- Tuesday, June 21, 2005 at 20:39:26 (CDT)
whooo hooo
weather:
temperature:78
It rained today.. Not a lot, but enough to make everything smell nice and knock the dust out of the air. The Herb Bed is, as usual, the pride and joy of the yard, it seems to be expanding. Several Varieties of sage, basil, thyme and mint make this a colorful and fragrant bed. The actual veggie garden is doing very well. We've amended this soil for years and it is beginning to pay off. Inca Orange was our choice again for border rabbit frighteners (marigolds) and they're doing well. The tomatos are so so, and other late season seeds (pole beans, broccoli, basil, etc) are just popping up and starting to go big. The spinach from last year has bolted but I've been making quiches with it with some success (thank brett for the pie crust recipe)... The river was bigger this year (8500 cfs at the peak) than I've ever seen it. Fun stuff. the plants who have suffered through the long drought but survived are now being divided. they're our picks for toughest plants.. Rocky Mtn. Penstamen (Penstamen barbatus), Autumn Joy Sedum, Poppies, thyme, veronica, hollyhocks, cerastium, vinca... CATNIP! these survivers will make up our landscape, so if this is but the eye of the drought storm, we'll be ready.
- Tuesday, May 03, 2005 at 13:06:58 (CDT)
creek is raging
weather:
temperature:50
it DUMPED last night. The creek is raging whitewater again, and that makes for good clean fun! I don't know how much rain came down but it was enough to make the creek kayakable. Yesterday I planted some carrots, Chard, Oriental Spinach, Pak Choy, and carrots. I'm a little late. We've had quite a moist spring so far. 3 weeks of dry then rain rain rain. Fun stuff. Various flowers are blooming, we'll go for a little hike later and let you know what's up!
- Wednesday, April 27, 2005 at 13:01:54 (CDT)
all is well, life is grand, i'm eating spinach...
weather:
temperature:60
the spinach is up and edible. that fall planting bizness is the cheese that is. the creek is still running, it had dried to all but a tricke and then all the sudden it rains and it is raging again. this is the longest I've ever seen it run, well over 2 months, we'll see if it goes 3. I ran a siphon from the creek down to the garden and have soaked all the yard and garden very well. I suppose technically that water belongs to the good people of las vegas and phoenix, but i think people who build cities in the desert deserve to have their water stolen and their arms ripped off by a rampant Javalina. "Sorry son, we need that water so we can put more golf courses in the desert!"
The garden is doing very well.
- Thursday, April 21, 2005 at 20:51:03 (CDT)
WooooHoooo Eating Already
weather:
temperature:50
Getting dry. The creek is still running. Blooming are mahonia, double-bladderpod, senaco, and that little white guy that resembles the candytuft... don't know the name of that one. We're having the first spinach salad from the garden this year, signifying that we're straight ON IT. I transplanted the straggler garlic, onion, and leeks from years past in some sort of orderly fasion, and watered them with buckets filled from the quickly diminishing stream. Oh bad me, technically that water belongs to the good people of las vegas, who need to water their lawns in the desert. The bear paid us a visit last night, he's getting big. anabelle backed him right up the trail.
No camera still so no pictures.
-e
- Friday, March 11, 2005 at 18:11:21 (CST)
spring has sprung
weather:
temperature:50
spring really sprung a few weeks ago. it is early this year. sorry i haven't written.. the 12th of February was the day the stream started running. it has been nice to listen to it. I saw mourning cloaks a few weeks back and the crocuses have been blooming in town for a week.
We've stirred up the garden and it is looking good. the spinach from last year got uncovered and it looks great. We'll have salads soon!
ok then
- Thursday, December 30, 2004 at 18:26:00 (CST)
the garden is frozen.. so i'll rant.
weather:
temperature:32
it snowed. the roads are icy..
ok.. well nothing really happening in the garden. everything is muddy, frozen, snowedon, or whatever. The compost heap has melted into what will be good soil one of these days. Did anyone see the movie "Super Size Me?" It seems like these idiots are trying to blame everyone for everything... Wow, you mean if you eat McDonald's food for three meals a day for a month you'll get fat? NO FUCKING SHIT! Just like that retard Michael Moore trying to blame guns, and the NRA and even K-Mart for the Columbine tradgedy when clearly to blame were the kids who did it and their parents. Look no further. If you get fat from eating McDonalds every day, don't blame McDonalds, try PUTTING DOWN THE FUCKING FORK AND GETTING SOME EXCERCISE!! I am increasingly sickened by the constant allocation of blame that goes on. The media makes us scared, mcdonalds makes us fat, the NRA kills our children. These things only happen because individuals let them happen. If you're dumb enough to eat McDonalds every day, i'll dance on your grave and say "what a stupid fatass"
there ... vented.
- Friday, October 22, 2004 at 12:06:18 (CDT)
It is snowing.
weather:
temperature:cold
It is snowing. The spinach and lettuce are still growing, just about pickable for baby green salads. Hope it can deal with this snow. Other than that, all is well. Looking forward to a very nice winter with lotsa good skiing.
