Joyfully Growing Healthy Fruit

Here I go again, posting about fruit and especially berries!!!


My Jan. and Feb. 2013 posts were on the same topic,
as well as this recent post: http://suescottagegarden.blogspot.com/2012/06/wonderful-wonderful-raspberries-and.html.

I guess I just cannot say enough about this wonderful gift that mother nature provides for us.

Not just fresh fruit salad (a traditional, healthy dessert), but fruit as a snack or for breakfast is not only delicious, it is nutritious, too.  The natural antioxidants and fiber of fresh fruit support the body's defenses and help to keep it running smoothly. When adding fruit to your diet, consider including the following choices, which according to the USDA, are fruits that are exceptionally high in antioxidants:

Wild blueberries
Cranberries
Blackberries
Prunes
Raspberries
Strawberries
Red delicious apples
Granny Smith apples
Sweet cherries
Black plums

This list is not all inclusive, since many other red to black fruits also are considered antioxidant rich fruits. Fruit on a little cottage cheese is one of my favorites. I especially like blueberries (homegrown) or local organic, blackberries and raspberries homegrown, as well as other homegrown berries. I love most berries for baking, and especially cranberries and blueberries  (scones are a favorite).

Berries are so easy to grow and care for in the home garden. They are forgiving if you ignore them. You just don't want to ignore them during the harvesting seasons, or you will miss out on some great tastes. I try not to munch too much when harvesting with my little berry basket hanging from my arm.  

What is your favorite fruit? Your favorite berries? Think of what you get for very little input of energy. How do you use and/or preserve your harvest? Jams?, Frozen individually and put in freezer containers/bags for easy access? Do you dry your berries, and put a little pin prick in each one so the center dries and they don't mold later? Or do you just eat all your berries fresh out of the garden and share them with family, friends, neighbors? Whatever you do, growing berries will bring joy. 

Grow Blueberries for Your Health

Blueberries are not hard to grow. There are varieties for all regions. In the central valley of California our soil is not acidic enough for them without amendments, so to make it easy, I grow them in large planters. Yumm!

Berry Good News

  


















Good Berry News
January 24, 2013 
Dr. Weil 

The latest update on women's health makes for good eating: three weekly servings of blueberries or strawberries can help cut the risk of a heart attack by as much as one-third. 

This finding follows a review of health information obtained from 93,600 women ages 25 to 43 enrolled in the Nurses' Health Study II. The participants completed questionnaires about their diet every four years for 18 years. 

In analyzing the data, the researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health and the UK's University of East Anglia, noted that women who reported eating the most berries had a heart attack risk that was 32 percent lower than those who ate blueberries or strawberries only once a month or less, even if their diets were otherwise rich in fruits and vegetables. 

The berries may have made the difference because of the anthocyanins they contain - the investigators said that these naturally occurring compounds may help dilate arteries, counter the buildup of plaque and provide other cardiovascular benefits. 

The berries' positive effects were apparently independent of other heart attack risk factors, such as age, high blood pressure, family history of heart attack, body mass, exercise, smoking, caffeine or alcohol intake. 

The study was published in the January 15, 2013 issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Dr. Weil's take? This is very good - but not surprising - news about the health benefits of blueberries and strawberries. They are both anti-inflammatory, good sources of fiber, rich in flavonoids and carotenoids, and offer immune-boosting antioxidant activity. 

Dr. Weil enjoys berries and recommends eating them frequently. Because commercial strains of berries may be heavily sprayed with pesticides, however, he recommends buying only organic varieties.
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I recommend that you grow blueberries. They are delicious, fruit-bearing shrubs and they are very easy to grow. 

They are nice contained looking plants (they do get tall) and the berries are easy to harvest. They can be grown in pots and thrive. There are many different varieties bred for all different climates. It is best to research what grows best in your area.

In the Sacramento Valley, several highbush blueberry varieties do well.  Some of those varieties that do well here are Bluecrop, Blue Ray, Cape Fear, Georgia Gem, O'Neal, Ozark Blue, Sharp Blue, Sunshine Blue and especially Reveille. Try out several varieties in your garden so you can extend your harvesting season. This will also improve pollination for a better crop.

