- Author: Lowell Cooper
I was pleasantly surprised to find Myanmar rich in village culture. Since I was there during the same trip I was in Cambodia, where Angkor Wat dominated, I wasn't sure what to expect. But we had a lot of opportunities to walk around in villages and not only were the people very friendly, but I could see that their relationship to their environment was very intimate. The country seemed on the cusp of modernizing, but the traditional culture still seemed quite prominent and of great practical use.
For instance, bamboo was very abundant and since it was actively growing, it came in many sizes and forms. Some bamboo was cut in large strips and woven for siding and roofs for living structures. Smaller slices were woven together for containers of various sizes and shapes. Very small strips were the core of a craft of lacquering containers and after several processes, the bamboo ended up covered with painting and designs and the containers were very beautiful and waterproof. The whole production took several weeks, and the outcome was nothing short of remarkable.
There was also a Thanaka tree (Limonia acidissma) that was quite attractive in its own right. There are other names for this tree though in many ways the tree is quite ordinary but uses abound. The leaves can be cooked up and used for a laxative. Pieces of the trunk are rubbed on a hard surface and emit a creamy substance that is used as a facial sunscreen and even an anti-acne cure, and there are lots of people walking around looking very strange. The roots, being of lower quality to the in-crowd, get pulverized and made into incense. There may have been other uses for the plant, but these are all I could gather from one quick interview. (The tree is fascinating and worth looking up on the internet. Also, I believe that the photo is of a thanaka. I am not absolutely sure as I got confused when I got to look at the pictures at home. I couldn't find a picture on the internet. Does anyone know? At the very least it conveys to me the beauty of tree life on village roads.)
My point is that there seemed rather thorough use of available resources; little waste. It was a wonderful experience to see the environment so completely mined for the needs of daily life. As the country transitions to greater modern development, there are signs of all the usual detritus of modern urban life such as blue plastic bags stacked in piles at various points in the cities. One wonders if anyone ever picks them up but frankly that is doubtful. But village life provides a breather from the relentlessness of modernization. Fortunately, there is a lot of villages available for tourists to enjoy and a very open attitude about outsiders getting a peek in. This is a country I recommend visiting.
- Author: Trisha E Rose
Found the best squash I have ever tasted. I shop at Larry's in season for all the stuff that either I or a friend/fellow gardener don't grow. Larry's is just fun, grab one of their wheel barrows and start cruising down the aisles. Everything is displayed in abundance, with many varieties not offered at Safeway, Raley's or Trader Joe's. Its fun to try something new, especially since the prices are so reasonable. So that's what lead me to Mexican Squash. Actually it looks like a shorter and stockier version of regular zucchini with a lighter green color. Boy, was I happy that I tried this squash. In comparison with regular zucchini, the Mexican Squash doesn't have any of that vegital bitterness so common with zucchini. Don't get me wrong, I have been happily cooking and eating zucchini with my family for decades, but I must admit once I discovered Mexican squash, I am a 100% convert. Thankfully I have happily found it at my local Raley's.
A friend and I drove up to the Petaluma Seed Bank in March. My mission was to find those Mexican squash seeds so I could try my hand at growing them myself. Well found that Mexican squash is sold as Squash Zucchini Gray by the Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. The packet of seeds says they are very heavy feeders which need soil heavily amended with manure, compost, or other sources of lots of nutrients. So think I will get some "black gold" soil from Mid-City and give them a try in my raised bed.
The Mexican squash sliced lengthwise with a little olive oil, cooked on our outside grill are a tasty and quick meal.
Must admit, I very seldom glow about zucchini, but these Mexican squash will happily surprise you and your family.
- Author: Erin Mahaney
Last fall I decided to experiment with three different cover crops for my raised vegetable beds. A cover crop serves multiple purposes, including by serving as a “green manure” that replenishes soil as well as provides weed suppression. I thought it would be a fun experimental project to plant a cover crop even though my raised beds are small and it is relatively easy to add compost and to weed them. In late fall, I selected common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum), a “soil builder” mix of peas and oats (Pisum sativum and Avena sativa), and fava beans (Vicia faba ‘Windsor') and planted each crop separately in each of the three raised beds.
A cover crop planted in the fall, allowed to grow over the winter, and then turned into the soil can replenish nutrients and improve the soil structure. For example, legumes add nitrogen, which is a macronutrient primarily responsible for plant growth, to the soil. In addition, a cover crop can suppress weeds. Other uses for a cover crop include preventing soil erosion and soil compaction, providing habitat for beneficial insects, and forage for animals. I was mostly interested in adding nutrients, suppressing weeds, and improving the aesthetics of the raised beds that are typically barren in the winter by filling them with useful green growth.
In the interest of full disclosure, I made the mistake of planting vegetables in portions of the raised beds that ultimately got in the way of the cover crops. I had some leftover seeds that I threw into the beds thinking that nothing would come of them. To my surprise, the vegetables thrived, which made cutting down and incorporating the cover crops nearly impossible. This meant that I wasn't able to complete the portion of the experiment that involved turning the crops into the soil or using them as mulch. (Well, I could have, but I preferred to keep the vegetable crop!)
