The Road to Sustainablity for Mezcal

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Mezcal has become the world’s favorite distilled beverage—in 2021 production increased 700% from 10 years before. That year eight million liters were produced, much of it in Oaxaca. Any industry growing that fast will have serious environmental  and cultural implications.

Although Santiago Matalan is regarded as the mezcal capital of the world, much is changing. As the need to respond to the challenges facing mezcal production increases, innovations are happening in other corners of Oaxaca and throughout the country. The crux of the matter is these solutions are long-term project with no immediate economic returns.

Challenges

  • Agaves are exclusively harvested before they flower, just as the flowering stem emerges when they are rich in sugars. Removing this quiote concentrates the sugars in the heart of the piña.
  • Removing the flowers impacts native pollinators, especially an important endangered bat species.
  • Removing the flower stem prevents seed production that increases genetic diversity.
  • Monoculture  of identical clones reduces diversity, increasing the risk of entire fields succumbing to disease and pests.
  • Overharvesting wild agaves reduces available nectar for endangered long-nosed bats.
  • Waste from mezcal production, the liquid vinzana is toxic, as are the agave fibers.
  • Water consumption: ten liters of water are required to produce one liter of mezcal

Solutions

Some local Oaxaca heroes include Luis Mendez of Sola de Vega . He has spent years experimenting with cultivating agave plants from seed and his nursery provides growers with small plants. This helps break up monocultures, prevents over-harvesting wild plants, and provides for pollinators. Besides growing agave for mezcal, he encourages people to use them for erosion control, windbreaks, and to increase biodiversity.

Fourth generation mezcalero, Graciela Ángeles Carreño, is a woman from Real Minero who was featured in a Smithsonian article about sustainable production. The Race to Save Mezcal From the World. Her family’s brand Real Minero is a sustainable choice. Mezcal tours from Oaxaca City often go to this cutting-edge plantation and distillery.

Enterprising mavericks like  Ron Cooper with Del Maguey have partnered with Zapotec producers in Oaxaca. Another mezcal aficionado is Lou Bank, founder and CEO of SACRED: Saving Agave for Culture, Recreation, Education, and Development. This nonprofit  is empowering communities. When asked about green-washing, Bank had a pragmatic response that you can read here.  SACRED has raised over US$600,000 that has supported twelve rural communities that raise maguey.

On another front, university researchers  have partnered with local growers. The Association of Magauey and Artizanal Mezcal has more information. Instead of relying  exclusively on the fast-growing Espadin in monocultures throughout Oaxaca central valley, they are pioneering cultivating more varieties and growing them from seed. Instead of over-harvesting a number of wild maguey species in the surrounding mountains, the are cultivating them. By leaving 30 % of an agave plantation to flower and only harvesting 70% of the crop, pollinators will thrive.

New pathways for utilizing the mezcal waste both the solid fibers and the liquids are being explored, especially in the construction of adobe bricks. Native maguey grows throughout Mexico, and wherever it grows rural folks and campesinos have had bootleg operations—from Sonora to Puebla.

My all-time favorite author and ethnobotanist, Gary Paul Nabhan has pioneered the sustainable efforts with Ana Valenz Zapata  a Mexican scientist. Years ago they recognized the problems facing Tequila. Now Nabhan has co-authored another book, Agave Spirits.

“Culled from decades of fieldwork and interviews with mezcaleros in eight Mexican states, Agave Spirits reveals the stunning innovations emerging today across the mezcal supply chain and offers solutions for improving sustainability and equity.” Check out their great website Mezcal-Mankind-Mutualism

Oaxaca’s central valley and city is prone to water shortages during the prolonged dry season. Recent droughts have exacerbated the situation of a growing population and failing infrastructure. Environmental issues include climate change, deforestation, and mining. Mezcal production is also part of the problem. To produce one liter of mezcal  uses ten liters of water, much of it becoming toxic in the process. The water table is dropping and wells are going dry.

The months of June through September often are blessed with abundant rainfall. Rural communities are responding by harvesting rainwater. This includes planting trees, making swales and building tanks for water storage. As mezcaleros and non-profits work together for a sustainable future, consumers can support these efforts by purchasing from innovative mezcal brands.

