December 23

2005

2006

2010

2005

Took a walk around the perimeter today for the first time in months. Mauly and Jake have dug numerous large holes under various bushes as they peruse their prey. How am I going to have a "wild" area if they keep destroying it?

The back yard fence that MDH is building is turning out really well. The West side is nearly done. Going to start the North side soon. I can't believe we're really doing this. Over a decade of dreams finally starting to blossom.

Sweet potato has real leaves, but it's still too cold for it to really take off yet. Still, its good to see something growing in the house.

Something is chewing on the ficus leaves. Not serious, yet, but I can't seem to find what it is.

2006

Son has moved the rest of the unplanted bulbs into the metal building for me yesterday. Now I just need to choose a nice, sub-freezing time to plant them out.

Hundreds of daffs to go.

Go my library card out of hock and gathered a bunch of herb books to bring home for the holidays with me.

• Filled bird feeders and set out water
  
• Watered front trees; bottom pine branches have been eaten
  
• Inspected fruit trees
  
• Earlier in the week planted a pot of misc garlic bulbs for "chives"
  

Winter is a time for hiding under the covers with a good garden book and spring-time dreams. Herbs for tea

• Lemon Flavors
  
  • Lemon Verbena
    
  • Lemon Balm [2011 Note: Lemon Balm smells too medicine-like, even though it has a lemon smell to it]
    
  • Lemon Thyme
    
  • Lemon Grass
    
• Mints
  
  • Spearmint
    
  • Applemint
    
  • Blue Balsam Tea Mint
    
• Anise
  
  • Anise Seed
    
  • Fennel
    
  • Anise Hyssop
    
• Fruit
  
  • Pineapple Sage
    
  • Fruit scented Geraniums
    

Potpourris Herbs
F = Flowers, L = Leaves

• Anise Hyssop F, L
  
• Anise Seeds
  
• Basil F, L
  
• Bay L
  
• Borage F
  
• Elderberry L
  
• Hussop F
  
• Juniper Berries
  
• Lavender F
  
• Lemon Verbena L
  
• Marjoram L
  
• Mint L, F
  
• Rose F, Hips
  
• Rosemary L
  
• Scented Geraniums F, L
  
• Thyme L
  

So lovely to behold the winter landscape under a bright sunny day. ** Try a lemon basil hair rinse or a sage tea [hair] rinse. Herb Vinegar

1. 8 inches of stem for 2 c vinegar
   
2. Use red or white wine vinegar
   
3. heat vinegar until just below boiling in glass, enamel or stainless [container]
   
4. Fill hot, sterol jars
   
5. cover & cool
   
6. ready to use in 2 weeks
   
7. [2011 subsequently heard that it should be kept in the refrigerator]
   

Placed a $30 order with Thyme Gardens. I know I could get the seeds elsewhere for a bit cheaper, but I like to support the small growers when I can.

2010

• Dug in another 9 gallons of compost into new existing beds
• Started a new bed - no compost yet, but started digging it up
• My granddaughter worked in the garden with me for an hour.  She called me a farmer.  She said that I had chickens,  corn and a big blue tractor, so I must be a farmer.  [My recollection here in 2011 is that she did concede that I didn't have a very big farm because I did not have cows.]
• New weeds have sprouted in the empty beds; I hoed them up.  Need to hand pull [them] in the garlic and raised beds.
• Now leaves on any of the fruit trees now.
• 4 ivys look good; no signs of transplant shock
• Sweet potato doing well. Lovely deep purple leaves - tiny and nearly black.  Need to put in a good pot.  Last one I grew had green leaves.
• Need to start taking better care of my poor ficus.  Needs food and regular watering.
• What will happen if I winter sow spinach now? Will it germinate?  How much seed do I have to play with? Surely I could try 20 seeds or so?

December 10

2005

2007

2005

- Saturday

Gardening in the High Desert.
Spent the good part of the morning at our favorite Home Depot.  Spent $700 on wood for backyard fencing.  MDH and son spent the afternoon putting up fence boards.

Stokes seed catalog came Friday.  They had mostly hybrids and I really want open pollinated varieties.  I would like to save seed from year to year.  I may order morning glory and moonflower seeds from them, but probably not anything else.

Bough seed warmer mat kit.  No idea where I will put it yet.  I was thinking of starting some pansies.

Ficus continues to do well.  About once a week they get a deep water of leftover dog bowl water.  Probably several cups.

Sweet potato "eyes" finally sprouting roots rapidly filling up the blue vase.

Continuing to file garden mags and catalogs.  Feels like I haven't really made a dent.

Cinderblock Pond Idea

About 10' x 5' outside dimensions.  4 foot deep - 2 foot in the ground, two foot above.  Fill 3' deep seating ledge.  Not a koi pond.  Maybe some hardy mosquito fish, a few snails.  What about a way for creapy crawlies to exit?  And a shall spot - an island, perhaps, for birds?  Potted plant on island with wick into pond for auto watering.  Step down to be under water about 1 inch.  Platform support to be open on the sides so fish can hid under there.  Pot must be able to handle very freezing temps.  Also need some way of keeping water from freezing in the winter.

