Mutha Nature

Mourning doves in the garden have been a thorn to me this season.  The trash they dragged in to try to construct so many feeble nests.  Their poop they let fly with abandon.  And most recently, two chicks – Tisket and Tasket – were determined to meet an early end a la Charles Darwin.  This afternoon, I needed some onions for some salsa so I headed out to the garden to grab a few.  GASP!  A collection of small feathers that looked to be those of a mourning dove were on the lawn in the shade of the Chinese Elm tree.  Pumpkin!  What have you done?  The basket in the grape arbor was empty.  No way would Pumpkin take the initiative to climb up and grab a snack.  Once upon a time Pumpkin was known to sit under the bird feeder then spring at least 5 feet up to snag a dove.  Not now.  Time has passed.  The chicks must have made another lame attempt at flight and fell right on top of Pumpkin.  The old gal may not be as limber as she once was but with time she has gained wisdom and patience.

I continued on into the garden to pull some onions.  Up in the grape arbor rested an empty basket that briefly held Tisket, Tasket, and their mama.  C'est la vie.  While pulling onions I spotted Tasket tucked amongst the onions.  I snagged her and put her back up in the basket.  At sunset, the basket was empty.  Let’s simply believe that Tasket made a successful flight to the neighbor’s dilapidated orchard and is resting comfortably in a dying lemon tree.

Some creatures believe that you can’t fool Mutha Nature…

 

 

 

…while other creatures have no opinion.

I am Grateful.

Recent wisdom gleaned from the internet told me that the reason I sleep like a log is because I am grateful and content with what I have and don’t have any unfulfilled desire to have more.  Ain’t it the truth?  Memorial Day seems like a fine day to show gratitude in the garden.

Strawberries continue to keep on giving.  The bugs still get a few of them but I get my share.  I am grateful.

The bumblebees and honeybees are enjoying the bounty of lavender.  Even after a Hidden Valley box full of lavender was harvested there was still plenty to buzz about.  In fact, I couldn’t even tell that the blossoms had been thinned.  I am grateful.

Everyone of the 19 tomato plants look to be headed to a productive summer.  This one is Rutgers that I purchased from the Tomato Lady at the local farmers’ market for $2.  I am grateful.

Teddy Bear sunflowers are almost ready to open.  This one survived the bug mowing that all the others fell prey to.  I have since replanted and am hopeful.  I am grateful.

Look!  The corn is almost as high as an elephant’s eye AND the tassels are forming.  Oh what a beautiful morning.  I am grateful.

Smelling just as sweet as candy, the Butterfly Bush is starting to pop.  This should lure some beneficial insects to the garden.  I am grateful.

I’m a fan of fruit chewy candy like gummy bears or Sour Patch Kids or jelly beans or DOTS.  With boysenberries ripening each day there isn’t any desire to wander down to the local Rite Aid and pick up a chewy treat.  I am grateful.

The Memorial Day weekend started with a phone call to Farmer MacGregor’s great uncle.  He shared his Purple Heart earning story with me relaying his horror on Okinawa.  Genealogical details were sprinkled in but he kept returning to  his experience during March/April 1945.  Memories of an event that happened almost  70 years ago were shared with vivid detail.  I am grateful.

Furthermore, I may celebrate my gratitude with a nap on my patio swing.  I am grateful.

Tisket & Tasket

Late yesterday afternoon the wind began to pick up.  The lame nest that the dopey mourning dove built on the grape arbor crumbled to pieces.  Her two babies were down on the gravel floor of the garden and she was cuddling close to them.  This was hopeless.  They were all doomed to be cat food as soon as the sun set if not sooner.  I told myself to not interfere.  This was the way Darwin had explained it.  Right?  This dopey mom with no nest building skills was destined to be eliminated.  I went inside for approximately 1/2 hour checking on the situation about every 5 minutes.  It was getting dark and I couldn’t stand it anymore.  I went out to see what I could do to keep the babies out of harms way rather than experience a night of terror. 

Everyone was gone.  There was no sign of a struggle.  No feathers.  No blood.  A quick search of the garden found the 2 babies huddled together on the other side of the corn patch with mama sitting on the fence above them.  I gave her a few choice names then went to the shed to get the ladder and an old basket.  Mama flew away.  Tramp.  I quickly gathered the babies and put them in the basket.  They were returned to the grape arbor not far from their dilapidated nest.  Guess who was up on the arbor safe and sound?  That’s right.  Mama.  Tramp.  I tucked the basket amongst the vines and hoped it would be secure.