Plant blueberries where they are protected from the hot afternoon sun and drying winds. They grow well where Azaleas and Rhododendrons thrive in your garden. They like moist soil, but good drainage with lots of organic matter and mulch. They like the soil to have a ph of 4.5-.55 (which is much more acidic than our soil in the valley), and they will show you an iron deficiency when the ph isn't right. It has been recommended that if planting in pots, moist woodchip mulch be added to the potting medium to help the acidity. Instead of adding peat moss for acidity (which is not sustainable) add leaf mulch, pine needle mulch, sawdust mulch, or ground woodchip mulch. 

Now, you can just enjoy eating fresh blueberries right out of your own garden. If you have too many, they freeze well or can be dried for storage.

My friend Susan Setzler in Virginia shared this hint: When you dry blueberries, you need to prick each one a little so they don't dry on the outside and not get dry in the middle (case hardening) and then they will spoil in storage, unless you freeze them.

Vermicomposting

We first got our Worm Factory Worm Bin in July right after the holiday. We set-up our bin on July 8th and on the 10th our live worms (Eisenia fetida or red wigglers) arrived in a relatively small cardboard box with holes punched all around it.

I hurried to the door soon after it was delivered around 4pm to retrieve it from the hot front porch. The high temperature was 106 degrees that afternoon. That was the hottest day we had had. Very unfortunate. I know the mail trucks don't have air-conditioning. We had watched the Worm Factory video about vermicomposting and we knew that the worms handle cool temperatures much better than warm and 106 degrees is very hot - too hot for the red wigglers. 

After bringing them into the house and opening the cardboard box to cool down for awhile, I opened the sack they came in and poured them into their new home. They were pretty limp and not active. Now was the watch and wait period to find out if they could recover from a horrendous mail trip like that. My take on it is that many of them (1000 to start I think) did not make it. After their rest period they did not go through the handful of kitchen scraps as expected. It has been very slow going.

We bought the 5 tray Worm Factory bin and of course started with one tray. Finally in Sept.-Oct. we graduated to two trays, with the first tray still containing egg shells with what we hoped were nests of babies and also some material that was still not completely broken down. 

Finally in December, after adding a third tray, I was able to make my first harvest of our very own worm castings. This is one trays worth of worm castings. This is so exciting!

The worm bin and its contents are so fresh. It smells good - a very very mild earthy scent and feels good in the hands. The small pieces that are not dark brown in the mixture are pieces of egg shells (brown eggs). I crushed many of the shells, but also added some that were half shells as well as small pieces. Part of the mix sent with the Worm Factory kit included some small pumice rocks which a couple can still be seen.  No other material is evident in our very first harvest of worm castings. Pumice rock and Coconut coir block for worm bedding came with the bin, as well as a thermometer, a scraper and the yellow rake shown in the picture above.

Below is some great information from the Worm Factory - there is a difference between Vermicompost and worm castings.

First you need to determine if you have true worm castings, or vermicompost.  What's the difference? 

Worm castings are essentially worm poop.  Worm castings are the result of the red wiggler worm eating the decomposed organic matter and passing it through their gut.

Vermicompost is a combination of worm castings, decomposed, and/or partially decomposed organic matter that has not yet been processed by the worms.  Vermicompost may contain some organic matter that is still identifiable.  Generally, vermicompost will mostly be made up of worm castings.  However, if you still have a small amount of decomposing organic matter it will decide how you store your vermicompost.

The partially decomposed organic matter in vermicompost continues to break down during storage. If you store actively decomposing organic matter in an airtight container it will cause anaerobic decomposition, which results in foul-smelling, plant-toxic by-products.  Also if the vermicompost dries out it prevents further decomposition, and often causes it to become impossible to re-wet (hydrophobic).

The best way to store vermicompost is to first dry it until it is damp, not wet.  This will ensure sufficient air penetration through the material to prevent anaerobia.  Once it is damp, you will want to store it in a non-airtight container.  If you store it this way the vermicompost slowly stabilizes in an aerobic environment and has a shelf life of more than three years.

Storing true worm castings is much easier, since they are essentially stable and can be both stored in airtight packages and dried to 5% moisture with no loss of plant growth impact.

In order to test if you have vermicompost or true worm castings you can seal a small handful in an airtight plastic bag.  When you open the bag after a few days and it smells like deep, earthy soil, then you have worm castings.  If it smells putrid and foul then you have vermicompost and should be stored in a non-airtight container.

Home Grown Tomatoes

This is great!  Especially since it is tomato season!!!

