19 February 08
Before it Rains Again
It’s predicted to start raining this afternoon or evening; I wanted to get one of the vegetable beds lined against gophers and filled before the whole place gets turned to mud again.
There’s always four times as much soil as you think. Then I wanted to incorporate a lot of horse manure into it to let the bed sit a while. That’s a lot of trips across the road (I caught a horse that had escaped and spent some time weeding with Mary on separate trips). Heavy barrow. I have blisters on my hands. I also loosened all the soil in the herb garden, where a gopher is busily working its way through my artichokes (and the latest victim, the yarrow). I’ve ordered more plant cages against the varmints…
This wooden gizmo at right is a fantastic tool for turning newspaper strips into small pots, which can then be planted straight into the ground without disturbing root systems. I may try to get the ones I filled to soak in rainwater this afternoon.
23 November 07
Baskets Of Basil
Pica decided to harvest her basil today; it’s now getting cold and the plants are starting to fare poorly. We separated the leaves from the stems, and ended up with enough of them to make pesto for the entire Italian national football team.
17 November 07
Late Getting the Peas In
I did have good intentions. I had planned to line all my raised beds against the pocket gophers that tunnel their way underneath the entire county. Basic rule of gardening: there’s always at least four times more soil than you think. I got so knackered putting in one of these jerryrigged cages (now happily sprouting mixed lettuces, arugula, tiny Japanese turnips, and parsnips) I lost heart for more.
But today I used the cages I’d had tomatoes and squashes in to at least try and keep the blighters at bay, and planted a full bed of peas. If they germinate, and if they survive our normally trivial frosts, they should give me a good head start in the spring.
If they don’t, so it goes.
28 October 07
The Last Ratatouille
Pica harvested the last of the zucchini and eggplant the other day. The one green pepper she added to it turned out to be quite picanté.
26 October 07
Pomegranates and Winter Gardening
The pomegranate tree I planted earlier this year is still going strong. A few blossoms over the summer didn’t translate into fruit, but it’s still small. I drew these ones for my dear friend Joe who sent a card from Turkey. I associate pomegranates with Turkey… and with blue tiles.
I went to a short presentation on winter gardening yesterday. There are four things to remember: a) timing b) timing c) variety d) everything else.
Looks like I’m too late for brussels sprouts which need to be planted in
Oh well. It is a good time to plant peas, now, and certainly to put in onions, garlic, and the rest. So I’ll focus on those.
18 September 07
Pastel Pencils
Our trip Sunday to Berkeley featured a visit to the art store, located conveniently three blocks from where we had lunch. My cousin Susan is a colored pencil artist, so there we gathered around that appropriate aisle in the store. Pica spotted these Stabilo CarbOthello pastel pencils, and started playing. With no shortage of encouragement from the rest of us, who all had their own temptations, she ended up walking out with a set of 48 of these.
Basically these are pastel chalks bound inside a wooden pencil. I have not done much of anything in pastels and these are very fun to try out. The concept of adding white to a drawing to raise the value is hitherto new to me.
Above is a drawing of one of the white eggplants that Pica has been growing in the garden out front.
1 September 07
Moss Graffiti
Offering new possibilities in organic letterforms. I had no idea one could make such a slurry.
8 July 07
Illustration Friday: Geeky
I finally got around to making my radio QSL card, prompted by the Illustration Friday theme of Geeky.
Not shown in great detail behind the antenna is the vegetable garden, now producing in great quantity, including the pink okra which I imagined doomed:
20 June 07
Varmints and Other Creatures
There’s something eating the okra plants, snapping it off at ground level, at the rate of about one a day. If it’s only jackrabbits, there’s an easy fix — make sure to fasten the gate shut every evening. If it’s ground squirrels, I’ll be reminded that it would have been worth it to line that bed with mesh. The okra is pretty: red stems, red buds, bright green leaves. At this rate we’ll be lucky to get a few pods before they disappear into the compost pile, wilted and miserable.
The bees continue to expand their premises in the hive on the nectarine tree. The edifice is ribbed and flowing, like the walls of a limestone cave. I wish I knew more about how they can put such a thing together… It’s certainly difficult to draw because the hive itself is white but the whole thing is brown, no contrast, pulsating with insects. They are feeding on the few flowers left on the alfalfa at the edges of the field, the plants that escaped mowing. My California fuchsia is starting to bloom bright red but I think that’s more interesting to hummingbirds than bees.
16 June 07
Bees And Bugs
Yesterday we discovered that a swarm of bees has settled on the nectarine tree in the front yard and has built a hive. When our landlord’s son the beekeeper learns of this it will be collected for sure but for now it is quite the edifice.
This morning Pica found these handsome bugs on the kale. She thought they might be eating the aphids but I was able to find a picture of one in the new Kaufman insect guide and no, they feed on cabbages and their relatives. The bug is a harlequin bug, Murgantia histrionica.