I used to have money; now I have trees!

Ah, spring: when flowers bloom, sun shines, breezes blow... and bare root trees go on clearance sale!  Your rainy day gardener is deep in the throes of spring plant lust and went on a major shopping spree this weekend.  I'm now the proud owner of a Manila mango tree, four blueberries, a Peace rose, and an Early Girl tomato, plus four (yes, four!) bare root fruit trees on sale at Orchard Supply Hardware for 50% off.  That's about $9 per tree, folks!

Look left for pictures of my discount booty (hmm... maybe I shouldn't phrase it quite that way..."discount booty" suggests a different kind of sale--one likely to result in a trip to the local health department for an antibiotic).  Anyway, here's what I scored for half price at OSH today:

• A Snow Queen nectarine
• A Goldmine nectarine
• A Red Baron peach
• A Twentieth Century (Nijisseiki) Asian pear

I think I officially have an orchard now, as the new trees will join 3 large orange trees, a large lemon tree, a peach tree (I forgot the variety), an ultra-dwarf nectarine, an Indio mandarinquat, 2 kumquats, a blood orange, a tangerine, a Meyer lemon, a Mexican lime, a Hachiya persimmon, an aprium, 2 apricots, a pluot, 4 apples, and an All-in-One almond.  I need a twelve-step program for tree addicts:

"Hi, I'm Janet, and I'm addicted to fruit trees."

"HI, JANET!"

"Today I binge-planted 4 trees in a row.  I can't pass a tree display in a store without stopping, and sometimes I just stand there, looking at the display with glazed eyes, drooling.  And last week, I went tree-shopping before lunch.  I staggered home to my family late in the afternoon, with a truckload of trees and an empty bank account."

"Here's your membership card."

Now, does anyone know where I can get an Asian pear, cheap?  My new one needs a pollinator. 

Spring is springing!

I love Saturdays in springtime!  Yep, it's spring down here in Smogville.  It was above 80 today, clear and perfect.  And, our orange trees are blooming, so the entire backyard is perfumed with citrus blossoms.   I celebrated this delightful day by massacring the crabgrass in my backyard.  It was the horticultural equivalent of an 80s slasher flick, except it was too hot to wear a hockey mask, and I used a shovel instead of a machete.

I was too busy committing mass murder to take any garden pics, but I have a few from a couple of weeks ago.  Here's our peach tree in full bloom:

I don't know why more people don't plant fruit trees instead of ornamentals.  This tree is definitely pretty enough for the front yard, as lovely as any dogwood or flowering plum--but it also makes tons of yummy peaches.  Here's a closeup of some flowers:

See?  Every bit as gorgeous as the purely ornamental trees.

Speaking of ornamental, here's our Indio mandarinquat:

As you might guess, a mandarinquat is a cross between a mandarin and a kumquat.  It makes good-sized, teardrop-shaped fruit that you eat like a kumquat, rind and all.  My husband loves them.

OK,back to the flowers.  Here's our Dorsett Golden apple, happily blooming away:

And now for something completely different... My husband just wandered in and did an impression of manure spreading as line dancing to a Billy Ray Cyrus song (you don't really have to ask which one, do you?).  I really should change the name of this blog to Gardening in Absurdia, because that's definitely where I live.

Happy spring from your absurd rainy day gardener!

An apple infographic

Sorry to be incommunicado for so long.  I and my plants have been wilting in the August heat here in SoCal, and I'm recovering from surgery, and those are my excuses for slacking on the blogging front, so deal with it. 

Anyway, I just ran across this great infographic in my Facebook news feed and thought I'd share it here.  My source got it from the Engine 2 Diet Facebook page, but I have no idea where it came from originally.  It's a handy guide to common apple varieties.  I wish they'd included some of the non-commercial varieties that appear in home gardens, but then it would be more of a billboard than an infographic.