Gardening for the Birds

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Winter is a time to step back and evaluate the garden; to appreciate how much it has grown since last year and to analyze how we can improve it. One approach is considering it from a bird’s perspective. Gardens that favor birds provide food, water, cover and a safe place to nest.

Water for drinking and bathing is essential. Place it adjacent to shrubby habitat to provide refuge from predators. Shallow moving water with a place to perch is best, but a bird bath that has clean water is also valuable.

If the shrubs have berries, so much the better. Also, evergreen shrubs provide an excellent place to roost at night. Evergreen foliage provides screening from predators and insulation from winter’s cold. Above is Ebbings Silverberry, Elaeagnus x ebbingei in bloom. Hummingbirds were feeding here mid-November and new flowers keep opening. Below is Strawberry Tree, Arbutus unedo and Pacific Wax Myrtle, featured in an earlier post.

Arbutus undo

Feeding the birds

Bird feeders come to mind first and many people are committed to providing bid seed and suet. Some birds change their diet according to the season. Perennial seed-heads offer another option. Native plants have evolved with the local bird populations. In addition, perennials can be selected for architecturally interesting seed-heads. Plants in the mint family including sages, Salvia; anise hyssop, Agastache and Jerusalem sage, Phlomis. Sunflower family flowers like Joe-Pye weed, Echinacea, black-eyed Susan, Rudbeckia hirta and artichoke are attractive to birds.

Many cat owners recognize that a cat can kill up to eleven birds a year. A ‘Catio’, or cat patio is an outdoor enclosed space that protects cats from eagles and hawks and prevents cats from killing birds. Many homeowners have found ways to integrate this structure into their landscape. One of my favorite catios is that of my friends Kathleen and Pete. They constructed their catio around an existing blueberry patch, thus excluding birds from berries and cats from birds!

Watching birds is a relaxing and invigorating hobby for gardeners. People start off with bird feeders and it opens up an entire world. When David Sibley, author of The Sibley Guide to Birds, was asked why he enjoyed watching birds, he responded:

One of the most enduring attractions for me is that it gives me a chance to learn about an entire system (the natural world) by simply watching and getting to know the birds. When I can name a bird that I see, or notice subtle differences in appearance or behavior, that information gives me access to a store of knowledge about the species’ habits and preferences. I know where its travels might have taken it, what type of food it’s looking for, if it’s likely to be alone or part of a flock. In short, I know that bird and have a sense of how it fits in the world around it.

Check out The Courage of Birds: The Often Surprising Ways They Survive Winter, a new book by the birding team Pete Dunne and David Sibley.

Consider gifting a gardener/birder an online course covering everything about gardening for birds:

Cornell Lab Bird Academy

October Garden Chores

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We know it’s autumn when the leaves start turning color. Here a Pin Oak brightens the landscape. It’s time to harvest winter squash and pumpkins, but if your squash isn’t quite ready, perhaps it will have time to continue ripening.

In Port Townsend, our typical first killing frost arrives by the end of November. If autumn temperatures drop slowly over time, plants get acclimated. The high concentration of sugars acts as ‘antifreeze’ in the protoplasm and this is what gives kale and other crops a sweeter flavor after the first frost. But if warm weather prevails until a sudden hard frost hits, then plants are not prepared. Sometimes in November the temperature can suddenly drop twenty degrees! Next month pay attention to the weather forecast and be ready to use floating row covers on crops and newly planted broad-leaf evergreen ornamentals. Forecasts for the next three to six months seem to be leaning toward La Niña but one forecaster described it as “a weak event”. NOAA posted this

Garden Chores

  • Leaves: Rake and compost, or save for mulch.
  • Lawns: Over-seed existing ones with white clover, yarrow, English daisy and other flowering plants for pollinators.
  • Mulch: shrubs and garden beds for winter protection and weed suppression. The increased organic matter will eventually feed the soil ecosystem. (This repeat from last month reinforces how important it is!)
  • Plant garlic: 2” deep in well-drained soil. Space cloves 5 inches apart with the tip up. Mulch with straw. Prevent disease by rotating crop every 3-5 years. Certified disease free garlic or saving your own is best.
  • Fruit Trees: Rake and remove any diseased dried leaves, rotten- and mummy-fruits to prevent disease.
  • Apple tree pests: Examine fruits for coddling moth larvae damage. The Hortsense link offers preventative measures for next year.
Tinker and apprentice Brianna at Abundant Life Seed Foundation in 2001. Upper Salmon River squash