Thank you John Denver!



Enjoy!

Wonderful Wonderful Raspberries and More!

Raspberries and Boysenberries

It is that time of the year when fresh raspberries are available from early summer to fall when you grow them yourself.  Raspberries are easy to grow in most places. At this time I just grow the red raspberries, but plan on planting some black raspberries (which are firmer than the red) in the future. 

A year ago I attempted to transplant many of my raspberry plants to a bit shadier bed that I created under the edge of my grape arbor. The transplanted plants are growing okay (especially if I keep up the watering), but they are not producing this year. I was planning on moving some boysenberries into the old raspberry bed this year. These boysenberries where bred over a number of years for this area - in fact for my very neighborhood. Oh, and I forgot to mention that they are thornless.  

The old raspberry bed is producing lots of berries everyday (Yumm!), so I will leave them alone until the end of the season.  I have been eating them for breakfast on a little cottage cheese. Here was today's bowl of raspberries and a couple boysenberries. So wonderful as they melt in my mouth. And of course it is hard not to graze when picking a basket of them. They have such a rich delicate flavor. Raspberries are so easy to harvest and the tiny tiny thorns/stickers are almost indiscernible. The only time I feel them is when I am breaking/snapping out old dead canes. Yet, I have solved this problem by buying a new raspberry cane cutter. It is a very cool tool with a curved blade that makes it easy to snap/cut out old canes. It was a Christmas present to myself this last year. 

According to an October/November 2002 Mother Earth article, "Raspberries are high in fiber and vitamin C, and are a rich source of the anticancer compound ellagic acid. Black raspberries are especially fruitful in antioxidant and cancer preventive agents. Fresh raspberries are highly perishable and are best used within one to two days for peak quality, flavor and nutrient content. Rinse berries with cold water just before using."

This is my first year for getting a good crop from the boysenberries. I have only had them for a little over a year. I have been freezing them to bake a boysenberry pie. I am sure I have enough now, but they keep coming on, which is a wonderful surprise.

My blackberries will start later in the summer, which is nice. I have had these plants for many many years and they are thornless too! I freeze lots of blackberries every year.

I use my frozen berries in pies, cobblers and muffins. Sprinkle over cottage cheese, ice cream or pancakes and they make for a real treat.  Or one can make a quick raspberry (or any one of these berries) berry spread by mixing 2 tablespoons crushed berries with 1/3 cup soft butter and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.

So, the main question I am currently pondering is what kind of berry (other than blueberries - which I have 2 plants already) will I plant next and where in my very intensively planted backyard city farm/garden will they live?

I hope you seriously entertain the idea of growing berries. They are so easy to grow and offer wonderful rewards.

Things Grow Big in My Garden

I have had this pink grapefruit tree for about 30 years. It is so dependable. We just have to remember to harvest which is most of the year. I think the down time between crops is about 2 months. I can live with that!

That is an iphone next to the grapefruit.

This photo shows that it is about 6 inches in diameter
and also 6 inches tall.
Every year we get a few of these huge fruits.
The lemons are really large too.

I believe Spring is finally here!

This month we have had a lot of rain and thunderstorms, (much needed after such a dry winter with no snow to speak of in the mountains) and even had hail one day. A very cold and dramatic April it has been. A true 'April Showers for May Flowers' event!! 

As a consequence of all this cold weather, our usual spring plant date of March 23rd has been put off. I do believe that it may now be warm enough to plant my peppers, tomatoes and eggplant. They have (well some of them) been hanging out in our greenhouse and the others I will have to purchase still. 

Another reason to NOT get right out in the garden, is that everything around my raised beds is all disrupted with some hardscaping construction. My sweet husband pulled out the old redwood walkways that were starting to be a hazard to us due to their age and he is replacing them with concrete cobblestone on one part and we are working on another section to blend in with the brick walkways. 

I do have leeks, garlic, green onions and carrots that are doing well. I just pulled out my Kale last week that I had planted in early spring last year. Of course there are perennial plants and herbs that are always doing their thing too. 

The big job ahead of me is completely cleaning out the greenhouse and rearranging some of the furniture and staging (shelves). I couldn't do it before now because I couldn't leave the plants out over an extended time in the cold. 

I believe next week will be clean and plant time. It should be energizing, since working with the soil helps generate/stimulate the serotonin in our brains which makes us feel good (happy) and takes any blues away. The other part of it that makes me feel good is just being close to nature. It is always so satisfying. I will have pictures to share next blog post.

