Fort Bragg

In My Garden – June 2025
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In My Garden – June 2025

Summer is finally here. It means something else here on the north coast of California, though. While the inland areas are heating up and experiencing sunny weather, we have fog. Lots of fog. It’s not just sweater weather, it’s down jacket weather. What does that mean in the garden? It means that I can’t grow tomatoes or cucumbers without a greenhouse. Last autumn, I made green tomato chutney; it wasn’t a complete loss, although it was disappointing. This spring, we decided to invest in an inexpensive fabric greenhouse to see if it’s possible to get tomatoes to ripen.

2025 Greenhouse
Tomatoes

Stay tuned.

My vegetable garden has expanded to 11 raised beds. You may remember, if you are a regular reader, the battle I had with invasive redwood roots. When my beds were in the ground, the surrounding redwood trees would come through the weedcloth into the bottom of the beds. It was backbreaking work to dig them out a couple of times a year. We ended up putting the beds up on legs (stumps), they really are raised beds.

Raised beds – old
Raised beds – new
Vegetable Garden, now flowers too

Vegetable Garden, now flowers too

Because I was away most of May, I missed the rhododendron show. A few were still blooming but most were finished by early June.

Rhododendrons – early June

What’s growing in my garden this month? Here is a quick peek.

herbs
zucchini
artichokes
snap peas
potatoes

We are lucky to increasingly be able to eat out of the garden as summer progresses.

We’ve had a few already…

Roast Carrots

Roast Carrots

Grilled zucchini and baby leeks

Grilled zucchini and baby leeks

I grew leeks for the first time, sowing them from purchased transplants last fall. It wasn’t a win. They never grew very large in diameter and were somewhat tough. I need to do more research. Have any of you grown them successfully? Tips would be appreciated.

Apparently, in many places, leeks are grown as a perennial in a single bed/area. The leeks will form the “bud” on top, which then flowers (the flowers look like alliums and can range from white to lavender, and from what I have read, they are EXTREMELY good at attracting bees and butterflies). Once they have flowered, they form seed heads, with hundreds of little black seeds (a lot like chives) that self-sow very easily. Within a few weeks, you’ll have lots of little seedlings shooting up in and around the original leek. Where gardeners are growing them in this way, they thin out the seedlings so that they have space to grow to a good size and let them grow on.

Meanwhile, the original leek will die back for a couple of months. The bulb will split, much like a garlic bulb splitting into cloves, and from this, new leeks will shoot up. This is where the perennial bit comes in. The new shoots can be allowed to grow before being harvested as several leeks, or you can pull them up whilst young, separate them, and replant them in rows.

I’m loving this idea, and I think I might give it a go this fall to see how successful it is.

From: Rocket Gardens, a U.K. web site.

 

Tomato, nasturtium, and arugula salad

Tomato, nasturtium, and arugula salad (the tomatoes did not come from the garden)

And, there are flowers…

Roses
Lavender and Yarrow
Rock Rose
Columbine
Firest dahlia
Nasturtiums
Sweet peas
Mixed bouquet

Here is a picture of one of the island beds. The others just remind me that it’s time to go outside for early summer chores. It’s time to prune the early spring perennials, and weed. There is always lots of weeding. The spring annuals should also be pulled out, but I like them to sow their seeds throughout the garden. It’s such a lovely surprise to see where things want to grow.

Back garden island bed

Back garden island bed

That’s it for my garden this month. Thank you for visiting and please leave a comment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In My Garden – August 2024
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In My Garden – August 2024

There is so much blooming in my garden right now that choosing what to write about is difficult. I can only give you a snapshot. So, here goes.

The big news is that we have finally finished our little vegetable farm. We now have ten 3×6-foot raised beds. We built them a foot off the ground to deter the redwood roots.

10 raised beds

Ten raised beds

 

Raised beds in the vegetable garden

Raised beds in the vegetable garden – chard and kale, beans, chives, tarragon, winter savory

 

Raised beds in the vegetable garden

Raised beds in the vegetable garden

You may ask what is planted…

Chard and Kale
Zucchini
Globe Artichokes
Sunchokes
Lettuce
Potatoes
Bush Beans
arugula
Basil

Radishes (French and watermelon), beets, carrots, and several lettuce mixes are not pictured because they are too small.