Winter squash can be slow to fully mature. One way to encourage this is to remove all small and new squash in September. This allows all the energy to go to the larger, more mature squash. The signs that a squash is mature include a bright yellow spot where the squash touched the ground, the stem becomes brown and corky-textured. Also, as the squash skin toughens up, it becoming duller, and even a bit waxy. It may difficult to make an indentation with your fingernail. These contribute to a good storage crop.

Tinker loved growing the Lower Salmon River winter squash. This variety of Cucurbita maxima is one of the few heritage crops from the PNW, and is known from the Salmon River area of Idaho. It has a distinctive flavor and texture. Seeds are available from Adaptive Seeds.

If you want to taste Lower Salmon River, Midori Farm grows it and the Food Co-op has some now. It takes about 90 days to mature. It can withstand a couple of light frosts although the first one will probably kill the foliage. For Cucurbita maxima aficionados, check out this Johnny’s Seeds critique of flavor and yield for varieties.

After the fall equinox, plant growth slows. We have not had frost yet in early October 20224, so crops are still growing well. Plants are able to sense cold temperatures and respond by producing carbohydrates. In vegetable crops, the high concentration of sugars acts as ‘antifreeze’ in the protoplasm and this is what gives kale and other brassicas a sweeter flavor after the first frost. For more on winter gardens see the OSU Extension Publication

Pacific Wax Myrtle: resilient native evergreen

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Pacific wax myrtle, Morella californica, is native to the coastal areas of Washington state and south to California. It is considered on of the best evergreen native shrubs for our gardens. Although the flowers are inconspicuous, the waxy black fruits are popular with birds. Knock-on-wood it is still deer resistant.

This hardy native is adaptable to many conditions from full sun to shade. Although it prefers moist, well-drained soil, it can grow in a variety of soils. The root nodules have nitrogen-fixing microorganisms that allow the plant to grow in poor soil.

Hedge row
Mature shrub
Different stages of growth
Mature fruit

Once established it is completely drought tolerant. It will grow to 30 feet tall and 15 feet wide in thirty years. For the average size garden, pruning will keep it within bounds. Late winter is best for heavy pruning, then general shaping can be made with heading-back cuts through out the season. This remarkable shrub can be pruned as a formal hedge, a loose screen or even a small tree. As a screening hedge, Pacific Wax Myrtle provides habitat for a multitude of birds including Spotted towhee, several sparrows, northern flicker, robin, goldfinch and cedar wax-wing. The latter are especially delightful in winter when small flocks gather on the shrubs. The waxy berries provide vegan fat in the winter.

Morella californica blooming in May

Pacific wax myrtle is slow to grow at first and once established, it grows steadily. Here the tiny flowers are blooming. Within these red catkins are separate male and female flowers. To see a close up and more photos go to the OSU landscape plant descriptions. This website provides excellent plant descriptions. I have not found anything like it in Washington.

For the longest time I didn’t think any disease bothered this shrub, but I noticed some foliage die back and even some stems turning brown. The Pacific Northwest Pest Management Handbook describes a type of leaf blight caused by a phytopthera that only bothers this species. This fungal-like organism was first identified as a pest in 2009 on the Oregon coast. I have been growing several shrubs at my place for thirty years and have only noticed it recently. Some ways to prevent spreading the disease:

  • Avoid overhead watering.
  • Mulch with arborist chips
  • Increase air circulation at the base of the plant by removing weeds or other vegetation.
  • Remove any diseased plant material and throw it in the garbage, don’t compost it,
  • Don’t over-fertilize and don’t fertilize late in the season.
  • Sanitize tools with isopropyl alcohol, or prepare a mix of 1 part bleach to 9 parts water. Dip tool or wipe with moistened rag.
  • Water to get the shrub established and then only monthly during summers to grow a hedge or screen.

