Check out the link on the right (also below) for an illustrated guide to dividing iris.
http://gardening.about.com/od/perennials/ss/DividingIrid.htm
Page 11 of 12
Maile Arnold, a longtime friend and mentor, has an amazing garden that thrives on only two amendments: fresh, home made mulch, and marble dust (calcium).
These photos hardly do justice to the lushness and vigor displayed by her plants, either direct seeded or grown in her greenhouse. I found beans running up old chicken coop parts, cucumbers rambling out of the beds, and lot’s of beautiful flowers to attract beneficial insects.
Unlike most vegetable gardens that greedily consume large amounts of expensive fertilizers, pest controls, and human labor. Maile adheres to only one simple principle: Organic matter. Her claim, backed up by her garden is that healthy soils rich in organic matter feed themselves by way of all the beneficial organisms and fungi. Maile chips up everything that she trims and weeds, and also received loads of brush from landscapers. You can think of Maile’s soil like a bank account. Every time that she harvests something (a withdrawl) she adds some mulch (a deposit).
When soils are high in organic matter, they not only have much higher levels of nitrogen fixing bacteria, but they also hold water without getting soggy. As a result, Maile only waters about 5 minutes a day with half gallon drippers every foot or two. This is far less water then most of the gardens I maintain. Granted Maile lives in a fairly cool and protected area, and she has been adding compost and mulch to her soil for over 20 years. She told me that the first year she worked the garden the corn only grew to be a foot tall, as there was very little topsoil or organic matter. Many of the residencial soils in Sonoma County are disturbed and deficient in both organic matter and key minerals like calcium.
My favorite compost products are made by Sonoma Compost (at the dump, check out the link on the right). They have an array of certified organic products that are monitored to ensure they heat up enough to kill any weed seeds. The Screened Early Mulch is the closest thing to Maile’s home made blend. Though stinky, it looks good and is inexpensive.
I just returned from a 5 day backpack to Grizzly Lake in the Trinity Alps. Friends Andrew and Melissa and I also climbed the tallest peak in the Alps, Thompson Peak.
Grizzly Lake is a 200ft deep lake that was carved out by a glacier. The Forest Service stopped stocking around 20 years ago, but there remains a population of brook trout. I was able to catch and release 7 of these trout on dry flies with the help of a Shasta native I met there, who showed me a few tricks.
After reaching Grizzly lake via a treacherous 500ft scramble up a granite face beside a 300ft waterfall, we embarked on our climb of Thompson Peak (9000ft). This 5 mile journey shoots up a steep rocky creek to a ridge, which we followed to the summit block. After
about 100ft of sketchy climbing moves up loose granite, we reached the peak. Atop Thompson we were astonished to find clouds of butterflies floating around us. This spot, away from predators, served as the perfect mating ground.
The best part of our hike was the phenomenal wildflower show. The lush ravines and meadows were blanketed with leopard lilies, penstemon, shooting stars, indian paint brush, mock orange, and many others. The vibrant contrasts and the diversity of flora inspired me as a gardener. As humans, we can only emulate the majesty of nature. 
On the last night I camped next to the cabin of an early settler named
Jorstad. Throughout that night, sleeping out on my tarp, I was haunted by numerous animals hovering around my bedroll. One of which was a black bear, with its heavy breathing and crashing gait. My companions and I continue to wonder if Jorstad’s ghost might have played a role in this night of torment. While I’m not superstitious, I don’t think I’ll be camping next to any old abandoned cabins anytime soon.
Side Note on Facebook:
I’ve just joined Facebook with trepidation. I am very happy to connect with old friends, but I’m ambivalent about the social effects these sorts of institutions have on our culture.
What’s interesting about Facebook is that it can give you the feeling of having friends without having to exert the effort that such a social network would require in the real world. I wonder how much of people’s motivations to use Facebook are about feeling liked, and feeling like they have an audience, both of which are much easier to obtain virtually then in real life. I’m sure there have been studies devoted to this. I think that Facebook is sort of like the internal combustion engine, it has the potential to be both extremely useful, and extremely harmful. It is easy to be cynical about it, as a friend put it “this pathetic community of online social climbers”, but I feel that the topic warrants further debate. Check out this link for the con side of the argument:
http://fliptomato.wordpress.com/2006/11/18/facebook-destroys-culture/
Here is a photo of a pond that we are converting to a dry creekbed. The arrival of an infant to this residence meant that the 4ft deep pond had to go. Rather than remove the pond we decided to fill it with gravel and add fieldstone and river rock on top to simulate a seasonal creek.
