Bareroots 2020

 Early in 2020, some new bareroot fruit trees replaced some failing trees. The Old Blenheim apricot was replaced with an O’Henry peach. An old Granny Smith Apple tree was a mess and replaced with a Craig’s Crimson_ cherry tree. The new trees will be pruned to join in the espalier fence line for the garden. Although the peach has a not-so-straight vertical growth, it might be able to be braced a bit to form a straighter midsection. The neighboring nectarine will be pruned back a bit to allow enough room for the peach to grow horizontally. 

The cherry tree came into the garden as a very tall (6’) whip.  It was cut down to about 4’ to keep the height in line with the rest of the tree fenceline an encourage lateral growth. So far, lateral branches are sparse. I need to learn how to encourage that lateral growth. 

2019 Review

Red Flam Grapes - 2019

The best/most productive crop in the garden for 2019 has been the Red Flame grapes. The quantity & quality have never been better. The vines were allowed to reach out across the garden in an array. Only limited pruning was performed to tidy stray vines. I constructed a very unsophisticated system of support using tall wooden stakes and twine leading the vines from the arbor out across the garden. This provided me with much welcomed summer shade while allowing the vines to soak up the sun and produce loads and loads of grapes. The grapes weren’t grocery store big in size; but they certainly tasted superior. I may continue with my remedial method unless Farmer MacGregor constructs a better more permanent structure.

Thornless boysenberries and Santa Rosa plums also performed well.  Earlier in the year, carrots thrived during the cool rainy season. Disappointments were beets being devoured by insects.  Still don’t know the culprits. They continue to destroy my fall beets. Tomatoes and peppers were also duds.

Two trees were removed:  Blenheim apricot & O’Henry peach. A new Blenheim has replaced O’Henry.  The nursery didn’t have any O’Henry’s in stock; so we hope to snag a bareroot peach this coming season. Farmer MacGregor insists. The Granny Smith apple also needs to be removed. I’m thinking of replacing it with a Royal Crimson cherry that has been developed by Dave Wilson Nursery for the San Joaquin Valley.

A variety of onions and garlic has been planted in the winter garden and look to be enjoying the cooler, wetter weather just like me. Hope you all are enjoying your garden too.

Pumpkin Thief - Meep Meep!

Cinderella Pumpkin 2018

Cinderella pumpkins were nurtured from seeds sown during Memorial Day weekend 2018.  Young plants thrived well enough to enable me to share a few with some work associates for their young children to enjoy the process of growing their own pumpkins for Halloween.  The balance of the plants went into the Pumpkin Patch - Bed #1.  As the summer heat increased in intensity, sun umbrellas had to be installed to relieve the drooping leaves and encourage pollinators to enjoy the shade. 

Sunflowers, zinnias, and morning glories for pollinators, people, and birds to enjoy.

Sunflowers, zinnias, and morning glories were planted to encourage those pollinators to stick around awhile.  Sunflower seeds are now drying for the birds to enjoy.  Zinnia seeds have already started to germinate for one last blast before frost.  Morning glory seeds are sprouting too but most will just be wildly sprouting in the spring.

Immature Cinderella Pumpkin

The pumpkin plants were blooming and producing many fruit throughout the summer.  It was bound to be a bumper crop this year.  But wait.  Soon after fruit were about golf ball size, they disappeared.  Did they wither from the heat?  No.  Did insects ravage them?  No.  How about some pest like a possum, raccoon, or rat?  No evidence.  The fruit simply disappeared without a trace.  All that work all summer long only brought 4 pumpkins to maturity.  FOUR?!  Unacceptable.  My work associates had experienced the same thing.  This mysterious thief must be found.  Time passed without a clue.  The vines were withering.  It was time to harvest and get that bed ready for winter veggies.

Farmer MacGregor did the heavy work on 3 of the 4 beds then I smoothed and planted.  It was still hot; so I was under the shade of the patio admiring all our hard work when a bird shwooshed in to the shade tree, dropped down to the lawn then jumped over the plum tree and into the former pumpkin patch.  It looked around quickly sizing up the change of the place then jumped up on the fence and moved on to the neighbors' yard looking for groceries.  The bird?  It was a roadrunner!  THIEF!