So much to do, so little time.

2007

Gardening in the High Desert.
Three years in a row ays that the first snow is around the 2nd week of December.

• Watered housplants
• Watered ficus - not sure how it survives

Guess I don't need to water [outdoor] trees this week.

November 18

2011

2012

2011

Gardening in the High Desert.
Howling winds last night. I heard that they were over 50 MPH with gusts close to 80 MPH. Windy all day today. We lost power for a while, but that is normal when it is this windy, and we're used to it now. Big fire in Reno. Winds calmed in the evening, and their was a light snow falling by the time I left work.

Not much gardening going on this time of year.

• Watered houseplants: ficus, sweet potato and sweet potato daughter, and my golden pothos, which is a daughter of my original golden pothos from a plant I brought home from a job over 10 years ago.
  
• Transcribed a few more days of my written journals
  
• The first seed catalog came this week
  

So this is my first "on line" journal post that I did not originally hand write in one of my books. Not sure how I feel about that. Will my kids or anyone else care about having the hand-written copies? I am at the dividing line between two technologies, and while I love the digital world, I am not yet able to leave the old one behind. Perhaps I am destined to be anachronistic.

2012

Gardening in the Middle Tennessee.
Went to Bass Pro in Nashville yesterday. BOught a turkey fryer and also a bird feeder. In NV it took a week before the birds felt comfortable eating at the feeder - here, it was more like hours. In one day, they've eaten about 25% of the sunflower seeds. I can see it from the kitchen window, hanging in the grand old magnolia.

December 07

2005

2007

2010

2005

Gardening in the High Desert.
Sweet potato has many branching roots. Moved it to a lg blue vase with a narrow neck a few days ago. Some of the "eyes" appear to be swelling.

Our little ficus tree is doing very well. It like the filtered light and gets plenty of water. Not going to feed as its potting soil is still fresh.

Son put the bags of mulch out by the sweet gums, but I haven't spread it about yet.

About a dozen fence posts are in for the back yard fence. D cut our propane line while digging. She stayed home from work so he could deal with getting it fixed. It's going to be an awesome back yard. [2011-11-17 No, it turned out to just be more desert...]

The hole for the future pond is just sitting happy as can be, big hills of dirt [sand] on the east and west banks. Bought a few bond building magazines for D to peruse.

Love my filing cabinet. Started filing my magazines last night. Waiting with much anticipation for my seed catalogs to arrive. Also will file my seed packets, too, along with other things to file.

2007

Gardening in the High Desert.
Of course I have "enough" seeds for a delightful and enjoyable garden. But of course, I need more, more, more. A new type of zucchini, more sunflowers, a fancier morning glory. The seed catalogs don't sell seeds - they sell "The Garden That Could Be."

2010

Gardening in the High Desert.
Stayed home from work ill. Spent 30 min in the warm (30*F) sunshine with the chickens and garden - I swear that that did me more good than Motrin and sleep.

Found a good user for pulled cheat grass. Don't want to put in compost because it will survive and proliferate. So I put it in the chicken run and the chickies trample, toss, and pick at them until theyare dead, dead, dead. They eat a little of it, but not much. They don't like it all that much - but it does provide them with exercise and entertainment.

Turned compost and put ice from chicken bowls on it. Ice melts and seems to add the right amount of moisture. Have at least 50 gallons or more of compost to used before starting new pile. New pile will be slower to cook since it's so cold, but should still be ready for Spring planting. New piles stink to high heavens - all that ammonia being burned off - but the end results are worth it.

Small birds visiting feeder. Need to fill a few times a week now. They aren't comfortable eating when I'm out there, but they were circling and hanging out on the fence waiting for me to leave.

My light/seed starting setup is just about done. So excited. Can't wait until seed starting season. Tomato seeds are on the way. Got my collection of other seeds organized. I probably don't need to buy seeds for years, but the primal urge to acquire seeds is overwhelming.

[Entry later that evening 21:10]

Got my seed starting setup completed - finally. Amazingly, found my timer, so I didn't have to buy one. My heat mat needs an outlet without a timer, though. To early to start Spring seeds, but I'm thinking of a few indoor plants - and maybe an indoor tomato to coddle.

Reading The New Seed Starter's Handbook by Nancy Bubel.

Going to try two cherry toms for winter indoor toms. Main crop to be started in Feb for planting in April/May and to give away.

FOR INDOOR PLANTS
• 2 - Cherry Toms
• 6 - Basils: lemon, purple, sweet - 2 each
• 2 - clumps chives - 1 garlic, 1 regular
• 2 - Salvias
• Separate my little pot of ivys [into however many plants they will make]