Pruning

It is that time of year again although the weather is definitely not cooperating. California is facing a third year of drought and by far the worst year on record for rain. Along with the lack of rain is a lack of winter. We had about one week of actual cold weather, other than that it has been quite warm. This means that the plants have not gone dormant like they should. Usually you want to prune just after the coldest part of winter and before spring kicks in. This is the time of year it would usually be done so I went ahead and pruned. I did not take before pictures this year but caught the after.

I went drastic on the pomegranate, cutting it more than I have in the past, especially with the height.

The grapes were trimmed back to leave a main stalk and a few off shoots to train along the wires, they are almost done in this picture. 

Finally there are the roses, I went easy on them this year, mostly just trimmed and cleaned them up.

Fall into Winter Yard

My garden was cleared out early this year and I am still getting peppers and tomatoes, the artichokes, garlic and beans are still going strong.

The beans are going crazy, we put many plants in so there is a lot of variety and figuring out what the beans are is an adventure.

These long ones are dried out and were ready to pick.

We didnt get many beans... but we did get some. I will probably mix them in with other dried beans to cook and eat them.

My peach tree was thought lost at one point but is still hanging in there. The rhubarb that I had planted next to it did well while the corn was there around it but died as soon as the corn came out, perhaps too much sun. 

The pomegranete tree is still doing well. I will be pruning it even more this winter as it just keeps getting taller. We got a good crop this year which we finished off a few weeks ago but you can still see some empty red husks there at the top of the tree, way out of reach.

Here you can see what is left of the lawn that I planted. Most of it did well but there are bald spots. I reseeded and fertilized last week, if it sprouts before it freezes there should be an improvement in the Spring. The grapes are losing their leaves and we will be doing some structural work on the trellis when they get pruned.

In the mostly cleared out garden we have finally planted a winter crop. This is a mix of seeds for plants that are beneficial to the soil. The idea being that you grow it over the winter and in the spring you till it into the soil and do not have to add fertilizer or mulch. I have very healthy soil due to the addition of large quantities of mulch over the years, we hope this will keep the quality ip with a lot less shoveling. 

The next project in the yard will be to finish clearing out the garden once it freezes, surprisingly this has not happened yet. Until it does we will keep picking tomatoes and peppers from the garden. 

Backyard Lawn

The backyard has been slowly coming along. Last year I planted clover seed in an attempt to have some ground cover without having to plant a lawn. This did not really work out, some clover grew, most did not. This year I decided to plant some grass seed. My main resource for creating a lawn in the back and maintaining the front is Building a Healthy Lawn a Safe and Natural Approach. 

First I spent a few weeks pulling all the weeds in the area trying to get them to stop seeding and starting the sprinklers to get the moisture in the soil up. On the weekend I wanted to seed I spread sand over the area to help amend the soil. The sand was in the side yard and had been removed from the area where there used to be a pool but is now the garden. Next I purchased a 40 lb bag of gypsum to also help amend the soil. Both of these are used to help with clay soil or almost any soil to help it drain and allow more aeration. 

Next my brother tilled the soil, about 5-6 inches in to work the sand and gypsum in.

Here is the tilled soil. Last year we heavily mulched the whole yard so the soil is in pretty good condition.

Raking and removing debris came next. I tried to flatten and level soil and remove rocks, twigs, etc... Then I spread a lawn starter fertilizer and raked it lightly in.

The seed I selected was a tall fescue, I also mixed in clover seed and covered the area.

I then lightly raked over the seed and covered it with peat moss for protection from the wind and birds.

Planting and Pruning

Since my floors are done it is time to begin looking outside. We have started looking at seeds and making plans for the yard and things got started this week. For my birthday I was given an Ultra Dwarf Red Baron Peach tree. This tree is awesome because it will only grow to be 5'-8' tall which will work out good in my yard. I decided to plant it on the side of the yard near the pomegranate tree. First I measure for a good location then started digging.

A good sign about my soil is that immediately we saw a lot of worms. Katie loves worms and began collecting them. 

She carried them on the sleeve of her jacket and put them in a bucket of dirt.

The tree went in quickly, here is Katie to show the current size of the tree.

