- Author: Lee Miller
Question: What are some winter garden chores that we can do in the shop?
It is also a good time to visit our garden tools to make sure they are ready for spring use by conditioning and sharpening. I keep a can of boiled linseed oil available to rub down wooden handles on shovels, rakes, hoes, and wheelbarrows. If there are raised or splintered areas, they should be sanded with fine grit 120 sandpaper, either by hand or with an orbital sander, before applying the oil. This oil will help preserve your handles and make them last longer and they will feel better in your hands if smooth. Kitchen vegetable oil can be used on the metal tool surfaces to keep them shiny and prevent rust after cleaning with wire brush or steel wool.
Sharpening shovels and hoes can be done with a grinding tool or more slowly with a file. Pruners and loppers can be sharpened with several kinds of tools. If there are nicks or severely dull blades, a file can be used to take off the dulled parts. A finish to that and/or if a touch up sharpening is required it can be done with a stone or a carbide tool which can put a fine edge on a straight blade or knife. For more information on sharpening tools, click here.
I made raised beds years ago using some free beams from an old barn that was torn down. This wood was not rot resistant and in a few years it rotted. Subsequently, I used cinder blocks to make raised beds that were rot proof. There are now plastic and metal beds available that are also rot-proof and maybe rustproof. However, if you like a more aesthetic look, you can use redwood or cedar and create raised beds that are longer lasting. At my home, there are six 4ft x 12ft cedar raised beds that are doing well, and are pleasant to work in, and they have irrigation lines established as well for easy irrigation.
- Author: Susan Mora Loyko
Before discussing artful ways to enhance that dead tree or stump in your yard or garden, a word of caution. A dead tree that is not a danger to people or a structure on your property can be left where it is. It's important to note, however, that limbs from dead trees may eventually fall onto your house, car, a person, or neighbor's house, so take that into consideration when deciding whether to keep or remove it. Any trees that may fall on your home (or a neighbor's home) should be removed. And never allow dead wood to rest against your home.
That being said, trees can go on “living” even after they are dead. As is, dead trees can still provide vital habitat for all kinds of species, according to the National Wildlife Federation. It may look like a dead tree to you, but birds, bugs, and other creatures will make it a home because it will offer protective cover and a place for raising offspring. Woodpeckers and songbirds may perch on dead trees, and overwintering butterflies will also take refuge in the crevices and cracks.
There is even a name for dead trees that are left upright to decompose naturally. They are known as snags.
Tree trunks as planters: Plant right inside the rotted out stumps or hollow them out to hold pots that you can change throughout the season.
Decorate it: If it's safe to keep the tree where it is, turn it into yard art by painting the entire tree with one or many colors or hang colored lights or other decorations from it.
Feed the birds on a stump:A trunk cross-section can be used as a seed platform for ground-feeding birds like Mourning Doves. The platform prevents spilled seeds from germinating in your garden bed or lawn. Be sure to drill holes so rainwater can drain off.
Hanging bird feeder: Create a hanging feeder with a small branch. Put a nail through it and hang it from a branch. Drill three holes around the outside edge and attach short lengths of chain to hang it with. You can even nail apples or oranges on a branch for the fruit-loving birds to eat.
Birdbath: Hollow a shallow indentation into a stump or a big section of trunk with a hammer and chisel. Let it dry then seal with a layer of concrete. Allow it to cure before filling with water as a birdbath.
Pathways: Use cut sections of the trunk to create a garden pathway.
Make a funny face:Make a whimsical "face" with a cross section of trunk, adding small pieces of other trees or yard material as facial features.
Create art: Carve the stump or a large section of the trunk into a sculpture, releasing the “art” inside the wood.
Fairy Garden House: Turn your tree stump into a whimsical fairy garden house.
These are just a few suggestions. Just because a tree dies doesn't mean we have to discard it. Use your creativity and think of ways that you can give your tree a new life in your home and garden.
- Author: Sue Davis
January, February, and March
Just four chores per month, one per week, to consider this wintery season. Hopefully, there are enough pleasant winter days to get them accomplished.