Roadrunners are not new to Bakersfield.  In fact, they are the mascot for the local university.  They ARE rare in suburban neighborhoods - I thought.

With this discovery, I went to the internet to learn more.  These guys eat anything.  Anything.  The internet also provided inspiration for a roadrunner feeding station that might help eradicate this problem in the future.

Tomatoes 2018

Tomato Bed 2018

Getting ready for summertime usually starts with getting the tomatoes situated.  In the past, I have been too ambitious or not ambitious at all.  This year, I hope to land squarely in the middle.  With a mix of heirloom and hybrids (and not too many of either) there has to be a balance.  Farmer MacGregor selected most of the varieties and I think he did a great job.

The heirlooms are planted on the western most edge of the bed (circled in red) to form a shade for other tomatoes as the blazing hot Hades sun moves from East to West.  These plants will be strung as they grow.  The green posts form the support.  Twine will be installed as the heirlooms grow and need support.  Fingers crossed for a nice curtain of tomatoes.  There are 1 of each:  German Johnson, Kellogg's Breakfast, Old German, and Pruden's Purple.  (Hmmm.  Planted in alphabetical order - top to bottom.  That sounds like me.)

The hybrids have cages for support.  They shouldn't get very tall; but hopefully they will get heavy.  There are 2 Better Boys, 1 Sweet 100 (cherry), and 1 Sun Gold (cherry).

All the plants have been stripped of their lower branches and leaves and planted deep to encourage a strong root system.  Each was provided a good dose of Garden & Bloom Harvest Supreme soil amendment and some organic tomato food.  Fortunately, the recent rains made the soil soft and easy to work with. Overcast skies also helped all the plants with a gentle introduction into the garden.

There are already blossoms that should thrive with the coming heat.  Here's to low weeds and high tomato production this summer.

Lilac Success

Lilac (Allen)

Lilac (Helen)

 Both varieties of lilacs are blooming.  Helen hasn't bloomed in years.  She was relocated in the fall (2017).  Maybe that did the trick.  Allen has always been a steady and reliable bloomer.  Neither are ever pruned or fertilized much.  Both are in the same size pot and are located close to each other.  Their growing conditions are the same.  Why is Helen so shy to bloom?

The Old Farmer's Almanac offers some good points for growing lilacs successfully.  Maybe I should consider starting some cuttings of Helen and see if I have success.  It is impossible to have too many lilacs.

Wisteria Rain

Blue Wisteria petals falling with the rain.

The recent bounty of wonderful rain was terrific.  The garden is washed.  The soil is soft.  While sitting on the patio and enjoying watching the rain come down, I noticed the plump wisteria petals fall with the rain.  There's still plenty hanging from the pergola above.  The bumblebees get busy between rain storms making the area sound like a botanical helipad.  The hummingbird feeder is a hugely popular stop for migrating nectar suckers.  In the meantime, the perfumed confetti continues to fall like a springtime ticker tape parade.  It's pretty great to enjoy this.  Summertime and swamp pants will be here before long; but until then the garden is very sweet.

Getting Back Into Blogging

Santa Rosa Plum Bud Break February 18, 2018

I've been away from blogging for sometime.  The process of blogging takes focus and purpose.  It just isn't as immediate as all the social media available.  However, as a garden journal it is invaluable.  Using the blog as a reference to refresh my mind on what worked, what didn't work, where things were planted, etc., is just so helpful.  I was reminded of this when I noticed the buds breaking recently on the Santa Rosa plum. I really thought the plum bud break was super late this year; but when I look at my blog post regarding the matter, February 18, 2018 is right in the ballpark.  In fact, it's pretty close to average. 

Since February 18, I'm pleased to report that the summer of 2018 looks like there might be a bounty of plums.  So, all is well with the plum world.

What's in a Name?

Thornless Boysenberry - Berry White

This year looks to be an excellent year for most everything in the garden.  Thornless Boysenberries are no exception.  There are six plants that thrive in the garden to the point of being invasive.  Sprouts need to be plucked as soon as possible throughout the growing season to avoid a bramble jungle.  That ounce of prevention is truly worth a pound of cure.

