The Fix Is In

The back room conspiracy to slow down my gardening efforts is upon me. Frost was on the windshield of the truck as I left for work at 5:00 a.m.. Kind of snuck up on me, even though it is late November, since the unseasonably warm weather lulled me to sleep, apparently. And, I had just planted out some lettuces, v. Mervailles du Quatre Sassons (?), I believe it is called. Four Seasons Lettuce. They were tucked into a space that came open  after we picked and processed part of a bed of carrots last week. Looking rather pathetic in the cold. Hopefully the frost does not do them in. If they have recovered by this evening when I arrive home, they'll receive some sort of protection. Glad that I had planted more than half of the lettuces inside the greenhouse.

I also stashed some beet seeds in a corner, and will need to replant a few short rows of beets which failed to germinate properly, plenty of seed remaining for that. Last weekend, planted out anouther 50 or so red onion sets. Yesterday, also in the greenhouse, planted a few of both red and yellow Dutch shallots. What a generic marketing term, eh? About one fourth of them gott tossed because of mold or sponginess.

My wife helped me remove all the remaining greenhouse plants, prior to amending and replanting. The tomatoe and pepper plants went into the greenwaste bin, not into our compost pile, due to the potential to contaminate the compost with disease. Normally, not a bit of crop residue, weeds, or kitchen waste leaves the property, but rather is composted, their nutrients going back into the garden. Albeit slower than I'd like, things are getting done. 

More space is available for planting both outdoors and in the greenhouse, and will be planted out successionally. Care  and thinking has to go into choosing varieties, as the winter sunlight declines. Some plants are more light-sensitive than others, and cannot easily be grown at this time of year - not due to lack of heat because it's  still warm enough, especially if providing a bit ofprotection - but rather because of the low path of the sun in winter. Aggravating this, is the fact that I am in the mountains, surrounded by some tall redwoods. Where I am at is the same lattitude as parts of Sicily, so  day length is sufficient.

Tonight, going to finally pot-on another of the dwarf citrus trees, which are an experiment. There are five,  a  Washington naval orange, a Myers lemon, Satsuma ( orange or Mandarin?), a lime of some sort, and a red grapefruit, also cannot recall the variety. All of these can be grown here in the Santa Cruz Mountains with varying degrees of success. I am sure the key is proper siting, and protection during the coldest weather, with the grapefruit and lime trees being the most needy. I will have to provide them with protection during the coldest spells, using Agribond(fleece) and/or plastic to wrap them during the worst frosts. So much, though, depends upon the local microclimate.  As of now, with no fruit cages, citrus are the only fruit trees that won't be subject to destruction by squirrels, racoons, birds, skunks, etc. . Building a proper fruit cage is on my winter time agenda, as time and funds allow.

Plans of Attack - Mine & The Predators

Been under seige for about a month now, from squirrels, skunks, and the odd raccoon. An uneasy truce seems to have set in, but I'm not being lulled into a false sense of security. It is always an unending battle that ebbs and flows.

The squirrels, which use the fences on the property lines as highways, regularly make forays into my raised beds to stash nuts for the winter, sometimes destroying by veggies or seedlings.Using Agribond row covers has mostly solved that, but the pests just bury their food in my woodchip-covered paths, slightly more preferable, I guess. I'll know the full extent of the damage when the little oak seedlings emerge in the Spring.

I 've had to do a better job keeping the compost bins covered, as my wife was recently awoken by a family of raccoons chowing down in the middle of the night, and heartily enjoying themselves. That was on me, as I failed to complete a full layer - i.e., greens, browns, soil, tarp, boards - leaving veggie scraps  on top that were too good to resist. 

Finally, the skunks are occasionally digging around, looking for the abundant worms in my ever-improving soil. Oddly, even before I placed the row covers, they were only digging at the base of the the wood enclosing the beds. That happens to be where the mole-runs are. Will skunks eat moles? 

My Fall/Winter garden includes the following: broccoli, red and green cabbage, Brussels sprouts, Nero di Toscano kale, red and white chard, leeks, lettuces, carrots, celeriac, parsnips, arugula, bok choy, cilantro,350 onions from both sets and plants, as well over 150 cloves of garlic, black Spanish radishes, two types of spinach. We planted four artichoke plants, as well. If all goes as planned,  by days end I will have small sections of turnips and beets planted, too.

I have a greenhouse that needs clearing and replanting, extra compost bins to fill with manure for rotting down, carrots to harvest and process for the freezer, weeding and feeding of the growing beds. I have managed to add today,Monday, as an off day to the Veterans Day holiday I already get off (tomorrow), giving me a four day weekend.Still, time is slipping away. Just not enough time, ambition, or funds to take care of the many tasks around here.