As the crispy dry autumn morphs into wet green winter here in our summer-dry climate zone, I start to awaken from hibernation along with the frogs and salamanders. Evergreen leaves are glossed up with the first rains, the air is freshened and the Northern California hills go from dusty beige to vibrant green again. DecemberContinue reading “December Gardening: seasonal tasks and harvests”
Category Archives: Harvest
‘Tis the Season for The Olive Harvest, Persimmons and Winter Warmth Without Fossil Fuel
In our garden here in Sonoma County, California, the holiday season also marks festive activities like harvesting the olives for milling into oil, picking persimmons and feijoas and admiring the fall color of the parrotia persica. Winter pruning, wildflower seed scattering, tree planting, and a reflection on going carbon neutral are on the winter garden tasks list.
Winter Garden Reflections
The winter shadows are long across the landscape, creating dramatic patterns amongst the fallen leaves. We’ve awakened to ice on the bird fountains many mornings and felt grateful for the warmth of our wood stove at night. Even Puffball Kitty, well-outfitted in her full-puff winter coat, and not put off by a bit of coldContinue reading “Winter Garden Reflections”
October Garden–fall harvests, winter crops, tucking the worms in & sharing the abundance
The October garden is a wild thing–overgrown and intertwined–with the last of summer’s exuberance. The squash tendrils have crept like fog and pulled themselves into uncharted lands and left behind bizarre shapes in their path. Cooler nights are leaving little patches of plant cemeteries littered here and there, joining the falling leaves of the grandfatherContinue reading “October Garden–fall harvests, winter crops, tucking the worms in & sharing the abundance”
A Summertime Saunter Through the Garden — butterflies, pruning winter squash, hand-pollinating corn, saving seeds
Stroll thru the summer garden with me and see some butterflies, help prune the winter squash, hand-pollinate the corn, save seeds for next year, put out some free cucumbers for neighbors, taste a ripe Asian pear, and ponder how to keep the squirrel from harvesting all the walnuts.
Summer Garden Harvests In An Extreme Year
Given the extreme drought we’re dealing with here in Sonoma County and the West Coast of the U.S. in general, I’m especially grateful that we still have some sustaining food harvests from the garden this summer. Growing your own food in a summer dry climate always requires some irrigation. If you’ve been reading this blog,Continue reading “Summer Garden Harvests In An Extreme Year”
Lavender Harvest!
The highlight of the garden right now is a waving patch of purple, aromatic and buzzing with life. It’s time for the lavender harvest! We planted this patch fourteen years ago and it has outlasted our expectations. I pondered back then what we could plant that the gophers would leave alone, that was drought-tolerant andContinue reading “Lavender Harvest!”
Dry Soil, But Delicious Cherries
You’ve probably read about the extreme drought here in much of the western U.S., or you are dealing with it yourself and have the biceps to show for it (carrying greywater buckets). The field grasses in our low-lying spot in Sonoma County, California, are turning brown and crackly now, and it feels like late summer,Continue reading “Dry Soil, But Delicious Cherries”
Asparagus and Oyster Mushroom Harvest
The asparagus is starting to pop up! And not a minute too soon, as the winter broccoli is starting to flower and frankly, I was getting tired of eating it. This is nice timing with some King Oyster mushrooms just now fruiting. They are being grown from a kit by Field & Forest Products —Continue reading “Asparagus and Oyster Mushroom Harvest”
Let’s Have a Walk Through the Early Spring Garden!
Take a walk through the early spring garden of the-compulsive-gardener.com in Sonoma County. Early blooming flowers of daffodils, flowering quince and currants, rosemary, grape hyacinth, cerinthe. See how the overwintering vegetables are coming along: leeks, onions, beets, garlic. Hope you enjoy the virtual garden tour!