Spring project 2012: planter box

We're planning a couple of home improvement projects around the house this summer. The deck is every couple of years on the list, but not this year. This spring I decided to build a nice planter box. The soil around our house it hard clay. In summer you need a pick to get through it. The year we tried to plant radishes, we got some small deformed radishes trying to bulk up.

For about $250 on new materials (copper pressured treated wood ok for an organic garden, soaker hoses, large screws for outdoor), some material I still had laying around and quiet a bit of new soil, I built a 9ft x 5ft planter box using some tips from Sunset magazine.

We planted tomatoes, various peppers, squash, onions, beans, celery, basil, corn, lettuce and chard. Some must be surviving I hope. To be continued in a few months when we can start enjoying the fruits of our labor.

Going Native Garden Tour

On a hot spring day (92F/ 33C) we toured a couple of native gardens in the San Jose area. Every year, since 2003, the Go-Native-Garden-Tour has been organized in spring. This year there were about 45 participating gardens. We visited about 5 gardens.

The common thread is that all gardens use California native plants and are designed for water conservation. This is especially important this year since water levels have been extremely low. Nearby reservoirs were near empty at the beginning of the winter. I have never seen them that low.

My front lawn has suffered over the past years. In part because I have 3 big trees in front which suck up all the water. Secondly, one summer vacation without proper watering and I have a large open patch in the lawn.

I decided not to redo or reseed, but to slowly replace it with a native garden. For one maintenance is low. Secondly a native garden uses almost no water. Some of the gardeners mention they water a couple of minutes every 4 to 6 weeks. That's just amazing.

We took plenty of pictures of the plans and their nametags. Almost all gardens had every plant labeled with both their Latin name as their common name.

So, what's next? Step one will be to dig up the front lawn and install a drip grid water system. Step two: figure out a simple design with a couple of rocks. Step three: lots of mulch. Step four will be looking for plants. Perhaps something for the fall.

The backyard is a whole other story. For years the main role has been claimed by Mr Clover and his viral cousins taken over the entire yard.

Spring tomatoes

As fall arrived near the end of September, a new crop of tomatoes start growing in our garden. The tomato plants on the side of the house are in shock throughout the hot summer days. During the Indian summer in October, these plants start bearing new fruits. Some plants will last through the winter. Tonight, on the first evening of spring, we ate two delicious tomatoes which my daughter harvested in the garden. And there are more to come.

Unfortunately, fall also meant that our garden would be overrun again by clover. In the next weeks I'll start the yearly spring clover clean up. There's lots of clover. And none of that lucky clover. I wish.

Anyone know a non-toxic approach to getting rid of clover?

The best organic food

The best organic food is what's grown closest to you. I just finished reading an article about organic food vs local food: Eating better than organic. Coincidentally, my wife was giving my back a massage, because I had been working the garden most of the day. I couldn't agree more with the article: buy local and buy organic! Or better even, harvest locally. I harvest my own vegetables and fruits. Here's a sampling of what's in our garden:

The fruits:

1. All winter we have fresh oranges, right outside the kitchen door.
   
2. In summer we harvest tons of apples. Last year, I did prune the apple tree and the harvest was dramatically less. Hopefully this year the tree bounces back from the shock of what must have his first trimming ever, as it doesn't resemble the size of an apple tree.
3. We have raspberries and blue berries which my wife planted in the back.
   
4. I planted last year a lemon tree.
   

The vegetables:

1. My favorite vegetables are tomatoes (although technically it is a fruit, isn't it). This weekend I sowed two types of tomato seeds: they are sprouting in the kitchen.
2. So are two planters of spinach.
   
3. My office at work is the best green house: two big windows on the west side of the building. Currently I have radishes and spinach growing, almost ready to planted in the full soil in the garden.
   
4. Bock Choy is already growing in the vegetable garden.
   
5. I planted this weekend corn and
   
6. green beans
7. Hot peppers still have be added.
   

The herbs:

1. Sage (3 types)
   
2. Parsley
3. Oregano
4. Thyme
5. Rosemary
   

A couple of more vegetables and herbs will be added in the coming month. For now, it is the battle of keeping the clover out, those lovely yellow flowers, yet overtaking weed.

If you are interested in finding out more about buying local food, check out these links, reference in the article:

• Local harvest - http://www.localharvest.org/
• Eat local challenge - http://eatlocalchallenge.com/
• Locavores - http://locavores.com/