- Wednesday, October 06, 2004 at 17:02:27 (CDT)
Fall Color... Wow
weather:
temperature:Brisk
It was threatening to storm, and I believe it still is. Being in the computer world is a great way to make a living. Flexible hours and performance based rewards make it a rewarding field. However. The lack of being outside starts to get to you. Today I took a long lunch and did a running tour (to save time) of the canyon. amazing fall colors! The gambel oak, by far the most numerous member of the tree world in the canyon, had a long glorious reign this year. Other years it is short and dull, bright and short, or just plain dull. This year it was long and brilliant. The canyon was alive. Even the unforgivable gangly box elders dressed to impress with a display of gold. The aspens in the canyon are about 50-50, still some to go. A few unlikely suspects. I found a shrub, Acer glabrum, Rocky Mountain Maple, that i'd never seen in this canyon. It was in the canyon bottom where some water still sits in pools from the spring runoff. The color display on in bottom is different. The three leafed sumac (Rhus aromatica) has brilliant fall color from yellow to stop sign red. The roses (Rosa woodsii) are purple, red, yellow, and green, as is Cornus sericea. Snowberry hasn't begun to change. Up in the salt under the cliffs the Barberry (Berberis fendleri) was putting on its stunning show of random mixed colors (not unlike the roses)
On a sad note, the great piņon pine, (of which I've probably spoken in this journal) is dead. The largest Piņon i've ever seen with my own two eyes was overcome by beetles and drought (at least that's the best guess as we've lost several piņon to the same. Luckily Wildcat Canyon is somewhat shaded and slightly more moist that other areas where the piņon death has been devastating. I've also noticed that below the rafter j houses near the top of the canyon there is a lot of thistle showing up. Prperty owners up there should be careful to not just throw their troublesome weeds over the edge of the canyon and forget about them. jerks.
oh yeah... Rodney Dangerfield died yesterday.. rip, Rodney, hope the heavenly ranks give ya some respect.
- Wednesday, September 22, 2004 at 09:32:24 (CDT)
First Frost - Damn It Is Cold
weather:
temperature:32
No Mistaking it, this was the frost. Amazing that it was so late.. I'm not complaining. I was a hair late reading the temperature, it seems to be rising since the just has just come up.
This business of leaving for half the summer is very incompatible with having a nice garden. We came back from our 6 week jaunt around the country to find that the wild sunflowers had taken over, and everything else was very dry. Those kids tried their best to keep everything watered, but no one treats a garden like its owners. It was almost like when we were gone, the plants were travelling at close to light speed, because when we returned they looked largely unchanged. In the last week we've had close to 3 inches of rain. I planted a fall crop of spinach about a week ago, we'll see if they come up. We also got the tomatos covered last night and all the annuals moved inside. (after a dose of the 10-50-10 the annuals boosted) Anyway. We managed to keep the frost away. I say more rock! Next year we're not leaving for more than a day at a time to make the garden return to its former glory. Anyway.. ta ta
- Friday, June 04, 2004 at 20:33:13 (CDT)
Wow...
weather:
temperature:75
Today was a scortcher. The annual triple oaks box o' plants has arrived, I filled in the herb bed with more varieties of sage, thyme, lavender and a few others. Lisa did the veggies, a bunch of heirloom tomatos and peppers, parsley, and some squash. I'm out there now making a time lapse movie of a night blooming primrose (Oenethera caespiosa) sorry i don't feel like looking it up, the spelling might be wrong. the webcam on aftergrass.com is frequently shot out in the garden now that we have wireless. The birds are singing, the sun is caught by the top of the ridge, a gentle cool breeze is blowing down the canyon, the scent of the evening primrose is strong in the air, the entire garden is perfumed. If this isn't paradise, I don't know what could be....
- Monday, May 31, 2004 at 12:38:23 (CDT)
Oh yeah, and
weather:
temperature:65
if you read this blog - wait.. this isn't a blog.. this is a garden journal with thet express purpose of gardening and recording year to year information. I just had to set the record straight, I hate blogs. A bunch of emotionally weird, narsisitic computer geeks who for some reason think that anyone gives a shit what they had for lunch. You know it's apple's fault. "Share your iLife" Jesus, it makes me sick.
anyway, there are great forums at Triple Oaks where you can be interactive. Instead of listening to the self-obsessed rants of some dork.
- Monday, May 31, 2004 at 12:32:18 (CDT)
Is it me or...
weather:
temperature:65
It is windy. We've been eating well from the spinnach, it's delicious. The lettuce doesn't quite do as well. We've transplanted the autumn joy to a thick bed along side the gazebo, that should be nice. Reworking the path, and generally tearing the garden to pieces... throught he rubble you can see the eventual shape of the garden. I'm thinking that all the soil in the yard needs a massive infusion of cow do-do or something. I think the big flood last year washed away a lot of soil and left silty clay in its place. I do think that we've got the flooding thing under control (hopefully) so we'll be slightly more prepared this time.
Enjoy!
- Thursday, May 20, 2004 at 15:04:49 (CDT)
oops, almost forgot
weather:
temperature:70
I posted some shots on Triple Oaks Nursery'S Garden Journal
- Thursday, May 20, 2004 at 15:01:21 (CDT)
Yeah, I'm A slacker
weather:
temperature:70
It feels like rain. It hasn't rained much. A few days ago we had the first baby green salads from the garden and they were delicious. We're really going to town on the ornamental landscape. It is hard to destroy established trees and shrubs, especially in such a dry area, but these old junipers have to go. They're the ugly low growing type with snowload damage and branches which go every which way, plus with the addition of the arch, they really throw off the geometry.
Stuck a few tomatos in today, too, I built a rock wall around them, hopefully it will retain enough heat to keep them happy . The Oenothera is blooming all over filling the evenings with sweet fragrance. yay.
- Friday, April 23, 2004 at 23:02:53 (CDT)
Snow..
weather:
temperature:50
It snowed yeseterday into last night, this morning we woke up with a bunch of snow on the ground... It all had melted before noon, so it was safe to get out of bed. The plants didn't seem to mind. We planted a small mass planting of Cornus sericea in the front bed. We collected a few stray babies which spread by stolons in teh canyon out back. I hope they don't get the scale that i've seen on this species. Anyway.. snow's fun.. yay
- Sunday, March 21, 2004 at 20:18:03 (CST)
whew. it is hot.
weather:
temperature:45
It was a scortcher today. We were working out in the garden all day. The lettuce went in yesterday. John and I pulled down a few of the large railroad wire insulator thing whatever the hell you call them. Anyway. I planted sugar snap peas too. I'm turning the area where there was spurratic grass, and will plant some more drought tolerant grass there.
