My family and I just went up Bishop Creek to check out the fall color. You should, too. Its beauty may inspire you enough that you won't mind the drudgery of raking leaves that will be upon us in a few short weeks.

Your trees spend a lot of time gathering nutrients and resources to make leaves, and they're a valuable asset. Maybe not like gold or platinum, but useful anyway.

Leaves are a good way of adding organic matter to a garden or compost pile. You have to do something with them, so why not put them to use after spending all that effort gathering them?

On their own, leaves decompose very slowly. Oaks in particular seem to be in no hurry to break down. In order to speed this process up, the compost pile or garden needs to have adequate nitrogen and moisture available. UC has a couple fact sheets on composting:

• Why Compost?
• Compost in a Hurry (Probably not the most practical system with fall leaves, but good info.)
• SLO Backyard Composting Guide

CalRecycle has information on composting as well. Check out their website.

We tend to be dryer than these other places so our compost needs to be moistened and/or kept covered. Even in winter.

Small particles will decompose more quickly than big ones. I try to grind up my leaves. For everything but my oak tree, I have a leaf blower that reverses direction and turns into a vacuum that sucks and grinds leaves once they're dry. I find that the fastest way. For my oak leaves I have to be more creative...or just patient.  It's remarkable how small a leaf pile gets after it has been chopped up.

I incorporate my chopped leaves into my garden and add a little nitrogen and water. By spring they have broken down.  I am lucky that I have just the right number of leaves for this to work, but some yards have far too many. Compost piles are a better option in this case. 

If you've accumulated pine needles, know that these make an excellent mulch for the landscape. Note that in some communities composting and mulching are frowned upon. Ask your fire department about mulches if you have questions.

We encourage you to make the most of what your landscape gives you. Look into composting yard waste or using it as a mulch.

EXPLORING YOUR ROOTS

When frosts have annihilated our tomatoes and peppers it is good to see the leeks and parsnips standing unaffected and ready for harvest.

These plants are biennial, making initial growth one year, then dying down in the fall, but storing food in the roots.  The following spring they grow rapidly, flower and die.  It is the swollen root which provides us with food and this has to be harvested at the end of the first season before growth restarts since many become tough and woody at this point.  Unfortunately they do have a long growing season which means that they take up land space for much of the year, but the upside to this is that they can be left in the ground for the winter and harvested when necessary. There have been occasions in West Bishop when I needed to use a pick ax to get them out of the frozen soil!

Parsnips:  Come from Northern Europe and Siberia, are related to carrots and do surprisingly well in the high desert.  They produce a long tapered white root so need a very deeply dug, stone free soil, regular moisture, and some protection from the hottest sun. It is best to plant in ground that has been manured for a previous crop, since freshly manured soil causes the roots to fork.

 Sow seeds in spring ½” to 1” deep, and keep soil evenly moist until germination.  Be warned – they take about three weeks to emerge, and I am usually on the point of re-sowing when they suddenly appear, although soaking the seeds before sowing is said to speed things up.  Thin the plants as soon as they are large enough to handle, and thin again as they grow until the final spacing is about 8”.  The tops are quite large so leave at least 1 ft between rows.  In West Bishop I have sown as early as the beginning of February under cover, however the roots matured rather too early in the summer to be useful as a winter crop, so late March or early April may be better from that point of view.  The “120 days” to maturity” quoted on the seed packet is a little optimistic in my experience. They are certainly ready to harvest when the tops die down in late summer, and can be left in the ground until the end of the year if necessary, so long as they are dug up before growth restarts.  It is thought that the flavor of the roots is made sweeter if they are exposed to frost, although I know of no scientific evidence that has proven this.

They have been blissfully free of pests and diseases here, but it is generally recommended to plant canker resistant varieties. I have tried several different varieties including Albion, Gladiator (the best), All American and Hollow Crown and all have consistently performed well producing large roots. Hollow Crown did become very woody in the core this year (2014) – perhaps due to the very hot summer. Even so the roots were so big that I could cut the core away and still have plenty of tender flesh to eat.

Known since Roman times the finished product is very versatile and can be eaten raw but are usually cooked in a variety of ways. There are numerous recipes on the internet, but my personal favorite is to parboil them for 8 minutes, toss them in oil or butter and then roast them in the oven until golden.

Leeks:  Resemble a large green onion with a “stem” about 1 – 1.5” in diameter, the portion being eaten is that immediately above the roots, and is made up of tightly overlapping leaves. This area is traditionally blanched while growing in order to make it as long and white as possible.

