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So.....Bring Nature Close to you! Join us each month.
Bring Nature Close is a web page dedicated to bringing nature closer to you in every way. This 14 page site changes every month. I blog on about what is happening in my neck of the woods; gardens, weather, food, fruit and seasonal activities.
There is a Kids Page with introductions to animals, birds, reptiles, anphibians and insects, plus a project every month.
All Around the Barn for tools and handy ideas.
Plantology to explore a new plant every month.
Ask Izzy if you've got a problem with your garden, project or are interested in something and want more information. Ask Me! I might know.
About Us is my history with nature, gardening and the out of doors.
Links to other cool sites.
Books to order. These are my own personal books with information and learning I have gleened over the years. Check it out.
Products to order. Some cool garden and household stuff. Not the normal stuff.
Photos, current every month, some cool shots.
And in case you missed last month, Archived What's Happening?, Kids Page and Plantology.
There is a Kids Page with introductions to animals, birds, reptiles, anphibians and insects, plus a project every month.
All Around the Barn for tools and handy ideas.
Plantology to explore a new plant every month.
Ask Izzy if you've got a problem with your garden, project or are interested in something and want more information. Ask Me! I might know.
About Us is my history with nature, gardening and the out of doors.
Links to other cool sites.
Books to order. These are my own personal books with information and learning I have gleened over the years. Check it out.
Products to order. Some cool garden and household stuff. Not the normal stuff.
Photos, current every month, some cool shots.
And in case you missed last month, Archived What's Happening?, Kids Page and Plantology.
Page and Content copyright 2010
August 2010
Well, I am rangeing around the country again! I love the Pacific Northwest but I could not find a job there! So now I am in North Eastern California! WOW what a change, temperate rain forest to dry savana and rolling hills.
It is actually great. It gives me a wonderful opportunity to see many climate areas that exist (or at least a few of them) in the west. I give a lot of information about where I live, naturally, that is what I am experiencing. But visiting other climates really gets me in touch with how diversified the west realy is!
The Sacramento River flows full and deep here. The shores are lined with Cottonwood, Giant Maple, Sycamore and Oak. The brush is Nine Bark, Poke and the ever present Blackberry. The savana of the surrounding area is dry, dry grass countryside dotted with Oak and Manzanita. Much of the soil is red clay but mixed here and there with old volcanic soil, Mt Shasta and Mt Lassen are in full view!
The temperature has been well over 100 degrees every day. I go to the river almost every evening. It is cooler there and the river is so serene. Cooling off, I watch the sun sink below the western hills and trees. The birds love the evening air and are very active. They fly about, back and forth across the river calling and singing. Large groups of them fly about playing on the breeze, bantering and tagging each other. The secret ones rustle in the brush then dive down to the rivers edge sipping at the lapping water.
It is actually great. It gives me a wonderful opportunity to see many climate areas that exist (or at least a few of them) in the west. I give a lot of information about where I live, naturally, that is what I am experiencing. But visiting other climates really gets me in touch with how diversified the west realy is!
The Sacramento River flows full and deep here. The shores are lined with Cottonwood, Giant Maple, Sycamore and Oak. The brush is Nine Bark, Poke and the ever present Blackberry. The savana of the surrounding area is dry, dry grass countryside dotted with Oak and Manzanita. Much of the soil is red clay but mixed here and there with old volcanic soil, Mt Shasta and Mt Lassen are in full view!
The temperature has been well over 100 degrees every day. I go to the river almost every evening. It is cooler there and the river is so serene. Cooling off, I watch the sun sink below the western hills and trees. The birds love the evening air and are very active. They fly about, back and forth across the river calling and singing. Large groups of them fly about playing on the breeze, bantering and tagging each other. The secret ones rustle in the brush then dive down to the rivers edge sipping at the lapping water.
Gardens should be growing like crazy now with the warmer temperatures of summer. Water well each morning if it is hot. The A.M. watering reduces the risk of mildew forming. In warm to hot weather, mildew forms if the plants are wet in the evening and night time hours. It catches hold and begins to grow, covering all or part of the plant very quickly. Spray with a mix Horsetail Tea (equisietum) and water only in the morning hours. This leaves plenty of time for all the stems, leaves and flowers to dry out before night time.
