George, the dog, did a lot of damage to the Baba patch back in January and for a long time the patch looked like it would have a hard time recovering. When the warm weather returned in late February and early March, the roots started to send up lots of new canes, even where George did some of the worst digging. Fortunately, there were enough 1 year old canes remaining that we are getting some Spring fruit already, not just…
As many urban chicken keepers will attest, backyard chickens can be addictive. And for flock owners, like myself, who often have non chicken keeping friends’ eyes glaze over at the mere mention of chickens, there is help out there. It is in a social network at MeetUp: Los Angeles Urban Chicken Enthusiasts (although I have over heard a few members jokingly call Chicken Addiction Anonymous.) When I first joined in April of 2010, Los Angeles Urban Chicken Enthusiasts, or LAUCE…
Some gardeners save “heirloom” and non-hybrid seed from special plants. I don’t consider myself one of those conscientious gardeners, only rarely saving seed from some of my favorite perennials. However, I often have packets of vegetable seeds leftover at the end of the season that I didn’t manage to use up or I bought on an impulse and never got around to planting. Seed retailers and growers would like us gardeners to discard out of date seed packets and buy…
My daughter and I both love fairies and fairy gardens. I had not visited LBCC Horticulture Department grounds since last spring, and I was delighted to find that fairies moved in over the course of the year. They had set up miniature house in a tree and on the ground underneath, as well as a miniature sized vineyard, railroad, greenhouse, and windmill. There were a few scattered tiny gnomes, too. If you are local and like gardening, mini…
Pesticides cost lots of money, especially organic ones. A carton of iron phosphate type snail bait sets me back $10 to $15, depending on volume, and it needs to be reapplied every few weeks. Hand picking is generally as affective as using chemicals, and a whole lot safer, but I don’t always make time to do it. However, the bug bounty hunters are often happy to do it for me. My kids, as well as a few of their friends,…
I hate throwing away what could potentially be yummy apples. My friends at a SoCal Harvest would be appalled if they saw me last week. I removed a large number of small apples on both my espaliers. 3 weeks to a month after they set fruit, I manually pick off some of the thumb sized apples to increase the size of the remaining apples, increase air flow around the fruit, and mainly reduce the stress on the tree limbs. …
My Buff Bantam Cochin has decided her chicks are big enough to be on their own and they don’t need her to be a mama hen anymore. I know this because as of Monday, last week, she has been pecking at them when they go near her and she is hanging out with the big girls again. Plus, two days ago she started laying again. Where did the time go? It was just Feb. 1st that they hatched. They…
I felt terrible about it, but in late January, I had to evict Penguin, our 1 1/2 year old black bantam cochin hen. As I mentioned in a prior post, she started to crow at least 3 to 4 mornings a week, and was spending most nights in the garage to avoid waking anyone in the pre dawn hours. I figured as long as she remained a “top hen,” she was probably going to keep crowing. Thanks to my…
This year my daughter, B, wanted to come up with a chicken science project. Why? Because it was a great excuse to get a whole bunch of baby chicks. She really didn’t have to twist my arm too hard. I love having chicks around, and we had a broody hen, so I agreed to let her do it. She came up with the idea to test out a bunch of the old wives tales on sexing the chicks at day old. …
Long Beach City College April 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th. 2012 9AM-6PM Long Beach City College Horticulture Department is holding its 40th Annual Open House and Spring Plant Sale this April. For many years, the Fullerton Arboretum’s Green Scene was my all time favorite plant sale, but in recent years, I have decided this sale is even more fun. It is kind of like a treasure hunt. In past years, I purchased some of my favorites plants here, including red…