There is room for a little seating area for an evening glass of wine.

Ready for tea or cocktails

Ready for tea or cocktails

The tomatoes are growing, with three small green ones on the vines.

tomatoes

tomatoes

Who is this? I found this cute little guy hanging out in one of the water tubes around the tomatoes.

Froggy friend

Froggy friend

And, of course, there are flowers. It is looking very much like an overgrown cottage garden.

August abundance

August abundance

August abundance

August abundance

August abundance

August abundance

Nasturtiums

Nasturtiums

It’s keeping me busy and dirt under my fingernails, but the garden is my happy place.

Thank you for visiting and spending time with me in the garden.

 

July – Coastal Air Conditioning
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July – Coastal Air Conditioning

We don’t have air conditioning at our house in Fort Bragg. It was 85 degrees F in the sun mid-day yesterday. That’s a high temperature for here, but nothing compared to much of the state and the entire U.S. has been experiencing. Over an hour from here, inland, it was over 110 degrees F. Our usual summer temperatures are in the high 60’s to low 70’s.

It cools down at night by as much as 20-30 degrees. And then we have our coastal air conditioning. As the temperature heats up inland, it pulls cooler air and fog into the coast. Our summers are frequently foggy and chilly. It’s a rare 4th of July that you can see the fireworks, usually just colorful shadows on the clouds. Tonight might be an exception; we will see.

Less than a mile from our house is Mackerricher State Park.

Beach at MacKerricher California State Park

Beach at MacKerricher California State Park – July

MacKerricher has miles of mostly unoccupied beaches. We don’t get swarms of visitors because…

  • the water is cold
  • we are some distance from the San Francisco Bay Area (it’s over a 3-hour drive)
  • the most significant small city is still over an hour away over twisty and windy roads; car sickness is a regular occurrence

We love it. I can walk for hours and only see the usual dog walkers who say a friendly hello. Sometimes, we stop and admire each other’s four-legged friends, allowing them to sniff each other.

The paved path along the shore is also a favorite riding spot of the S.O.B.’s Seniors on Bikes. They nod as they ride past.

The nearby stables offer horse rides on the beach; they wave and ask our dog’s name as they slowly amble by. But these folks are few and far between. It is usually quite empty.

Beach at MacKerricher California State Park

Beach at MacKerricher California State Park – June

Do you see that line of clouds on the horizon in the picture above? That’s our air conditioning. The breeze comes off the coast late afternoon and pulls in the cooler air.

The Pacific Ocean is never the same day to day. There is always something new to observe.

Beach at MacKerricher California State Park

Beach at MacKerricher California State Park – May

 

August - Pelicans and Sea Gulls

August – Pelicans and Sea Gulls

 

MacKerricher in December - see the seals on the rocks

MacKerricher in December – see the seals on the rocks

MacKerricher has camping during much of the year. It can get quite crowded in that area. But the beach remains empty except for some hardy souls and families with small children carting their shovels and pails.

My favorite time of year is just after the winter storms. The waves can be pretty fierce, and with a high tide, the dunes wash over the road, flooding it. In the case of the king tide last January, much of it also washed away. When that happens, the park closes the road, and it is only accessible by foot.

January storms washed away most of the road

January storms washed away most of the road.

Dogs are required to be on leash in MacKerricher, which is essential in the spring and summer when the shorebirds have their nests and when there are many visitors. But in the winter, when the road is closed, and no one is around, I let our dogs off to run. They chase up and down the dunes; watching their happiness is a joy.

I hope you all have a wonderful Independence Day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

In My Garden – June 2024
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In My Garden – June 2024

It’s been a busy time in the garden lately, it has kept me from my desk as I spend most of my time outside. I am calling this a June post even though it is at the very end. Many of the pictures, especially of flowers, were taken earlier this month.

