kitchen garden (hay bale and containers near the kitchen). Tonight I had a splendid dinner: walnut/lettuce salad, raw peas picked 10 mins before eating, and tomato/green chilie pie (using last year’s roasted-frozen Anaheims and frozen tomato sauce), which is kind of…
This year I am more intentional about and focused on container gardening. I collected lots of low cost containers, and I am trying everything. Some things I bought new. To keeps things somewhat aesthetically pleasing, I grouped containers made from similar materials together. Here’s the rundown so far. Metal Garbage Cans, Locker, Buckets, Tool Box Long Metal Box, Filled with…
One way to increase yields is to grow upwards. The newest buzzword for this is vertical gardening. We used to trellis things. Over the past few years I have been trying some new trellising ideas. This year I am into it even more since it really packs stuff into smaller spaces (that darn drought again)…