I do have to say that lots of baking has been going on in this extended winter season.  Each loaf is an experiment with different grains and seeds, and some with sourdough and some not. We have several favorites, but all were wonderful. Here are a few of the loaves.

This first loaf is made with whole wheat/unbleached, sourdough starter and two-seeds (sunflower and sesame seed).

This loaf is another sourdough whole wheat loaf with molasses and three-seeds (sunflower, sesame, poppy seeds).

This is called Indian Bread. This is a three-grain (whole wheat, unbleached, cornmeal) with sesame seeds.

This is a three-seed (sunflower, sesame, poppy seed), whole wheat/unbleached loaf.

This is a a three-seed (sunflower, pumpkin, poppy seed), whole wheat/unbleached loaf. I added the seeds after the first kneed, which leaves more on the top. Yumm!

This is another whole wheat/unbleached loaf with sunflower and sesame seeds.






This last loaf is a three-seed (sunflower, sesame, poppy seed) whole wheat/unbleached loaf. It had about 1/2 tablespoon of liquid too much, so the center is just a little sunken. It sure was wonderful though!!! I think this last loaf was our favorite so far. We eat a slice for desert. It is that good!

Tomorrow I will make another loaf, but don't know what yet. It will probably be sourdough, since my starter is bubbling really well tonight after being used for sourdough buckwheat pancakes this morn. 

But soon my energies will be focused more on the garden! It is all part of creating our own environment. So, I will soon post garden pics.

Is Spring really here?

The Vernal Equinox

Ah, it is spring! The Vernal Equinox, which is the beginning of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere was on March 20, 2012, at 1:14 A.M. (EDT).

The word equinox is derived from the Latin words meaning “equal night.” The spring and fall equinoxes are the only dates with equal daylight and dark as the Sun crosses the celestial equator.

It is this season that brings increasing daylight, warming temperatures, and the rebirth of our flora and fauna.
Spring is all about "new" - new life and growth!

According to folklore, you can stand a raw egg on its end on the equinox. Is this true?

One spring, at the minute of the vernal equinox, (Pacific Time) I tried this. For about 1/2 the day my egg stood on its own end, then I took it down. Try this yourself and let me know what happens!


  
We can all envision what we think of when spring arrives. Maybe it is the tender new light green growth we see, or the smell of warming soil or a flower in bloom, the feel of warm rain or a light breeze. 

Spring is also the time when green buds appear and blooms cover many trees, birds are active and insects buzz by, and flowers begin to bloom. Daffodils, Lily of the Valley,  and other spring flowers provide a sight for sore eyes after a long cold gray winter.

The vernal, or spring, equinox signals the beginning of nature’s renewal in the Northern Hemisphere.

Gardeners have been waiting for this day to arrive. Winter provides lots of time to dream, to look through garden catalogs and decide what new things to grow this year. This is spring, the beginning of a new growing season and a time to again be in harmony with Mother Nature.

A beautiful garden shed

All the siding is on and our garden shed is ready for its first bit of paint. It will be painted to coordinate with the studio building next to it. We need to get the paint on to protect the wood now that we are heading into winter soon. I really do like the natural wood, but we are trying to protect it as well as have it blend into its space with the potting bench, greenhouse and studio next to it.

This is the front side our new garden shed.  Nice!

So, it is almost time to clean out the greenhouse so I can set up for intensive propagation of winter veggies and then spring crops.

The vegetables still think it is summer and are producing just fine. The peppers are ripening the way I like them best - red!!  We are growing hot, medium and mild (bell types) and they are all finally maturing.

The zucchini plants are sending out lots of babies and some giants that hide from me. The three different types of zucchini are all small here in this picture. That is a very small berry basket. I am not sure how much longer the plants will last though because the heavy dew in the mornings is helping to weaken them.
 
This is a nice time of the year for growing plants in general though. The ones that don't "love" the heat of summer are just reviving themselves with a good rain and nice temperatures. Asters are blooming and roses are blooming again as well and native iris's are popping their heads out of the ground. It is a new season as we see these changes occurring in the nature around us. To garden is a wonderful occupation.

Planting Onions, Leeks and Garlic

A week or so ago I planted a few of my onion starts along with a bunch of carrots I started from seed. So yesterday I bought 6 packs of onion and leek starts,  as well as seed garlic.

