Category Archives: Grounds

Wisteria

This Wisteria floribunda (Japanese Wisteria) is different from the more popular Chinese Wisteria (Wisteria sinensis). Chinese Wisteria blooms before leafout, which puts on quite a show. Japanese Wisteria’s blooms open more gradually… are longer (1 1/2 ft.) and much more fragrant. These vines are not fussy about soil, drought tolerant and need pruning at least twice a year to control size and shape and encourage bloom production. This sturdy arbor was built a few years ago after this vine twisted and brought down the previous arbor, which had posts sunk into the ground.

Barn owl family

Last year was the first time in 6 years that barn owls did not raise babies in our nest box. We’re not sure why they didn’t lay eggs last summer. Maybe the drought affected them? Or it was nature’s way of controlling the population? We’ve watched them raise 21 baby owls in 5 years in our box, plus there was another pair that laid eggs in a tree around the corner in 2013. That prompted a neighbor in that area to put up an owl box. There was a lot of owl activity in both of our boxes last year… but no baby owls. This year looks promising. The female has been roosting in the box since February 11th. The male has been feeding her in there, so we think she’s laying eggs. He swoops down from the palm tree every night at sunset… goes inside and they make noises and move around for a minute before he takes off down the canyon to hunt.
More about owls
An amazing program on KQED

Vegetable garden in winter

These vegetable seedlings are ready to transplant into the raised bed. Lettuce and Swiss chard join kale and other greens. Covered the seedlings on both sides of the peas with lightweight row cover material to help with the transition to outside… protecting from the cold and bugs, while allowing rain to penetrate.

High spot

At the extreme North/East corner of the grounds of Nest Egg Gardens, resides a old dilapidated picnic bench, weathered and peeling. Not as popular as it used to be… this high spot, above the chicken shed has a nice sunset view, up over the roof of the homestead. The palm trees provide roosting space for a pair of barn owls, who fly out at dusk and soar up and down the canyon every night.

Chicken shed shade

The new neighbors cut down the bishop pine tree that was growing on the fence line, over the chicken shed. The tree was a shrub 20 years ago, but grew tall fast and has been dumping pine needles on the netting over the chicken yard and in the shed gutters for years. The hens just might miss it this summer when there’s no shade. Wouldn’t be the first time we put up a cover or umbrella for shade.

Buddy Boy

It’s been a year and a half and Buddy has grown up. He weighs 10 lbs and spends his day patrolling the grounds. He comes in and out of the cat door like he owns the joint, snacking on cat food at all hours. He knows the routine and is right there when it’s time to drink out of the hot tub or go for a walk (he likes to go along). Every time we come home, he is there to meet us in the driveway. He kept the squirrels from eating all the apples last year and dead rats/mice/gophers turn up regularly (at least part of them turn up). Our other cat, Rose, has even accepted him as part of the crew now.

Succulent sights

These unusual mushrooms sprouting up next to a clump of Aeonium caught my attention. They were so shiny and copper colored… so pretty. They almost look fake.

2015-01-17 yard+ 009_1This old wheelbarrow has a flat tire, but still holds a full load of succulents and bulbs.
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Meyer Lemon

We go through a lot of fresh lemon juice around here, and the Meyer variety is our favorite. This little tree is really loaded down with fruit this year. It’s a small tree, up against the garage on the downhill (west) side, where it’s protected from the cold. Our other Meyer lemon tree is growing lower on the grounds, and it doesn’t have any fruit, only a few flowers. Interesting that they are on such different schedules, considering they are only about 50 feet apart. Micro-climates are amazing!

Winter gardening

New lettuce, kale and chard seedlings are sprouting up in the garden shed. The propagation mats get plugged in on New Year’s Day. Then we get busy sowing seeds, since our average last frost date is Feb. 11th. When the seeds sprout, they move off the mats to make room for more. Then a shop light on a timer (12-14 hrs/day) goes up… suspended close to the seedlings. After a few weeks, the plants are hardened off and planted on the grounds. This cycle continues throughout spring.

