Winter Garden

Garlic is sprouting up, some leeks are hanging on (forgetting about them and then having them trampled may not help them), and snap peas are green! The chickens have some babies, and the chilacayote is going crazy. As I write, I am making some squash gratin for a pot luck. Just last week we used the finger limes for some marmalade.
As the rains come some of the natives are beginning to pop up again. We went to Annie's Annuals a couple weekends ago and picked up some longer term plants to incorporate into both the front and the back yards. The most interesting of which is probably the Puya, a variety of which that will take 8 or so years to bloom. We have some others to attract pollinators into the back, like a couple of new lavenders (a white and a pink), and a matilija poppy.
The rain and storm today were beautiful. Seeing ice (hail) in the garden was strange for California, but I loved it just the same.

Update on the pasta sauce.

Amazing! It was so fresh and was even a bit spicy. For everyone else's tastes, I think I would tone the pepper down a little, but otherwise it was REALLY, REALLY GOOD!!!

First tomato sauce of the season!

Harvest of today's fresh heirlooms and cherries.


Onions, garlic, golden thyme, basil, sage and a bay leaf from our garden.



Cut up and ready for the heat.


Mashed and "water" freed ready to heat.

Condensing and bubbling!

Ready to blend!!!

One jar ready to eat!

Interesting article and an update.

First of all I just read an interesting article about disappearing bumble bees. Thought I would share it here.

Secondly, here we are in Summer! Beautiful as it is, my spring plants have died and the garden in front is looking rather empty. The chickens loved it when I pulled the dead plants out. Snails and pincher bugs galore!
The back is looking beautiful. All of the many tomato plants are growing nicely (20 - 30ish). I harvested my first zucchini the other night as well! Two of my hens want to be mommies, and several of the trees are fruiting beautifully. The borage I planted (companion plant for tomatoes) is looking beautiful, and my incorporation of flowers into the back is coming along nicely. Soon I will plant a cinderella pumpkin in the back and some potatoes out front. Lots of gardening to come!

A few photos.

These photos are from earlier in February.



Various things to plant and Marmalade.



J trimming the Lemon Tree.



Buddha's Hand Citron from our tree. We used it in Orange, Lemon & Citron Marmalade.

Sunshine on my face and dirt under my nails.

Ah, sunshine. The rain is just enough to make our soil soft but not muddy. The temperature is the perfect place of being cool enough that I am not sweating too much while I work but warm enough to not need a jacket. The beginning of "that other season" in our two seasoned climate.
The new year has brought the adventure of attending multiple California Rare Fruit Grower Scion Exchanges. We took the opportunity to visit friends and family from Santa Rosa to SLO and even to introduce them to the "room full of people fighting over sticks" as we jokingly call it.
J has been working hard grafting the scions onto our existing trees in the back yard. He has even been wearing his headlamp at night to do it!
Yesterday we did a work day at EPACS in the garden run by Collective Roots. Olivia and I tapped the dirt out of pots in the greenhouse and J worked on draining a pond.
Back in December we tossed some poppy seeds (red oriental poppies and pink hungarian breadseed poppies) all around the yard. They are coming up all over, and hopefully they will be beautiful!
Soon I will be starting some Zennias (including green), Bells of Ireland, and some sunflowers. We have already started Marigolds (which will be fed to the chickens for brighter yolks), petunias, and various heirloom tomatoes. The tomatoes will be sold at the Earth Day event coming up in Cupertino!
This afternoon we planted carrots (french round and plain french), red and white radishes, turnips, and kohlrabi. We clipped the chicken's wings, and J covered my hoop houses to protect the soon to be seedlings.
If feels like spring is upon us, and I am looking forward to a fruitful harvest!