WINTER IS COMING!

#1 Build a rain garden!!! We can help you design a simple and affordable rain garden to help reduce your irrigation needs and create a beautiful new addition to your landscape.

#2 As Nature's rhythm continues to slow down into Winter the soil should be blanketed in a thick mulch of organic materials; this feeds and protects the plants and microorganisms until Spring.

#3 Broadcast California native wildflower seeds into bare & unsightly areas then cover with topsoil, leaves or light mulch... viola! Fewer weeds and more flowers come spring! Try sheet mulching with heavy weeds then broadcast your seeds.

#4 Turn off your irrigation system with consistent rain! Call us to install in a rain sensor so the work is done for you!

ROSEBUD SAGE

 Salvia involucrata

This beauty is native to Mexico growing in shady places such as the edge of forests.  Salvia involucrata is a great tall accent plant growing more than 8 feet tall.  

Hummingbirds and butterflies love this late blooming Salvia.  Autumn through Winter (in warm climates) this abundant nectar is adored. 

While tender to frosts dipping past 20 degrees the plant will survive colder spells.  Make sure to mulch well and cut back the top in the spring!

Beneficial Insects: Spiders

Two banded spiders with two totally different lifestyles...

Pictured above is the large banded garden spider, Argiope trifasciata. This type of spider is an ORB weaver, spinning their webs into circles commonly seen in gardens.

Below is pictured the hunting white-banded crab spider, Misumenoides formosipes. A predator with no web spinning abilities it attacks its prey, hopefully a garden pest!

While they both look kind of strange and creepy neither one of them is dangerous; to humans that is...

NASTURTIUMS Tropaeolum majus

MEDICINE: A native to South and Central America Nasturtiums have long been used in Andean herbal medicine; as a wound-healing herb, and as an expectorant to relieve chest conditions.

FOOD: Any part of the plant can be eaten if it is harvested during the growing season and used fresh.  The mature seed can be ground into a powder and used as a pepper substitute.

ART: The seeds yield a high percentage of a drying oil that can be used in making paints and varnish.

Pumpkin Harvest Time!

No giant pumpkins this year but plenty of diversity!

Howden, super sweet and casper pumpkins will fill our hearts and platters with jack-o-lanterns, pies, breads, soups and best of all ROASTED PUMPKINS SEEDS!!!

(mmmm, yummy.........)

Companion Planting, Plant Guilds and "Who likes What?"

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Companion planting is an ancient gardening method which makes use of the synergistic properties found in Nature: cooperation to achieve optimum health and viability. Creating a plant guild utilizes companion planting, among other methods, to create functional connections between plants, soil, animals –one that mutually benefit all elements in the guild.

We humans have a task to help Mother Nature in our own gardens by choosing plants that respond well to each other, nestle and help each other grow and in some cases actually feed their neighbors.

Have a peek at the chart in our blog post HERE and see what plants you may have in your garden you can move next to your Rose or your Apple tree to see how they nurture each other over time. Contact us if you need help!

Calendula officinalis

Calendula, sometimes called Pot Marigold, is an easy and carefree addition to any garden.  Its origin is practically unknown but history shows it was readily used in ancient Greek, Roman, Arabic and Indian cultures as a medicinal herb as well as a dye for fabrics, foods and cosmetics.   This versatile plant has too many functions and benefits to list here but a few of them to include are:

• Medicine –used to treat skin problems and inflammation
• Companion plant –attracts beneficial predatory insects to gardens
• Human Food –leaves and flowers are good in salads and sandwiches
• Nutrient accumulator –stores nutrients vital to soil health/compost activator
• Self sustaining –self sows and maintains itself in the garden
• Yellow dye –food coloring or cloth  
• Cosmetics –salves, creams and hair coloring

 

 

“California graywater liberation day”

Art Ludwig says this of historic Tuesday, August 4th in California.

Yesterday, California Regulators issued an emergency decision that will allow residents to create simple water-reuse systems without a construction permit. Such as the Laundry to Landscape system that Art Ludwig has modeled for years, in addition to the thousands of other Californians. This emergency ruling is based on CA governors drought condition report of 2007 and last year.

While the single use system is legal without a permit other more complicated systems will require one to go though the permitting process.

http://hcd.ca.gov/codes/shl/graywater_emergency.html

One positive step in the right direction... now let's stop using flush toilets!!

Equisetum hyemale L.

Common name: scouring rush horsetail   -from Latin equus (horse) and saeta (bristle)

Families of vascular plants, horsetails reproduce by spores rather than seeds.  For over one hundred million years the equisetum family dominated the sub canopy of late Paleozoic forests.  They are known as living fossils.