First, ten years worth of muck had to be cleaned out. I used a sump pump to irrigate the landscape with the pond water, then got on my rubber boots and started muckraking. Literally. While gross, this scum is actually tremendous fertilizer.
I enlisted my friends Andrew and Melissa to help me with the muck, and then the rock. The three of us slogged through the dirty work, then moved and tamped three and a half yards of gravel road base. Next came 8 large boulders, which we carefully arranged. We imagined how water might move through the creek, and shape the geography.
Spring has arrived in Sonoma County, and the valleys are ablaze with mustard flowers and fruit tree blossoms. All of the warm weather we had in January seemed to usher spring in early, though it is still getting quite cold at night.
Despite the lush landscape we are currently enjoying, many of my clients are concerned about the drought we are currently in, as well as looming water rationing. Consulting these clients, I have been proposing a number of different ways that they can reduce their water use. The most obvious step is to re-program irrigation clocks to water less, and less frequently. Next, clients should evaluate different zones of the landscape. Can some annual beds be planted with drought tolerant perennials instead? what about letting some lawn areas go dormant for the summer? My post on removing lawns below covers this strategy, which may entail more work and cost in the short term, but will likely do the most in the long run to reduce the burden on our water resources of all of the steps I’ve mentioned.
I’ve just returned from 2 weeks of camping, climbing and exploring in the Southern California Deserts. My climbing partner and I were blessed with a phenomenal wildflower show. From the desert lily and sand verbena (pictured on left) to the magenta fivespot, many rare flowers graced our hikes and climbs. Flowers thriving in the brutal environment of the Mohave desert, give a drought conscious gardener hope. Scrambling up Hellhole canyon in Anza Borego State Park, we saw hundreds of chuparosa shrubs and thousands of poppies and monkey flowers, as we ascended 1000ft into a treacherous canyon to a hidden oasis.
I spent this last weekend mushroom and wildflower hunting in Salt Point State Park. In stark contrast to the desert, the coastal landscape is lush and full of pacific coast iris (pictured top right), orchids and trillium. Despite getting wet during the storm Saturday night, it was a terrific trip.
I discussed Kourik’s assertion that planting holes should not be amended with my friend Joe Currie the other day (a longtime gardener and nurseryman). I described the studies that have been cited by Kourik and others, many done by Davis, along with other prestigious research institutions. Joe asserted that many of these studies are conducted in good soil, often deep delta soils. Also, he claimed that most of these sorts of studies are focused on agricultural applications, where it’s all about producing as much as possible for every dollar invested. When it comes to the home garden, the gardener is often more concerned with the taste and quality of the fruit and vegetables harvested than the cost versus weight harvested ratio. So the question is, does incorporating compost and or fertilizer in the planting hole improve the quality and taste of fruits and vegetables? Measuring taste and quality presents a challenge, because it is subjective, and thus qualitative. My hypothesis is that more compost does improve the taste and quality of fruits and vegetables.
My idea is to devise an experiment to test this hypothesis and then to solicit local home gardeners as researchers. All of the results could be published and compared online. Any ideas?
I just discovered a terrific blog:
http://www.robertkouriksgardenroots.blogspot.com/ (see blogroll).
On this site Robert Kourik explores many aspects of plant roots and soil science. He holds many views that are at odds with the status quo in landscape gardening today, but are nonetheless both intriguing and backed by solid research.
One such view is that plants can thrive with frequent, small amounts of water applied through drip irrigation. He argues that when drip is run once or twice a week, as is typical, a substantial amount of water is needed just to re-hydrate the soil so that plants can accept water. Kourik claims that watering a small amount daily gives plants better access to moisture. I’m not sure I agree with this theory as I have been a tireless advocate of deep watering to establish deep roots. Kourik alleges, however, that most of the microbial activity in the soil (nature’s fertilizer factories) takes place within the first couple inches of soil, and that frequent irrigation can provide the plants with the same hydration while using less water.