The leaves make a pleasant tasting tea that is medicinal. The active medicinal substances include an astringent resin. The root and bark can be tinctured and used for inflamed gums according to Michael Moore’s Medicinal Plants of the Pacific West. The plant’s botanical name was changed in 2006. Previously it was known as Myrica californica.

A native plant adaptable to sun or shade and varying soil conditions, one that can synthesize it’s own nitrogen is bound to be more resilient!

Rainshadow Gardening on glacial sediments

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Looking at the natural history of our area deepens our sense of place and helps us grow more resilient gardens. Climate, geology and ecology have shaped the land. Tinker would always comment on the landslides along the bluff between North Beach Park and Point Wilson lighthouse. She enjoyed reading the landscape and imagining the geologic forces at work.

By looking at the bluff, we see what is below the surface of much of Quimper Peninsula, and begin to understand our soils. The above photo shows layers of deposited sediment.

Just imagine—a massive sheet of ice 3,000 ft deep covered East Jefferson County, 15,000 years ago. This last glacier bulldozed and deposited rocks, gravel, and sand. The beach bluffs reveal that much of our soil is glacial deposits. There are pockets of clay, sand and a bit of sandy loam. The thin topsoil is often sandy, gravelly loam. If this intrigues you, check out the Quimper Geological Society!

If you have ever felt your garden soil is not as good as it could be, you are not alone! Most areas of the Puget Lowlands are too young for deep topsoil. ( Of course there is prime agricultural land that formed on marine terraces or alluvial outflow from rivers.) A soil profile is a cut through section of the land revealing topsoil, layers of subsoil and  even bedrock. Soil scientists dig profiles to examine the existing soil.

The curious gardener can look online for a digital copy of the 1975 soil survey of the county, where aerial photographs are overlaid with maps roughly indicating soil types and descriptions. I have an old paper copy that I highly value.

Again, this is just a brief summary and I am no expert! The climate working on the land determines the native flora. The Puget Sound area has mild winters and cool dry summers, and is commonly known as a Mediterranean climate. Winter rains tend to be continuous and light to moderate rather than heavy downpours. The marine layer—a deep, low cloud bank is a defining feature.

Rainshadow

What makes our area unique is that the Olympic Mountains block the moisture-laden clouds coming from the Pacific. The west side is a rainforest while the northeast side, in the shadow of the mountains is rainshadow. I have seen native Opuntia fragilis on the Quimper Peninsula and on Whidbey Island. Port Townsend’s average rainfall is around 20 to 23 inches. Often the marine layer breaks apart late in the day.

Prevailing winds  from the Pacific often reach us from the south and southwest. As the clouds move around the Olympics, dumping precipitation from Olympia to Brinnon, they are wrung out by the time they reach Port Townsend. Eastern Jefferson County is largely a peninsula on a peninsula. It juts out to the northeast and catches the winds from the south. Mostly in summer winds blow from the northwest down the Salish Sea.

Arctic Blasts

In general our gardens are more prone to winter damage when arctic blasts roar down through the Fraser River Valley of British Columbia. It used to be that we only needed to track this during El Niño- Southern Oscillation years but the polar vortex is wobbling now and this leads to less predictability. Last winter we had cold temperatures that were the lowest in 30 years. Keeping an eye on the weather allows us to bring out sheets or burlap to cover plants. Even wind-blown Doug fir boughs shield vulnerable plants.

Moving here in 1988, with a background in organic horticulture, I was very curious about weather. Trying to get a grasp on seasonal cycles and weather, I asked many questions. It seemed like every season someone would say “This is the coldest summer” or “This is the wettest spring,” or “Its the driest winter”—I could not find a predictable pattern!

But there were and still are weather trends: Spring came early and lasted until the fourth of July; summer was somewhat predictable for August and September, although any day could become rainy and windy. Then autumn arrived. The snow was visible on the mountains until September. Several people who grew up here said the mountains were always snow-covered when they were children.

