Peek-a-boo! I spotted this four leafed clover in front of a local Thai restaurant.
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June 2011
The warmer weather has a down side. Disgusting cockroaches are out in droves. I keep the yard clean but it’s that time of year when they seem to multiply for no reason. I don’t want to spray a bunch of poison but I’ve got to get this under control.
Local news celebrity Loren Nancarrow offers up some good alternatives to get cockroaches under control.
His easiest solution roach bait is mix of equal parts boric acid and sugar to make a dry powder. Another recipe is 1/2 cup boric acid, 1/8 cup sugar and bacon drippings mixed in to form dough balls.
Place strategically to bait those little nasties. It is IMPORTANT to make sure that kids or other animals have NO access to either mixture.
Here’s his video for your viewing pleasure:
As I write this, the cat just brought a rat in the house. 
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Our first official summer Monday!
Take better pictures in your garden: Photographer David Perry offers some pointers.
If I lived in New York City, this is what I’d be doing. Urban Gardens on a grand scale.
This San Diego couple is getting worthy praise for the work and training they are providing for veterans.
A Gardenerd braids garlic.
National Geographic: Our dwindling food variety
Despite the previous article, I’m feeling good about my personal food variety.
Yesterday, half the food I ate came out of my garden: cucumbers, swiss chard, crookneck squash, two eggs, strawberries and blueberries. And a fig….
One of my rare figs, so delicious!!!
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Cut roses last longer when cut late in the day unlike other blooms which last longer when cut early in the morning.
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I don’t think I have completely maxed out my yard, but it is definitely full. In the last month the plants have all exploded and I have barely started harvesting so it’s only going to get more crowded out in the garden. This time of year my “yard envy” seems to go into overdrive. I need more space! And, as usual, I never let a challenge get in my way.
Out come my trusty old recycle bins. When EDCO Disposal gave us the automated recycle cans, I drove up and down alleys collecting the old green bins. I didn’t have a plan for them at the time, but who doesn’t need extra bins? They have turned out to be the perfect size for planting. I can tuck them into corners of the garden and they are big enough to let plant roots spread. They don’t dry out too quickly either. The only downside is that they are pretty ugly, but I think I will try spray painting one to see how that works. Anyway, here are a couple of my recycle/growing bins.
Tomatillos and a melon
My Bin of Dreams
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This past weekend the Hotel del Coronado in partnership with growers Proven Winners hosted a gathering of garden writers. Happening just blocks from my house, but still I didn’t get an invitation. This is the second time this has happened this year. First, the Royal Wedding and now this. 
Okay, I can take a hint. Fortunately, since I live here, I enjoy the plantings around the Hotel Del on my walks and was just checking out the Herb and Vegetable gardens they have planted last week. Proven Winners is providing plants for the Del so beautiful things are happening on the Hotel grounds. Not to mention some great marketing!
I have been watching a plot that Proven Winners planted months ago as a testing ground to see what will survive and thrive in sand. One of my favorite plants they are experimenting with is Crassula coccinea ‘CampFire.’ Stunning, to say the least.
Look at those colors!!!!
The Hotel del Coronado kept Twittering about the weekend events, mostly describing the meal courses prepared for the garden writers’ dining pleasure, but also showing pictures of their tour around the Hotel gardens. It was fun to be able to follow the “Big Guns” as they progressed through the weekend. I can’t wait to see who writes about what!
If I’d known they were coming to Coronado I would have offered up a tour of my garden that I’m sure they would have loved. Everyone would get a parting gift from me which would include two blueberries, a strawberry, a succulent cutting and maybe even a cucumber. And a good time would be had by all!!!
A lovely parting gift!
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Well, it happened again. I went to get one thing at the nursery and ended up coming home with multiple new projects! I’m so predictable!
I’ve been wanting to plant one more Fuji apple tree for a while, but for a couple of reasons it just hasn’t happened. It all came together on Sunday. I went to Walter Andersen Nursery to pick up a couple of tomato cages, saw a guy walk past with a beautiful apple tree as I was walking in, and just like that, a new project is born.
There was a great selection of low chill apple trees to choose from but I was focused on Fujis. The tree I bought was already started as an espaliered tree so that was an extra bonus.
Started as an espalier just makes my job easier.
The tree was in a five-gallon pot so I needed to shave the sides to make it fit in the designated planting space along the fence. I had about a width of about 8 inches deep so it was a tight fit, but I have a can-do attitude.
Will this 5 gallon tree fit in this slot? Of course!
I shaved two sides of the root ball to make it flat on both sides and shoehorned the root ball into the hole. Sounds harsh, but I’ve done it before and it has worked out fine. Survival of the fittest. What’s the worst thing that could happen? Just don’t tell anyone – especially my Master Gardener peers!!!
I shoehorned the root ball in and it fit like a glove!
It’s in and looking no worse for wear. Check! My list of projects just dropped by one.
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