Pozo Blue Sage in Early Bloom
This is Salvia Pozo Blue (Salvia clevelandii X leucophylla) a hybrid of two So Cal natives, Purple Sage and Cleveland Sage. I picked it up about two years ago from La Pilatas Nursery, a native plant specialist not too far from here. It's leaves resemble the Cleveland Sage's leaves, but they're spaced farther apart on leggy stems like the Purple Sage. The smell is a woodsy must akin to the Cleveland Sage. I like the plant because it makes a nice green shrub that requires no care other than a little water now and then. From mid-winter to mid-spring it's [keep reading...]
My Keyhole Garden is Amazing
Keyhole garden winter progress as of January 10, 2020 Cool weather has turned it into a nutrient rich kitchen garden like no other! It's hard to overstate how awesome a keyhole garden is. If you’ve ever thought about building one, do it. I built one on a whim for about $100 early last spring and was amazed at how it pumped out vegetables and herbs from spring all the way into mid-autumn with basically no effort from me -- no weeding, very little watering, easy harvesting. Definitely $100 well invested. Turns out, that was just the start. I [keep reading...]
Is This Pride of Madeira Looking at You?
My wife told me she felt like this stalk from a Pride of Madeira near our front door was looking at her. I didn't see it. So I fixed it. Now it's definitely looking at her.
Keyhole Garden Progress – December 24, 2019
A Pacific storm rolled in giving us about 2 inches of rain and considerably colder temperatures. Our mountains got snow, we got frost, but the keyhole garden doesn't seem to notice. The lettuces and Chinese cabbage are really leafing out and the broccoli and red cabbage are getting tall. Even the cilantro, which is kind of picky about too hot or too cold, is growing well.
Hot Sauce Batch 19 – entry 10
That's it. Oak is in the brew and the last of the peppers are picked and added for Batch 19 of the Hidden Lake hot sauce. 12 weeks of fresh fermentation. Now for 12 weeks of aging. See you in spring peppers. Merry Christmas everyone else!
End of the Line for Hot Peppers 2019
The summer ended with the rain in November. Then came the frost. Then came the rain again. These are officially the last peppers of Hidden Lake Hot Batch 19. At least they were easy to pick.
Christmas Rescue 2018
A white poinsettia one year after being rescued My wife likes to justify her post-Christmas bargain hunting by bringing home an abused and deeply-discounted Christmas plant for me to save. Sometimes it's a rosemary trimmed in the shape of a little Christmas tree, an easy save, sometimes it's a spruce, a plant wholly unsuited for San Diego's desert climate and therefore a hard save. Usually though, it's a poinsettia, which is an easy save unless you make it hard. San Diego is basically America's poinsettia capitol. Every town in the county has at least one street named "Poinsettia" [keep reading...]
This Crassula Owns the Greenhouse Today
Wandered into the greenhouse this morning to check how everyone is doing with the ridiculous 50° temperature swings. My Island of Misfit Succulents seems to be doing just fine. This Crassula (anyone know the variety?) with it's bright green and pink-tinged leaves is really owning it today.
Found an Aloe Forest
Discovered a large patch of aloe (Aloe barbadensis) growing wild in a neglected area of the Acre. They're going to be part of my Mediterranean garden now.
Hot Pepper Sauce Batch 19 – Entry 9
Rain and persistent cold weather have slowed the peppers to a crawl. There's still a few left on the plants, but not enough to hold off on moving the hot sauce to its resting stage. To enhance the flavor I add a couple of oak staves to the pepper brew and let it sit for another 8 - 12 weeks. American oak happens to be high in a compound called vanillin, which is why things that age in American oak barrels (like Bourbon) have subtle vanilla aromas and flavors. Toasting the oak helps make those flavors more pronounced, so [keep reading...]
Pozo Blue Sage in Early Bloom
This is Salvia Pozo Blue (Salvia clevelandii X leucophylla) a hybrid of two So Cal natives, Purple Sage and Cleveland Sage. I picked it up about two years ago from La Pilatas Nursery, a native plant specialist not too far from here. It's leaves resemble the Cleveland Sage's leaves, but they're spaced farther apart on leggy stems like the Purple Sage. The smell is a woodsy must akin to the Cleveland Sage. I like the plant because it makes a nice green shrub that requires no care other than a little water now and then. From mid-winter to mid-spring it's [keep reading...]
My Keyhole Garden is Amazing
Keyhole garden winter progress as of January 10, 2020 Cool weather has turned it into a nutrient rich kitchen garden like no other! It's hard to overstate how awesome a keyhole garden is. If you’ve ever thought about building one, do it. I built one on a whim for about $100 early last spring and was amazed at how it pumped out vegetables and herbs from spring all the way into mid-autumn with basically no effort from me -- no weeding, very little watering, easy harvesting. Definitely $100 well invested. Turns out, that was just the start. I [keep reading...]
Is This Pride of Madeira Looking at You?
My wife told me she felt like this stalk from a Pride of Madeira near our front door was looking at her. I didn't see it. So I fixed it. Now it's definitely looking at her.
Keyhole Garden Progress – December 24, 2019
A Pacific storm rolled in giving us about 2 inches of rain and considerably colder temperatures. Our mountains got snow, we got frost, but the keyhole garden doesn't seem to notice. The lettuces and Chinese cabbage are really leafing out and the broccoli and red cabbage are getting tall. Even the cilantro, which is kind of picky about too hot or too cold, is growing well.
Hot Sauce Batch 19 – entry 10
That's it. Oak is in the brew and the last of the peppers are picked and added for Batch 19 of the Hidden Lake hot sauce. 12 weeks of fresh fermentation. Now for 12 weeks of aging. See you in spring peppers. Merry Christmas everyone else!
End of the Line for Hot Peppers 2019
The summer ended with the rain in November. Then came the frost. Then came the rain again. These are officially the last peppers of Hidden Lake Hot Batch 19. At least they were easy to pick.
Christmas Rescue 2018
A white poinsettia one year after being rescued My wife likes to justify her post-Christmas bargain hunting by bringing home an abused and deeply-discounted Christmas plant for me to save. Sometimes it's a rosemary trimmed in the shape of a little Christmas tree, an easy save, sometimes it's a spruce, a plant wholly unsuited for San Diego's desert climate and therefore a hard save. Usually though, it's a poinsettia, which is an easy save unless you make it hard. San Diego is basically America's poinsettia capitol. Every town in the county has at least one street named "Poinsettia" [keep reading...]
This Crassula Owns the Greenhouse Today
Wandered into the greenhouse this morning to check how everyone is doing with the ridiculous 50° temperature swings. My Island of Misfit Succulents seems to be doing just fine. This Crassula (anyone know the variety?) with it's bright green and pink-tinged leaves is really owning it today.
Found an Aloe Forest
Discovered a large patch of aloe (Aloe barbadensis) growing wild in a neglected area of the Acre. They're going to be part of my Mediterranean garden now.
Hot Pepper Sauce Batch 19 – Entry 9
Rain and persistent cold weather have slowed the peppers to a crawl. There's still a few left on the plants, but not enough to hold off on moving the hot sauce to its resting stage. To enhance the flavor I add a couple of oak staves to the pepper brew and let it sit for another 8 - 12 weeks. American oak happens to be high in a compound called vanillin, which is why things that age in American oak barrels (like Bourbon) have subtle vanilla aromas and flavors. Toasting the oak helps make those flavors more pronounced, so [keep reading...]