What I recall is the first snowfall would brighten the Olympic Mountains by mid-October, and might bring a cold snap to sea level, with occasional early frosts. Then mild weather would return for much of October. Often November would be the rainiest time of the year. Temperatures would get cooler and cooler until a frost. The darkest time of the year was and still is late November, December and January.—the sky colored many shades of gray. But then storms blew in from the south, after wrapping around the Olympics, bringing windy weather and sun-breaks in the dramatic skies. Red flowering currant could bloom as early as mid-February. There does seem to be an increased occurrence of multi-year La Nina. Nature magazine 2023.

Resilient Gardens

Climate change is real and part of gardening is responding to the changes. We live in a place for garden lovers, where flowers can bloom in the winter and a large number of evergreen shrubs thrive. The native vegetation offers a plethora of interesting plants for our gardens. Berries and fruit trees thrive in our mild climate. Winter vegetable gardens provide leeks and greens all winter. Knowing that most soils here are excessively well-drained and that we can’t rely on summer rains, drought-tolerant ornamentals are a smart choice. Tinker respected our rainshadow ecosystem. Here is how she grew resilient gardens:

  • Recognizing the importance of the soil ecosystem
  • Caring for the soil through making compost & sheet mulch
  • Selecting plant varieties that are bred for pest-resistance
  • Growing open-pollinated heirlooms that we can nurture as landraces
  • Developing a strong curiosity about our local weather
  • Committing to living lightly on the Earth, however we define it

Gardening for the Senses

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Plants with textured foliage invite us to touch or pluck a leaf and stroke it, even caress our face!

Gardens can stimulate or relax us by how they influence the five senses. A relaxing ambiance can come from blending in with the existing natural environment. When we are alive to our senses, we are in the moment. The frargrance of a rose or the soft texture of a leaf slid across the face, contrasting colors in the garden, all influence us through our senses. A repetitive pattern has a soothing or harmonious influence.

Gardens that stimulate and bring the energy up often have bold colors and strong scents. Patterns that contrast and colors that contrast are powerful. Think magenta and orange flowers with combined with chartreuse foliage; ornamental grasses next to large-leaf shrubs like Fatsia; canna lily with ornamental onion, the list goes on! Whimsical garden features like colored globes or blown glass spikes and sculptures with mirrored surfaces all add to an energetic feel. Mahonia media and unusual hebes along with weeping dwarf conifers all add an element of excitement.

Sound

Most of us in Jefferson County are fortunate to live where it is quiet enough to hear natural sounds: wind through conifers, rain on roofs, treefrogs singing, and geese flying overhead. We can create or muffle sounds in the garden. A water feature outside our open window will bubble, gurgle and splash.

Birdsong is another feature we can add to our garden by offering habitat, water and food. Humans have evolved with birds—when they are singing, all is safe. The melodious calls of songbirds encourage us to relax.

Large ornamental grass like Miscanthus grouped together can whisper in the wind. Bamboo make a soft sound as the wind passes through.

Windchimes create different moods. Determine if high-pitch tinkling sounds or deeper, resonant bass notes bring you joy. Listen to different ones to choose. 

Science has shown how auditory input impacts us, based on variation of pitch and length of time the sound The rhythmic sound of water on the shore is similar to the sound of humans breathing thus it is often soothing. When we hear many sounds at once it can be discordant and confusing. We can create a peaceful soundscape by muffling unwanted sounds with hedges and berms.

Scent

Flowers come to mind first when we think of scent—roses and lavender. Other scents include volatile oils in foliage and resins in conifers. Ambient temperature affects how strong the scent is. A sunny day will bring out the aroma of ponderosa pine bark or the resin dripping from a spruce. Walkable groundcovers are prostrate plants that can be placed  in pathways or between stepping stones—in the shade Corsican mint and in sunny spots plant caraway thyme or pink ripple thyme. As you walk past fragrant plants along a pathway brush against them or let your hand glide over the surfaces. Better yet, pinch a bit and bring it to your nose, inhale deeply and set the bit in your pocket.

Scented plants along the path are easily pinched as we walk by, sniffed and placed in one’s pocket

Touch

Don’t forget the tactile dimension of the garden. Many gray foliage plants have textured surfaces of fine hairs to reduce water loss. Lambs ears, Stachys byzantina; giant silver Mullein, Verbascum bombyciferum; and the artemisia are ever so soft. Ferns have feathery foliage as does dwarf Japanese plume cedar, Cryptomeria japonica elegans. Moss is plush.

