by angela@diggingbliss | May 31, 2007 | Uncategorized
Hey, nature lovers, Rex Cycles’ annual Support the Parkway ride is on June 9. Click here to sign up. Your tax-deductible $70 entry fee includes a t-shirt, snacks and drinks at rest stops and lunch by JR’s Texas Bar-B-Que.
I plan to ride as far as I can in time to make it back for the lunch, but you are even welcome to skip the ride and head straight for lunch. This is a fun ride… not a race… and a great cause.
Here’s a write-up in the Bee.
June 11 edit:
See what you missed?
Local wildlife…
Good vittles…
Bikes mingling…
Nature…
More nature…
by angela@diggingbliss | May 30, 2007 | Uncategorized
Weeder and I went to POW, Capital (Sunrise) and Windmill on Monday. Here’s what I got:
3 1-gallon um, um, um, oh, what the hell are they called?
3 5-gallon European white birch trees for some quick screening of the neighbor’s bathroom window that looks down into our yard.
(thanks, Weeder, for whipping out your camera)
If you’re gonna go to the trouble of putting up a sign, why block it? 😉
Sooooooooo many perennials, so little time.
This is what my one ‘Tropicanna’ canna looks like. I wish I could have bought the whole row. Lucky for y’all, I didn’t.
Wow.
Hey, that’s the plant I bought three of that I can’t remember the name of. Drought tolerant. Lavender flowers. Don’t see it a lot around here. Weeder? Anyone? Help?
Dark purple butterfly bush. Gorgeous.
We stopped at Davis Ranch on the way to lunch at El Pollo Loco (quite yum for fast food) hoping their famous sweet white corn would be ready. Not for two more weeks! Rats! We did spy this nifty hydroponic strawberry setup that appears to be new. So sci-fi looking. Growing strawberries vertically is genius. Oh, and I didn’t go home empty-handed. They had some lovely lean asparagus spears and plump garlic.
Next stop…
‘Lemon Boy’ tomato… planted it last year and it was felled as a seedling and I never re-planted.
3 6-packs
‘Bright Lights’ chard… a little late getting it in but it never seems to quit producing so I’m not worried.
I’m late getting most of my veggies in, but that’s nothing new for me.
And finally, on the way home so how could we not…
You gotta get over to Windmill right now. They have a great selection of Annie’s and Blooms in 4″ and some really nice gallon perennials too.
I was hoping to find ‘Costoluto Genovese’ and a black tomato as the last… no, really, I promise this time… additions to my 2007 tomato lineup. Capital was sold out of C.G., as was Windmill. I picked up a black heirloom tomato at Capital, put it down, picked it up and thought I put it on my cart… but somehow it didn’t make it home with me. What a space cadet.
May 30 edit: I did buy a black tomato! ‘Black Prince’ was hiding behind one of the passenger seats in my van and is now planted. Not a space cadet after all… just a loser… of things.
by angela@diggingbliss | May 28, 2007 | heatwave, tomatoes, vegetables, veggies
In a quest to find more tomato varieties suited to the hot-summer Central Valley, I’m starting to grow varieties bred for heat tolerance. Up first is ‘Heatwave’, a healthy specimen of which I picked up on impulse at Home Depot.
Our summer days often exceed 90 degrees, which is around the temperature at which tomato fruit set fails for certain tomato varieties.
From UC VRIC: “When daytime temperatures consistently exceed 90OF, fruit set failure may also be expected in many tomato varieties. Some varieties are more tolerant of high temperatures and will continue to set fruit when others fall. Under these conditions, it will be helpful to keep the plants in a healthy growing condition so that flowers which develop will have a better chance to survive. This includes the maintenance of a constant moisture supply, the elimination of damaging insects, and the control of diseases. Fruitsetting hormones are not effective in hot weather.”
My ‘Heatwave’ baby was grown by Bonnie Plants. Here’s their description:
Heatwave VFFA
Fruit size: 8 oz
Matures: 70 days
An abundant producer of bright red fruit even when the temperature is in the mid 90s, Heatwave hybrid produces early in the season on determinate vines. Resistant to verticillium wilt (V), fusarium wilt races 1 and 2 (F), and alternaria stem canker (A).
But how does it taste? Stay tuned.
by angela@diggingbliss | May 27, 2007 | Uncategorized
Here is the Phygelius I mentioned that was about to bloom in my backyard. I love the pinky coral color and contrasting creamy yellow underneath. I’d love to plant phygelius where I could look up at its nodding florets. Might have to try it in a tall container sometime.
Local wildlife…
Good vittles…
Bikes mingling…
Nature…
More nature…