Enameled Metal Name Plate (Pinterest)

I've postponed for years the idea of attaching name plates to each of the berry supports giving names to my Boysenbabies.  A Frenchy looking metal name plate with enamel coating is what I'm looking for.  White with black pin-striping and black script lettering is my goal.  A local sign shop just up the road from Floyd's Hardware (one of my favorite stores) might be able to set me up with what I need or point me in the right direction.  I'll task Farmer MacGregor with installing them on the support structures.  He's a picky guy.

Boysenberry Support Structures - 2015

Above is an image from 2015 to show the structures better.  Currently, the berries fill the trellis portion.  The name plates will be on the top rail.  Here are some of the names I'm considering:

• Berry White - That's my biggest berry baby.
• Berry Manilow - He's off to the side pretending he's a tomato and will try to surprise us all that he's actually a boysenberry.  (Berry, we know & it's no big deal.  No surprise here.)
• Frankenberry - This guy has run away volunteers.  They're just monstrous.
• Chuck Berry - He's located on the east end where I set up my music when I'm working in the garden.  Chuck rocks!
• Chuck Berris - Right next to Chuck Berry is Chuck Berris.  Whenever a dud piece of music plays, it will get the gong.  (Note:  I need to install a gong next to Chuck Berris.)
• Berry Williams - Since there are six plants, I thought Berry Williams would fit right in.

Some of these names may be obscure to some; but they make sense to me.  And it's my garden.  However, nothing is set in stone yet.  Other names I'm considering:

• Berry Gibb
• Berry Bonds
• Berry Obama (Doubt it.  Making my garden great again!)
• Madame du Berry
• Marion Berry
• Maryanne Trump Berry
• Berry Fitzgerald
• Berry Goldwater
• Berry Williams

If you have a name to be considered, kindly leave your suggestion in the comment section.  Gracias.

Pincushion Flower

Scabiosa Columbaria (Pincushion Flower) - Butterfly Blue

A flowerbed in the front yard needs some umph.  It's adjacent to a hot sidewalk; so the plant material has to be tough.  Blue or purple is preferable and it can't get too large.  With those parameters, I grabbed my gardening hat and headed for the nursery.  I don't like shopping; but I like to browse and buy at a local nursery.  It seems most of Bakersfield had the same idea today.  Never before did I have to wait for a parking space.  Today I had to wait.  Perfectly cool, clear weather must have inspired gardeners of all types.

The pincushion flower was the winner after looking at the selections of pincushion flowers, reading the tag information, walking around a bit, and then returning to these plants. Here's the tag info:

Best Features:  Provides large, pincushion shaped flower heads all summer long.  Ideal choice for beds, borders, and cutting gardens.

Average Size:  Height:  12-18"  Space:  15"

Exposure:  Full Sun

Watering:  Allow soil to dry between thorough watering.

Feeding:  Not necessary.

Bloom Time:  Summer to autumn

Hardiness:  USDA Zones 3 - 8

Sweet Alyssum (white) planted right against the sidewalk will take the brunt of the heat.  A small boxwood hedge is being created between the Sweet Alyssum and Pincushions.  This should create a few layers of height and give some umph to the flowerbed.  Hope so.

EVERYBODY is Busy in the Garden

Spanish Lavender

Spring has arrived along with garden tasks to get ready for summer.  Winter crops like broccoli have been cleared to make way for summer favorites like tomatoes and peppers.  The last of the beets and carrots are hanging in there; but Hades heat will force them to fade to make way for more tomatoes.

Weeds have been cleaned away to at least start summer without weeds.  When July gets here, I really don't give a flying floo hoo if there are weeds.  It will be too danged hot.   For now digging, raking, hoeing, planting, pruning, composting, repairing, fertilizing, irrigating, and tidying are generally pretty enjoyable.

Calibrachoa

My current quest is to find some durable purple blooming plants to accent the garden.  Lavender is always a strong choice.  Purple Prince Zinnias have been proven winners.  Monrovia has a compact salvia called Marcus Meadow Sage that I'm thinking of ordering through a local nursery.  Calibrachoa has worked great in the past and is now hanging in several baskets in the garden to entice pollinators throughout the summer.

Hope you're enjoying all of your garden chores.