I keep records of when I start seeds for "starts" but don't seem to record when I plant all the time. Especially with something like alliums which get planted several times a year. But it is the time of the year for onions, leeks, shallots and garlic. Or rather, it is a good time to plant them.

The onions starts are bunching onions.  I like bunching onions because they last forever.  They divide at ground level and remain scallions (green onions) forever. They're also perennial. Yeah! I like bunching onions!

Of course I got leeks. I bought American Flag and King Richard leeks. They really are my favorite allium! I love leeks for so many things - part of steamed veg. dishes, soups, sauteed in olive oil, and especially a thick layer of leeks on my homemade pizzas.  They are the best!!!

Here is a little video about planting onions, leeks and garlic from Peaceful Valley Farms in Grass Valley CA.

The tool shed is coming along as well as the garden

During the extreme heat, I haven't gone out to the garden until the sun goes down and then have so much to do in the garden that I didn't get any pictures of the shed progress for awhile.

I planted two tomatillos (since you need two for fertilization) along the fence by the nectarine (Fantasia), the lemon verbena and the Royal Blenheim apricot.  They are finally making little paper balls after being in flower what seens like months. I had planted tomatillos in this area last year, but I completely weeded and changed the bed, as well as adding over 4 inches of mulch, so the tomatillos did not reseed here. I was surprised.

I was more than surprised when about 6-10 tomatillo plants volunteered in my eggplant bed which is across the walkway from the fence bed where the new tomatillos are growing. I guess I did not mulch this bed as deeply. These volunteers are very healthy and trying to take over the whole bed - which I guess they kind of are.  Below is a picture of the volunteer tomatillo paper balls.

I think they are beautiful!  I am going to have a lot of tomatillos this year. I will broil them in the oven on each side for 5 minutes and blend them slightly and freeze much of them in portions to use during the year as salsa, in pasta dishes and soups. Yumm!

One tip: pull the skins off as you pick them or later you may not be able to get them off because the inside skin has a sticky surface that adheres them really well. Just rinse and don't worry about the stickiness before you broil.

The tool shed now has a nice roof.  Good thing because it is really overcast today and was part of yesterday. So, that means it has cooled down too!!! Yea! 

The tool shed also has a very nice dutch door. It will be painted to match the studio nearby.

The trim will be pained gray and the center parts of the door will be light blue. I especially like the hardware.

Here the door is open. This is nice because I can reach lots of the hand tools I use just through this top part. I have a nice small, but long shelf on the right and lots of shelves on the left.

The next pictures will show big changes in the look of the tool shed when the siding goes on.  Hopefully I will have those soon!!!  I need to get this finished so I can clean out the greenhouse to make it ready for winter seed starting and keeping a few other plants happy during the winter. I will be using the solar electric for fans, lighting and a heater for warmth if need be in the greenhouse. I have more carrots starting in the greenhouse now, but need to start many more fall plants soon.

Fall is now coming on fast!

Next step in construction of the tool shed!

So progress is continuing on the tool shed.  Here are the latest photos.

Nice shelves of one side of shed.

This photo really shows the proximity of the tool shed to the potting bench area. And I also get a real feel of how the tool shed is going to work out.

 The plywood is now covered with tar paper before it ultimately it will be covered with shingles.

The door has been cut out of the paper, so it is looking better! Can hardly wait for the next step.

Tool Shed construction continues

The construction is continuing, with the basic framing completed now. This photo was taken while I was standing in front of my potting bench. The door framing is obvious in this picture. The compost pile is visible through the framing in this picture also.

Below the sheathing is on the back. And some of the detail framing is in place.

 

The progress of the tool shed gets me excited to have an efficient seed production venue.

 

So, I have been planting seeds. In seed packs I have planted bunching onions, pumpkins, zucchini, zinnias and most recently carrots. Here is one of the 6 packs of newly emerging carrot sprouts.They are so cute and delicate. Tomorrow  I want to start some leeks for the garden.

We have been harvesting fruit and vegetables from the garden daily. This is the latest summer garden I have ever had in 30 years of gardening. We haven't harvested one pepper yet. As can be seen in this picture, we have three varieties of zucchini growing. The green and yellow type is new to me this year. Of course we have lemons (they are an all year harvest item in our garden). The tomatoes are so late, but they are coming on nicely and are very delicious!!

