[gardeners] A belated happy birthday, George!
Ron Hay (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Mon, 24 Sep 2001 07:45:32 -0700
Hello, George, my best to you and Miz Anne. So sorry to hear she is
feeling under the weather, along with much of the rest of your family.
Here in L.A. the weather has been a bit weird this "summer:" we have had
the coolest summer for about the last 20 years. We get a few spikes of
heat occasionally, as in the case of the last couple of days, and again
for the first half of this week; but, then, agian, cool will descend
from the north, and even bring rain (!) to northern and central
California, about 2 months early.
The weather has been so cool at night, that we have not had many
beefsteak tomatoes, at all, since they usually like night time temps of
70 degrees to set fruit, while our night time temps all summer have been
in the 60s.
These conditions seem to agree with the eggplants, thought, and we are
churning out a number of 2 pounders along with a plentitude of white
Persian and purple Japanese fruit.
Our pomegranates are ripening apace and have enjoyed a couple last week,
one of which was 3/4 of a pound! Being new at raisig pomegranates, I am
not quite sure when they are ripe. One thing is for sure, when they
split, they are wonderfully sweet! They look like something depicted in
mediaeval iconography, as a symbol of the Resurrection, very beautiful
and fragrant.
The Fuyus are just about 3 weeks away from ripening, while the passion
fruit continue to fall by the dozens. Limes are falling, ripe, daily,
too. Can hardly wait to make a batch of limeade this week, and also to
can some passion fruit syrup.
Last week really didn't happen in the garden, as I had two all day CE
classes on Monday and Tuesday, took a new listing on Monday, held an
open house on Friday and Sunday and showed property all day Saturday.
Whew, I get tired even thinking about all that activity!
This week is catch-up: picking up ripe fruit, canning, prunind the
butterfly bushes and dealing with the devastating local plague that is
killing off our roses: some sort of leaf miner that sinmply wreaks havoc
in a matter of hours. Malathion is useless, except if it contacts an
insect on the surface of the leaf, so we must use Orthenex, which I
deplore, but is absolutely essential, according to the rose guru who
attends our church (he owns a local rose nursery and cares for many
local rose gardens, including Bob Hope's).
The other plague we are currently dealing with is white fly. Boy, is
that pernicious! It is festooning our hibiscus and attacking our fatsia
japonica, as well. Orthenex is doing a good job against that, but one
must repeat it every 7-10 days.
The macadamia, on the other hand, is in its third flush of growth this
year, and by year's end, will have about quadrupled last year's leaf
area, to the point that I am hopeful that we will have some nuts next
year, since, for the first time, there will be abundant previous year's
growth for flower buds to appear on.
Well, the garden has had its ups and downs recently, much like all of
us, these days, but whenever "the world is too much with us late and
soon, " I go out and seek some peace in the garden; it certainly does
wonders to calm one's soul.
Peace and love you you all.
Ron