- Tuesday, March 16, 2004 at 15:26:34 (CST)
Whew
weather:
temperature:60
Odd weather today.. blustery breeze in the air. I took a quick trip up the trail to grab a few more slabs of sandstone. Really I just pulled them out of the dirt, i'll let Lisa carry them down later. I also turned over the soil in the garden, getting ready to plant some lettuce, which will hopefully be done before I need the space for other veggies. I'm really thinking hard about how I'm going to garden this year. Most years I plant too much of some stuff and not enough of other. Tomatos, for instance, I'm always doing huge rows of plants that end their season in september with a million green tomatos. No longer, I'll do a few select plants, early girls only, too. Maybe I'll try that swanky 4th of July variety. I want to plant a lot of greens, sugar peas, and broccoli. I think the cool nights here will allow me to have at least some greens all year round (as long as I can keep them wet)
Both the double bladderpod and the mahonia repans have flowerbuds, so It shouldn't be long now. The ground is workable in all but the most north facing nooks and crannies.
- Monday, March 15, 2004 at 16:51:54 (CST)
Oops, i should have started this last week
weather:
temperature:50
Well, the stream is running, it started a few days ago, it seems to run at the end of the day and freeze back up by morning. Wildcat creek has been melting for about two weeks. In the garden the snow has just melted. We've done spring pruning, planning, and are ready for the season. THe autumn joy just started to come up as well as a few other plants. The trail is mostly dry and i've been up there flooking for the first double bladderpod flowers to emerge. Birds are noticably chirping, however there are no flowers on the pussy williows yet. Spring has sprung and i'll be watching for crocus. Lettuce goes in the ground tommorow.
- Tuesday, October 14, 2003 at 17:08:43 (CDT)
Finally A Real Frost
weather:
temperature:60
I know , i know... This year was a bad one for the garden journal, mostly because I didn't have garden. We worked on the inside of the house day after day, and it is wonderful. I goa bow, starting shooting again, and have been absorbed completely in making music. Next year will be the year of the garden here.
Last night was the first night that the night blooming jessamine came inside. pretty good long year. There was light frost but the jessamine was protected by a juniper tree. Most of the protected plants didn't suffer the frost. The box elder at the bottom of the steps got pollyarded, which has made it pretty cool.
- Tuesday, July 29, 2003 at 12:10:50 (CDT)
Summer Rains Finally!
weather:
temperature:70
The rains have come. The other day we had a lovely flash flood. That was spendid. My lack of a garden jounral this year stems from my lack of a garden. I let things go due to the drought and decided to wait until we have a normal summer to do any more gardening. This lack of a garden has really sparked my native plant interest, and my database is almost done. The natives put on an awesome show this year, I'm guessing as a last resort (I'm going to make some seeds, damnit) and the frasera which only blooms once every 20-80 years has gone full bore, covering the high country.
more later -e
- Thursday, June 05, 2003 at 13:51:55 (CDT)
No Call List is Great
weather:
temperature:90
I have native plant stuff. It seems my lovely web host moved this site and I long the last two entries. That is a real bummer because they included details on blooming plants. Anyway, the colorado no call list is cool. It is a list that telemarketers must use, and prevents them from calling your number in colorado the number is 1-888-249-9097 down with telemarketers! hurrah
- Thursday, March 13, 2003 at 11:03:00 (CST)
I don't believe this person exists.
weather:
temperature:60
I found this journal on a garden center website and couldn't believe it. This dude has some serious issues. I'd encourage you to please visit his page and then write to him telling him that he should pretty much shut the hell up... Some Idiot's Hate Spew Nonsense
- Wednesday, March 12, 2003 at 16:18:43 (CST)
It is spring again
weather:
temperature:60
A beautiful "in like a lion" day. Today marks the first appearance of the Mourning Cloak butterflies. (at least that i've seen) The trail is doing well, we've had some nice snow and I even learned how to do backflips
- Friday, December 06, 2002 at 11:55:02 (CST)
I have a special request...
weather:
temperature:50
I have a special request. I'd like to abolish SPAM. SPAM is unsolicited email that I'm sure every one of you gets on a day to day basis. SPAM costs our economy millions in wasted time. Spammers use all manner of dirty tricks to secure email addresses. Any advertisements that you didn't explicitly ask for should be deleted at once.
What can we do about SPAM? Well, sadly, nothing.... Well almost nothing. I ask each of you to seek out supporters of spam. Find addresses of companies that SUPPORT spam, get their fax numbers, email addresses, home phone numbers, whatever you can get. Let's make a database of SPAMMERS! The database will list confirmed spammers and give users a chance to flood their email accounts with our own ANTISPAM. If you ever hear someone, or know someone who is in favor of SPAM, confront them, and if you really feel like it, knock their block off (just don't do it where anyone can see you)
I'd like help with this project, I want to start a group who fights spam with spam. If you know of a company that endorses "fax spam" try this... loop a sheet of paper through your fax machine, tape the ends together. Dial their number and hit "send" this will loop the paper through and through. The end result will be the spammer's fax machine will eventually spit out all of its paper, and hopefully cause them some trouble.
You could write to your congressman or woman, also, but they are unlikely to do anything about it, since technically, SPAM is freedom of speech. Although an impassioned plea to extend the death penalty to spammers wouldn't hurt. We have to take this fight into our own hands, and we have to win! Let these scumbags know that if we want a service, we'll look it up.