Taste

Edible flowers in the garden add an element for our tastebuds. The sweet-licorice flavor of anise hyssop, the peppery bite of nasturtium blooms, or the citrus notes of lemon thyme, all add to the multidimensions of the garden.

Rabbits in the garden

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Eastern Cottontail photo from Wikimedia

The Eastern cotton-tail rabbit was introduced to Washington in the 1930’s as a game animal for hunters. These introduced rabbits thrive in close proximity to people. As habitat generalists, they adapt to different available plant food and benefit from brushy coverage. Although the state’s mapping shows the introduced rabbits widespread in Kitsap County and Whidby Island, Jefferson county rabbit population is not on the map! The population has recently boomed in Seattle.

The bunnies never bothered my vegetables while I had Black Labs. These dogs have a great sense of smell and can easily track the cottontails. My property is fenced with hog wire with openings large enough for rabbits but not their common predators such as coyotes and bobcats. However, the common garter snake that are abundant on my property probably consume baby rabbits in the nest and barred owls might catch young ones.

I became acutely aware of rabbits when a neighbor’s domestic bunny started living at my place and even chewed through the plastic deer fencing to get in the vegetable garden. As cute as it was I wanted to keep it out. I felt like the mean farmer in the Beatrix Potter stories. The neighbor and his children came over several times and were successful catching the wayward pet.

Rabbit damage is obvious, it looks like someone went through with garden clippers making sharp-angle cuts. The rabbits bite young stems, buds and flowers. By comparison, deer tear away stems, leaving a jagged edge because they don’t have upper front teeth.

Cottontails are most active dawn and dusk. In spring I noticed vegetable seedlings neatly nipped off. Lucky for me I always have a couple of red clover volunteers on the edge of beds and in the paths. While the rabbits certainly prefer clover to vegetables, I share enough of my garden with the voles and the birds, that I was determined to prevent another creature from entering. I bought some rabbit repellent called Liquid Fence that was effective but requires monthly applications.

After watching several YouTube videos, I decided rabbit fencing would protect the lower two feet of the deer fencing. So I hired someone to work with me and we installed the fencing where the rabbits were entering from the west. I also had already placed landscape fabric there to prevent grass and weeds from growing underneath the deer fence. One foot of chickenwire on the ground will prevent rabbits from burrowing under the fence. That was effective for several months and now I have noticed a rabbit in the garden at dawn. On to fortifying the deer fence on the north and south sides! For more information on fencing and general cottontail behavior, see the state Fish and Wildlife site

3 ft Chicken wire with 1 inch openings, 3 ft metal stakes, landscape pins and zip ties

August in the Garden

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By August the garden is often humming along on autopilot, although sometimes the garden (or more likely the gardener) feels tired by late summer. This year, July only got a bit of rain on the last day. The current forecast for the remainder of August is cooler than normal— great for the cool-season vegetable starts, but not so encouraging for the warm season crops that have just started to pump out vegetables like zucchini, beans and tomatoes.

This is a time to reflect on garden priorities. What thrives in your garden? Do you have an intention or a vision for it? Are you in a phase of expansion or contraction? This changes with how the garden matures and ages along with our own interests and energy levels. Walk around and make notes. Beth Benjamin, one of my favorite garden teachers from when I was an apprentice at Camp Joy, in the Santa Cruz Mountains, always said, “The garden is forgiving. Next year we can try again or change how we garden.”

Garden Chores

Shrubs and Trees: Don’t add any more fertilizer that is high in nitrogen to shrubs and trees. Plants need to harden off before the winter cold settles in. All-purpose natural fertilizer with fertilizer ratios in single digits are okay. Apply the last fertilizer to roses by mid-August. Aged compost is also okay.

Perennials: Continue deadheading, ease up on watering and fertilizing. Consider which large perennials could be divided and moved around to fill in gaps in the garden. Determine which plants are aligned with your watering regime. Plan to move or divide perennials in September or October.