The peas that were planted mid-September are starting to climb the string trellis in the garden, and should pick up speed now that the days are getting longer again.

The compost that has been cooking for months gets turned and half gets layered with more chicken straw, kitchen waste and oak leaves. The bottom layer of rich compost will go into the garden.

 

Freezing weather

When the forecast called for three nights of freezing temperatures, I took some succulent cuttings of particular tender varieties (Sunburst Aeonium, Dudleya, etc.) that were growing in unprotected areas and stored them in the garage and greenhouse. The cuttings will survive just fine for a month or more, growing roots after a couple of weeks. They can replace those plants killed by the freeze when the weather warms up… just by sticking them back in the ground.
Staghorn Ferns are also sensitive to the cold, so they spent a few nights in the greenhouse, where the temperature doesn’t drop below 40 degrees.

Chicken shed

The first of the Nest Egg Gardens outbuildings, built back in 1998, the chicken shed has been a cozy home to the resident hens… usually 3 to 5 of them are on site, supplying us with fresh eggs. But it has become a favorite hangout for mice and an occasional rat. It needed the good summer cleaning it got recently, and now smells April fresh (due to the several dryer sheets tucked in the corners… rumored to deter rodents). The window on the left opens at the bottom for feeding, checking water, etc. The door on the right opens up to the nesting box for easy collection of eggs. A great design that has really worked well. Salvaged doors and windows let in the light and it’s a good spot to protect plants from the winter frost. The stonework is fairly new… replacing the old worn out steps.

Berry Season

The Nest Egg Gardens berry patch is having a record breaking season!  Two years ago deer discovered the berry vines and ate them to the ground. Up went poles for a bird netting fence, using the same technique as around the vegetable garden. The bed was mulched with compost and given some deep soakings. The payoff has been weeks of picking a huge bowl every other day. Our favorite way to eat them when they are fresh is in pie form (see easy recipe below). I’ve been making pies for us (and everyone else), and freezing the rest. Frozen berries work better in cobblers or smoothies.
Blend 3T tapioca until fine and mix in sugar (1/2-1C). Stir into berries until well coated and let rest for 30 minutes. Pie crust: Add 1T salt to 2 1/4 C flour in large bowl. Add 2/3C oil and 1/3C milk. Stir until well mixed and roll out between wax paper. Bake about an hour at 350 degrees.

2014-05-30 berries 022_1

Old fan blades and blooms

Mounted a couple of salvaged fan blades onto wood slabs that needed a little ‘something’. They fit in nicely on the greenhouse courtyard in the shade. The intent was to mount staghorn ferns on the slabs. But the wire guards are perfect for holding tillandsias (air plants).  Just in time for the first Epipyllum (orchid cactus) bloom of the season… just beautiful!

Harvesting Rainwater

This simple system stores enough water for my plants during the current California drought. It has been in place for over six years and consists of two rain barrels under roof downspouts, with 15 garbage cans between them. About an inch of rain fills all the containers yielding 570 gallons of rainwater storage. Our coastal fog (as seen in the background), slowly drips from the roof, and provides gallons and gallons of water with no rainfall, during the summer.
Tip: These dark colored garbage cans start leaking after a few years from being in the the sun, and last much longer sheltered with a redwood cover like the one shown here.
Overflow water from the barrels goes into garbage cans using short sections of garden hose. Drill hole into top of lid.

Each adjoining garbage can is connected by drilling holes into the sides and inserting a section of garden hose. Drill holes a little bit smaller than the diameter of your hose and a fraction of an inch lower in the side of each additional can.

Tight fitting lids keep out mosquitoes and other varmints.
Dip in to fill up a watering can or pump out using a submersible pump.
This setup is handy for drenching plants in cans or soaking in inverted lids full of water.

Chicken shed roof rainwater collectionAlmost any downspout can be put to use collecting rainwater.
Ready made barrels are available (about $80 – 100), but it is easy to make your own using used salvaged food barrels if you can find them ($15-20 in materials).