Please EMAIL ME if you would like to help in this fight. Let's make the internet a source of public infomation, creative discussion and legitimate business, not a seedy advertising hole for companies with no sense of ethics.
sigh... there.... vented.
- Monday, November 04, 2002 at 15:01:21 (CST)
I forgot to mention the frost..
weather:
temperature:50
It frosted.. It actually frosted a while ago, I just couldn't be bothered to tell you.. I've been very busy with work, and more recently SKIING again! Whooo... The garden is fun.. But nothing beats a good pow day
-e
- Friday, September 27, 2002 at 16:01:31 (CDT)
Stega Is Smelly
weather:
temperature:60
Still no hard frost.. It rained a bit today.. The big leaf stuff (squash, etc) have all kicked the can, but the other stuff is doing fine..
- Saturday, September 21, 2002 at 17:27:58 (CDT)
Barely A Frost
weather:
temperature:75
What an absoloutly beautiful day.. The garden hasn't had a hard frost. 2 nights ago the very top leaves of the squash burnt in the cold, and last night the middle ones got a little fried, but overall everything is still alive and doing well.. Considerably longer season than last year, but sadly there was no water, so not much of a garden. I did make pesto from the rows of basil we planted.
Cheers
-e
- Monday, July 01, 2002 at 02:03:38 (CDT)
Wrath of God, anyone?
weather:
temperature:95
The sun burns. It did rain a tad the other day. I'm not even sure when the last frost happened, It is hard to pay attention to such things when it is so dry. But, things are doing well. I have the veggies (and some of the musas) in the garden bed with a drip system on. They're starting to pump. We've also started a bunch of basil from seed directly in the garden (it is just hot enough) but keeping them wet is a problem.
I planted a variety of sages, thymes, and other herbs, courtesy of my family and friends at Triple Oaks and they seem to be doing well... Remember those hardy lillies? The ones that I was skeptical about? They're going through the roof. They're quite nice. Remind me to buy more next year.
For those of you who haven't heard, we've got a fire brewing.. The missionary ridge fire has consumed almost 70,000 acres of woodland. Our landscape has changed dramatically here, gone is the house in the trees, and welcomed is a house in the middle of some dirt (safe than sorry, etc) I'm too tired to write right, i'm going to bed.
-e
- Friday, June 07, 2002 at 19:50:28 (CDT)
Still No Rain
weather:
temperature:95
Still no rain, I got new Musa basjoo plants today.. whoo hoo..
-e
- Sunday, June 02, 2002 at 00:50:11 (CDT)
Hurray, worst drought in 100 years!
weather:
temperature:90
Hot sunny dry hot sunny dry. There has been literally no rain.. none... nada zilch, zero, as I have to haul water, I've been leaving many plants to it. A few late frosts zapped a lot of stuff, and generally the place isn't doing so well...
I'll let you know when it rains..
- Tuesday, May 07, 2002 at 18:42:52 (CDT)
Still no rain, so I planted more stuff!
weather:
temperature:65
So i planted an azalea (start laughing now) I put it in a sheltered spot on the north side of the house in a huge hole with lots of peatmoss.. Maybe it will live. I think i just like killing plants. I planted a few chinese prostrate junipers around the pond, a Miscanthus "Grizeiella'", and a few more Spirea x 'Anthony waterer' I love those. The veggies that are out are doing OK, just a little lackluster due to lackwater. Oh well..
-e
- Tuesday, April 30, 2002 at 14:46:14 (CDT)
No rain No Rain
weather:
temperature:70
No Rain.. Doesn't that sound familiar in this journal? The yard is really picking up.. The daffodils have bloomed here and there, and some are still trying. The chockecherries have leafed out to a wonderful extent, marking the arrival of the hummingbirds. I haven't seen a single crocus flower yet, either, but the lily-of-the valley (botanical name, anyone?) have increased the size of the colony significantly. Spinach and lettuce are coming up but have been tramped by dogs and generally just ugly. The calalina and bloomsdale spinach are doing the best. The radishes I planted are looking slightly peekid. The flats of veggies inside/outside are doing very well. The squash plants are stout and thick leaved and strong from being in the sun and wind all day and the warm house at night. Tomatos are coming up as well. The basil is taking forever, but also coming up slowly. I divided the six hills catmint into 3 cliumps that are doing fine, and plan to divide the autumn joy as soon as it rains for a few days... The oaks are leafed out yet, and a pathethic showing of flowers is arising from what is left of the vinca and forsythia. The garden needs a fence. The dogs do a great job keeping the critters away, but do enough damage by themselves.
On another note, the weather is nice and warm, the days are long, the hummingbirds are back with all manner of birds and lizzards. It smells like spring. A little later in the canyon than in town, where the flowering trees are already putting on an amazing show. Until the next time
-e
P.S. OS X is just juicy goodness
- Monday, April 15, 2002 at 10:11:11 (CDT)
blah
weather:
temperature:65
blah
- Sunday, April 14, 2002 at 14:31:57 (CDT)
How would YOU like your very own garden journal?
weather:
temperature:65
Nice day.. The spinach and chard and such are kicking right along, and the onions are popping out of the ground. While staring at my seedlings this morning I got the idea of making a web-based program that will allow me to enter the seed info (days to emerge, etc) and have the web server keep track of WHEN they emerge... Then add a few more bells and whistles so I can have a full blown web based journal running on my server for anyone to use (at a nominal charge)
I'll keep you posted
- Monday, April 08, 2002 at 13:01:41 (CDT)
Rain Came and went, the yard is happy
weather:
temperature:60
the rain was falling beautifully yesterday.. On saturday I planted more in the garden. The spinach and lettuce in the new bed is sprouting like mad, I think I planted too thick, however, the early drounght will probably thin the plants for me. The pond is almost done, and some lillies and sempervivum have been planted around the border. I also threw some seeds from Shirley Poppies and Carnation Poppies around the pond hoping for random flowers. I planted Gladyolias in the garden, too, because that is the only place with enough moisture and good soil to grow these fussy, annoying plants. I planted a bunch of Lily bulbs, as well, hopefully they'll live here despite the dry, untamed soil. The varieties were Pink Perfection, Vivaldi, Tiger, Massa, Stargazer, and Peach Pixie.
