Cloverdell Cottage Garden Newsletter

Fall Gardening Tips

October 2008

"Fall" in the garden is about many things, important things.

Getting through the Harvest: processing fruits and vegetables and storing for later by canning, freezing or drying. It is very time consuming but very rewarding!

Getting Ready for Winter: Clean out the gutters, set up water catching barrels or systems. Cover and protect whatever can’t handle the bad weather (Heavy Santa Anna winds around Christmas time). Prune back fruit trees after leaves have fallen.

Getting Ready for Spring: Amend soil in vegetables beds with compost. Remove dead or unwanted bits. Plant winter vegetables and any ornamental design replacements. Feed cyclamen and chrysanthemums so they will bloom nicely.

Important things to REMEMBER!

Turn off sprinklers after the first or second rain.
Water plants that can't get the rain (under edges of the house or roof eves)

Consider helping the planet by "losing the lawn" and planting a water thrifty garden in its place.

Extra Tip: For easy winter green vegetables set up a large hanging basket where it can be watered by the rains. Because it is off the ground there are no snails and slugs. Hang it from a tree branch or on a post or exposed roof line. Plant it with spinach, Swiss chord, snow peas or broccoli.

It's Summer! Check Out Some Suggested Outside Projects & Water/Energy Saving Tips!

August 2008

Before Fall takes hold, it's a good time to do certain outside projects such as:

Exterior painting (while it’s warm and dry)
Preparation for Harvest Season (if you’re growing fruits and vegetables)
Use harvested rainwater to augment or replace your city water
Continue weeding routines
Cut and hang to dry any flowers you’ve been growing for dried arrangements or wreathes

Such as: Nigella (Love in a mist), Achilla (Yarrow), Roses, Hydrangeas, Limonium (Statice), Gypsophila (Baby’s Breath)

Think about saving water and energy this summer with water conservation and solar power projects.

Practice water conservation in dry areas

Early AM or late PM landscaping watering
Pee twice / Flush once
Turn OFF water while brushing teeth
Shorter showers
Let the car wash go an extra week

Solar power projects

Dry wet clothes on a clothesline
Dehydrate fruits, beans, nuts, herbs in the sun
Bake in a solar oven
Solar heated water (shower, washing clothes)

How to Use Ferns and Roses for Flower Arrangements

June 2008

June and July are both sunny and warm – ideal conditions for roses to bloom profusely. Add water and a consistent routine of "dead-heading" the spent blooms and you'll have lots of flowers available to become indoor table arrangements. Roses like deep watering (a good soaking of their roots) every week or so. Be sure to remove diseased leaves as often as possible.

In flower arrangements, some of the best complimentary plants for roses are ferns. Central California is home to some very beautiful and easy to grow native ferns. Most do best when given a shady North facing semi-protected area and water to their various needs. Most require filtered sun. Plant ferns in the fall so they can get roots established during the rainy season. Roses and ferns go together like peanut butter and jelly.

Vegetable gardens must be mulched, watered and weeded at this time.

Spring is upon us!

April 2008

Get those vegetables planted.
Use dried and crushed eggshells around your baby vegetable plants. This has a double benefit: 1) the crushed eggshells nourish the baby plant root systems, and 2) snails and slugs don’t like the crushed shell dust.
Pull weeds and remove dead parts (compost these). Mulch areas where dirt is showing.
Recycle everything you can!
If you have been harvesting rain-water, make sure it is capped or otherwise covered and tightly sealed to prevent your water storage from becoming a mosquito breeding ground.
If you have a mature tree in your yard that drops lots of seeds, plant some in containers and give them as gifts.
Avoid using chemical fertilizers during really rainy weather, as the chemicals are washed directly into our streams and rivers. My personal feelings run toward using zero fossil fuel based fertilizers (chemicals) and instead simply rotating crops, mulching, and composting. This is something to keep in mind if you are putting in a vegetable garden. To get healthy, get off the fertilizers.

Feel free to come see me at the 6th annual " Spring Art & Garden Festival"

The weekend of April 26th and 27th 10am-4pm both days

See the Garden - Meet the Artists - See the new Murals - Experience the Gypsy Wagon

Getting Ready for Spring

February 2008

By the beginning of February you should have pruned any perennials, shrubs or roses for size and shape. The same goes for your fruit trees but they also need spraying with a Lime Sulfur mixture for "Peach Curl". Since we also have lots of trouble with Thrips here in the Silicon Valley, cleaning up dead leaves under shrubbery that has been infected really helps keep the bug at bay. Thrips survive winter weather by hiding under dry dead leaves.

Now is the time to prepare your soil for spring and summer plantings. Dig deep and mix in your mulch and lawn clippings. If you planted winter vegetables or flowers now is a good time to check them for pests. With citrus trees protect them against the cold by putting blankets over the top with a light on underneath.

It may not seem important to think about the potential summer drought conditions when the rains are coming down as much as they have, but this season does provide opportunity for saving money and resources for when the hot weather returns. If your garden seems to need a lot of water in the fall you should try saving rain water. Many complex systems are available, or the simplest could be a 30 gallon garbage can under a rain gutter downspout.

Feel free to come see me at the 6th annual "Spring Art & Garden Festival"

The weekend of April 26th and 27th 10am-4pm both days

Come see the Garden
Come meet the Artists
Come see the new Murals
Come experience the Gypsy Wagon

Art-in-the-Garden Tip

Artistic objects made of glass, metal and stone survive well outside. Wooden artistic bits need regular painting. Either singly or in groups, these artistic objects can be hung on walls or tucked in corners where plants have a hard time growing. Placement of art in the garden, as well as the quality and quantity depends entirely on your personal tastes. Try it out, take a picture of it and if you still like it there, keep it. Otherwise - rearrange it.