Leeks have consistently grown very well in Bishop when given afternoon shade.  They like a rich, well manured, soil with regular irrigation.  The gray strap-like leaves get quite large so they need about 15” between rows.

I sow seeds indoors at the beginning of February to be ready for planting in mid-April.  They will take about 170 days to maturity. Local nurseries routinely carry six packs of young plants (often containing more than 30 plants – great value).  Leeks don't mind having their roots disturbed, so they are easy to transplant. There are two alternate methods of planting out. 

In the first, the method that I prefer, holes are dibbled into the soil, the depth being roughly half the length of the plant or a little less, leaving about 8” between plants.  Then I place a plant in the bottom of the hole, and gently water it so that some of the soil falls into the hole, covering the roots. Gradually through the season the soil fills in the hole, leaving a slight depression around the plant which is helpful for irrigation purposes.  When the plants are about 9” high I slip a toilet roll tube over the plants.  This prevents sun damage and cleanly blanches the lower portion of the stem.  With drip irrigation these easily hold up through a season, although I am not sure how they would perform with sprinklers.

In the second method, a trench about 1' deep is dug, and compost or rotted manure is worked into the bottom. The plants are then placed into the trench and a little of the soil is drawn back over the roots.  About a month after planting more soil is drawn up around the plants, (like earthing up potatoes) and this continues through the season as the plants grow.  The drawback to this method is that it is more work, and unless you put a cardboard collar around each plant soil inevitably gets in between the leaves, so preparing them for cooking becomes tedious.

Figure 1:   January 26  after surviving an Owens Valley Winter.  Still good to eat! 

I usually begin harvesting towards the beginning of September, but there is no hurry since the plants will hold up well in the ground until the end of the year or longer.

I have never had any pests or diseases affect my plants here in West Bishop, although occasionally an individual plant may enthusiastically send up a flower spike during the growing season.  In this case the center of the plant becomes woody so the plant is best discarded.

Of the varieties that I have tried, Porvite and American Flag have been superior, and I really cannot discern any difference in flavor.

Growing Carrots.

Carrots originally come from Afghanistan and have been extensively hybridized to provide a vast array of different shapes, colors and sizes – long and tapering, stump rooted, ball-shaped, as well as purple and yellow varieties.  “Gourmet” varieties are usually harvested when small, at about 3” while those left in the ground to mature may grow to 10”-12” long. I have grown several different hybrid varieties in West Bishop, and they have all done well to eat as young tender carrots. The large main crop of old faithful carrots, Danvers Half Long and Chantenay Red Cored, have shown the least tendency to split or become deformed.  They do need to be harvested before the ground freezes.

The seeds can be planted at regular intervals throughout the year, but it is probably better not to try to get them going in the hotter months in the Owens Valley.  Carrots prefer a stone-free, sandy loam with plenty of added humus, but not high nitrogen manure which tends to make the roots fork. The soil should be deeply dug for the longer varieties, but if that is not possible,  plant shorter types instead.  They must have a regular supply of moisture to not split or get a corrugated appearance, and some afternoon shade is appreciated.

Figure 1:   Main crop carrots sowed March 4 and harvested September 9.

Sow the seeds thinly in shallow drills and lightly cover with some light soil or compost. It is at this point that skill is needed.  The fine seeds have difficulty forcing their way to the surface if a panned soil structure or crust is allowed to develop. Certainly in West Bishop the very fine clay particles present in the soil seem to rise to the surface with the first irrigation and set hard if allowed to dry out.   For the time it takes the seedling to germinate keep the soil constantly moist with regular light sprinkling, or cover with a frost cloth tunnel to cut down on the evaporation due to drying winds.  As soon as the seedlings are large enough to handle they should be thinned to a 1.5” spacing and as they grow larger the spacing should increase by removing alternate plants.  Those removed may be eaten if large enough, but don't try to transplant them as they will not grow.  Beyond this they need no special attention until harvest.