After a few years of draining the system overflow rain away from the house, we added this 550 gal tank. Once all the barrels and garbage cans are full, we open up the low faucets on the two downspout barrels, which have connected hoses flowing downhill to the tank. The barrels, then mostly empty, have the space to hold more water from the roof which then flows into the larger tank. This also prevents excess rainwater from flooding the area once the cans are full. This tank fills up with just 2 inches of rain.

Update: February 2016 – Added a 710 gallon tank, as well as more garbage cans to the barrels behind the greenhouse and in the dog yard. These two cans reside about 20 feet away from the barrel, overflowing through a hose downhill. With all the extra barrels and cans, we are now storing 2292 gallons of rainwater.

Owl box maintenance

November: time to clean out our barn owl nest box. It was full of torn up owl pellets… lots of hair and rodent bones.

The box faces more south this year, providing a better view from window.

The box faces more south this year, providing a better view from window.

Moonflower

I’ve tried to get Moonflower vines to bloom in past years, and haven’t had much luck because of our cool coastal summer weather. The fragrant flowers are huge and are supposed to bloom at night, but they need heat. This year, I started the seeds early in a big pot on the patio in full sun (next to the dryer vent). That must have provided the extra warmth needed, because it’s blooming like crazy (even at noon).

Cat tales ~ the wonder of glass

This is the view out the kitchen window. Yesterday, Buddy was walking along the brick flowerbed. His face lit up when he saw me washing dishes, and he hopped over to the wood shelf and tried to jump through the window. I saw his face smash flat as it hit the window, and then he leaped up a few feet after he landed on the cactus below. Poor guy… those thorns are really sharp!  A few weeks ago, he ran into the patio door a time or two before learning that he can’t go through glass. This was lesson #2.

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Buddy enjoys watching the fish in the TV tank. He tapped the glass a few times at first before he realized it was that see through stuff again called glass.

Interesting how his bad eye doesn't reflect the light

Interesting how his bad eye doesn’t reflect the light

Projects: Stone walkways

It started with a plan to replace the porch steps on the chicken shed and put in permanent stone path leading to it.

The rotten wooden steps were falling apart.

The rotten wooden steps were falling apart.

Railroad ties and stepping stones kept slipping around on the steep slope.

Railroad ties and stepping stones kept slipping around on the steep slope.

The project started with over 10 tons of rock on the driveway:

Nephew Joey and buddy Ray M. helped deliver the huge load.

Nephew Joey and buddy Ray M. helped deliver the huge load.


Then more faux stones for the big steps and gravel:

It took Ray months of moving rock and digging into the hard soil (and getting everything dusty in the process):

But it turned out really nice:

More pumpkins

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So crisp in the mornings these days… fall has arrived. Time to get some outdoor pumpkins! This one reminds me of Cinderella’s carriage.

Oak moth cycle

It occurs every five to ten years, and we are in the middle of it.. the dreaded California oak moth cycle. The moths appeared and fluttered around the trees in June, laying their eggs. The moths died and the worms hatched, but they haven’t been noticeable until lately. A continuous crunching sound can now be heard as these insects slowly but surely defoliate all the oak trees in the area. And of course where there is eating… there are droppings. Caterpillar droppings (aka frass) has been accumulating at amazing rates under the trees. It’s fertilizer for the trees (and they’re gonna need it to recover), but it’s a big mess otherwise. The seat cushions and tables in the greenhouse courtyard were covered with it, and the fountain was full of frass soup. Cleaning it every day didn’t help!  We know that the moths have been part of the ecology of the oak woodland for thousands of years, and we have another year of defoliation to go… but we didn’t want it raining down on us anymore!

So a cover went up over the courtyard, wood panels covered in plastic… slightly slanted to the back, away from the courtyard. The plastic hanging down in the back keeps it from blowing back in and sitting under it sounds like it’s sprinkling outside. The next morning… frass free!!