Another controversial view that Kourik holds is that amending planting holes is detrimental to plant health. Again, see the link for more details but the basic idea is that by amending the planting hole you discourage plant roots from spreading and adapting to the native soil. Instead, he claims, roots simply twist around themselves in the amended hole. I have planted thousands of plants in my career as a gardener, and I have utilized Kourik’s method, as well as other more traditional techniques that involve amending planting holes with compost to increase drainage and to encourage the growth of plant roots. Plants that I have planted without amendment have often struggled do to lack of drainage and tight soil that roots simply cannot penetrate. That said, plants in this group that have become established do seem to do better than traditionally planted neighbors. The fact is, every soil is different, and if you have a loose sandy loam, amendment may not be necessary, but if you have a adobe clay, you may have to mix in some organic matter to get anything short of bermuda grass to grow.
Lastly, Kourik warns of the dangers of symphylans, small soil organisms that eat plant roots. He claims that adding compost that is not fully decomposed and adding a layer of mulch over 2 inches can invite these nasty little creatures for which he says there is no know organic solution. I have often advocated a thick layer of leaf matter or the dump’s early mulch to control weeds and build topsoil, but this revelation is making me question the extent to which garden’s should be mulched, and with what. I have researched symphylans a bit and found some worrying studies, but they are mostly focused on agriculture. If you have any information about this little known pest, please post a comment.
Here is a comment on this post from my mom Carol Mitchel:
The root thing is debateable. I agree with you that it all depends on what type of soil you have.Here we have mostly sandy loam with some red adobe. I have planted all of my trees without any amendments. I add the amendments to the top of the soil. I figure the nutrients get washed down to a certain extent. I like the alfalfa hay the best because it builds such beautiful soil while it fertilizes. I think legumes might have other benefits to plants. The research I read in Science News about the hairy vetch actually turning on a couple of genes in tomato plants that caused them to be resistant to certain diseases as well as live longer impressed me. I have been using this in my garden for the last 3 or 4 years with success. I plant the tomatoes amongst the vetch in their wall of waters. Later I cut the vetch and use it for mulch around the tomato plants. I use this in conjunction with my bottles of red water. The bottles provide a little extra heat at night and give the plants the wavelength of light they like.
Evergreen perennials are often fast growing and require periodic pruning to renew them and keep them vigorous. With all the warm weather he had in January things have already started growing and it’s important to remove old growth to make room for new blooms and foliage. Perennials such as penstemon and Santa Barbara daisy benefit from a hard shearing this time of year. I often use a special Japanese serrated knife to speed up this chore. This tool is called a root knife, and is available at leevalley.com , which carries many hard to find gardening tools and accessories. With the root knife you can grab all of the foliage of a plant like catmint with your left hand, and slice off all of the old growth with your right. The new shoots that remain quickly produce new blooms and the plant looks 100% better. Once the danger of hard frost has passed, it will be time to cut back frost tender evergreen shrubs such as fuscias and loropetalums (Chinese fringe flower).
With all the dry weather we’ve been having lately, many of my clients are talking about taking out their lawns, if they haven’t done so already. Milo Mitchel Landscaping specializes in drought tolerant and native landscapes and is therefore perfectly suited to replace your lawn.
There are two main methods of replacing a lawn, and I’ve described them both below:
The first method employs a permaculture technique called sheet mulching. This consists of covering the lawn with a layer of cardboard then mulch and letting the grass turn to compost. When the grass is composted, you poke holes in the cardboard and plant, but this usually takes between 6 and 8 weeks. If you plant too soon, you end up with a lot grass coming back. The main expense of this method is the labor involved with collecting and spreading out the cardboard. It can take a couple of days for one person to collect and spead out cardboard then mulch, taking care to trench around the edges so that the cardboard doesn’t stick up. The main advantage of this method is that you recycle all of the valuable nutrients contained in the layer of sod.
The second method is more typical. This involves rolling up strips of sod and either hauling it away or advertising a free pickup for neighbors who need sod. Once the sod is removed, a load of compost is rototilled in. The main expense of this method is either hauling away the sod and or the the cost of purchasing and rototilling in compost. The load of compost costs around $200 delivered, and the rorotilling takes a half day, and we rent a big tiller for $60. With this method it is easier to plant and the plants tend to get established more quickly as the soil has been loosened for the roots. When my crew and I have done this method in the past for a typical suburban front yard, it has cost between 2 and 3 thousand dollars for the complete landscape, including all plants, as well as labor and materials associated with converting spray to drip irrigation, then mulching. Of course this depends on the size and number of plants that you choose. My estimate is that the first method could save you around 3-5 hundred dollars on installation.