Re: Looking for the weekend!

Jim, your description reminded me of one of my favorite movies, "Caddy Shack." <LOL>
zem
----- Original Message ----- From: "james singer" <islandjim1@verizon.net>
To: <gardenchat@hort.net>
Sent: Monday, March 27, 2006 1:29 PM
Subject: Re: [CHAT] Looking for the weekend!


You made me wish once more that I could keep a few chickens here. They are such great animals. And, you're right, nothing makes them happier than a barrel of weeds--unless it's a coffee can full of tomato hornworms.

Gophers can really be a nuisance in a garden, orchard, and pasture. One July 4th my father dropped cherry bombs down all the gopher holes in our back yard--causing plumes of smoke to rise throughout the neighborhood.


On Mar 27, 2006, at 11:28 AM, Johnson Cyndi D Civ 95 CG/SCSRT wrote:

I'm only cutting back the vegetable garden, so I can concentrate on getting
the ornamental gardens back into shape. So far so good, I planted lettuce
seed yesterday and used up all last year's packets. I think lettuce seed is
one of those things better planted with fresh seed but it should be okay.
I wasn't planning on buying much for either garden, but when I looked at all
the bare spots in the ornamental areas I rationalized that planting new
things would inspire me to even more maintenance. Yes, that's the ticket.
Anyway I didn't get the plants for the back fence in the ground. I forgot
that the irrigation controller for that part broke earlier in the winter and
husband has not fixed it yet. Since he was busy too it will have to wait for
next weekend. I did put in all the salvias and erigonum (buckwheat) in my
dry garden. And I weeded for a couple hours in there and dumped 4 barrels of
grass for the chickens - they were happy. I got about half of it done so
that was good.
We trapped six gophers just this weekend and there are mounds absolutely
everywhere. Husband set more traps amongst the fruit trees, in the dry
garden, well just about everywhere we have plants we want to keep. You would
not believe my back yard. Between the lawn and the veggie garden fence there
is a lot of empty space we don't do anything with. My dogs have been digging
for gophers back there and it looks like the trenches of WWI. I guess I
won't need to clip their nails for awhile.
At least the weather was reasonable. Saturday was windy and cold but we were
working a garage sale so I didn't care much. Sunday was mostly overcast but
at least it was not windy, and it was relatively warm. We're expecting rain
again tomorrow - let it rain during the week, that's what I ask.

Cyndi

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-gardenchat@hort.net [o*@hort.net] On Behalf
Of Donna
Sent: Sunday, March 26, 2006 6:09 AM
To: gardenchat@hort.net
Subject: Re: [CHAT] Looking for the weekend!

So how much did you get done.... and I thought you
were cutting back this year? LOL! We all seem to have
the same problem, lotsa willpower till the season
actually gets here.

Donna

--- Johnson Cyndi D Civ 95 CG/SCSRT
<cyndi.johnson@edwards.af.mil> wrote:

We finally are having some nice days, I hope it
lasts through the weekend.
I'm helping at a garage sale tomorrow but Sunday I
have much planting to do.
I bought a whole bunch o' stuff at Theodore Payne's
(my poor credit card!),
and my order from Forestfarm showed up too so there
is no shortage of
plants.
I'm going to get serious about trying to hide the
neighbor in back of us but
the plants I put in have to be tough. Thus all the
natives from Payne's. I
bought 3 different kinds of saltbush - atriplex
polycarpa, atriplex
canescens, and atriplex lentiformis. None of them
are terribly attractive
but they will take just about anything. We have
atriplex canescens already
back there and it is about 7' tall now, the quail
just love to hide in it.
Since another of my wants is to provide cover and
food for birds I'm hoping
they all do well. Considering how much less habitat
the critters have these
days they might need my place.
What is it about developers anyway. There are
millions of acres of flat
desert out here with nothing on it but rabbitbush
tumbleweeds and alkali. Do
they build there, NO, they buy up the juniper
woodland in the foothills, the
places with the biggest biodiversity we have here -
hundreds and hundreds of
species - and then they bulldoze it, pave it and put
up houses. Makes me so
mad I could spit. Not to mention that part of what
is currently being
bulldozed used to be city nature park, the city just
rolled over and showed
the developers their throat. Sure, take whatever you
want, just promise us
taxes. Citizen complaints are met with smiles and
nods and no action. Of
course now the housing bubble is popping, who knows
maybe they'll just stop
after bulldozing everything.
Oops didn't mean to go on a rant.
Anyway. I also bought 3 sambucus mexicana, an
elderberry, as an experiment.
There is one growing in a canyon where we go hiking
on the weekends. Not too
far from my house but a little higher in elevation
and probably more
sheltered. Who knows it may have found a little
pocket to tap into for
water. But it is there so I will see if I can grow
one too.
Second experiment, I bought two different mesquites:
screwbean mesquite,
prosopis pubescens, and honey mesquite, prosopis
glandulosa. I see them
growing here where I work but there are none near
where I live, so we'll
see. Beautiful once they get a little size to them
but you don't want to get
too close - major thorns on those plants.
Third experiment, this one I'm not all that hopeful,
arctostaphylos glauca
aka big berry manzanita. Never seen one growing so
far as I know. But the
description sounded like it might live and I love
manzanitas, it might make
it. If none of my experiments work then next year
it's more saltbush! And
they might not...I have already tried
fremontodendron and matilija poppy
back there, neither lived. Course you know what they
say, try it three
times.
I bought the hakonecheloa (sp?) grass from
Forestfarm, and a few nandinas -
the dwarf "Firepower" ones - and a dwarf oakleaf
hydrangea...ummmm...can't
remember the name now. The japanese garden needs
more work than I thought
due to the gophers eating a lot of my liriope around
the teahouse edge. That
may have to wait for a while though.
Can't wait for the weekend.

Cyndi



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Island Jim
Southwest Florida
27.0 N, 82.4 W
Hardiness Zone 10
Heat Zone 10
Minimum 30 F [-1 C]
Maximum 100 F [38 C]

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