Browsed by
Category: Gardening

Learning How to Can Grape Jelly [Homemade Concord Grape Jam – Part 1]

Learning How to Can Grape Jelly [Homemade Concord Grape Jam – Part 1]

Comments 2 comments

For many years, my family has been blessed with dozens of cans of homemade jelly from our concord grapevine.  However, I can not take credit for anything other than the simple acts of planting, pruning, and infrequently watering. My next-door neighbor has been doing the time-consuming and messy part for us, in exchange for a share of the grapes’ bounty.  Most years, she even does the harvesting. I felt like we were definitely getting the better end of the deal,…

Read More Read More

Concord Grapes and Midnight Mauraders [Orchard Report]

Concord Grapes and Midnight Mauraders [Orchard Report]

Comments 5 comments

Apparently, I am not the only one who has noticed the sweet aroma of ripening concord grapes recently. Each day over the last week, there have been a few more missing and scattered grapes under the vines. The chickens like getting to clean up fallen fruit, but we need to figure out what is stealing our grapes. The Concord grapes smell of sweet grape soda outside our bedroom every night, so I know it is finally ready for harvesting, that,…

Read More Read More

My Earliest Ripening Grape – “Canadice”

My Earliest Ripening Grape – “Canadice”

Comments 0 Comment

When it comes to grapes, I have to choose carefully what varieties I plant because we don’t have the best growing conditions for most of the commonly sold wine and table grapes.  At the time, based on the Sunset Western Garden Book’s grape varieties that are supposed to be good in zone 22, I planted Flame grape in 2001 or 2002, but had been having problems with mildew plaguing it almost every year since.  I wanted to find a different…

Read More Read More

George gets Buzzed

George gets Buzzed

Comments 1 comment

  George, the dog, is on the look out for one of his arch enemies…the honey bee.  Don’t get me wrong; I love bees! But George doesn’t and spends endless hours in his pursuit to snap them out of mid air and kill them.  He stakes out a buzzing bush, staring quietly as he tracks one.  Then snap! He actually grabs one out of mid air, followed by lots of paw rubbing on his muzzle.  When that method is unsuccessful…

Read More Read More

A Gardener’s Enemies: Pest plants

A Gardener’s Enemies: Pest plants

Comments 0 Comment

Certain plants are invasive or aggressive and spread by hidden under grown runners or by self sowing prolifically, eventually taking over a garden and growing out of control.  I am not talking about weeds, but plants that are intentionally introduced by homeowners.   A variety of plants sold at big home improvement stores and some nurseries behave like weeds after spending a season or two in the garden.  Eventually, the gardener will wish they never planted them in their yard in…

Read More Read More

Spring 2011: Garden Tours and Plant Sales

Spring 2011: Garden Tours and Plant Sales

Comments 2 comments

It is the time of year I start filling up my calendar with my favorite plant sales and tours.  Here is what I have collected and added for this year…   Tomato Sale- over 100 varieties available March 4th-6th, 2011 10 to 4 Fullerton City College Horticulture Department http://horticulture.fullcoll.edu/TomatoListMain.shtml 3/17/11 Monster Tomato and Pepper Sale Fullerton Arboretum The annual Monster Tomato and Pepper Sale in 2011 will be the biggest sale of its kind yet! This sale grows in popularity each year…

Read More Read More

Poisonous Plants [List for Chicken Keepers]

Poisonous Plants [List for Chicken Keepers]

Comments 0 Comment

I waded through a lot of the different Poisonous Plant lists when I first got a baby tortoise from a friend in 2004, and then again when I got chickens.  Some of the lists were misleading by making no distinctions between a toxic plant that causes rashes and one that will kill my pets if they eat it. Through my research, I realized I actually grew a large number of plants in my yard that are considered toxic, but I…

Read More Read More

lid removes easy for filling or turning
Broken Trash Can Gets a New Life as a Compost Bin

Broken Trash Can Gets a New Life as a Compost Bin

Comments 3 comments

Like most avid gardeners, I love to compost.  Along with improving home energy efficiency,  practicing water conservation, and reducing the amount of meat the family eats, home composting is one of the most environmentally beneficial activities we can do here.  Instead of buying bagged soil amendments, I create my own endless supply. I have tried using many kinds of compost bins and piles over the last 15 years.  I had an expensive black plastic bin that came apart in sections…

Read More Read More

Chicken Proofing The Garden

Chicken Proofing The Garden

Comments 7 comments

The chickens get access to the majority of my backyard for free ranging, but now a days you would not realize it just glancing around the yard.  The first few months with chickens free ranging, the yard didn’t look as good as it did in the years before chickens.  With a few months of all day free ranging, there was poop on the concrete, plants uprooted or heavily munched, and holes in the lawn. Over time I have learned and…

Read More Read More

egg next to kiwi fruit vincent kiwi How is the flavor of vincent kiwi
Long Awaited Kiwis

Long Awaited Kiwis

Comments 0 Comment

I planted the male kiwifruit vine and Vincent (female) kiwi vines in January of 2004, and we have been patiently waiting for our first fruits.  George, the dog, accidentally root pruned the female vine a little more than two years ago and we have been getting tons of female flowers on it ever since.  I was starting to think the male would never flower and thus pollinate the female.  However, the male did end up flowering this year, but I…

Read More Read More