cold in the foothills

Glad I did not take the blanket off my grapefruit tree, as it froze last night and the night before. in the winter I leave the blanket and lights on. light are on a timer. three grapefruit dropped yesterday, but they are pretty much ripe. one left on my tiny tree, hoping it colors up some before dropping.

mushrooms anyone?

With all the rain we've been having you may be starting to see Little Brown Mushrooms (LBM's) sprouting up. Unless you are an expert, don't eat them, many LBMs are toxic. But instead of running for the fungicide, I say Rejoice! Mushroom sitings are an indication of underground fungal activity, and this is a Very Good Thing.  The 1-2 million species of Fungi are arguably the most important life force keeping our soils alive and healthy.Without Fungi forests would quickly be smothered in their own leaf litter. We wouldn't have compost. Fungi have the ability to seek out nutrients in the soil, and make them more accessible to nearby plants. They even grow into the roots of some plants, as the mycorrhizae you may be familiar with that are added to some organic fertilizers. Many types also detoxify soil, rendering hydrocarbons and bad bacteria harmless. Oyster mushrooms can break down heavy oil. The oil is  destroyed, reduced to non-toxic components, and the mushrooms were also free of any petroleum products. Think about it - clean soil and food at the same time! ( oyster mushrooms are a delicacy, and expensive in the store) So grab those LBM's and add them to your compost pile. They will help in the breakdown process  and enrich ( and detox if necessary) the resulting soil. You can also order mycelia(mushroom starts) online for many edible mushrooms, and get food and compost at the same time!  MMM, sauteed with garlic and tomato, tossed with pasta, and good for you too. Happy Shrooms....
http://www.fungi.com/index.html

Planted snapdragons around today. they about all that will do ok in this winter that the deer won't eat, and still be colorful. Sadly, my copper canyon daisy are looking the worse for all the hard freezes. oh well, they did look great for two months in the late fall. yeah for rain, at least we don't have to water. Wish I had a 50000 gallon water tank to save rain water in! Pruned back the Lady Banks rose and Wisteria HARD this year, keeps them on the arbor and blooming profusely. Will need to do it every year now that they are up to the desired size. Should have some lettuce and chard in the garden ready to pick, just pick the outer leaves and they will keep going all winter.  It's also time to be thinking about dormant spray on fruit trees, especially the peaches, but more on that later.

avacados in the foothills

SO a guy calls today and wants to know ( after 5 hard freezes in the last 2 weeks) what avacado trees like. I said " the coast".
( he laughed hesistantly) ( no coast in El Dorado County)
Or a greenhouse.
But if you must try them here, in the ground, you WILL have to put a heat source and a blankie on it. The christmas lights that are good sized ( not twinkle lights) will put off enough heat to keep it at least 5 degrees warmer under the remay blanket you are also going to wrap them in.
 While this works great in this area for citrus at 1800' elevation, I am not convinced you will keep an avacado alive long enough to fruit. Time will tell...

ice wine, anyone?

SO I spent the morning harvesting grapes for ice wine. This means picking grapes that have frozen on the vine, and indeed by Nov1 we have had 5 hard freeze  nights in Shingle Springs. A local winery, Chavalier, put out a call to wine club members to help harvest these frozen nuggets before they all turn to moldy mush. it was very tedious, there was mold than good grapes. But we did get a nice lunch! Ice wine production will only be available to Wineclub members I understand. It was a fun day, interesting people showed up, good conversation.

winter flowers

As if it wasn't enough that it is drought resistant, deer and gopher proof, now it is my new favorite for winter flowering! Copper Canyon Daisy ( Tagetes lemonii) protected my fruit trees from gophers all summer, and now when everything else is going to sleep, Bazinga! it is in full bloom. Bright, sunshiny yellow.  Very cheering to look out your kitchen window to this as it is raining. And another plus, the flowers last up to two( yes 2) weeks in a vase. Note to sensitives - yes it does smell -  strongly. I don't notice it much unless you touch it, which releases the fragrance(?). You will either like it or hate it. Still worth planting.

another rainy day...

yeah! I love a rainy day! Don't have to water anymore ... If you haven't "winterized" your garden yet, better get out there - if you set up watering rings around trees or shrubs, knock them down so the plant does not sit in wet feet all winter. * Turn off your irrigation * ( unless you have a smart controller with a weather input or rain gauge) In cold areas that expect a freeze and/or snow, make sure to drain your irrigation pipes so they don't pop in  a freeze and leave you a big surprise next spring.
Rake up leaves before they get into drains, or gutters, or ponds, what-have-you. Some can be used as a mulch under shrubs, but if you have any disease or insect problems, just put them in the green waste can ( or hot compost)
Put protection around, or move indoors, tender plants such as citrus.  Remay, or "winter blanket" material works well for some marginal plants. I find citrus in my area ( 1800') needs the added heat of a light string under the blanket. I will have grapefruit in January! Note the lights are the larger white ones, not twinkle lights - they don't put out much heat.
All said - winter gardening is pretty easy - now back to my fire.