In 2014 I took advantage of the mild spring in West Bishop and sowed maincrop carrots on March 4 directly into the ground, thinned the 2” plants one month later and again three weeks after that. At this point I added a layer of lawn thatch on either side of the row to prevent the shoulders from becoming green or purple from sun exposure, and to retain moisture from the drip irrigation. I also gave them an application of half-strength Miracle Grow. I was able to pull my first decent specimens on June 7 –  the “Days to Maturity” noted on the outside of seed packets are overly optimistic wherever I garden!  I did not get around to using many during the summer, so they just stayed in the ground until I pulled some for the Tri-County Fair at the end of August.  They were beautiful!  I pulled my last ones from that sowing on October 31 and they had held up splendidly – no splits, pests or diseases, just perfectly formed, clean carrots.  Some people might have considered them over mature, but neither the Red Cored Chantenay nor the Tendersweet were at all woody. They had a very good fresh carrot flavor, far superior to store-bought ones. The Chantenay were consistently weighing in at over 1lb each, some even reaching 1.25lbs!

I had planted a second sowing at the end of June, and these “normal sized ones” were ready for harvest by the end of October.  However, they don't keep well in the ground if it freezes and I have not found  a satisfactory method of storage in this climate. I don't grow enough to make the construction of a clamp worthwhile.

By Paula Sayer, Master Gardener Volunteer

Do you keep losing your pets in your leaf piles, but feel tired at the thought of all the work involved in chopping and turning a decent compost pile? Compost doesn't have to be a lot of work.

I'm briefly going to cover 3 types of composting. We'll call them rapid composting, general composting and building leaf mold. Composting can be done any time of the year but is somewhat dependent on the outside temperature with lower temperatures slowing the process. You don't need to add any worms or microorganisms- they are naturally present on plant materials.

Rapid Composting

Rapid composting takes planning in gathering the correct ratios, and work setting it up and maintaining it, however you can be rewarded with results in 2-3 weeks. Materials will need to be chopped into ½” to 1 1/2” - it's easiest to mow leaves. Soft tissues don't need to be so small, but woody tissues should be shredded or omitted.  Combine equal parts of dry materials (leaves, straw, etc) and green plant material (grass clippings, prunings, fruit and vegetable waste) and mix thoroughly so there is no matting. Water the pile until it is moist not soggy. The pile should be at least 3 foot square to ensure adequate heat retention, and in most of our area, bins with covers may be needed to retain enough moisture.

Now the hard work. Every day for at least 2 weeks you need to turn the pile, moving the outer edges into the middle, where the temperature should me around 160°F. Hotter will kill the microorganisms making the compost, but cooler will slow the whole process down considerably. Don't add any more material to the pile unless the temperature doesn't rise within 48 hours, in which case check the moisture level, or add more nitrogen (green) material – grass clippings or ammonium sulfate. The pile should have a “pleasant” odor. A stink usually indicates too much water. Soon the volume and the heat of the pile will reduce and it will turn dark brown, then it's ready to use.

The advantage of rapid composting when done right, is it will kill many weed and seeds, insects and eggs plus many organisms that can cause disease in plants. And it is fast!

General Composting

General composting is basically the same. One difference would be if you don't chop materials into small pieces they will take longer to decompose. The carbon/nitrogen ratio and the water requirements are the same, but another difference is the less frequently you turn the pile the longer it will take to compost. The temperature will not be so high so it will not kill many seeds or diseases (in fact, my pile has been known to grow some awesome potatoes).

But what if, like me, you have a lawn of Bermudagrass, you don't trust your composting abilities to kill those seeds, but you have heaps and heaps of leaves? No matter how you pile them and water them, at the end of the winter they're still going to be just a pile of leaves. If you're lazy you can use nature's process and let the leaves decay naturally into a leaf mold.

Leaf Mold Composting

You can successfully compost leaves without green material, by making leaf mold. This is a cold process – decomposition is done by fungi whereas compost relies on bacteria. Although the end result is not as high in nutrients as compost, it is an excellent soil conditioner. It can take a long time to complete.

Leaves lower in lignin decompose faster, so ash, cherry, maple, poplar and willow break down in about a year, while beech, birch, hornbeam, oak, sweet chestnut magnolia and holly will take 2 or more years. They all tend to mat together and form an impenetrable barrier to air and water, so shredding or mowing them can help speed up the process.

There are several options, depending on space.  You can start with a really large wire-mesh bin (the leaves will shrink tremendously) Shredding will help reduce the initial volume. Water them well and cover them, increasing the amount of coverage if they dry out. Water them occasionally to keep them moist, fluff them up every year and after 2-3 years you'll have sweet smelling goodness. Personally I've had more success with stuffing leaves into old soil/compost/fertilizer bags. Pack them in, soak them, stab the bag with a fork a few times and stack them out of the way for a year or two, keeping them out of the sun or the bags may disintegrate before the leaves break down.

For more information about composting, visit this page on the web: http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/Items.aspx?search=compost