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baba raspberry in SoCal
Bababerry plants are back!

Bababerry plants are back!

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With the extended drought, I have barely kept my Bababerry patch alive, and not had any surplus to share, so I was very happy to hear that this excellent berry is back in commercial production. For anyone not familiar with Bababerries or Baba Raspberry, it is a low chill raspberry that was introduced in the late 1970s. The variety is an everbearing-type that produces very large berries of excellent flavor. And according to CRFG it is “probably the most reliable traditional raspberry for areas…

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two year old pineapple grown at home
Homegrown Pineapple

Homegrown Pineapple

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A little over two years ago, my daughter, B, started an after dinner gardening project of trying to grow a pineapple. She plopped a discarded cut-off pineapple crown with leaves into a pot. She treated it like many of her succulent plants: no prep, no rooting hormone, just potting soil and occasionally a bit of leftover water from her school lunch. It still lives in a pot on the front porch, getting about half-day sun. Last winter she did remember…

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Darn Bumper Crop of Berries

Darn Bumper Crop of Berries

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Most of my flowers and perennials these days are generally low water users, at least once they became established, however the same is not true of all my edible plants. When the state officials announced the need for even deeper cuts to our water use early this year, I decided what my most prized or hard to replace plants were, mainly the fruit trees and camellias, and then I diverted the limited grey water from our front load washer machine…

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Long Beach City College plant sale date
Local Garden Tours and Plant Sales for Spring 2014

Local Garden Tours and Plant Sales for Spring 2014

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I look forward to this time of year all winter long, the Spring Garden Tour season and annual plant sales sponsored by some of the local non profit horticulture groups. For many years now, my favorite plant sale has been the Long Beach City College Horticulture Department’s annual spring plant sale and fundraiser.  This is their 42nd year and the sale falls on April 16th -18th, 2014, the week before LBCC has their Spring Break.   If you are a local…

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Winter Propagation Projects: Pomegranates

Winter Propagation Projects: Pomegranates

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When the weather is too cold to do much work outside, I get a little over zealous and try propagating all sorts of plants, just to see if I can. Since I got a couple of new heat mats for Christmas, I am in the process of propagating a variety of plants including ‘Parfianka’ Pomegranate, ‘Sweet’ Pomegranate, ‘Strawberry Verte’ Fig, ‘Bababerry’ plants, Thornless Raspberry plants, and tomato seeds.  Because I spend so much time doting on the cuttings, my hubby…

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Going Back to Greywatering [2014 Update]

Going Back to Greywatering [2014 Update]

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Normally in the winter months, the rainy season in SoCal, I have the gray water diverer on the washer machine in the off position so it will empty to the sewer, not the garden.  Southern California usually gets plenty of rain to take care of the landscape until late March or April.  This year is the earliest we have had to switch back to using grey water, since first using it back in 2007. We have had next to nothing…

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review of spicezee
Choosing a New Bare Root Fruit Tree – Spice Zee NectaPlum

Choosing a New Bare Root Fruit Tree – Spice Zee NectaPlum

Comments 7 comments

I know, I know, I shouldn’t be thinking about buying and adding more bare root fruit trees, since my yard is already crammed full, but it is hard to not collect one of everything, and even more so, after K shared some of her Spice Zee nectaplums last summer. Back in early July, K generously gave me a half-dozen Spice Zee fruits, even though she didn’t have much of a crop yet since the tree is only 3 years old….

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vincent kiwi
Tons and Tons of Vincent Kiwis!

Tons and Tons of Vincent Kiwis!

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Okay, maybe not tons, but at least 50 or 60 lbs. of Kiwis, is my best guess at this point. Although in past years, I have grumbled and griped a lot about the lack of pollination on my Kiwi vines, this year we have a bumper crop, and now that we have had a few cold snaps, it is time to begin harvesting. If I had to guess, I would say there are at least 500 kiwis on the female…

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Bababerry plants
How to Prune Bababerries and other Everbearing Raspberry Plants

How to Prune Bababerries and other Everbearing Raspberry Plants

Comments 6 comments

The past couple of years I have been received lots of questions via email regarding how to prune Bababerry plants, a variety of everbearing raspberry that grows well in Southern California and other low chill – warm climates.  Managing Baba raspberries is much the same as any other everbearing or fall bearing raspberry variety.  Most folks are able to pick fruit the first year they buy and plant an everbearing raspberry, including Baba. That is not the case on summer bearing…

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red rebloomer irises
Red Reblooming Bearded Iris

Red Reblooming Bearded Iris

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Happy New Year! Living in Southern California, we hardly get a break in the growing season, and Mid Winter often brings out some of first of the cool season blooms to my garden. One of my brand new, planted in September, reblooming irises sent up a spike just before Christmas and bloomed today.  I was so tickled and surprised to have it bloom already that I had to share my delight.  Irises are some of my favorite perennials. This red spotted…

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