The peas and oats were my least favorite. The peas are supposed to add nitrogen to the soil while the flowers attract beneficial insects. The oats are supposed to provide green manure while suppressing weeds. The peas, however, didn't grow well, which is unusual in my yard since I typically have good success with other types of peas. The oats looked so much like tall, grassy weeds that we see in vacant lots that I pulled them out early for fear they would spread to the rest of the yard. It turns out the oats are very good at erosion control too and I pulled up big clumps of soil that was entangled in their roots. This was a little annoying since I had added soil and compost to the bed and then ended up pulling some out with the plants.
I thought the buckwheat was interesting, but it didn't grow as well as the other cover crops. I think it was somewhat shaded out by the vegetables I planted. The buckwheat is intended to provide green manure and weed suppression. The plant had pretty heart-shaped green leaves and quickly set small white flowers that are supposed to attract beneficial insects. Buckwheat is supposed to be turned into the soil before the seeds form, but I couldn't reach over the vegetables to cut them down and instead just pulled the plants out. I would definitely try this cover crop again.
While all plants did well, the fava beans were my favorite. The plants filled the raised bed, growing to about 3-4 feet tall, and were sturdy even in the wind. They had beautiful white and black flowers when little else was blooming in the yard. Although I should have cut the plants down and turned them into the soil before they set seed, I decided to save them for their bean crop. In the future, I may split the difference and save some plants for and some for the soil.
Although I didn't complete the experiment by turning the cover crops into the soil, it was still fun to experiment with different types of plants and learn what to try next year!
- Author: Tina Saravia
Once upon a time, on a cold, drizzly morning, an eager Master Gardener set out to prune some grapevines in a faraway land, in Winters. Armed with two pairs of freshly sharpened loppers, one ratcheted and another one with telescoping handles, she braved the almost empty freeway to freedom from self-isolation, to cure her cabin fever. Her destination: the Wolfskill Experimental Orchards, a repository (a living library of now-obscure fruit) includes stonefruit (peach, plum, nectarine, apricot, almond, prune), grape, walnut, pistachio, persimmon, walnut, olive, pomegranate, fig, and kiwifruit germplasm.
https://ucanr.edu/sites/wolfskill2/
Upon arrival at the orchards, she contacted by cellphone, Bernie Pits, horticulturist extraordinaire, master of grape pruning and everything grape related. With a sprayer labeled Ethyl OH (alcohol for sanitizing and keeping him germ-free), Bernie Pits showed the eager MG to the row of dormant grapevines where she would spend the next few hours of her newfound freedom.
After a short instruction on what and what not to do: like keeping both hands on the loppers, to avoid cutting your fingers, and maintaining social distancing, Bernie also pointed out that the rain had stopped.
He also said to cut off the previous year's main branches and all other branches, except for two that will serve as the current year's main branches where the current years' new stems will grow from and bear fruit.
https://ucanr.edu/sites/gardenweb/Growing_Grapes_in_the_California_Garden/?uid=29&ds=436
With enthusiasm and vigor, the MG tackled the vines one at a time, very slowly at first, as self-doubt kept her from deciding the fate of each branch. But as she moved on in the row, she gained confidence and pruned faster. She also started tying new main branches to the two horizontal wires to keep them from flopping around and attacking her in the face.
Lunch hour came and went, but the eager MG refused to stop and eat. She went down the row of grapevines like the professional gardener she once was, energized by the cloudy, cool day she was accustomed to when she lived on the coast.
But alas, all good things must come to an end. Hunger starts to creep in, her shoulders start to ache; she knew it was time to bid farewell to the grapevines. There was a lot more to prune, but number 40 was a good number for stopping.
She yelled to Bernie from two rows over about her intent to ease her hunger pangs and her departure. He thanked her for all her help and sadly let her go. The famished and worn-out MG walked to her car and the waiting cold pizza she made the night before. She gazed one more time at her row of grapevines to admire her work and the mountains in the distance as if in a chorus, they were saying. “JOB WELL DONE! ‘Til we meet again”.
On the ride home, the radio station announced that Napa County was asking its residents to shelter-in-place. Later that night, she learned that Solano County has done likewise.
The next day, the governor announced the shelter-in-place mandate for all Californians.
So with her wild pruning adventure in her heart and memory, this MG shelters at home with her husband and their three chickens and lived happily ever after. THE END.
- Author: Kathy Low
The past few years I've seen more lizards (Sceloporus) running across my yard starting in the spring and lasting through the fall since lizards hibernate during the winter. The most common lizards in our area are fence lizards, also known as the blue belly lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis). Lizards measure six to nine inches long and are fairly harmless and generally bite only if handled roughly. Fence lizards feed on insects like beetles, spiders, ants, and aphids so I generally don't mind them running around my yard and plants. But since I heard this is a bad year for rattlesnakes, and snakes feed on lizards among other things, I'm not too crazy about having lizards in my yard. So if they suddenly disappear I'll be in fear they may have fallen prey to a slithering predator!
Fence lizards reproduce by laying 3 to 20 soft-shelled eggs in large holes in damp soil from May to August. Those eggs will generally hatch from July to September.
Lizards can enter garages and other structures through openings a quarter of an inch or larger. So you should seal any cracks over a quarter of an inch to keep them out. And remember, that lizards are good at climbing buildings and other structures.
Currently, there are no lizard repellents registered in California. For more information on lizards, see the University of California Integrated Pest Management Note at www.ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74120.html.