Pruning Roses

In the Sunday, December 26, 2010, Home and Garden section of the San Francisco Chronicle, there is a great article by the rosarian, Rayford Redell, entitled "Secrets to Radiant Roses."

The original article can be found on SFGate.com here:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2010/12/26/HODO1GKDBA.DTL

Composting

I just came in from the garden after working with my compost pile. I added kitchen scraps to my stacked wooden bin and I put in two 5 gallon bucketfuls of still decomposing (raw) compost from of my gray trash cans. Both cans have large air holes that apparently allow rats to get to the inside of the can. I am going to empty one can completely in the next day or two and cover up the holes with left over pieces of hardware cloth that only have 1/4 inch square openings. That should slow any rats down a bit. Then I will start using it again as the first phase of my own composting system where I put in kitchen scraps and food items that can attract critters. In the wooden stacked bin, I also added newspaper torn into two inch strips and watered it all in a little bit. Steer manure has also been added to the bin to enrich things a little and to get the bacteria activated. I am thinking of buying a bag of chicken manure too. It is know to be a good activator for the compost pile.

Here is a link to the site where I found a terrific list of things that can be composted:

http://www.plantea.com/compost-materials.htm

I also have printed out the entire list and I am enjoying discussing this list on my radio program.

Changing the entire look of my garden

I got out into the garden for over an hour. It is a mess and I am completely redoing it to grow more fruits and veggies.

I also removed three more poorly performing roses. I am so sick of black spot in this garden and coddling roses. The roses also get attacked by beetles every year. Aargh!!! I am so over roses right now. But I am not tossing them all out. Some are performing OK and I do have an emotional attachment to them. But over 90% of them have to go. They need tons of water an fertilizer and still fail to perform and look healthy and beautiful. I refuse to spray an use up any more of my valuable time on them. They have to go!

This fall when I harvested my sole pumpkin that is still sitting on a kitchen windowsill, I had such a sense of joy and accomplishment. I have never grown a pumpkin before! My roses have never brought me a sense of joy and accomplishment like that in all the years I have been gardening. So, my new rule of thumb is unless something I grow brings me a sense of accomplishment and pride, out it goes.

Under this new rule, I have decided to keep my iris rhizomes. I am fascinated by irises - their colors and the many different varieties. They are not too much trouble to grow and they do not need coddling. I am always delighted to see them blooming. Some of mine even try to bloom in winter. I only lose a few every year due to rotting because of heavy rains and supersaturated soil.

One of my beds is being devoted to roses and irises - mostly climbing or very tall roses. Another bed is being devoted to perennials. The rest of the garden is going to be devoted to growing fruits and veggies. I am making plans to create a cold frame and I have decided where that is to go

Weather Note: Freezing temps are predicted tonight and it looks like Guerneville will be in the 20's. I turned on my white mini lights that I have strung in my lemon tree to help protect it frm frost.