This week's garden recipes: fennel slaw and peach sorbet

One of the best things about growing edible things is, well, eating them.  Since I'm a glutton, I really get into the eating part of edible gardening (maybe I should rename this blog Gluttonous Gardening).  Our summer harvest season is just getting started here in SoCal, and we're already feasting.  Here are my two favorite recipes from the past week of harvesting and cooking (to respect copyright, I'm including links rather than the whole recipe):

• Fennel Slaw with Mint Vinaigrette: I'm growing fennel for the first time ever this year, so when I realized the bulbs were fat and ready, I had no idea what to do with them. A little Googling turned up this recipe, which turned out wonderful!  Even my "it's only worth eating if it comes from the drive-thru" husband and my "it's only worth eating if it has enough sugar to make an elephant diabetic" son liked it.  Yes, for real: my 13-year-old liked a fennel salad.  It really was delicious, especially after it had sat in the fridge for about a day.  The extra time mellowed the flavors a bit.
• Peach sorbet: Our peach tree is loaded this year, so I'll be having fun finding stuff to do with peaches (it's a tough job, but someone has to do it).  We bought an old ice cream freezer at a yard sale a few years ago and (finally) tried it out.  Neither of us has ever made ice cream before, but with a little pampering of the ancient ice cream maker, we succeeded in making the most wonderful sorbet I've ever eaten.  This is a very simple recipe from the Food Network - basically peaches and sugar.  The result tasted like a creamy, frozen version of a fresh peach.  Absolutely divine. 

Lest anyone out there think I'm a health nut, I've also had fun cooking up green beans with lots of bacon.  Once I've perfected my beans-to-grease ratio, I'll post a recipe here.  

Spring fever for gardeners - plant lust!

I'm semi-sane most of the year (though my husband and son might argue that point), but every January or February I begin to feel the faint stirrings of my more primitive, earthy instincts.  A shy glance as I pass the garden department turns into a long, loaded look, followed by a lustful leer.  Pretty soon I'm in the throes of unbridled plant lust.  Such is the power of these urges, that even a soggy, stormy weekend can't dampen my desire.  So, last weekend I found myself donning my rain jacket and slogging through the lake in my front yard to go plant shopping.  Hubby and I were the only customers at one nursery (did I mention Southern Californians are weather wimps?), so it was a good opportunity for some leisurely--if soggy--browsing.  I ended up with an almond tree, a dragon fruit cactus, a mandarinquat (no, that isn't a disease or a pesticide), and some seeds.

I'm taking a mini-vacation this weekend, with Friday and Monday off.  Friday and yesterday were picture-perfect sunny days, so I had time to get most of this stuff in the ground before today's rainstorm (Hey, Portland, would you please take your weather back?  I moved down here to get away from rain.).  I also ran out this morning before the rain started to take some pictures, since a few things have changed since I posted the last batch.  Here's a quick photo tour:

Front yard - still a work in progress but getting there

All in One almond


Meyer Improved lemon


Double Delight rose - gorgeous hybrid tea with a heavenly scent


Dwarf Mexican lime


Ketchup and Mustard floribunda rose - new in 2012. I love the vivid red and yellow blooms, but unfortunately they have no scent.


Southeast corner as viewed from the sidewalk - still kinda scruffy looking, but we're working on it


Sweet pea blossoms peeking through the picket fence


Looking down the sidewalk - those are snapdragons in the narrow part of the bed. I planted some zinnia seeds between the snapdragons so we'll have some color during the hot season too.


Pink snapdragon


Yellow snapdragon

Back yard - fruit trees and vegetable garden

Garlic and shallots planted in January and thriving


Blossom on Dorset Golden apple


Little apriums!


Pluot blossoms


Little peaches!


Indio mandarinquat (cross between a kumquat and a mandarin). BTW, that ugly green net fencing is there to keep my two greyhounds from digging up and/or trampling my vegetable beds.


As you can tell, we're big on fruit trees around here.  Though I started this post talking about (plant) lust, my other favorite of the seven deadly sins is gluttony, and as a gardener I get to indulge that one too.  Perhaps I should rename this blog The Sinful Gardener!

Winter garden in SoCal

While most of the country is mired in rain or snow, it's gardening season here in SoCal.  I finally found some time to get out in the garden this afternoon, planting garlic and shallots.  I have a bunch more cool season stuff to plant , but it will have to wait for next weekend.

While I was outside, I decided to take a few pictures.  Here's a winter tour of my backyard:

My peach tree is blooming!  We got this tree last year, free from our favorite nursery.  Yes, you read that right--free!  It had some wind damage, so they were going to throw it out but gave it to us instead.  Isn't it pretty all dressed up in pink and white?  Too bad there aren't debutante balls for trees :-)



And here are a couple of closeups of its frilly finery:




While the peach tree is blooming, the citrus trees are bearing!  Navel oranges, anyone?