We always have plenty of blackberries from our thornless blackberry patches. I pick about a cup or two a day. We have them for breakfast and desert. We had a good raspberry crop this year too and got a few boysenberries on the new plants from my friend Nina.

But the birds (with the help of the rats) have wiped out our entire seedless Thompson grape harvest this year. I was going to bag some of the clusters, but they got to them before I could get the bags up. They were relentless, no matter how many times I would shoo the birds away from the grape arbor. We haven't gotten figs again this year thanks to the wildlife. I am saving a few, that is why we are allowing the fig branches to hang so close to the tool shed and over the whole pepper bed, just hoping to get a few figs.This fig tree was planted in 1920 and every year the figs would drop off or dry up because we just didn't eat that many. I made jam a few years, but ...   We always had way more than we could use or share. The same for the grapes, we always had tons, and now last year and this year we end up with none for ourselves. Really a bummer. No more bird nests in my yard next year.

I just dug up our whole potato 4'X4' bed. I have decided to move the potato bed this year.  It takes constant awareness to track the changing growth/shade patterns of the trees that surround the veggie garden. So, I am making an adjustment this year. I will be planting the onions, leeks and carrots in the old potato bed this year. I am moving the potatoes to a sunnier bed and I think I will get a larger potato harvest next year.

Potting Shed Construction

The potting bench is now completed. Here it is with the new canvas awning. I chose parchment for the color so light would come through and it does. It is also waterproof which will keep the area so much cleaner. Now it is fun to start seed during the hot months of the year, as it is way too hot for starting seed in the greenhouse at this time of the year.
 

So, here it is - completed and a beauty and so very functional.
Started carrot seed in six-packs two days ago because it is too hot out in the garden now and I have way too much mulch on all my beds at this time of the year for a shallow seeder.

This picture shows where the new tool shed is being built next to my potting bench.

This next picture shows the roof line of the new tool shed which matches the roof line of the studio on the left (blue shingled structure). The next set of pictures (when it gets sheathing) will really demonstrate how it is going to look. Hopefully this will be in about two days.

We had Spring in July!

Yes, we have had a mixed up year when it comes down to Mother Nature and our environment. After an extremely cool/cold/wet March through May we got sizzling temps in June and then July provided us with Spring time temperatures. It was a blessing. All those things we weren't able to do during our regular spring could be done (or most of them) in July. 

I was able to clean out all those garden storage spots with piles of old plastic pots, some full of soil and much more. Now I am looking for a home for all those pots and I mean LOTS of pots.  I cleaned out and put together all of those broken pieces of terracotta pots which we all save for planting. I am saving many of them for artistic endeavors in making homemade designer pots. Someday I will have time for those types of projects. Oh, I found all kinds of treasures in the garden and a bunch of stuff I was able to throw away too!

I designed and my dear husband built a new 8' long potting bench that is absolutely beautiful - a work of art. I already have my containers of compost, worm casting compost, seed mixture, and general soil underneath. Then there is the vermiculite, sand, kelp and other ingredients stored under the new potting bench.

The shade cloth suspended above is what is reflecting the light above. I am calling this area my potting shed because it now has a shade cloth suspended over it, but will soon have a new awning installed.

 

I have seeds starting for onions and zucchini squash, plus basil and some ornamentals too.

Soon we are building a tool closet/shed to the right of this photo for obviously my tools and all the things that help me in the garden. Then it will truly be a potting shed!!!

Of course now, it is time to clean out the greenhouse. There is always a list of chores waiting in the garden.

Finally planting a Spring garden in May and June

So we finally got some spring weather about three weeks ago, which came right after our full day of hail! Mother Nature is not happy! It sure is very evident this year with all this crazy weather and events around the world.

Alright, back to my little piece of nature. We have a city lot with some very old fruit trees and many I planted years ago. The (white) fig tree was planted in 1920 and the Santa Rosa plum was planted some time between 1920-1950. There are two Loquots, one old and another was a baby volunteer, a Meyer and Eureka lemon tree,  a pink grapefruit tree, a large Bay tree, Vitex tree, and Elder tree. There is a three year old Suncrest peach, a two year old Fantasia nectarine and a two year old Royal Blenheim apricot (replacing my old 25yr. old apricot that died a couple years ago).