My husband completed a couple more raised beds for the vegetable garden. In our case, because of the invasive redwood roots, they are raised above the ground. I had to dig out roots several times each year as they competed with my vegetables, choking them and acidifying the soil. It was hard work sometimes requiring a hacksaw. Having them above ground saves my back and the plants. Here’s a peek…

There are still two more boxes to complete my mini-farm. The resident carpenter thinks they will be completed sometime this week.

Tomatoes don’t do well here unless you have a greenhouse, which we don’t have. The night temperatures are too cool. I grew wonderful tomatoes in Oakland with the aid of something called Walls of Water. They are plastic tunnels with tubes that you fill with water. During the day the water-filled tubes are warmed by the sun, releasing their heat during the night. I’ve placed four plants in one of the warmest areas of the yard where there is south sun and protection from the wind.

Tomatoes with walls of water

Tomatoes with walls of water

I know it’s late to plant tomatoes (these are a determinate variety) but our warmest days are yet to come. I am keeping my fingers crossed, stay tuned.

Those same redwood roots make their way into the half-wine barrels where I have planted roses. I dig out the roses every other year in late winter, add new potting soil and fertilizer, and then replant them. They seem to thrive despite the disruption.

The rhododendrons are almost finished blooming. They were very late this year due to the cold and wet winter. These pictures were taken in early June (sorry I missed a post last month), this is catch-up time.

I have sweet pea flowers, one of my favorites.

Sweet peas

Sweet peas

And lastly, just a walk about the rest of the garden.

It’s an English cottage look, a bit messy most of the time but lots of flowers. The dahlias are not quite blooming yet but they will be when I post in early August. There is lots of activity out there…bees, hummingbirds, buzzing insects, and the birds hunting them.

In My Garden – March 2024
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In My Garden – March 2024

Until the last week or so there hasn’t been much going on in the garden. A few sunny days have changed all that. Although spring and our last estimated frost free date (April 16) are still some time away, I see signs of spring. The tree swallows are back, I saw them this morning zipping in and out of their favored bird house. And the hummingbirds are voracious at the feeders. I have seen three types…Anna’s (here year round), Allens, and Rufus. The Rufus birds are particularly aggressive in their attempts to drive the other birds away and defend the feeders.

Although I have a flowers they favor in the garden, most of them have yet to come into bloom. An exception are the wild huckleberries and Manzanita on the property. I did see one flowering salvia, this one is Mole Poblano. It’s a variety which seems to do well here, unless it is cut back it can reach over 6 feet.

Salvia

Salvia

Also in flower this month are Cuphea and the Hellebores.

There is a brownish-purple Flax in the back which had completely overgrown its designated spot and shaded neighboring plants. After watching a video on Youtube we cut (or rather hacked) it back.  Fingers crossed it survives.

The flowering sweet peas have been planted in a half wine barrel. They are one of my favorite flowers, grown every year in memory of my English grandmother.

flowering sweet peas

flowering sweet peas

The edible peas are in the vegetable garden. These are snow peas planted last fall. The snap peas haven’t emerged yet.

Snow peas

Snow peas

The mint is taking off. It’s planted in a container so it doesn’t take over. There will be mint to serve with lamb for Easter.

Mint

Mint

I’ve already been able to cut chives for use in the kitchen.

Chives

Chives

I direct sowed salad greens, (arugula, cress and various mixed varieties) about 10 days ago when we had a break in the rain.

Salad greens, direct sowed

Salad greens, direct sowed

The first starts from a local organic grower have shown up at the market, I couldn’t resist buying several 6 packs. Grocery store greens are no match for those picked fresh from the garden.

Salad greens, spinach and chard

Salad greens, spinach and chard

I had to dig out the roses from the half barrels, remove redwood roots and replant them. This is a yearly chore, otherwise the redwood roots would choke the rose bushes. This one is a new one, Julia Child in honor or my mother who had a cooking school and studied with her.

New Rosebush - Julia Child

New Rosebush – Julia Child

We have a few days of a break in the rain, 47 inches so far this season. More is predicted next weekend. So, I am going to take advantage of the sun and get out there.

What’s happening in your own garden?