Since I was working in the yard I decided to start pruning as well. I have been hesitant to prune since it has been a very cold winter, but it is warming up a little and I wanted to get it done before things start sprouting. Here is a look at the roses in the front yard. Despite the cold the leaves did not fall off, however the came off easily. I have six bushes three were here when I bought the house and three are new ones I have planted.

Here is a look at the after. The jasmine against the wall is doing very well and has not been affected by the weather. 

Olive watched the fun from the window.

Katie checked out the pruned roses and declared them naked.

I also did some pruning on the pomegranate tree, not a lot but cut off the suckers and some of the crossed branches.

Speaking of the cold, I believe I lost my succulents. I have had a jade plant for about seven years and several plants from the original, they did not like the weather which was in the low teens at night.

Looking around the yard today it was interesting to see what might survive and what might not make it.   I still need to prune the grapes but that can not be done until after the last freeze.

This weekend the focus went back to the backyard. My brother has been working on tilling the mulch into the soil over the week. On this day he was trying to make the final adjustments to the sprinklers. Because the sprinkler system is a few years old and the new efficient sprinklers use less water and have more pressure built up in the system a few things have broken and a few trips to Home Depot for replacement parts had to be made.

The good news it everything seems to be working now. The sprinkler spray patters and distance have all been adjusted.

I selected some resin borders to put in and create the border in the yard. They did not take long to install but each section had four small stakes to hammer in. Once it was in I spread the bark out to fill the area in. I think it turned out pretty good. I had to start taking pictures since it was getting pretty dark.This is the completed area around the pomegranate tree. 

And this is the area around the grapes to where the garden is, waiting for the bark to be spread.

Next up, planting clover seed and getting some plants in the garden.

Presidents Day Weekend Pt 3

Day three of the weekend! Katie and I bought a variety of flower seeds to plant in the front yard planters so we started with that project in the morning. Last year we planted Cosmos and they did great so we added some other flowers this time around.

I mulched and turned the soil in the planters to get them ready for the seeds but Katie also planted some seeds in pots that sit by the front door.

There are a few plants in this planter from last year that are still around or that I think might come back but there are a lot of seeds in there now. This planter was massively dug up in an effort to fix the sprinkler wire to the back yard, it was repaired but the planter has been in pretty bad shape until now. Notice Olive in the window at her usual post.

The other planter has the roses and jasmine plants. Also several of the tulips and daffodils from last year have also come back. I put many seeds in this area as well.

In the afternoon it was time to finish the marmalade, here is the result.

My brother did work in the back yard on the sprinklers, we replaced the existing ones with water conservation ones. They produce larger drops rather than a spray which wastes less water than traditional sprinklers.

Presidents Day Weekend Pt 1

Presidents Day weekend presents a wonderful opportunity to get projects done around the house. In the back yard this year we are planning not only a garden but I want to landscape it as well. In the week before the holiday my brother tilled the entire back yard. The little flags are the sprinklers, wouldn't want to run the tiller over those!

Saturday morning Katie went out to check on the work and dig a little to make sure it was done right.

The first delivery was of shredded bark, there is going to be a border along the fence and around the pomegranate tree. 

Inside the border will be bark to help keep the weeds down and keep the water in. The sprinklers along the fence are going to be changed into a drip system so when the sprinklers are running the drip system will be watering the pomegranate, grapes and whatever else gets planted along there. 

Next came the delivery of mulch, a much larger pile than last year.

The first thing Katie did was go for a hike.

Then in true southern California fashion she started making "dirty snowman". 

The work began getting all of the mulch to the backyard, my goal was to finish before the sun went down.

Katie worked hard helping at the beginning, pushing and pulling the wagon.

She also helped Uncle dump the wagon and make sure it was empty.

She tried very hard to help shovel as well,  next year she will be a pro at this.

By the afternoon much of the yard was covered. We were trying for three inches of mulch where the garden is going and one inch on the rest. There will be corn planted in this far end of the yard which will expand the garden this year.

Later in the evening we were finally getting the pile down, Katie desperately wanted to help and we were racing sunset at this point so she started shoveling more.

So close to being done! I am glad to say that we did finish and were all exhausted by the time the sun went down.