Rockrose: They typical rock rose, Cistus hybridus tops out at 3 ft. But, here in Jefferson County can grow to 5 ft. and sprawl. Older shrubs can be completely renovated. Remove dead branches and then prune with a combination of thinning and heading cuts. Sometimes these plants can be pruned into artistic sculptural forms. Remove splayed and sprawling branches.

Wisteria: flowers better if pruned regularly. Prune the vine now after flowering and also when the vines are dormant in January/February. Now cut back new growth, leaving five or six leaves on a branch. This will encourage flower buds. In the winter cut back to three buds. These become spurs that will flower next year.

Wisteria was cut back about 2 weeks ago after prolific flowering earlier. Pruning encourages vines to grow flowering spurs

Raspberries: Summer bearing canes (floricanes) that have finished fruiting on the previous seasons wood. Cut these canes to the ground and remove. Any new growth thinner than a pencil should be prune to the ground. Then look at the canes that started this year—primocanes. Select 6-8 canes per plant spaced about  3-4 inches apart. When the plants go dormant in winter cut these canes back to just above top wire. These will produce lateral flowering and fruiting branches next summer.

Fruit Tree late summer pruning: Plum and cherry. Did your trees grow vigorously this summer? If so, prune back branches that pumped out two feet or more new growth. This can reduce next year’s vegetative vigor and encourage fruit buds. But if the tree grew moderately, then wait until winter or even after next year’s flowering before pruning. Poorly executed summer pruning can stunt a tree.

Apples: Sometimes apples get in a cycle of over-producing fruit one year and then the next one the tree is recuperating and has no fruit. Biennial fruit-bearing can happen for numerous reasons. If too many fruit form one year and are not thinned out then the tree doesn’t have the energy to form many flowers the next year. Some  apple varieties  like Honeycrisp and heirloom Brambley Seedling are naturally biennial fruiting. Other trees fall into this pattern through lack of nutrients, irregular watering, or one winter frost destroys the blooms. RHS always has good information. Thinning flowers (once you confirm they are pollinated) is more effective than thinning young fruit. Advanced gardeners can look at the Royal Horticulture Society’s post on summer pruning of apples and pears.

Weeds and our perspective

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When I would help Tinker in her garden, often she dug up dandelion plants as if they were precious. The roasted roots made a delicious tea that she savored. Imagine if the plants we detested somehow changed in our mind to become useful resources. So much in life is how we frame something. If we look at a weed and notice a couple insect pollinators insects sipping the nectar, maybe the ‘weed’ isn’t so bad. That doesn’t mean we have to keep the plant. I have had weeds that I once hated and then learned to accept them, even as I removed them.

Dandelion, Taraxacum officinale

Gardeners who take the time to identify the plant can be more effective. Knowing a plant lets you determine the best way to control it. Sometimes a weed can be an indicator of environmental conditions: the soil is wet or heavy, or it is very acidic. Some tough weeds will die out if the roots don’t get nutrients from foliage. This requires diligence—regular weed-eating. Small, less-hardy weeds will die from deep mulch that smothers small plants and suppresses weed seeds. Proper ID is key to control.

Weed Identification

Botanical identification begins with a plant’s flower. We can’t rely on the foliage because weeds are by their nature adaptable and have a lot of variety. Vegetative characteristics are malleable. Here’s a short digression: years ago I managed the UCSC agroecology program greenhouse and was responsible for transplanting seedlings. In wood flats full of vegetables or flowers that required pricking out, there would be a number of weed seedlings from the compost. The young weeds could look almost identical to the some of the crops—so much so, that a number of the apprentices I supervised would pot up the weed seedlings! So identify your weed when it is flowering and then start to recognize the plant in all its stages, from young seedling to flowerings going to seed.

I’m old-school and like books. My favorite book for weed identification is Weeds of the West, University of Wyoming Press. Our cooperative Extension had it for sale decades ago. Now it can be downloaded for free from the website or used books can be found online. 900 color photos include the weed at young stages.

