Mar 4, 2023·edited Mar 4, 2023Liked by William Hunter Duncan
How wonderful! Sad but here in the desert, we're more limited. Tomato plants for sure! Of course, stuff like gourds, melons, squash, and garlic do well here. Our backyard isn't enclosed and there are coyotes going through regularly so we're limited by that, too. Can you grow plants and just keep them inside with grow lights? When it comes to gardening, I am woefully ignorant!!
You could build raised beds with removable fencing and trellis the gourds and melons. Or temporary fencing for the whole garden. I used to follow a guy on the coast north of Vancouver who did veggies year round indoors in a basement under lights in a hydroponics system. He said it was a lot less work than soil and compost, and more productive because of the extended season, though I am sure a great upfront expense these days.
This is really inspiring! Looks like you are off to a good start for planting a big garden this year. I need to decide what I will grow and gather supplies for growing seedlings.
Love it! Maybe the Brussels sprouts just have a very heavy initial leaf?
Ron and I grow some food, too. The problem for us is with summer produce: Tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, and green beans, which all pretty much give the most fruit while we are on our summer RV trip. Sad! I mean, it's nice for our friends who care for our house and garden, but not so much for us. Luckily, we can grow lettuces, chard, kale, and arugula year round. And we eat A LOT of deep greens, both raw and sautéed!
Still, I'm planning to plant seedlings and larger plants this year to jumpstart the growing process. We ought to be "over" the frost here in central California within 4-6 weeks. It's been a bitch of a winter, with more cold temperatures and freezing that I recall in nearly 20 years of living here. Already, many wine grape growers have lost crops due to the incessant daytime temps of 45-55 (normally 60-70 with occasional warm days of 75-85) and the repetitive frosts.
But some of our greens actually volunteered already, so that's nice.
I'll keep in touch about our summer trip. Looking like we would be in your area around July 15 as we move eastward.
Freezing grape vines. Epic drought. Apocalyptic forest "fires" (can anyone say Paradise?). A collapsing electrical grid and water infrastructure. Declining tax base. Authoritarian government dictates. What's not to love about California?
My goal is to grow year round greens, but that is going to take some infrastructure, so a longer term plan. Sad about missing the fruit of your garden, but that is probably worth an RV summer (while you still can.) Hope to see you and Ron!
My former songwriter and his wife lost their entire home/property and all their pets in the Paradise [not] fire. It's bad.
I think the effing effers hate California most of all, 'cause they've certainly worked really hard to turn it into a hell hole (Hellyweird included).
But we persevere, as we must.
Keep growing, man. The plants need us to tend to them so that the herbivore animals (some of the biggest on the planet) can fertilize the soil . . . and the cycle of Nature-based Life continues.
Wishing you well and hoping we all get a real "springy" spring!🌱🌿🌻
Wishing the best for you and your friends. I cannot imagine dealing with such loss, especially considering the very curious circumstances of Paradise.
Good news is, the brother of the woman who owns the property where I am gardening keeps 300 sheep and brings them there sometimes for the pasture, so there is about two or three tons of sheep compost....
As JMG might say, you are serving as an example for others :)
How wonderful! Sad but here in the desert, we're more limited. Tomato plants for sure! Of course, stuff like gourds, melons, squash, and garlic do well here. Our backyard isn't enclosed and there are coyotes going through regularly so we're limited by that, too. Can you grow plants and just keep them inside with grow lights? When it comes to gardening, I am woefully ignorant!!
Please keep us posted!!
You could build raised beds with removable fencing and trellis the gourds and melons. Or temporary fencing for the whole garden. I used to follow a guy on the coast north of Vancouver who did veggies year round indoors in a basement under lights in a hydroponics system. He said it was a lot less work than soil and compost, and more productive because of the extended season, though I am sure a great upfront expense these days.
This is really inspiring! Looks like you are off to a good start for planting a big garden this year. I need to decide what I will grow and gather supplies for growing seedlings.
Have fun!
Love it! Maybe the Brussels sprouts just have a very heavy initial leaf?
Ron and I grow some food, too. The problem for us is with summer produce: Tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, and green beans, which all pretty much give the most fruit while we are on our summer RV trip. Sad! I mean, it's nice for our friends who care for our house and garden, but not so much for us. Luckily, we can grow lettuces, chard, kale, and arugula year round. And we eat A LOT of deep greens, both raw and sautéed!
Still, I'm planning to plant seedlings and larger plants this year to jumpstart the growing process. We ought to be "over" the frost here in central California within 4-6 weeks. It's been a bitch of a winter, with more cold temperatures and freezing that I recall in nearly 20 years of living here. Already, many wine grape growers have lost crops due to the incessant daytime temps of 45-55 (normally 60-70 with occasional warm days of 75-85) and the repetitive frosts.
But some of our greens actually volunteered already, so that's nice.
I'll keep in touch about our summer trip. Looking like we would be in your area around July 15 as we move eastward.
Meanwhile, happy pre-gardening!
Freezing grape vines. Epic drought. Apocalyptic forest "fires" (can anyone say Paradise?). A collapsing electrical grid and water infrastructure. Declining tax base. Authoritarian government dictates. What's not to love about California?
My goal is to grow year round greens, but that is going to take some infrastructure, so a longer term plan. Sad about missing the fruit of your garden, but that is probably worth an RV summer (while you still can.) Hope to see you and Ron!
My former songwriter and his wife lost their entire home/property and all their pets in the Paradise [not] fire. It's bad.
I think the effing effers hate California most of all, 'cause they've certainly worked really hard to turn it into a hell hole (Hellyweird included).
But we persevere, as we must.
Keep growing, man. The plants need us to tend to them so that the herbivore animals (some of the biggest on the planet) can fertilize the soil . . . and the cycle of Nature-based Life continues.
Wishing you well and hoping we all get a real "springy" spring!🌱🌿🌻
Wishing the best for you and your friends. I cannot imagine dealing with such loss, especially considering the very curious circumstances of Paradise.
Good news is, the brother of the woman who owns the property where I am gardening keeps 300 sheep and brings them there sometimes for the pasture, so there is about two or three tons of sheep compost....
Thank you for your wishes. Yes, the "fire" was certainly a curious phenomenon, and I've see the results of other such events.
I'm glad to hear about that your shepherd neighbor has plenty of *gifts* for your plants!🐑🌻