Horsetails are a valuable dynamic accumulator plant very rich in silica but also in magnesium, calcium and iron. As it decomposes these nutrients become available to soil organisms and ultimately our plants.

They are wonderful for bog gardens and for covering a wet low spot where nothing else will grow; always taking care not to let it become invasive to native populations.

Uses:

The leaves are used as a dye and give a soft green color; its extract is often used to provide silica for supplementation.  It’s also used as a fungicide, liquid feed; musical instrument; paper; parasiticide; polish; sandpaper; scourer.

 

 

THREE SISTERS GUILD

This ancient system of growing corn, beans and squash illustrates how companion planting has been practiced with much success over the ages. Native American peoples planted them in different patterns depending on what region they lived in but overall the inspiration is based on Mother Nature. The method draws upon nature’s cycle of nutrients and flow of energy to create growing conditions that favor all three plants throughout their life cycle.

The corn provides vertical support the pole beans require to climb as well as a little shade for the squash. The squash shades the ground for the corn allowing moisture to remain in the soil longer. The pole beans provide nitrogen fertilizer by absorbing nitrogen from the air and converting to soluble nitrate in the soil. Microscopic nitrogen fixing bacteria live in small, often visible, nodules on the roots of legume plants (like beans and peas) enhancing the plants ability to absorb nitrogen.

How Native American peoples knew this I don’t know but they seemed to know a lot more about living sustainably than we do today. For more information about this planting Guild contact us today!

GARDEN DIVERSITY!

Over 300 different species of plants thrive on this 1/3 acre property in N. California. 4 humans, 2 dogs, insects, birds, lizards, even moles co-exist in harmony within these gardens. Next animal needed: CHICKENS!
Expected food crop yield this season is approximately 1000 lbs!


Plants Shown in Picture

• 10-30 year old fruit trees/vines: apple, fig, pomegranates, almond, grape, pepper, pecan
• 3 Sisters Spiral + clover: Sweet corn, 7 types squash (spaghetti, 3 types pumpkin, yellow crookneck, scallop bush, zucchini) and 2 types pole beans
• Elderberry with grape vine
• Potatoes interplanted with Yin Yang and Blue Lake bush beans and Nasturtiums: 6 varieties potatoes planted vertically: purple, red, Yucon gold, yellow finn, banana fingerling and russet
• Scarlet Runner bean Phaseolus coccineus
• Joe Pye Weed Eupatorium purpureum
• Costmary Tanacetum balsamita
• Garden Sage Salvia offincinalis
• Coneflower Echinacea purpurea
• English Lavender Lavandula angustifolia
  

**Not shown but growing lower down are chives, calendula, wooly and creeping thyme, oregano, feverfew and nasturtiums

Pretty fulfilling to grow your own food; it goes hand in hand with happiness.

Greywater and Praying Mantids

SHOULD IRRIGATION WATER BE FRESH DRINKING WATER?  

We think not!


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greywater, grey water, graywater, gray water….

however you spell California needs it!

Join the discussions about greywater currently underway between state agencies, professionals and the public!

Learn about greywater here:

http://oasisdesign.net/greywater/index.htm

http://www.greywaterguerrillas.com/

Praying Mantids

(over 20 species are native to the United States)

Praying mantids are voracious garden predators that wait in ambush for prey to come along. They are not picky and will eat any insect!  The CA native mantid (Stigmomantis californica) is often seen though most species seen in our gardens in CA are foreign (Chinese and European species) introduced early this century for agricultural pest control purposes.

 

Food Forests and Pomegranates

FOOD FORESTS

A food forest is exactly what it sounds like… an abundant and self sustaining forest of edible, medicinal and other useful plants. 

There are 7 layers to a food forest:

1. CANOPY: oak, pecan, walnut, olive

2. SUBCANOPY:  almonds, cherries,  dwarf fruit trees

3. SHRUBS: currants, berries, paw paw, elderberry, bamboo

4. HERBACIOUS:  echinacea, comfrey, mugwort, parsley, cilantro

5. GROUNDCOVER: strawberries, creeping thyme, some mints

6. CLIMBERS: grape (wild, table or wine), scarlet runner bean, akebia, kiwi

7. RHIZOSPERE: daikon, radish, beets, carrots, onions

The soil layer down to 6” or so is the next layer essential for all the layers above; the microsphere.  This layer consists of the soil food web; organic matter (mulch) feeding fungi, bacteria, protozoa, nematodes and the larger arthropods.

Let us design this type food system for your property!  Contact us today for reduced cost!