The wind really picked up in the night and brought rain down here in the valley and snow up in the mountains.  It is nice a brisk today.  I’m pleased to report that Mama and babies (now named Tisket and Tasket) are resting comfortably in their new nest.

 

There is someone in Darwin’s plan that is not happy that I interfered with Nature’s Plan.  I’m the FEMA of the garden.

Sorry Pumpkin.  Let them fatten up a bit more.  You’ll thank me then.

Vampires Beware!

Garlic was planted for the first time in October 2009.  It was harvested in May 2010.  Between May and October 2010 all the garlic was used except for one head and a few loose cloves that were set aside to continue the routine.  Those were planted in October 2010 and recently the garlic was harvested earlier this month.  About 40 head of garlic were produced without much effort.  Ah the circle of life.  Seems a successful routine has been established as far as growing garlic is concerned.  Curing the harvest is a snap using the drying racks that Farmer MacGregor constructed.  Brushing and braiding is the final task reserved for this weekend.  Perfect.  Garlic is one of the easiest items to grow in my vegetable garden.  Pest free.  Disease free. Limited irrigation – just to get it started.  If you have a patch of loose dirt (loamy sand) in full sunshine give, it a try.  If you’re close to Bakersfield, California, try the October/May schedule and see if it works for you.

Box repurposed from Costco for toting weeds, lavender, and garlic.  No one in the garden is a fan of Hidden Valley – especially me. 

 

Interesting garden note:  Farmer MacGregor does a mean impersonation of Count Von Count counting.  Ah. Ah. Ah. Ah!

Best in Show

Lavender & Sweet Peas

If you follow gardening blogs it seems they are broken down into a few groups:  Edible, Flowers, Homestead.  I think the edible part of gardening I’m getting the hang of.  Homesteading isn’t going to happen.  I have pioneer blood but it enjoys air conditioning along with me.  I’m simply too much of a whiner to be a homesteader.  That leaves the flowers group.  This evening as I cut some flowers to use as bouquets, I determined that I need more flowers in the garden.  So in addition to this being the Year of Corn in the garden, I will now try to incorporate more flowers into the landscape.  I mean try to pack spaces with blooming plants.  Nothing too difficult or fussy will do.  I’m going to stick with varieties that are hardy in the hell hole of summer in the south San Joaquin Valley.  Marigolds, zinnias and the like will be the things I’ll try to grow from seed. 

Now the research begins to determine what to try.  Any suggestions for flowers that do well in zone 8-9 are appreciated.  Thanks

Family Tree

Grape – Red Flame

Farmer MacGregor is the right man for the job…the job of thinning grapes.  He’s been studying the best way to prune the vine and the bunches in order to produce big, beautiful grapes with an eye toward future production.  I don’t know a thing about it and I’m glad he is taking control of the vineyard.  Does one grapevine constitute a vineyard?  Thinning is difficult for me.  I know I’m not alone.  Onions are easy because they can be thinned and used as you go along.  The fruit trees are a different beast.  The fruit trees were thick with fruit earlier this spring.  All that fruit is a promise of jam, pie, cobblers, fruit leather, and just plain fruit.  Many encouraged me to thin the fruit out to enable stronger fruit.  I didn’t.  Mother Nature and her wind loosened the weaklings and threw them to the ground.  Thanks Ma.

With days full of garden chores and a nighttime addiction to ancestry.com, I have had little time to make entries in my blogging garden journal.  There is no 12 step program for this addiction and I don’t care.  Like gardening, history is especially interesting.  My branches extend back well beyond the Mayflower.  Farmer MacGregor’s branches are a challenge to me though.  One of those branches is especially difficult because so many records were destroyed during the wars in Europe.  Finding information, and some of that information is only a sliver, can help create a character in a complicated story.  This type of history gives me a greater appreciation to those before me.  Thank goodness they didn’t thin me from the tree.

 

Garden Note:

• Planted Sugar Baby Watermelon 05/22/11.
• Thinned grapes 05/21/11.
• Harvested garlic 05/16/11.
• Planted red peppers 05/22/11.
• Thinned & repotted spider plants 05/25/11.
• Fertilized vegetables 05/24/11.
• Amended two middle beds 05/22/11.  Added sand and Gardner & Bloom.
• Sulfate of Ammonia applied to front lawn 05/20/11.

