Caddyshack

YES GOPHERS!!!!

In prepping for a successful growing season these guys need to be dealt with. Three years ago we had our first gopher experience. Irene and I were watching a watermelon grow, every morning we would go out to the garden and check our little gem. Watermelon is Irene's favorite food so eating it was a highly anticipated day. We went out to possibly pick our long awaiting treat only to find it was gone. Irene cried and I started looking. The little devil had picked the watermelon, eaten half and left the other  half sitting on top of the compost pile!!! Perhaps polite, but that began my hunt for the best organic gopher elimination. I tried cayenne pepper, juicy fruit gum, those noisy vibrating spikes, the tube with the gopher trap, a the hose (above) and even considered night vision goggles and a pellet gun....I think my friend Frankie tried this? Then one day at my local garden I saw "gopher spurge", read the tag and bought several plants and panted them around the garden.......so far - so good.

Be very careful with it as it is poisonous and very invasive. It should always be handled with gloves and although the flower is very pretty the sap is like acid. Keep it pruned and throw what you don't want in a plastic bag and then the trash.

How we love sequestering, where no pests are pestering. Lorenz Hart ·

more dirt....

 I like these products from Home Depot when I don't get a truck load!!

This potting soil you can use straight from the bag, it's a bit pricey so I only use it for plants that produce food.

This is a great amendment for either clay or sandy soil, it should be well mixed with your existing dirt.....just think how nice your arms will look!

and while we are talking looking good; remember you sunscreen, glasses and a hat. save your expensive sunscreen for everything else. For gardening and working out, use something that you don't mind slathering a giant handful of. That is the biggest problem with the expensive ones, you use sparingly because the per use cost is high. I like Nutrogena's sport face, it about $9, not greasy and 70 SPF. Don't forget your neck and chest, remember the wattle???

“To the illumined man or woman, a clod of dirt, a stone, and gold are the same.”  Bhagavad Gita

DIRT!!!

How is yours? As we dream and plan our summer fruit, vegetable and flower gardens, dirt should be at the top of your list. Water may be #1, but dirt is a close second. Get IN THE DIRT - feel it, smell it and see what is living in it. If it does not smell alive, you need to show it some love. Does your dirt feel like clay and is sticky? or is it sandy? Start by giving it and yourself a workout, dig! Turn the solid over at least 1 1/2 feet down.....did you see any worms? if not, put them on your list to get at the garden center. they are natures cultivators! Once your dirt is nice a broken up, feed it with some amendments. If you have clay heavy dirt, you need something to break up soil so roots can grow and water can reach the roots. iI it is sandy, add organic humus to feed and build it up. Usually a general organic soil amendment will do the trick, but if you are concerned, take your dirt to a good garden center and they can help or the easy soil testing kits work great too. I like to turn, amend, water and then let it sit a week before putting anything in it....well except those worms! If you need more dirt than your car will hold, check on-line for who will deliver dirt ready to plant...always organic.