Pomegranate   Punica granatum

The pomegranate is a deciduous tree growing to 20ft in height by 15ft wide.  A native from Iran to the Himalayas in northern India it has been cultivated since ancient times throughout the Mediterranean region of Asia, Africa and Europe. Because of the many seeds found in pomegranate fruits, they were regarded as a symbol of fertility by the ancient cultures of Egypt, Greece, and Rome.

The fruits ripen 6 to 7 months after flowering.  The fruits improve in storage if not split and become juicier and more flavorful.  The juice sacs may be frozen intact or the extracted juice may be concentrated and frozen, for future use.

Akebia and Elderberry

Native Plant with Multiple Functions

Elderberry: Sambucus mexicana is our local Elder Tree.   At least six (6) useful attributes with only one plant!

•  Tall tree-like shrub provides shade decreasing ambient temperatures

•  Flowers provide insects with pollen and nectar

•  Berries provide humans and wildlife with food

•  Wood can be used for making arrows (as Maidu Native Americans still do)

•  Autumn leaves and branches provide food for the soil;  imperative for all of Nature’s cycles

don’t forget…

•  Absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere while releasing oxygen back out!

Akebia quinata

Akebia quinata is a deciduous climbing vine growing to 36’ at a fast rate.  A native to China, Korea, and Japan it flowers in clusters of fragrant purple from April to May while the large seedpods ripen from September to October. 

Ideal for food forests or container gardening!  It grows well trained as a ‘living wall’ on North, East or West facing walls.  Ensure watering does not encourage spread as it can become a rampant if left to grow near riparian areas.  The dense mat of vines can displace native understory species.

USES: Akebia quinata fruit has a delicate flavor and a soft, juicy texture while the peeled stems are very pliable and can be used in basket making.

Moon and Narcissus

Does the Moon affect plant growth and health?

It has been said for hundreds of years that the moon's monthly cycle (lunar cycle) of waxing and waning has a very definite influence on plant growth and health; particularly moisture.

Though little research has been conducted on this idea, the gravitational pull of the moon does affect the flow of tides in the ocean...   we believe there must be something to be said for the plants on terra firma.

Narcissus

Narcissus is the genus of bulbous herbs in the amaryllis family.  The genus is native to Europe, North Africa, and Asia and is widely cultivated in gardens.

Other common names for Narcissus include daffodil, daffydown-dilly, fleur de coucou, Lent lily, and porillon.

GROW YOUR OWN FOOD!!

Growing your own food is the most powerful voice of sustainability that human beings have.  Agribusiness degrades our planet under the premise that "farmers feed America" while we sit by and rely on them for everyday sustenance.

NO MORE!!  A small apartment patio can grow an amazing supply of food using creative strategies of garden design.  Find freedom through food!

Contact us today for more information!

PLANT SEEDS! A diverse selection of food plants creates a polyculture garden that is far more productive and pest resistant than monoculture farming. Get seed now and begin planting indoors or start outdoors in a coldframe or greenhouse.

 

Plant snow peas now! For small spaces people often use a medium size pot with a teepee of stakes and string wrapped around to allow tendrils to climb up. A few plants will provide ample food for early spring harvesting. YUM!

If starting broccoli seed outdoors protect them from frost using clear plastic over the top of containers or ground. Once germinated keep the covering on at night and hold the plastic away from plants using skewers into to sides of the pot and upsidedown yogurt cups to protect plastic from tears. 

Start potatoes either in the ground or grow them UP by planting in a tall container always using high quality compost and heavy mulch. Start "eyes" in the bottom layer then as they grow keep covering them til the container is full. When greenery dies back take apart and harvest!!!

Mustard, lettuce, arugula, endive, even chinese cabbage are fantastic for planting outdoors now. Keep protected as described earlier. Plant more seed every 10-14 days for an endless supply of leafy greens. Once the heat sets in keep protected with shade plants grown around lettuce beds.

Perrennial vegetables are easily grown in our temperate climate. Vegetables such as chard, sunchokes (Jerusalem artichokes -eaten like a potato), rhubarb, asparagus, horseradish, chives and winter onions.

Pineapple guava or the Feijoa shrub is an old-time favorite we should see a lot more of in the future. The many uses include its edibility (both flowers and fruit can be eaten and are super sweet), ability to provide shade as well as fruit in part shade and habitat for birds and insects. 

Apricots are a favorite for many. One semi-dwarf tree can provide two people with plenty to eat fresh, preserve or share with friends. Fruit trees take time to mature so if you want to have one in your gardens or on your patio (use a dwarf tree) plant them bareroot NOW!!! 

Go vertical! Grow tomatoes up arbors and trellises made from reused materials (an old awning frame shown here). In the background is a Scarlett runner bean, grown for its showy flowers many people don't realize you can eat the beans as well as the root (a tuberish root eaten like a potato)