January 27

2007

Gardening in the High Desert

19:36

Lovely warm day

• Granddaughter and I filled the bird feeders
  
• Watered hybrid poplars on north side of metal building
  
• Watered fruit trees using 15 gal ATV tank as [the] water to [the] far back [area] is still frozen - about 5 gal per tree and 15 gal to the large apple tree
  
• Returned some library books last week and got more. P Alan Smith is becoming my next favorite author after Derek Fell, as far as gardening stuff goes
  
• Fruit trees appear to be doing well - no dead looking branches or buds so far
  
• Two [bearded] irises exhibit some frost heaving, but the rest look good
  
• More seed catalogs have arrived to seduce me. I am trying very hard to resist; I have way enough seeds!!!
  
• Trying to learn more about my houseplants
  
• Snow still hanging on on the north side of the house, metal building and back yard fence
  
• Basils and garlic are well represented in this year's catalogs - awesome!
  
• Daughter brought our brought our 1994 garden journal home - awesome and way cool.
  
• Taped some bulb package labels into my journal [2012 Note: I don't know where I taped them as they are NOT in the journal that I am currently transcribing]
  
• Scanned the journal [from 1994] that my daughter found
  
• Rotated ficus this afternoon and opened the drapes for it
  
• The herb growing containers I bough don't have drain holes and are not very big. I hope the plants will be ok. Have to be very careful with the watering.
  

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 15

2007

Gardening in the High Desert.
Snow has turned to ice on the back patio, but little else of it remains. Nights are cold, but the days are still mostly above freezing. I long to be puttering out in the garden. I haven't been there in a week.

• Does the oregano survive under its light mulch of old iris leaves [2011 Note: indeed, it survives without any mulch, and is now becoming a weed!]
  
• How are the garlic beds looking?
  
• I never did "mow" the strawberries under their shredded paper mulches. Are they still alive and will they return vigorous in a few more months?
  
• And my sleeping trees - did I over water them in the fall - causing them to go dormant too late?
  
• Yes, time to start my indoor herbs before I go crazy with lack of greenery.
  
• We bought a cut Christmas Tree. Next year we hope to buy a live one. But for now, I am already plotting how its dying branches will become mulch for my Black Austrian Pines.
  

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.

January 02

2011

Gardening in the High Desert.
Always with the grand schemes and plans for the new garden - but really how many of those dreams actually come true? So many things on the "To Do List" left undone. "This you will be different," I always say, but will it? I am determined to at least do better each year. Last year was better than the year before, and by many measures, my best year yet - ever. Keep striving, keep heading towards an ideal, clear vision, a plan, and ruthless execution - the keys to good project management and attainment of goals.

Snow in subfreezing temps followed by mild day daytime temps should encourage weed seeds to germinate in the new beds. Then I can hoe them under, letting their tiny leaves and roots enrich the sandy sand and help turn it to dirt.

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.