Why we get fall color(or not)

 What's up with these trees( and some shrubs) in the fall?  I seem to have gotten this question a lot in the last few weeks, so here goes:
Both chlorophyll(green) and carotenoids( yellow,gold, brown) are present in the chloroplasts of leaf cells throughout the growing season. Most anthocyanins(red/purple) are produced in the autumn, in response to bright light and excess plant sugars within leaf cells.
During the growing season, chlorophyll is continually being produced and broken down and leaves appear green. As night length increases in the autumn, chlorophyll production slows down and then stops and eventually all the chlorophyll is destroyed. The carotenoids and anthocyanins that are present in the leaf are then unmasked and show their colors.
Why is the color of some trees ( expecially maple and liquidamber) not the same from year to year?
A succession of warm, sunny days and cool, crisp but not freezing nights seems to bring about the most spectacular color displays. During these days, lots of sugars are produced in the leaf but the cool nights and the gradual closing of veins going into the leaf prevent these sugars from moving out. These conditions-lots of sugar and lots of light-spur production of the brilliant anthocyanin pigments, which tint reds, purples, and crimson. Because carotenoids are always present in leaves, the yellow and gold colors remain fairly constant from year to year. 

Green manure/cover crops

Why plant

For larger garden areas that won’t be dedicated to a winter harvest, planting green manure can help ready the ground for spring planting. The idea behind this is to have plant material that is nitrogen-fixing, and then using the harvested plant material for compost to enrich the soil for spring planting.

They also protect soil from erosion and compaction  during winter rains, and keep weeds down.

What to plant

Fast growing nitrogen fixers –

*Fava beans

*Faba (bell beans)

*Clovers

Alfalfa

Good cover crops but not nitrogen fixing –

*Buckwheat

*Annual rye

Oats

*Available by the pound from the Nursery

How to plant

Remove old plant material  (large roots, stems, fruit) from area. Rake smooth and sow seeds at a high density rate. Rake into soil. Add a layer on top if necessary to cover larger seeds.  Water in well.  Keep moist until germination (irrigate if it is not raining yet).

The easiest way is to compost in place. When the plants are in 80% flower, turn them under with a shovel preferably.  (Note if they go to seed, you will have to start the process all over again! ) Rototillers work, but do a lot of damage to underlying soil structure when used repeatedly. It takes about a month for them to decompose  this way( if the area is kept watered, either from rain or weekly watering if there is no rain)Dry plant material takes much longer to decompose.  You can also pull them up and toss them into a compost bin, and add compost back to the area when you plant.

To plant spring vegetables, put your new layer of organic matter/planting mix right on top and plant as usual . Less fertilizer should be needed to sustain your summer crop.

Comforting Comfrey

If you are not familiar with comfrey, check it out. It is a plant everyone can, and should, grow. It is a clumping plant that spreads slowly ( in my dry clay soil anyway) with large leaves and white bell shaped flowers on tall stalks in the summer. It is a great attractor for bees, and the deer don't like it ( the leaves are hairy). It has been used as a high protein feed for livestock for centuries. It has recently been reported that an alkaloid contained in the plant may cause adverse effects in humans if ingested over long periods of time. Just to be safe, don't eat it or make tea with it. It does however make a fabulous poultice for small scrapes and bruises. Just dig up a piece of root, clean it, chop it, put it in a blender with a little water and a couple of leaves to make a thick paste. Apply it to the hurt area and bandage overnight.  Some may be healed in one night, others may take two or three. Don't use it on deep wounds, the healing action will cause the outer skin to heal before underneath and this can cause problems. It really does work! Really great for people who ( usually due to age) have thin skin which damages easily and does not heal well.
As if that isn't enough, it is a great mulch plant, when it dies back in the winter use the dead leaves as mulch or compost for other plants.

winter vegetable garden

gotta love winter gardening... don't have to water very much if at all, may less pests, less or no weeding, and harvest greens well into spring with no bolting (going to seed - this makes many greens especially lettuce, bitter). In California, except for the highest cold areas, it is not too late! start some peas, fava beans, beets and carrots for spring harvest. Plant lettuce, arugula, spinach, kale collards for winter-long eating. Cabbage,  broccoli, cauliflower I like to start from small plants, it is a little late for these seeds. Then just sit back and relax by the fire, knowing the kale and spinach will keep you healthy with vitamin-rich goodies all winter long!

What's "bugging" you today?

Fall is a fabulous time! The early rains clear the air, the sun shines but not so hotly, and we can have a cozy fire in the evening. It is also a good time to put away the bug spray. As the weather cools, insects are much less active on our plants. Many trees and shrubs lose their leaves, leaving nowhere for insects to go but back into the ground.  A little powdery mildew on the lilacs or crape myrtles? Let it be, the leaves will drop soon enough. If you have problems like this, do make sure to rake and clean up under plants that have had issues, so you won't overwinter the pests. Don't compost infected material unless you are sure you are doing real hot composting. Best to put it in the green waste can. Good bye Aphids... see you next spring ( NOT!)