January Ideas
ONE – Plant a bare root rose or fruit tree if there is room in the landscape. If not, pick up a few summer blooming bulbs (such as dahlias, gladiolus, lilies and begonias) and plant them in the ground where they will add color to the landscape or in a pot that can be moved at will.
TWO – Sharpen pruning tools, then dry them and rub them lightly with oil to prevent rust. Don't put them away wet and dirty, which can encourage the formation of rust.
THREE – Prune your roses with those sharp pruners. Vines, fruit and shade trees or grapes will benefit from a good pruning if there are no roses needing a pruning.
FOUR - Rake and discard fallen leaves (a compost pile will enjoy the addition) to prevent or reduce over-wintering pests.
In February:
TWO – Spread some love. Give a small native California plant to a friend, a neighbor, a family member, or yourself. The plant will flourish in our climate and need far less water than other specimens once it reaches maturity
THREE – Start some seeds indoors. Pre-germinate pea seeds on moist paper towels in a warm room for a few days before sowing. See Lee Miller's Winter 2012 or Trish Tremayne's Winter 2015 articles on starting seeds for more information.
FOUR – Feed citrus trees with a nitrogen-rich fertilizer that contains additional nutrients such as Magnesium, Boron, Copper, and Zinc.
March Notes:
ONE – Plant some potatoes. Potatoes can carry soil-borne diseases which are harmless to humans but devastating for a potato plant. Buy seed potatoes from a nursery or a mail-order company that certifies the seed potatoes are disease free. Whole potatoes can be divided to give you a bigger crop by cutting the potatoes into chunks that each contain one or two eyes (the small depression where sprouts will form). To prevent rotting, store the freshly cut pieces at room temperature for three days before planting to allow the cut surfaces to dry and form a callus. Potatoes are heavy feeders, so planting with a good amount of compost will help the plant and your harvest. Potatoes can be heavy producers and harvesting them feels like a “treasure hunt.” This is a fun vegetable for children to plant and harvest.
TWO - Prune suckers (the branches that sprout directly from the root stock beneath the soil) from trees and shrubs.
FOUR – March right into a local nursery to see (and maybe purchase) annuals, vegetables, and perennials that are available now to fill in those bare spots in the landscape.
Information gathered from:
- Author: Susan Mora Loyko
Her recent appointment as the Garden Coordinator for the Robb Garden will allow Janice to not only spend more time with her aging mom, but also support and share her passion for gardening on a grand scale. She is excited at the opportunity to teach students and the community how to grow healthy fruits and veggies and expand the community's knowledge about plants from around the world. She also looks forward to sharing information about the medicinal uses of plants from around the world.
In 2008, Pacific students Fiona Kelly and Vinny Johl initiated the campus food garden. Former Pacific Regent Walter Robb, who at the time was CEO of Whole Foods Market, provided financial support to create the garden. Janice plans expand the diversity and develop the garden to include year-round veggies, fruits, flowers, herbs and plants grown locally and from other countries.
Janice and her small cadre of students and community gardeners are developing a hands-on approach to learning not only how to grow produce, but also to gain a better understanding about the importance of creating healthy soil, growing more diverse plants, and being a more sustainable gardening operation.
She is also striving to bring more students as well as community members, young and old, with or without gardening experience, to the garden. She hopes her outreach into the community will bring interested volunteers to the garden to learn as well as share their knowledge of gardening with familiar as well as the unfamiliar fruits, vegetables, herbs and weeds from other parts of the world.
As the result of her travels around the world, she intends to create opportunities to introduce students and volunteers to unfamiliar plants and weeds she has encountered not only for food, but for medicinal purposes as well.
High on her to-do list is to go beyond growing a year-round garden to help students and community members learn to live more sustainable lives by using less and not just tossing everything in the trash. She is teaching each of her students how to “grow” a compost pile made up of daily waste such as dead leaves, branches, twigs, food scraps, coffee grounds, paper, and other organic matter. Not only does compost reduce the amount of waste that goes into the landfill, it also provides the garden a valuable fertilizer to enrich soil and plants naturally. Composting is such an important component of the garden that Janice requires each student to work a compost pile as part of his/her garden duties.
Her immediate plans for the future are to provide her students with more hands-on volunteer opportunities in the garden and develop a “curriculum that is adequately simple” to allow students to replicate.