In the veggie garden, I plnated a bunch of 'Bouquet' Dill, Royal Chantenay Carrots, 'Green Fortune' Pak Choi, and 'Primor' French baby leeks. Hopefully they'll all do well. Luckily, i've been too busy to upload pictures or maintain this journal well, but that means I might make enough money to stop eating tree bark...
-e
- Friday, April 05, 2002 at 17:15:47 (CST)
Nice days, but no rain
weather:
temperature:60
Lots of things have been happening. I've been meaning to make journal entries, but i've pretty much slacked. Here's the rundown.... Over the last week, I've seen tulips emerge (foilage only), daffodils, and crocus. I haven't seen a flower yet. The mahonia is starting to change from purple to green. Tiny shoots are popping up here and there. Lettuce and radishes have just germinated, the lack of rain means water and water. I still need to get the drip system up and running. The pond is in, and the first plants around the border, Sempervivum, are planted. The Waterfall is getting there, a little more work, perhaps. Wormwood is putting on leaves, and Sedum x 'Autumn Joy' is coming on strong.. I divided a few clumps of this today. My computer is acting odd because i've installed osX.. and a dear friend is sending messages, so i'm signing off.
-e
- Friday, March 29, 2002 at 21:35:28 (CST)
Oh yeah
weather:
temperature:64
One more thing.... When looking at this site from the dreary, gaudy world of Microsoft windows, I noticed a slight formatting flaw with the way the pictures display. there is a margin on the left and top since the javascript popups only call the image, not an html file containing the image (which would fix the problem if the marginns are set to zero. I just want everyone to know that I am aware of this, and couldn't give a pair of fetted dingo's kidneys (thanks, douglas) how windows users view this site, since I know all the cool people in the world use macs anyway. Plus that would be extra work (fixing the problem) and I just don't feel like it
-e
- Friday, March 29, 2002 at 21:20:59 (CST)
I think I need a new picture format
weather:
temperature:65
BLUE BIRD. I was skiing all day, so I didn't get to make many observations. And here's some that I missed: The forsythia is NOT blooming yet. The tulips are up, daffodils just starting to pooke through, and the crocus are on the way as well. No flowers yet.
We planted about 250 onions 2 days ago, the 27th. I'll thin them mid summer to let the later ones go big. I planted them far too late last year. The Sedum x Autumn Joy and other Sedums have nice mounds of early foilage now, and they're starting to look nice. Columbines are putting up a leaf or two now and then. I need to get my irrigation system worked out better this year. I'd like to run PVC pipe underground to a few locations.
oh yeah, I made a new ski movie
the place to see it is HERE
- Sunday, March 24, 2002 at 18:54:38 (CST)
Early season, and I'm lagging already....
weather:
temperature:50
I guess I should have been making observations on this journal to accurately record the date, but generally, it's warm... The nights have begun being frost free, and the yard is slowly waking up from a dry, cold winter. Sometime last week I started seeing bugs again, moths, box elder bugs, bees, etc. This week has been very warm. My mother already planted a bunch of seeds when she was visiting (see previous entry) and I watered everything today.
I made a new bed near the garden that contains lettuce, chard, and spinach. The end of the bed has a neat cage like trellis (home-made of course) where Snow Peas will grow. The varieties are as follows (everything planted today)
Oregon Giant Snow Peas (Edible Pod) - Renee's Garden
"Bright Lights" Chard - Renee's Garden
Paris Markey Mix Mesclun Salad - Renee's Garden
Baby Leaf Spinach 'Catalina' - Renee's Garden
Crunch Lettuce Trio Blush Batavians - Renee's Garden
Spinach - Spinacia oleracea 'Bloomsdale' OP variety - Botanical Interests
Super Sugar Mel Sugar Snap Peas - Renee's Garden
French Breakfast Radishes - Renee's Garden
Instead of linking every one I'll just do a link to Renee's Garden here, and Botanical Interests here.. I have a bundle of pictures from this month that will go up in the next entry. They're just a pain... In fact, a little note on pictures. When you click on the pictures you'll notice that they pop up in a window. Normally we should make an html page for EACH picture so it appears correctly in the window. I've noticed that Internet Explorer for Macintosh displays the pictures correctly even without an html page. And since this is my personal page, I don't really care if windows users can see them, because I typically don't like to associate with people who use Windows anyway. So there
-e
- Tuesday, February 26, 2002 at 19:22:32 (CST)
Ladies and Gentlemen - Start your Engines
weather:
temperature:10-50
A clear bright sunny day. The snowpack this year has been nothing short of pathetic. Skiing is rough ...
Today we planted a lot of stuff, well, seeds anyway. Lathyrus odoratus - Perfume Delight Sweet Pea, Papaver rhoeas 'Leigon Of Honor', Sunset Aesclepias, California Poppy (Eschscholtzia californica) etc. Greens in the garden: Tres Fine Endive, Renee's Stir Fry Mix, Gayla Cornsalad, Ruby Red and Rich Green Lettuce, Broccoli Rape Super Rapini, Italian Gigante Parsely, Hesperis, Musk Mallow, Millenium Mix Lupines. Fun Stuff. The Thyme is still alive, and when the snow melted off the garden, I found parsely... Still Fresh. I need to do something with my dog... Anyone want a pitbull?