We have several blackberry plants in several beds and this picture shows some of their pretty flowers that will bring fruit soon.

The raspberry bed is shown below. I have had it for several years and it is finally acting happy. Hope it bears well this year. I think I love raspberries best of all!

This next picture is of our new boysenberry bed, planted in mid April. This picture was taken 13 days ago and the plants have filled out significantly since then. I haven't built the supportive structure to hold up the vines yet. All the berries are doing well this year.

My red potatoes are looking really good in this picture. You can see the Calendula (yellow flowers) in the background. Calendula is a wonderful healing herb. Really good for the skin.

The bush beans (below) were planted as young starters. They sat here doing nothing for a couple hot weeks, but now they have buds and are happy. Since this picture, I had to separate them more, because when I planted them I thought they were climbing beans which can be planted closer together.

So this is a little abbreviated inventory of some of my sustainable urban gardens.

Planting the vegetable garden and wildlife

Every season that I put in a new crop I mulch the bed, stake the starters, lay a few sticks across the bed to keep out any cats and look at my new beautiful bed with awe.

This month has been a different story.

My cat is a house cat, because cats threaten and kill wildlife. I welcome wildlife on my property. I share figs, grapes, loquats, and plums with squirrels and many varieties of birds. Possums come through here but do no damage and the raccoons wash their hands in my water features which can make it a little muddy, but they do no damage. Many birds are nesting right now and there is a army of cats that belong to neighbors (or no) that is patrolling our neighborhood. I used to tell them that they were welcome to sit in the sun in my yard, but no more. This year they took advantage of my good spirit.

I didn't start planting my heat loving vegetables until almost two weeks ago. I started with peppers, because even though we were still getting this unusual cold, they always seem to be forgiving of the weather. So, the long pepper bed was planted with the Habaneros, Jalapenos, Poblano, Anaheim, all the way down the hotness scale to Sweet Bell's or California Wonder Bell peppers.

Oh, I always love my pepper bed. It is a raised bed so I am able to crowd them in together a little and knowing the growth habits of the different varieties allows me to know who needs a little more room. I am a pepper queen, as they always do so well. They will keep producing until sometime after Thanksgiving or after Christmas in a mild weather year.

Of course they are planted with organic everything - my own compost and mulch (leaves and compost that isn't as broken down). We do have good soil to start with, river bottom soil as the river is just about a mile away. And they like getting only partial day full sun, but late afternoon shade in our hot California summers.

Back to the kicker!
After I plant a new bed I just enjoy watching it, but the next morning I went out to look at my beautiful bed and found a place where digging had occurred, the mulch was piled in an unusual pile. Immediately upon inspection I found the culprit was a cat. Cat feces are not healthy in an edible garden or any garden. Many people try: Cayenne pepper (works until the first rain washes it away) or mothballs (toxic), wiring up a low-current (non-lethal) fence or motion sensor water gun (very expensive). Cats HATE to poop in anything that is wet or step on anything that sticks to or pokes their feet, so some people use chicken wire. My neighbor Cindy resorted to chicken wire. The problem is you can't keep adding mulch or you are just covering the chicken wire and then it is useless and when your plants grow up you can't take the chicken wire out of the bed for the rest of the season.

My method of laying a few branches (saved from pruning) like "pick up sticks", did not work. So I decided to make the bed indestructible to cats. It looks like one of those torture beds seen in films from ancient times. No cat is going to want to come near my peppers anymore. Of course, once the plants fill out I can remove the weapons of torture. Unfortunately is does not look like a perfect Sunset Magazine bed, but it is a real way to keep your beds from becoming contaminated with cat poop!

For some reason it is hard to see the vertical sticks sticking up all over the bed. It is more evident on my paste tomato bed filled with Amish paste and Sausage paste tomatoes which a I planted a couple days after the peppers.

The tomato cage helps to keep them out too. It is hard to see the cage, but it is homemade (out of heavy wire fencing with 6" openings) and has been used for more than 20 years. So, this was an easier bed to secure. Here is a close-up below of the mass of upright sticks!

It also helps to have lots and lots of sticks/stakes. They are useful for all kinds of things in the garden, from this deterring cats use, to staking and supporting new starts, supporting plants laden with heavy fruit, to becoming the uprights for shade cloths (I just use a staple gun to hold the shade cloth to the stakes) during different times when a plant maybe stressed from the sun.