Online resources include Hortsense from Washington State University, with 90 fact sheets listed by alphabetical order. University of California, Davis has a useful online weed identification key

Weed Ecology

Many weeds are species that have adapted to colonize disturbed sites, such as landslides; after a wildfire has burned off vegetation; along roadsides; or at building sites where excavators have exposed mineral soil. Alan Chadwick, the famous gardener who developed the French-Intensive-Biodynamic method, always said nature abhors a vacuum. That’s why in my garden I sprinkle around borage, red clover, phacelia, or calendula. By regularly weeding out unwanted plants, I have mostly replaced the disturbed areas with annual flowers that are easy to pull and have many benefits. There’s not much room for weeds.

Borage, Borago officinalis

Weeding Techniques

Start weeding early spring, when the ground is still moist and the plants are young. Weed annual gardens regularly. Use lots of mulch around perennials and woody plants. Since weed seeds can remain dormant for decades, it’s important not to let weeds good to seed.

Certain perennial weeds can become one’s nemesis, for example horsetail, bindweed, Canada thistle . If you do nothing else, make sure to cut flower heads before they go to seed, bag them and send to the dump. The county noxious weed board doesn’t want what the state includes as noxious plants in our yard waste. If you cut the flower or seed heads and bag them, then the rest of the material is yard waste and can go to the compost facility. Thick mulch prevents seeds from sprouting. Everyday weeds can go into yard-waste. I have a big pile of plant debris that I will not use as compost, but will let it rot in place. In it I include weeds that have gone to seed but are not listed as noxious.

At one time I added woody plant material to this pile, but now wild roses, native blackberries and branches from hedges and ornamental shrubs go to yard waste. I don’t want excess fuel for potential wild fires.

If you are still using herbicide on weeds in pavement cracks or gravel, please consider a vinegar solution. Horticultural vinegar—at 35% strength is a lot stronger than kitchen vinegar—5% sold at grocery stores, so take more precautions! Wear gloves, glasses and long clothing. Although flame torches are used in agriculture to control weeds ( by boiling the sap, not turning foliage black), when I called our fire dept about using them for weeds in cracks I was informed that we had two wildfires in the county start that way!

For woody plants or deep-rooted perennials, such as Scotch broom, Himalayan blackberry, and poison hemlock, a weed wrench can be used to yank out the entire plant. The county weed board has wrenches they loan out.

A lot of weeds are my friends. I make flower bouquets, or add them to salads. Others are a haven for pollinators. Some are good sources of carbon for my compost piles.

Matilija Poppy

Posted on by jeanmariemorelli.com

Romneya coulteri

This beautiful grey-grey foliage plant with fragrant large white poppies does best where it has room to spread. It is both drought tolerant and—knock on wood—deer resistant.

Matilija grows well on the loose soil of landslides. I planted some on a mound about 20 years ago and rarely weed it. After a time, the Nootka rose spread across the mound pushing out the poppy. Not much can hold its own against Nootka rose. (That’s why I only suggest it for creating wildlife hedges where it will be kept in check by mowing or weedeating lawns and fields.) Matilija poppy migrated over to a pile of soil and rotting sod. Last year I had a dump truck load of horse manure delivered near the Matilija planting. Some of the plants were buried in the manure. Instead of suffering, the plant spread throughout what was left of the manure after I moved most of it.

Description

  • Perennial flower growing 3 to 6 feet tall
  • Gray-green foliage
  • 4”-8”  fragrant flowers. Described as fried-egg flower

Growing requirements and care:

  • Full sun
  • Drought-tolerant once established
  • Soil: flexible, needs good drainage
  • Cut back to the ground in late fall

Matilija Poppy spread to adjacent aged-manure pile. Wild mustard’s yellow blossoms in the middle of plants.

The Chumash, an indigenous tribe of central -southern coastal California, values the antimicrobial properties. In fact the name Matilija comes from a Chumash tribal leader. The plant’s alkaloids and other secondary substances make it useful for sensitive gums and preventing plaque. Herbalist Micheal Moore describes Matilija as a good first aid plant: the foliage makes a good external wash for sunburn, and inflammation from allergic reactions. At one time this plant was seriously considered as the state flower of California.

In the landscape, plant this majestic plant with other tall drought-tolerant ornamentals like Miscanthus and cardoon. In the foreground use Russian sage, and red hot poker. Once established these are all deer-resistant.