Berry Good

Berries are busting in the garden.  Strawberries lead the way followed by grapes then boysenberries.  Take a peek.

 

 

Ingrate Eviction. Nothin’ but Trash!

Not that you would want to with the photo below, but if you want a larger image of a photo simply double click on the image and a new window will pop up with a larger version of the photo.  This is information that could be helpful to the gals of the DBE that follow along occasionally.

Here’s another tip gals:  If you want to leave a comment and have it appear on a post you will be asked to type some letters in a window to confirm you are not a nasty robot leaving spam junk.  No, not the kind of canned meat that Anna makes famous sandwiches with.  Make sure you get through that process and then your comment will be included.  It’s that way on most all blogs.

Now for the ingrates.  Honestly, the stupid mourning doves that nest in my yard aren’t doing me any favors.  Just look at the mess below one of the nests in the pergola.  They brought in so many weed seeds with their nesting materials that I consider them extremely bad tenants.  Soon this single mother will have some babies she will try to raise before she “hooks up” with some other fly by night fella and be back on the nest.  The pile of poop can only grow.  This continues all summer long. 

The plan is to remove any nest once it’s empty and replace it with a healthy amount of scare tape.  Doves are pretty and all but poop and weeds are the limit.  If there is evidence that doves eat earwigs I may reconsider the eviction.  Otherwise, notice has been served.

Fruit Trees

Most all the fruit trees are producing great this year.  They are 3 years old and trained espalier to keep them manageable, tidy, and productive.  Organic fertilizer is applied about every 4 - 6 weeks.  Irrigation occurs as needed.  I use a moisture meter to determine when to soak the basins.  Pruning/pinching happens as needed and it’s been needed quite a bit lately.  So far, the trees have been pruned 3 – 4 times this spring.  The goal is to encourage a dense canopy over the open branches to avoid any sun scald to the fruit, trunk, or branches.  The wire cable seen in some images is used to train the espalier.  When the branches mature, it will be removed.

Plum - Santa Rosa

Plum – Santa Rosa:  This is the western most tree and maybe the hardiest.  The fruit is really developing nicely with the weaker ones thinning out naturally.  Thank goodness.  Thinning is taxing to me psychologically. Seeing the smaller, weaker plums take a dive for Darwinism helps me out.  Thanks weaklings.

Peach – O’Henry

Peach – O’Henry:  Pinching the tender new growth of the peach tree is a snap and can be do simply using my fingernails.  By pinching the tips, new growth is forced elsewhere helping to form a thicker shade canopy.  The peach isn’t the most vigorous tree but the fruit is really good.

Apple – Granny Smith

Apple – Granny Smith:  Not many fruit was produced in 2010 on this tree.  2011 looks to be way more successful.  These should be ready to harvest in August.  Old Granny had sun scald troubles.  Umbrellas will be used to shade any trees that are showing signs of being sensitive to the sun.  The umbrellas will go up nonetheless to comfort a whiney gardener with swamp pants.

Pear – Warren:  Sadly, I didn’t snap off a picture of Warren.  There are no fruit but the foliage is looking great.  Pears are some of the easiest trees to espalier train.

Nectarine – Fantasia

Nectarine – Fantasia:  Poor thing.  This is the 1st year any fruit has formed.  Sadly encouraging.  This tree suffered major sun scald.  I thought it would need to be replaced this past winter.  But it seems to be producing.  The goal is to encourage more leaves and make it stronger. 

Apricot – Blenheim

Apricot – Blenheim:  One of my favorites.  “Who put the ape in apricot?”  Name the movie.  This is really exciting to have a healthy apricot tree.  Blenheim sits at the eastern most point on the line of espaliers.  It is as vigorous as the plum.  New growth is regularly pruned/pinched.  Only recently has it begun to shed weaker fruits.  There are still plenty of beautiful, healthy apricots that should be ready in a few more weeks.

Another application of fertilizer is due in the next few weeks.  The trees were last fertilized during the 2nd weekend in April.  Heck.  This weekend seems like a fine time to feed these hungry babies.

Cherrio, Licorice

Licorice

May 5, 1991 – May 10, 2011

The Empress of the Garden has left our garden for one much more beautiful.  Thanks for keeping the varmint population down.  Thanks for keeping any other pet of the garden in line.  Thanks for hanging around so loyally for 20 years.  I’ll miss you.  Tell everyone “hi”.  Dang it.

You can read a light hearted remembrance of Licorice posted by her original human.  Pets are a wonderful thing.