- Author: Constance Starner
You've probably heard the alarming statistics on the decline of songbird populations. A study reported in Science magazine in 2019 gave the sobering news that nearly 3 billion birds (or 30% of the population) have been lost in the United States over the past 50 years.
A number of factors are behind this loss—cat predation, window crashes, diseases, climate change, and habitat loss. Cats kill approximately 2.4 billion birds in the U.S. each year. Keeping cats indoors or allowing them outside in a “catio” can reduce deaths from predation. Birds fly into windows because the reflection they see looks like a continuation of the outside environment. Patterns applied to glass, decals, and other specialized products are available to make windows appear more solid to birds. And it's important that bird feeders are cleaned regularly.
One of the important things gardeners can do is to create much-needed habitat for local and migrating birds. It's not difficult, and the resulting garden will benefit not only birds, but pollinators, insects, other wildlife, and people!
Following are ways to create a garden in which birds will thrive.
Choosing native plants is an important strategy. Natives support moths and butterflies which will increase the number of caterpillars available. This is critical because 96% of land birds rely on insects to feed their chicks—and caterpillars are full of the nutrients they need.
Usually, birds find the larvae when they are small, so the increase in caterpillars shouldn't decimate your landscape. It may require a shift in thinking about the purpose of your garden, remembering that we can't have butterflies—or food for birds--without caterpillars. I have seen social media posts of gardeners proudly displaying their California pipevine (Aristolochia californica) laden with larvae that will become pipevine swallowtail butterflies (Battus philenor hirsuta).
- Silver bush lupine(Lupinus albifrons), with blue to violet flowers from April to July.
- California fuchsia (Epilobium canum), which produces bright scarlet flowers in the summer until fall, when many other flowers have already faded.
- Woolly blue curls (Trichostema lanatum), whichproduce lavender blooms in fall, winter, and spring.
- Bush monkeyflower (Diplacus aurantiacus) which blooms winter, spring, and summer
- Large canopy trees, which provide roosting and nesting spots. Local examples include:
- Oaks (Quescus species) which provide acorns in the fall and habitat for numerous insects.
- White alder (Alnus rhombifolia), which produces catkins in the fall.
- Shrubs and small trees for fruits and seeds, such as:
- Coffeeberry (Frangula californica), with white flowers in the summer followed by dark red berries.
- Wedge-leaf buckbrush (Ceanothus cuneatus) which produces white, light blue, or lavender flowers in the winter and spring followed by seeds.
- Herbaceous plants for seeds. These are more bird-friendly if they are clustered in masses of 5 or more:
- Red-flowered buckwheat (Eriogonum grande var. rubescens), which is a native of the Channel Islands, but does well inland with a little afternoon shade and extra water. It blooms in the spring, summer, and fall and produces abundant seeds.
- California aster (Corethrogyne filaginifolia), which blooms later in the year—summer, fall, and winter—and also provides seeds.
- Decaying leaves and wood—to provide habitat for the insects birds rely on for food.
Providing water in a man-made birdbath or simply a hollow stone is also helpful to birds. Ideall, it will be near a tree or shrub for perching, with running water that attracts birds and discourages mosquitos. Birdbaths should be cleaned with a solution of 1 part vinegar to 9 parts water and refilled at least every other day.
Avoiding pesticides. Bird-friendly gardens are also habitat for insect predators such as frogs, toads, bats, dragonflies, praying mantises and lady beetles which will keep the bug population in check. If you determine pesticides are necessary, use low impact strategies described here.
Doug Tallamy, a professor in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware and the author of Bringing Nature Home says it well, “In the past, we have asked one thing of our gardens: that they be pretty. Now they have to support life, sequester carbon, feed pollinators and manage water.”
Make your garden more valuable by thinking of it from a bird's point of view. It can be a wonderful home for local species and a welcome rest stop for migrating birds.
For more information:
https://www.audubon.org/news/how-make-your-yard-bird-friendly-0
https://www.audubon.org/content/how-create-hummingbird-friendly-yard
https://www.growingagreenerworld.com/creating-a-bird-friendly-garden-margaret-roach/