Fertilize each week. Your plants are growing fast and need an extra boost to maintain growth. Use a good fish based fertilizer diluted in plenty of water. Water well after fertilizing. I would not fertilize tomatoes but once a month. They may look a bit yellow, with sparce foilage but they will produce more tomatoes with less fertilizer!
Pick off your zucchini and summer squash so they do not get to be monsters. They are easier to sell or give away when they are small and tender. I like to make a "coleslaw" with just grated zucchini or summer squash. Grate it into a sieve and let it drain for 15 minutes or so. Then add your surprizes and sause. I love to put grated zucchini on sandwiches too. It is a very delightful mild taste and so healthful.
Fertilize each week. Your plants are growing fast and need an extra boost to maintain growth. Use a good fish based fertilizer diluted in plenty of water. Water well after fertilizing. I would not fertilize tomatoes but once a month. They may look a bit yellow, with sparce foilage but they will produce more tomatoes with less fertilizer!
Pick off your zucchini and summer squash so they do not get to be monsters. They are easier to sell or give away when they are small and tender. I like to make a "coleslaw" with just grated zucchini or summer squash. Grate it into a sieve and let it drain for 15 minutes or so. Then add your surprizes and sause. I love to put grated zucchini on sandwiches too. It is a very delightful mild taste and so healthful.
Strawberries are still producing, apricots too. Peaches are on the way and the blackberries are ripening quickly! If you got your beets and carrots in early you are probably starting to eat them. The beans may be coming on too if they did not rot on you in the early spring deluge. If you replanted you will probably have to wait a little bit.
Cole crops will be maturing and you might even get to eat some real slaw soon. Cucumbers love this heat and will produce nicely with plenty of water. Grow them on sturdy 3 to 5 foot trellises for extra room in your garden.
Corn should be growing fast. With plenty of water and fertilizer corn will be growing inches a day.
If you planted winter squash it is probably becoming the monster that they do. I love how they climb every where and ramble about the garden. If you want to guide it to a specific place just put a stake in every so often to guide the vines. Then use the first stakes to move along the vine. I try to get mine to climb up a fence or over a rock pile and not take up too much viable growing space. A few years ago I directed them into my strawberry patch after it had finished producing for the year. There are some bush varieties that do very well, but expect them to take up 6 square feet!!
Cole crops will be maturing and you might even get to eat some real slaw soon. Cucumbers love this heat and will produce nicely with plenty of water. Grow them on sturdy 3 to 5 foot trellises for extra room in your garden.
Corn should be growing fast. With plenty of water and fertilizer corn will be growing inches a day.
If you planted winter squash it is probably becoming the monster that they do. I love how they climb every where and ramble about the garden. If you want to guide it to a specific place just put a stake in every so often to guide the vines. Then use the first stakes to move along the vine. I try to get mine to climb up a fence or over a rock pile and not take up too much viable growing space. A few years ago I directed them into my strawberry patch after it had finished producing for the year. There are some bush varieties that do very well, but expect them to take up 6 square feet!!
This is a kind of lag time. Everything is planted and growing. Now is the waiting, watering and picking out of the garden for the table. It is the "resting" time until the garden is ready to can or dry. Soon, if not already, you will be giving away zucchini every week or trying to sell it as fast as you can! It is apricot and soon peach canning time. Dried apricots and peaches are delicious if you are so inclined. Use two of the same size window screens and hold them off the ground with saw horses or ???. After one screen is full of sliced fruit, place the other screen on top and clamp in place with some small "C" clamps. Dry for a week or so until the fruit is very dry! Place in the house in a bowl or basket and dry for another week. Store in large glass containers when completely dry. This method also works well for sliced strawberries and half dried blackberries. Also cubed zucchini dried is a wonderful addition to winter soups. Chop up zucchini in to one inch cubes and dry on screens until crispy dry. Store in glass containers. Add a handful when you go to make a nice hearty soup. It makes a good vitamin filled base.
Get out in the early morning if is is going to be a scorcher. Enjoy the early morning with a cup of coffee or tea. Water your garden and enjoy the solitude and the birds in the morning. Enjoy your beautiful masterpiece of a garden!! Take a few minutes for some quiet time to settle out the whole day.