-e
- Wednesday, November 07, 2001 at 02:28:27 (CST)
Fall is for slouching
weather:
temperature:28
It's really wild. I threw in the towel back in september for the frost. But then it's been nice ever since. A few cold nights, but a greenhouse garden would still be very very happy. Something really weird happened too, the aspen lost thier leaves a long time ago, and the burning bush usually goes with them, but it waited a month and is just peaking now...
I wrote and recorded a song about the canyon.. it's really weird but i made it all with pro tools free on my powermac 8500 with the little mic that came with the computer.. I think ThiS LinK will download it... (5.5 meg mp3)
other than that.. i'm waiting for the snow to fall.. I think i'm slightly out of shape and need to ski..
-e
- Friday, October 19, 2001 at 01:42:09 (CDT)
Another Sunny Day
weather:
temperature:50
here are some pictures from the desert. The yards still has some things worth mentioning, even though the frost season is here. the euonymous is still green, the aspen have lost their leaves.. etc etc etc
I took these pictures in a place that i won;t tell you, but come visit and i may show you
- Saturday, September 29, 2001 at 05:40:53 (CDT)
Sorry everyone, sorry sorry...
weather:
temperature:
48
Sorry it's been so long. I didn't feel like writing after some mutants blew up the world trade center. I still don't want to write about that... Pictures! Instead of writing about the last month, I'll just show you pictures. On the garden note... for next year, water after the frost, it hasn't frosted again since. If i would have been here to cover everything the garden would do well. I chopped the banana down when it frosted, then mulched it 3 feet high, all of the sudden an enormous leaf shoots out of the pile and there the banana continues to grow. anyway, here's the pictures
-e
- Sunday, September 09, 2001 at 11:46:23 (CDT)
it is all done, folks...
weather:
temperature:64
the frost has come. Last night temperatures in the canyon dipped to 28.6F. Sadly, i wasn't even home to cover anything, I was at spaeder's annual birthday bash, which incidentally was a ton of fun. When I got home this morning, I didn't notice the frost at first as the trash bin was tipped the bungies removed, and trash was everywhere. The bear had struck again. Lisa has managed to see the guy twice, but I haven't set eyes on him yet. I'll have to devise a more clever bungie system.. I'm glad that it's trash night. I hope the poor guy does alright. I've heard that this time of years bears need something like 20,000 calories a day to get ready for winter. I think the poor thing burns 20,000 calories every time the dogs chase him up the mountain.
So, the tomatos and peppers got it bad, i think the brocolli will live. I have some radishes that will live, a few onions, etc. Basically, I think the frost only got the weak stuff. A lot of the annuals that I planted are still doing well, the Jessamine took the frost just fine, and all the pots on the porch are still doing fine. The moral of the story is: uhm, there is no moral.. it frosted. I don't know what I'll do with this journal now.l I guess I could keep it going to monitor temperatures. I put the heat tape on the Banana tree, and mulched it 4 feet high. I really want that thing to live. I think that the temperature flucuations are what will kill the thing, not lows. Maybe I'll keep this going as a ski journal, or just a place to put up new pictures. I have some great shots, but I'm writing this from my laptop, without the gear to get the pictures ready. I'd show you the frost damage, but I can't since I left my camera over at spaeders. Anabelle was the star of the show over there, doing backflips and jumpspins like they were going out of style. Well, more later
-e
- Thursday, September 06, 2001 at 04:13:28 (CDT)
Still no frost! Whoooo Hoooo
weather:
temperature:?
I don't feel like getting up to look at the termometer. The garden still does well, and the banana is going strong. I made some good stuff from the garden for dinner, the recipe is HERE complete with pictures. It was yummie!
-e
- Wednesday, September 05, 2001 at 00:21:31 (CDT)
First Red Tomatos!
weather:
temperature:80
Today i found my first red tomatos in the garden! They were sweet 100 cherries and they were sweet indeed. I hear this tomato has the highest percent of vitamin C of any tomato! Rock on!
I would have written sooner, but i spent the weekend up north, camping and then riding the monarch crest mountain bike trail along the continental divide. The total ride was huge and wonderful views graced us the entire time. Spaeder has the pictures on his camera, I have to get them from him.. The ride started at 11,000 feet and went as high as 12,000. IT was truely amazing. That is life there, kiddos, don't go crazy looking for answers from anything further away than the ground beneath your feet.
Oh well, it hasn't frosted, I think it is going to be a lil warm tonight, hopefully i'll get some more red tomatos soon.. for next year, again, i say STAKES, STAKES, STAKES!
-e
- Friday, August 31, 2001 at 18:05:09 (CDT)
This is the last entry for August
weather:
temperature:60
what the hell happened to the summer? hello, september
- Friday, August 31, 2001 at 17:50:16 (CDT)
It is nice
weather:
temperature:59
Partly sunny actually. Last night it went down to 41 F the veggies are hanging on, I hope they will give me some red tomatos. Another idea for next year: I'd like to make a big pyramid for the pole beans, and then put a chair in the middle of it. That'd be cool. This year we've spent too much time looking for beans in the massive clumps laying on the ground. The Kentucky Wonders are excellent, and very tasty.
