Field Trip/Workshop on July 14th

With some misgivings, I am throwing open my yard for our July field trip/workshop.  The topic will be Wise Watering for the Hot Months Ahead.  I have 6 different watering systems in use, ranging from the laundry-to-landscape greywater our April speaker Sergio Scabuzzo  installed in front , to basic inline drip from Smiths Plumbing, individual drippers on a solid hose from various sources, hand watering from 10 gallon buckets where I store shower water not yet heated up (and I just got the niftiest watering can!), and a small rotary sprinkler system on the tiny lawn. If the rest of you could bring samples of whatever you are using to water your gardens, we could answer one of the biggest recurring questions members have here in Drought City.

Members should enter through the big driveway gate and head to the backyard where I will put fences around anything I am concerned about people trampling.  As is true of all field trips, please do not pick, poke or otherwise molest the green-age.

The driveway is in perpetual shade but I have no chairs there so if any of you have portable ones, it would be great to bring them.  There are a (very) few chairs on the back deck plus steps where the younger folk can sit, so if it is not too hot,  we can have our workshop there.

The backyard has some mature trees: a Black Mission fig, 2 Satsuma tangerines, Moro blood orange, Meyer and Eureka lemons, Bearss and Mexican lime, Big Jim Loquat with a Champagne graft from Marjane, Black Persian Mulberry (plus a new little Pakistani from Hal), Saijo persimmon plus half a dozen cherimoyas from seed (and one transplanted from Gary Richwald’s yard), 2 passionflower vines from Jorge Ochoa, a new little Sweetheart Lychee, four apple trees, two ridiculously huge Laurus Nobilis (an object lesson in why they shouldn’t be planted here especially on the south side of our yards) a couple of Cherry of Rio Grande, one Surinam cherry and probably other stuff I’m forgetting (oh yeah, papayas from seed and a Babaco from Charles Portney, plus a new Stewart avocado–ed. the Stewart just ended up in the front yard). The tiny lawn is the UC Verde drought tolerant stuff developed by, right, UC Riverside.

The front yard is not to be entered and will be rung with Home Depot’s best DANGER tape. It is full of bee and butterfly plants, an extremely fragile drip system and an even more fragile graft of Yang Mei onto Pacific Wax Myrtle.  Fang Liu did approximately 15 such grafts and only the one took. Needless to say, I am extremely protective of it.

Nonetheless most of the front yard’s residents are visible from the front sidewalk or the driveway, including two Gros Michel bananas, a Janice Kadota fig and some seedlings from Marjane’s Panache, the Cotton Candy tree some of you have cuttings from, a lot of Pomegranates from sticks stuck in the ground after scion exchanges, three pears (well, only one is really visible from sidewalk), two apple trees (and two more which never really took and are probably coming out for avocados!) a new and struggling Hachiya Persimmon — struggling because the sunflowers and borage tend to crowd it out. Half a dozen roses.  And my rose apple seedling from Marjane which is NOT bearing and is asking to be chopped down. The Burgundy plum next to it may be gone soon too.  It has two plums on it after three years. Not  especially visible are the blueberries and self-sown strawberries.  Please do not walk in my neighbors’ driveway on that side.  They are extremely hostile to Rare Fruit Growers, including me.  Sofia will be monitoring with a machete

There is also a native California garden on the parkway (and a lot in  the front yard too) which is a whole other topic we discussed at Hal’s but people can see in action.

There will be cookies.  Please don’t feed them to the extremely large but friendly dog.

 

 

Greywater in the Orchard – Saturday, April 14th @ 10 am

Sergio Scabuzzo of the Greenman Project will be speaking to the chapter at our April meeting.  You can read more about him at https://www.thegreenmanproject.com/ (and even see a 3-year old photo of my newly planted front yard with his laundry-to-landscape installation) but I cribbed the following bio from the Greywater Action site:

After 15 years of work in construction, including managing an office with a crew of 30+ contractors, Sergio decided to move on to a more ecologically minded lifestyle. In early 2014 he began installing greywater systems and while working for Greywater Corps started advocating for their widespread implementation. He holds several certifications and is trained in greywater systems installation, water harvesting, permaculture, natural building, native landscaping, web design, and has a strong focus on appropriate use of resources. Sergio is from Argentina and currently lives in Topanga Canyon where he spends most of his free time talking about sustainability.

Despite our March rains, drought is never far from the minds of us Southern Californians. While capturing rainwater is always a good idea, it rains here only a few weeks a year while we use water in our homes 24/7. Capturing at least some of it for our orchards is among the most ecological and economical things we can do.  Come learn how to do it!

Note: because the bodybuilders will be holding one of their extravaganzas at the same time as our meeting, we have been moved to the Rotunda Room (where we held our Holiday Party last December).  Parking, unfortunately, will be at a premium so please plan ahead.  Also, because of the inevitable crush at the main entrance, be aware there is another entrance to the Rotunda Room directly from the parking lot on the Culver Boulevard side.   We will attempt to hang our banner there so keep your eyes peeled.  Of course, it is always possible to enter the main entrance and turn right immediately into the Rotunda Room, but it will be crowded!

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