A Gardener's Notebook

Posts Tagged ‘garden’

This was originally written for release in February 2010 for another publication, but it never appeared. Much of the information is still valid, though, even as as move through April. — Douglas

While much of the US is still buried under quite a bit of snow, out here in California we are already planting veggies in our gardens. I don’t point this out to be mean. I am from Ohio, after all, so I understand what Winter means. That said, those of you cooped up in your houses can live vicariously through those of us in warmer climes and maybe even get a few good ideas for your garden once the ground thaws.

While our warmer weather allows us to plant earlier in the season there is also a bit of necessity. Our summers are so much warmer here that traditional garden staples like lettuce, cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower simply can’t cope. Try to plant them in May and they will be bolted almost before you get them in the ground. Sure, we can get tomatoes earlier, but in the middle of summer they can suck up a small fortune in water to keep them going. So, now is the time for us to get all our cold weather vegetables into the ground so we can get our harvest before the 100+ temperatures shrivels them in the ground.

This can make your garden planning for your summer much easier, though. Seek out garden bloggers in warmer areas to get an early idea what the neatest, coolest, best producing varieties are new this year. You can even get some real-world feedback on how well they do before you need to start your own seedlings. It is true,though, that good news about certain plants could have you looking for space to hang grow lights and set up irrigation systems trying to get jump on your own garden.

Here are a couple of hints on how you can use warm climate gardeners as your get your started in your own garden (and kitchen) planning for the coming season.

* Check out online forums and see what others are planning and what they might already be planting.

Share your experience with others. What worked (or didn’t work) for you last year? What are you going to trying this year? You’ll find people from all over the country and the globe.

* Start collecting recipes that can make use of your garden bounty.

Gardening planning is always easier when you have some obvious goal in mine. Online recipe files have thousands of possibilities for all sorts of vegetables.

* Seek out garden bloggers. We all love sharing what is happening in our gardens.

You can use Google or other search engines to locate gardeners both in your area and around the world.

* Use restaurants as your guide

Many higher-end restaurants specialize in using new and interesting ingredients in the dishes. Consider the ingredients in an interesting dish, especially one’s new to you and how they might fit into your garden. Then, seek out these plants in seed catalogs and your local nurseries.

*Be adventurous!

Try something new this year.

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Regardless of whether you are in the depths of your Winter gardening doldrums or at the height of your vegetable harvest, gardening books can be a friendly companion to your planning, a supportive friend to help you diagnose issues and a safe place where you can dream of the garden you would love to have. They can show you beautiful example gardens or help to identify that Clytostoma calistagoides vine in the backyard. They can take you on a guided photographic tour of Sissinghurst or give you the cold, hard facts of curing the scale on your apple trees. So, what are the best gardening books for you to include in your library? It all depends on where you garden and what you want to do.

Read locally

First, you need to find gardening books that speak to your geographic area, your urban vs rural balance, your wildlife — basically everything that defines the natural and relatively unchangeable aspects of your garden. It does little good to read about “banking” your roses for Winter if the temperature never drops below 60 degrees. Conversely, reading about harvesting tropical fruits like bananas and papayas when you are snowed in can only lead to frustration.

For my own gardening needs, I quickly related to the “bible” of gardening books for the American West, the Sunset Western Garden book, when I inherited my current garden. It has served me well, as it concentrates on plants that grow in the West (which of course includes California) and the problems that might arise from this climate. Even then, though it has to cover many different elevations and growing zones, so I have to read with my own zone in mind. Even here in California, it can still snow, even in the desert.

Look in your local bookstores and, more importantly, consult your fellow gardeners about the books they rely on most. It is a rare location that doesn’t have a few books on the unique challenges of gardening there. You just need to go out and find them. Sure, the Internet is a great resource, too, but there are times I am less than keen to take my laptop into the garden.

Balance between information and design

The next item to consider for your gardening library is establishing a balance between books filled with information — latin names, identifying marks, propagation tips –and books that focus on theory and design. You want a few of each as you will need both sides of the equation. Informational books can help you in plant selection, placement and care, but theory books give your mind a place to dream and plan. Do you want a “white garden” or are you growing vegetables, or perhaps a bit of both. Once you sketch out that grand plan for your beautiful garden, you are going to need some in-depth information about each plant so you can design irrigation installations and balance between the sun and shade parts of your garden.

No one book will fit all your needs, nor should it try. Each book has its strengths and focus. You should gather a small collection that serves all your needs by working in comparison and contrast. In this way, you will be able to create your best garden.

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Over the last several years there has been a large resurgence in gardening for food in the suburban backyard. Websites, magazines and televisions seem filled with advice on getting the largest harvest from your garden, square foot gardening, converting lawns to gardens and more. Hot on the heels of this growing interest comes a new trend — one that takes the idea of gardening up to the level of farming, even in the middle of a large metropolis like New York City or Los Angeles. Leading the charge in this new trend is the idea of raising your own backyard chickens.

Here in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, I have often seen various types of backyard livestock. Despite the fact that we are a heavily urban area, there are pockets of ranch and equestrian neighborhoods scattered throughout our city. In these areas it wasn’t that unusual to see an occasional chicken, rabbit or even a goat. That said, when our close friends divulged they were building a hen house in urban Woodland Hills, we were a bit taken aback. Then, a few years later, another friend did the same thing. Now it seems to be a national, if not international trend. Surely you couldn’t be allowed to raise chickens just down the street from the latest Chipotle or Jerry’s Famous Deli. Like most metro areas, though, this is exactly the case. Regulations vary from city to city, but most allow you to keep a few hens (no roosters, please) on your property for your own use.

As you might imagine, fresh eggs — the freshest you have ever eaten — are one big draw of backyard chickens, but there are also the benefits of reconnecting your family (especially kids) to nature.

Keri Dearborn says of her backyard chickens, “Beside providing eggs, chickens naturally recycle kitchen scraps into fertilizer. They also do something that I never expected. When they are out foraging in the yard, they create a sense of peacefulness. Just watching them explore and go about their lives had a zen feeling to it.”

Backyard chickens take time and money, though. Feed and bedding, while not overly expensive, do have a cost, but time is probably more critical.

“Chickens are early risers and go to sleep with the sun. If your days are long, you might have trouble feeding them. They prefer to see the food put down, without that visual stimulation they tend to eat less and be less healthy. They need a sturdy coop to keep out predators and just the right amount of sunlight and shade.” says Dearborn.

You won’t save money raising chickens, as feed and maintenance costs mount, but that seems beside the point.

Susie O’Connell, another Valley chicken farmer says, “It’s been a great experience for me and my kids. The jury’s still out on my husband, but even he appreciates the fresh eggs and ample chicken poop fertilizer for our garden.”

You can find extensive information about raising your own chickens on line, including the blog, Back Yard Chickens at http://www.backyardchickens.com/.