Most things that survived the heat/dogs/drought/fire/famine/flood/toxic tear gas and goat marmots are doing very well now. It poured today like crazy, and is still drizzling. Colors are starting to change in places like Junction creek. It seems to me that I will be soon reaquainted with my dear friend, Wildcat Canyon Road, once the Box Elder trees lose their leaves (and bugs) ... Colors were nice today, not as in fall color, but late summer garden colors. This sunflower head was nuclear, the contrast between the annuals and the banana tree on the background of the junipers and cotinus make for an interesting pallete here, and the Autumn joy is just starting its long journey toward rustdom. Even in the shade, pulmoniaria has a interesting color combination going, looking somewhat like a sick frog.
The little rocky herb bed that I planted from tripleoaks is doing well. Someone (anabelle) drug a rock over the blackberry lily, but it flowered nicely anyway. The polar sun rose is doing well albeit slightly droopy, and the herbs are magnificent. I did lose "creeping lemon thyme" but that isn't so alarming. Lemon Frost Thyme is doing well, the regular ol' thyme thyme is HUGE, lemon thmy is pekid but alive and the oregano thyme has taken off. I'll mulch them well once the frost comes. The lavender is all doing well, and I know "munstead" to be hardy here as there's been a big clump in the yard for years. My favorite two plants in this bed are Sweet Annie, Artemisia annula, A soft foilaged annual with a *wonderful* smell and interesting texture, and Anise Hyssop, Agastache foeniculum, a perennial that is hardy to zone 5, and has a wonderful taste. The flowers are also really beautiful, as they're just coming out now... The sun has just come out slightly, but i'll leave the weather as is.. You never know when it is going to change...
In other news.. The lettuce that i planted is indeed fried. One day of driving up to denver to see WEEN and a day driving back, and that stuff got sizzled. I need a timer on the sprinklers for such occasions. But, thanks to me dear ol Mum, I have new seeds to plant tonight (I think i'm going to dig the remainder of the potatos and plant lettuce in thier stead) She sent all sorts of cool stuff. Some of which will need to wait for spring. Thanks, mum!
-e
- Tuesday, August 28, 2001 at 16:52:49 (CDT)
Sunny Day, Sunny Day
weather:
temperature:85
It's actually partly cloudy... I just realized that I'm going to have to add some more sunny clouds and windy nights, and other interesting icons to represent the weather.
The Sunset last night was wonderful.. well, the part of the sunset that canyon dwellers get to see. People in the bottom of canyons get easily amazed by weather, as you can see here...
It is pretty hot out there, I have a sprinkler on the garden, which i suppose I should take off... more later. -e
- Monday, August 27, 2001 at 14:18:08 (CDT)
oops
weather:
temperature:85
I messed up a picture... down there were it says banana and is talking about phalaris grass and autumn joy, those plants aren't in the picture, just a native sunflower.. HERE is the picture that should have gone with that text...
- Monday, August 27, 2001 at 14:13:09 (CDT)
Hot Dry Days Killed my Lettuce.
weather:
temperature:85
Low Temperature: on 8-20-2001 38.8 F
The temperatures have mellowed, no longer so cold at night. I think that the monsoon season has passed us by, it has been clear, hot, and dry the last few days. On friday we drove up to denver for a concert and in the time I was gone my new lettuce burnt to a crisp. The radishes are ok, tho. I guess I'll have to plant more lettuce.. I have room now as I picked a lot of potatos. Last night, I picked a bunch of stuff and made Mashed potatos and a veggie stir fry (to go with enormous steaks.. yum) Everything tasted delectable.. I would, however, have liked to have waited a while before digging up the potatos.. they were pretty small.
There is a cool little Lupine blooming at the end of the garden. I don't know why I mention it, but it is nice..
the Banana is doing well, and as you may be able to see in that picture, the Autumn Joy sedum is just beginning to turn pink. And the Phalaris "strawberries & creme" grass is doing very well. The little unknown Hosta has cool flowers on it, and everything in the little shade bed is doing well.
In other news, the grass is green, the veronica is blooming, everything is happy, and we got a new cat... I can only hope the frost will hold off long enough to let my massive quantities of tomatos to ripen. I might try the ol' paper bag trick with some of them... well.. more later
-e
- Sunday, August 19, 2001 at 15:21:39 (CDT)
Low Temperatures are starting to hurt things...
weather:
temperature:90
Last night it dipped to 44 degrees F. The yard looks ok, some plants enjoy cool nights, but some do not. The banana is looking peekid, but It will survive. My one concern is the multitude of green tomatos. I shudder to remember 3 summers past when I ended up canning 10 jars of green tomatos. I think they're still in the cupboard, i never ate one.
The radishes that I planted last sunday are up and going going. The lettuce I planted on tuesday is sprouting as well. I watered it today, as the sun had heated the ground to baking point.
-e
- Saturday, August 18, 2001 at 23:58:17 (CDT)
Nights are getting colder.. everything is looking great
weather:
temperature:57
It's been a really nice day in general... It's getting cold at night, the temp tonight is dropping and dropping. I've been eating lots of stuff from the garden.. I finally have some pictures for you kids at home.
Some thoughts on next year's garden. Let's start with Marigolds. I love having marigolds planted around the garden. This year I tried two types of marigold... Durango Orange, selected largly for it's name, and Inca Orange, selected because it was large, and very very green foilaged. As you can see from the pictures, Inca Orange is the clear winner, Durango orange being small, not producing as many flowers, not as drought tolerant, and the foilage was ugly. I plant on using Inca Orange for the whole garden next year.
Peppers.... 'Mucho Nacho' is the one that has been producing. I think there were some Better belle peppers in there too, but the tomatos ate them, i can't seem to find them now. Mucho Nacho is a quick (75 day) Jalapeno that is a real heavy producer, and virus resistant. I hope that doesn't mean it's some GM franken-food... That would suck in a big way. I have 1 pepper on my Sante Fe peppers... One pepper.. However good it tasts, i won't grow this light producer again.