Now for some more flowers.  First, a sunflower planted by a helpful bird.  There's something wonderful about a sunflower blooming in January!


Our house's previous owners planted this Cup of Gold Vine along a pathway in our backyard.  It must be at least 20 years old, and it blooms from January to about April.  The blossoms are really cool looking; see?


Last spring I planted nasturtiums in my vegetable beds, and they reseeded for some winter color.  I love it when plants plant themselves!


And finally, here's another plant that reseeded itself -- borage:


This is the second generation, and there are some third-generation seedlings too (you can see some in the lower right corner of the photo).  Three seasons of borage!  Now if I just knew what to do with the stuff...

So there you go - winter gardening in SoCal.  There's something wonderful about being able to dig in the dirt in January without needing hip waders.

New yumminess: persimmon jam

While the rest of the country was watching parades and football games, I spent yesterday making jam from a big batch of persimmons given to me by a coworker.  This was my first time making persimmon jam, but I think I'm in love.  It's heavenly!

It also required some research.  If you Google "persimmon jam recipes," you'll find lots, but nearly all of them end with, "ladle into jars and seal according to manufacturer's directions."  There's nothing about processing them, and since I don't want to give my family botulism, I don't do unprocessed jams.  There are a few freezer jam recipes out there too, but my freezer is full of pureed pumpkin (more on that in another post), so that wasn't high on my list either.  Finally, after an hour or so of digging, I found an old article from Sunset on preserving persimmons, and the mystery was solved.  [Update 10/11/12: this link is broken, but I found what I think is the same article here]  Apparently, the astringent varieties can't be cooked very long, or they become bitter, so canned jams aren't an option.  Fortunately for me, my giant pile o' persimmons were all Fuyu, a nonastringent variety that can be cooked.  So I was back in the jam business.

I followed the recipe in the Sunset article, using powdered pectin (the recipe calls for either liquid or powdered).  I had some trouble with the "skim off foam" step though.  The entire pan of jam was foamy!  I tried skimming off a layer, but it didn't seem to make any difference.  The results were delicious, but the contents of the jars look a little foamy, and there's a clear jelly at the bottom.  Next time (and, in the immortal words of Joe Elliott, there will be a next time) I'll try liquid pectin to see if that improves the consistency and appearance.  I don't think anything could improve the taste, though.  Persimmon jam is my new favorite jam.  Yum!

Heirloom apples

I've heard of heirloom tomatoes, heirloom melons, and heirloom squash, but until recently I'd never heard of heirloom apples. Like everyone else, I read The Botany of Desire a few years ago, but somehow I didn't think about the fact that there must be lots of old varieties of apples, since apples have been in cultivation for many centuries. Then I heard about an heirloom apple tasting in Venersborg, WA, last Saturday, and decided to do some research. According to an article on the Slow Food USA site, over 500 varieties of apples were cultivated in the US by 1850, yet only a handful are grown commercially now. Much like tomatoes, commercial varieties are often selected for appearance and durability in shipping rather than taste. Veggie Gardening Tips posted two articles on heirloom apples: Heirloom Apples and Antique Apple Varieties. The Washington State University Clark County Extension site also offers a great article on heirloom apples.

We couldn't make it to the apple tasting, but Jacqueline at Friendly Haven Rise Farm, who sponsored the tasting, invited us up to visit their farm and purchase some heirloom apple trees. The trees they sell come from an older gentleman who grows over 1000 (!!) varieties of apples, including several that even Google had never heard of. We had a lovely visit, brought home a couple of trees, and look forward to growing our own heirloom apples. If you'd like to do the same and you're within driving distance of Southwest Washington, I suggest you call the good folks at Friendly Haven Rise Farm to see if they have some trees left. You might also check out the heirloom apple tasting in Parkdale, OR, this weekend. If you're out of the area, try Trees of Antiquity, which seems to have a good selection (note: I've never done business with them, so I can't vouch for anything other than the impressive list of varieties on their web site). You too can grow your own little piece of history--a delicious little piece that will taste great in a pie.

Hmm... that last sentence should net me some interesting referral traffic. It might even compete with the infamous deer anus post on my personal blog.

Take the Growing Challenge!

