Tuesday, April 28, 2009

The herb garden and a little pest control

Some lessons need to be repeated.......

When I cook Indian food the curry leaves I find in the store are often tired and don’t add much flavor. I ordered 2 Curry leaf plants from Horizon Herbs ( my current favorite- http://www.horizonherbs.com/ ) along with Chinese licorice, Chamomile and Zaatar Oregano. Although native to India, the Curry leaf is “a reasonable choice for outdoor cultivation in Southern California” Sounds good….. I returned to the site to confirm a good location for these little plants and noticed “tropical to sub-tropical deciduous tree to 18 feet” Oops- didn’t see that. Curry Leaf Tree. They are now in big pots that will dwarf their growth (like my Bay tree). I don’t think I need 18 feet of Curry leaves. Not to be confused with either curry spice mixes or the Curry plant, whose leaves smell a little like curry spice.















The herb garden is so beautiful right now. Note the handmade ugly temporary sprinkler- only until I dig in a line and attatch it to my system......... Didn't I say that last year?














Tarragon, Lemon Balm, Marjoram,Thyme and Lemon Thyme, and Chives














3 different sages, Oregano, Rosemary, Winter Savory, Salad Burnet, Onions, and gleefully bolting Celery


Bugs bugs bugs

Today I installed pheromone traps in the apples and pears for Codling moths, a different pheromone trap near the citrus trees for Leaf Miners, fly traps in the chicken yard and Tanglefoot around the trunk of the Giant Fuyu tree. I am desperate to keep the mealybugs from ruining my favorite Persimmon. Next bug chore will be spraying for Fire Blight. Very few things in my yard need fighting, thankfully. Most of the problems are in the fruit trees and all my solutions are organic. Out damn pest. Don't mess with my fruit.

Sunday, April 26, 2009


Another delivery from Zeke the Sheik, The Guru of Poopoo

Saturday, April 25, 2009

The new chickens are 9 weeks old today and can still squeeze through a 2” x 4” opening in the fence. Those that make it into the great wide world get put into chickie jail for the day. Chickie jail is a 2’ x 4’ cage that is full of the most delectable and desired chickie treats- the plan being to fatten them up so they can’t fit through the damn tiny hole any more. It’s always the same 7 little escapees, so hopefully a few more days of constant eating will widen them.

Today I planted 2 seed flats- 1 entire flat of Zinnias. The other is a hodge-podge of Celosia, Basil, Summer Savory, Chives, Cardoon, Jicama, and Thai Red Roselle. Thai Red Roselle, the flower found in Latino stores here in L.A., is the main ingredient in the drink “Jamaica”. The great and wonderful Lulu makes this often in the summer- very refreshing. This is what Baker Creek (my seed source) says about it:

Thai Red Roselle
(Hibiscus sabdariffa) A valuable plant for making cranberry-flavored bright red beverages, jelly, pie and tea. Much grown in Asia and the mid-east as the flavor is wonderful. A tasty sauce can be made by boiling and sweetening the fleshy calyxes, the leaves are also used to make a drink. The entire plant of this Hibiscus is red and very beautiful. Start early, unless you live in the far-south. Citrus-flavored flowers are delicious on frozen deserts. This plant has too many uses to name here. Collected in Thailand.

Tomorrow I will plant the “three sisters” in the front yard. According to Iroquois legend, corn, beans, and squash are three inseparable sisters that support each other in several ways. The beans climb the corn and are light feeders next to the hungry corn. The squash rambles over the ground, shading it from the hottest sun and helping the soil retain water.

Planting food plants in the front yard is tricky. Authors Kelly Coyne and Eric Knutzen ( L.A. residents) address this subject in their interesting book The Urban Homestead. They recommend planting either unfamiliar plants (weird greens) or super abundant plants (cherry tomatoes) in the front yard. The unusual ones won’t get stolen and the abundant ones are fun to share. I will plant a Hickory King flint corn- multicolored and intended for corn meal. The beans will be Scarlet Runner beans- beautiful flowers and not a familiar shape. The third sister will be Musquee de Provence pumpkins and Australian Butter squash. I hope these three sisters are unusual enough for a safe front yard planting.

The transitional spring garden











Pakistani Mulberries just starting to color











The pullets really getting into their food











The chicken yard

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

April 21, 2009

A great day to start my garden musings.  My daughter's birthday.  A record high temperature for the second day, leading me (and many farmers in Cal.) to fear for my avocado crop. Last year's crop was lost to a brutal heat wave right at blossom time. Standing under the trees you can still hear the roar of thousands of bees in the blossoms, which are all the more abundant from having had a year off. 

 Today thousands of bees were clustered on the front of the hives in a great wide pile- I don't know why.  The 8 week old chickens were already finding ways out of their new yard while the older hens watched with jealousy and annoyance. They couldn't squeeze out through the same  tiny gaps.  

The last of the winter garden is  drooping in the heat. My snow, snap, shelling and sweet peas won't take much more of this.  The first pumpkins are up. The pepper seedlings stubbornly refuse to sprout.  The potato bed is the best it's ever been.  It's the first year I took the time to search out a great selection of good quality seed potatoes.  My gamble to leave a few pepper plants in last summer payed off.  Our mild winter only killed off a few of them and the survivors are exploding with new growth- a great jump start on production.  The favas are covered with blossoms.  In a flurry of heat wave watering, out of practice, I managed to miss the key lime which is not yet hooked up to the system.  It will spring back, but has lost most of its leaves.  

It was a gorgeous April day- perhaps my favorite L.A. garden month- a good time to begin,  Dream away.....