Row Covers from Peaceful Valley
I decided to order some inexpensive row covers for frost protection. One is for light frost; the other, heavy.
Here’s a link to the one designed for heavy frost protection: Agribon
Could be a cold winter…
Frosty Freezy Carmichael
We’ve had several consecutive days of frosts or freezes (3? 4? 5?). I’m starting to see some casualties. Nothing’s dead, but I think I’m going to end up with a fair bit of top-kill on the following: Mexican bush sage, echium, my veggies, some herbs (esp. sage) and a few others. I’m keeping a close eye on my 9 citrus trees. I’ve been covering them with plastic tarps or bubble wrap (whatever I have handy), but they’re young and vulnerable. If this keeps up, I may go the extra step and wrap the trunks. It’s not even winter yet!
Finally planted sweet peas
I’ve been feeling pretty proud of myself lately for getting my bulbs and “Annie’s plants” (4″ perennials from Annie’s Annuals)in the ground. I guess I’m proud because I did something for which the reward comes later. Now that the work is done, I can sit back and enjoy the show come springtime.
I planted more bulbs than ever before. A Berkeley landscape designer whose work I admire, Keeyla Meadows, relies heavily on bulbs for a really big color show. Many bulbs are spectacularly showy, but because they have a dormant period or might be lost to critters, rot, or might be a one-shot deal (most tulips), I haven’t focused on them as much in the past. I’m hoping for a great show this year, especially since my soil is recently improved with lots of compost. Fingers crossed that squirrels don’t eat everything I planted. I’m pretty convinced they gobbled up nearly the entire bag of 100 daffodil bulbs I planted last year in a raised planter. Now I’ve added lilies to the menu… heirloom lilies.
I also got my wildflowers planted (they’re sprouting). The one task I kept neglecting… well, that and housework in general… was planting my flowering sweet peas. If I’d planted them when I planted my SugarSnap peas, they’d probably be 3-4 feet tall by now. Just got my ‘Royal Family’ seeds in the ground today. Better late than never, I guess. I hope.
It’s supposed to be frosty tomorrow. Gotta protect my citrus tonight. I’m also going to move my containerized ‘Caspian Pink’ tomato plant into the greenhouse to see if I can get a few more ripe tomatoes out of it.
Cottony Cushion Scale…
… It’s not just for breakfast anymore. 😉
But a few of my newly planted citrus trees have it. According to the UC Pest Note on cottony cushion scale, a few natural enemies provide “excellent control.” Cool, I don’t have to spray! Not wanting to do nothing, however, I remembered an old house plant trick for scale where you swab the scale off with Q-tips dipped in rubbing alcohol. What does the alcohol do? I haven’t the foggiest. Since I didn’t see any predators, I went ahead and swabbed all the scale insects I could find.
Bulb Closure… almost
Finally got all my bulbs planted except for one bag of paperwhites which I’ll use for forcing. I’m sure I’ll forget where I planted many of them and will have some nice surprises come springtime. Most bulbs went in the ground, but I also stuck some in pots.
I’m happy to see that my ‘Mission Bells’ and ‘Apricot Chiffon’ California poppies are sprouting. I also planted Calendula ‘Pink Surprise’, which came from Select Seeds as a free bonus. It’s pretty!
Meet Annie and Dan… They are a 12-week-old rat terrier/chihuahua brother and sister we just adopted from the S.P.C.A. They are the sweetest, silliest, most playful and affectionate little puppies!
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Bulb Log
Making progress with my bulb planting… In the ground so far: Species tulips (Tulipa saxatilis), Dutch iris ‘Blue Ribbon’, Anemone ‘Blue Poppy’, Allium ‘Gladiator’, Freesia ‘Double Blue’, and ‘Angelique’ tulips. Still mulling over where to put my ‘Apricot Beauty’ tulips (leaning toward a container) and still waiting for one more mail order bulb shipment.
I’m experimenting with not chilling my “chill-requiring” bulbs this year. I always have in the past, but remember reading… in Sunset Mag. I think… that unchilled tulips, etc. will still bloom without chilling but will be shorter and smaller. We’ll see.
Looking forward to my antique bulbs order! One of the lilies I ordered, Black Beauty (1957), can grow to 8 feet tall!!! The bulbs are coming from Old House Gardens.
Annie’s Annuals Appearance at Bushnell’s
Annie Hayes of Annie’s Annuals spoke at Bushnell’s today. Great turnout and fun talk! Annie specializes in seed-grown 4″ potted annuals and perennials that do well in Mediterranean regions like Sacramento. Bushnell’s provided chairs, hot drinks and cookies (Annie munched while she talked). Even though it was alternately misty and raining, we were comfy and dry under Bushnell’s large awning.
I took notes on plants Annie said were her favorites and/or do well in our area:
Echinops (globe thistle)
Aquilegia caerulea
Aquilegia chrysantha
Salvia patens (full shade)
Deschampsia flexuosa (bright shade)
Tanacetum (chartreuse variety)
Rudbeckia occidentalis (no petals, some shade)
Viola corsica (longest-blooming)
Wine cups (Callirhoe involucrata… loves heat, great groundcover)
Dianthus superbus (evergreen)
Cheddar pinks (dense groundcover, long-blooming)
Dianthus barbatus nigrescens ‘Sooty Black’ (part sun, smells like CHOCOLATE)
Eriogonum giganteum ‘St. Catherine’s Lace’ (buckwheat, great for no water, full sun areas)
Lupinus ‘Morello Cherry’ (some shade)
Tellima grandiflora (“fringe cups”, heuchera-like)
Verbascum chiaxii (must-have)
Campanula primulifolia
Heuchera pilosissima
Silene regia
Silene dioicia
Scabiosa atropurpurea
Centauria atropurpurea
The plants offered for sale were scooped up before, during and after Annie’s talk, so call Bushnell’s if you want to know when they’ll be restocked. Now’s the IDEAL time to be planting soooooo many plants. Check out www.AnniesAnnuals.com. They even sell mail order!
seedling trays and 6-packs from Peaceful Valley Farm Supply
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Just getting going with some cuttings and seedlings that were cooped up on my kitchen counter for too long.
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