I'm taking the plunge and taking the Growing Challenge! Follow the link for details, but the gist is that you grow some new edible item from seed and agree to post at least once a week about gardening. The new items shouldn't be a problem; I'm trying celeriac and parsnips for the first time this year, as well as a couple new things not from seed (Jerusalem artichokes and a plum tree). The challenge will be to post weekly, especially as the gardening season gets underway in earnest. Already I've started spending lots of weekend hours in the garden, leaving minimal time for research and writing.

So why would I want to participate in something like this? I suppose because growing edibles is a cause near and dear to my heart. I got my start as a gardener when I was about four, helping my mother plant squash and tend our veggie garden. As a result, I always knew where food came from (including meat, since we raised cattle, chickens, ducks, and even a turkey once. Trust me, there's something to be said for ignorance in this case.) I also knew what vegetables were supposed to taste like; hence I've never been able to endure a store-bought tomato. Now that I'm older and no longer a starving student, I've started buying organic produce, because I hate the thought of exposing my family to a bunch of toxins. Having grown up in an agricultural area, with crop dusters dropping who-knows-what near my neighborhood, I also hate the thought of farm workers being exposed to so much poison. So I'll do what I can, and gardening is a part of that effort. If I grow it, I know what's (not) in it, I can grow varieties that aren't found in the grocery store... and I can save a ton of money. Organic produce is *expensive*, and so are weird veggies like leeks and parsnips that I like to eat but don't like to pay for.

So there you are--a rambling dissertation on why I grow edible stuff. Care to join me? You don't need a big yard. There's lots of great information on growing veggies in small spaces. Maybe I'll work up a post on that topic. In the meantime, do a little Googling and give it a try!

Don't coddle the codling moth

11/25/07: edited post briefly to correct spelling and fix a typo.

Last time I wrote about how to use wormy pears, because I've been too lazy to control the codling moths whose larvae infest my fruit. This morning I read a useful article in Gardens West (a great Canadian gardening magazine that I recommend highly) on how to control codling moths. The article isn't online, unfortunately, but you can buy the issue (October 2007) from their site for $3.18 CAN (about $3.29). I'll include the main points here, but if you want their instructions for making your own coddling moth trap, please buy the issue.

The article includes background on the codling moth life cycle and the damage they do. The codling moth pupates over the winter, then emerges in spring to mate. Females lay their eggs on your fruit tree, sometimes on the fruit itself. When the larvae hatch, they eat their way through your immature apple or pear to feed on the seeds at the core. They leave behind the ever-attractive brown trail made of larva frass.

Brief, immature aside: Have you ever noticed all the clever, academic-sounding terms we have for... um... poop? I hadn't heard "frass" till I read this article (according to dictionary.com, it means "insect excrement"), but now I think I'll throw it around in casual conversation.

Husband: "How was your day?"
Me: "Frassy!"

OK, maybe not.


Back to our entomology lesson... After the larva has feasted on your apple seeds, it emerges to look for a good place to pupate. According to the article,

A safe spot can include cracks or grooves inthe bark of the tree (or any other piece of nearby wood), leaf litter or even just in the soil (pretty much anywhere protected from the ravages of winter weather or predators).

Codling moths are hard to control with insecticides, because the larva is sheltered inside your formerly-appetizing fruit all season. So, according to the article, we have to try different methods:

1. Constant vigilance and hygiene: Check your developing fruit and destroy any that show moth damage. Other articles I've read emphasize cleaning up around your trees in the fall to get rid of leaf litter and other places the moths can pupate.
   
2. Traps: You can buy pheromone traps that will lure horny male moths inside. This gives a whole new meaning to that line from the old Roach Motel commercials: Moths check in, but they don't check out. It's basically a fake no-tell motel for moths. The article includes instructions for making another kind of trap that provides an attractive food source as bait. Those work for both males and females (and there has to be a joke there somewhere, but I'm not going to look for it).
   
3. Pheromone distractions -- bits of plastic impregnated with pheromones, intended to confuse the male moths so they can't find the real females. (And yeah, there's probably a joke there too, but I'll spare you).
   
4. Trunk banding -- wrap the tree trunk in corrugated cardboard (for exact instructions, see the article) to create an attractive place for the moths to pupate. Once they're tucked away for their winter sleep/metamorphosis, remove and destroy the cardboard. Yes, you too can be the Freddy Krueger of the insect community.
   

I guess I don't have any more excuses for having frass-contaminated fruit. Since I'm way too lazy for constant vigilance, I think I'll try the pheromone traps and homemade food traps. Mwaaahaaahaaaaa...