Spring, 2009

June, 2009 - Triticale... We grew Triticale as a Winter crop, and for kicks, I let the small horseshoe garden take it to the end and learn how to harvest. Having read that it is highly nutritious, I wanted to try it.

Triticale along with Snow Peas - late January	Triticale in April	Almost ready...
Harvested and stacked upright for final drying.	I tried various methods, and found the best to be carefully hitting the heads with a hard rubber block.	After winnowing, when you let the chaff blow away, the grain is ready!

April... Grapes and artichokes are thick, the kale has been attacked by aphids, earwigs are eating the seedlings, yes, it is Spring! Well, actually... we are moving quickly into Summer!

Perennials came back, daffodils and other bulbs I planted in the Fall came in beautifully around February & March... and cranberries that were sticks by the end of last Summer are in full bloom again!

Tree Basins One of the main projects we began in November was digging basins for fruit trees to line the front walkway. These trees are to be grouped closely and are to be kept pruned for easiest access to fruit. The basins are a way to handle low watering in the Summer as well as deep rainwater catchment. Due to our Winters, we can't plant citrus or avocados ~ at the same time, our Winters are short, so we have to choose low-chill varieties of apples and peaches. We ordered 11 bare root tree: 4 apples, 3 peaches, 2 plum, a plumquat,and a nectarine.
Ditches were dug very deeply, exposing criss-crossing old sprinkler systems.	Multiple holes are dug out for the tree groupings.	Trees are planted in January - note the short-sleeved shirt, we began to warm up early...
Packing in the earth around each.	After the trees were planted, we began to mulch. As the outline is full of bermuda grass, we reworked the rocks with newspaper around the rims.	Newspaper is placed around the basins, but the trees are kept clear..
After sheetmulching, we spread strawberry clover seed, and then a final layer of straw.	One month later, all the trees begin to sprout.	The clover is beginning to sprout under the straw. Our days are dry and the Sun is beginning to beat down already, so we hope the clover will take before it gets too hot.