Brocoli (did i spell that right?) .. I planted 'Premium Crop' this year which has already had the main heads removed and eaten by the largest pest around here, ME... It was the best i've ever tasted.. YUM!!! I hope that the little heads developing around the sides will get big now that they have sun and the plant's full attention...
The tomatos got really big really quick.. They are producing a lot of fruit, but it is all green still. Here's a look at the Heartland tomatos. I also have some 4th of july, and a few sweet 100s, the highest vitamin C in any tomato! Whoot.
Oh i forgot about the Kentucky Wonder Pole Beans.. I staked them with little bamboo stakes, hah! Today when i was tending to them a vine wrapped around my leg and tried to pull me in!
Ball's Zuchini is going crazy... I picked a bunch already, and have a real honker growing (i'm going to just see how big i can get it) I also am having great luck with Bush Crop Cucumbers, some of which i used to make sushi tonight. YUM...
I haven't been up on the cliffs to see any cool native stuff in a while, but It is always a sign of the times when the new mexico Sunflowers start blooming all over the place. The cold nights are starting to bother the Banana Tree a little, i think, but It is still pushing out new leaves. Almost time to mulch the thing to the sky... Other places in the yard, the Autumn Joy is pushing hard, the cuttings have all taken very well, it's starting to flower.. I can't wait. It's such a beautiful plant. I know that I hate annuals, but I find portulaca simply wonderful. It's hardy, and looks really good in the whiskey barrell out front. Talk about a tough plant.. Also, in my opinion, the best annual, Lady in Red Salvia has been attracting hummingbirds at an alarming rate. The sempervivum has thrown up some impressive flower heads, as well... I don't know what the cultivar of Rudbeckia this is, but I want more!!! Doesn't this look sweet? I know it is R. hirta, but not the cultivar...
Since I started this entry about an hour ago (i had to get the pictures ready, ok!!!?) the temperature has gone down to 54... If i'm awake in a few hours i'll drop another temperature report. It is almost done season.. snow season... ski season
-e
- Tuesday, August 14, 2001 at 20:07:15 (CDT)
I've been away, but the garden flourished....
weather:
temperature:68
I took a trip to the homeland.. yes, a brave journey into the very heart of New Jersey, the garden state. I managed to go there during the hottest days of the year, which were over 100 F. My mother's garden looked wonderful, producing all manner of vegetables. everything was, however, very dry. Trees at tripleoaks were wilting even with a drip system, and gardens everywhere looked slightly brown. My father is tearing up ivory better and better every day, he plays all over the place, and even gave a recital at St. Patrick's in NYC earlier this summer... Dr. Chad Rocks... I did manage to grab a recording of him playing bach's fantastically intricate Fugue in G (The little fugue in G) Watching a human being operate an instrument like that makes me feel like the primordial slime that crawled out of the slimepits billions of years ago.. And that's a good thing. The recording was made, however, after the Doc had a scotch or 5, and i think he'd be mad if i put it here... (sounded like someone greased the keys) ;-)
Isn't this a garden journal? Oh well, it's amazing for me to keep any kind of journal. My life is replete with 5 page journals.. I'm a lousy "routine" person... So basically, what i'm saying is.... read it and weep, this is an everything journal with a garden theme, how's that? ok.. great
Fantastic things happened while i was gone... The garden flourished due to the monsoon season finally arriving in full force. The garden grew so much that it's alarming... Plants are killing plants, everything has grown much more than it ever has due to the raised bed and good soil. I'm sick of zucchini already.. I've had fried zucs, steamed zucs, zucs in pasta, etc.. today I plan on making garden soup to get rid of the last of them.. Ok rules for next year (this is what this journal is reall for) :
1. ONE row of squash, 4 plants, 2 yellow 2 zucs... This year I have them plopped all over and they're taking up too much space.. I even chopped 2 of the plants today to make room for a fall crop of lettuce.
2. Stake everything better... The pathetic attempt at staking i did this year was pulled down by hardy plants. I wonder if it is too late to stake them now? I suppose I could always try.
3. I think I already mentioned this, but I'd like to do more plants from seed. Depending on the plant. I also MUST plant asparagus, I always seem to forget and that's a 2 year crop. I have a good written list of things to plant next year, I'll throw that online. The season is almost over, I'm eyeing up my skiis more every day, so my thoughts have moved to next year's garden
Oh an interesting note... Last night during the rains a boulder came down from the cliff and smashed into my house. I wasn't near the place where it hit, but it was a scarey occurance nonetheless. The house seemed to move and the sound was deafening. Amazing... I hope one doesn't land in my garden some day, or worse yet, in my bed. The musa basjoo is doing very well, putting out more and more leaves every day... I think it is up to 8 or 9 leaves. It loves the sun here. I really want to keep that thing alive through the winter. I should dig it as a huge B&B and stick it inside under lights. I have 5 bags of shredded cedar mulch poised and ready to cover the sucker up at the first sign of frost. On the advice of my brother joe, I'm going to mulch a foot over where i cut it down, so the plant won't start growing again in our extended warm fall.
I planted 3 varieties of lettuce today, oh yeah, and 2 days ago I planted "Crimson Giant" Radishes, which are supposed to get as big as an apple... The varieties are:
Lactuca sativa
Oak Leaf - 45 days, heat and drought tolerant leaf lettuce
Summertime - Crisphead 62 day lettuce.
Red Sails - Leaf lettuce, 45 days, heat resistant, ornamental as well as edible
Well, that is all for right now, i realize that I owe you all pictures, they're coming.
-e
JULY | JUNE |
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