Tag Archives: weather

An Embarrassment of Acorns

After many years – five, maybe six? – the drought is officially over. The big live oak adjacent to the garden put forth an unprecedented number of acorns this year. With the near constant rain and warm temperatures, thousand of … Continue reading

Posted in Native Plants | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Finally Rain

After a long, dry summer, raining is finally falling pretty regularly, and the plants seem happy! 156 mm (just over 6″) since November 27th, which is the day I finally installed and configured the self-emptying rain gauge pictured above.  Soon … Continue reading

Posted in Food Forest | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Wild Food

Last weekend, I attended a class taught by Alicia Funk, co-author of Living Wild:  Gardening, Cooking and Healing with Native Plants of California and founder of the Living Wild Project.  I was impressed with the book and the speaker, and … Continue reading

Posted in Food Forest, Native Plants | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Winter – You’re Doing it Wrong

Despite some early snow, this has been one of the driest winters in memory, and warm besides.  What this probably means in my garden is that fruit yields will be considerably down this year.  Lots of things are starting to … Continue reading

Posted in Fruit | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

O Mandarin

Your branches green delight us!  Earlier this year, I planted a mandarin.  The past few days have been filled with frost and air temps in the mid and low 30s, and a few leaves were damaged.  Just a bit ago, … Continue reading

Posted in Fruit | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Bees to the Rescue

In a prior post, I speculated that the plum blossoms would be ruined, resulting in (yet another) bad fruit year.  As I wandered the garden this morning, I was delighted by the familiar buzz of hundreds (sounding like thousands) of … Continue reading

Posted in Fruit, Insects | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

March Miracle?

Woke up to snow for the first time in months.  Not sure if this is the March miracle I’ve been hoping for – it’s been an unusual weather year, overly warm and overly dry – but I’ll take it.  Of … Continue reading

Posted in Fruit | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Signs of Spring

Plants seem uninterested in dates, instead using temperature and daylight hours and plant hormones to define “spring,” and many plants in my garden have decided that now’s the time.  Though there doesn’t seem to be consensus – the asparagus seems … Continue reading

Posted in Food Forest, Fruit | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Harvest – Blueberries, Garlic and Eggplant

Back in the garden after a week in Glacier National Park in Montana.  Lots of interesting plants in Montana, including bear grass, lanceleaf stonecrop, a native succulent, and Rosa woodsii, a wild rose similar to the California wild roses that … Continue reading

Posted in Food Forest, Fruit, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Potatoes Believe in Climate Change

I just checked the 10 day forecast – rain, thunderstorms, partly cloudy skies, then more rain.  About the only spring/summer annual vegetables that are really enjoying this weather are the potatoes, which around these parts are planted in early early … Continue reading

Posted in Vegetables | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment