A Gardener's Notebook Podcast
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Come join me in my garden! Share my trials and tribulations as I garden in Southern California with occasional audio and video interviews and visits to gardens.
About Podcasting:
For those of you new to podcasting, Click Here to read our "Introduction to Podcasting" Article.
 Be the First to Review A Gardener's Notebook Podcast
| Podcast Feed URL: |
Podcast Website:
http://welchwrite.com/agn/blog/
Cooper's Hawk in my garden this morning
agn@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch)Author: Douglas E. Welch
Mon, Oct 26, 2009
This big guy was having his lunch in my back garden this morning and took his time, so I was able to get about 10 minutes of closeup footage.
Previously on WelchWrite.com...
Video: Coopers (not Red-tailed) hawk in the garden this morning
 Download File - 117.6 MB
 Watch This Podcast (Streaming Video)
The 10-minute (or more) Gardener - Cleanup and Dividing the Agapanthus
agn@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch)Author: Douglas E. Welch
Sun, Oct 18, 2009
Today has been a productive day in many regards, so after accomplishing stuff at my desk and computer, there was some time (and motivation) to do a bit in the garden, too.
 I know I make everyone north of me jealous, instead of planting bulbs this time of year, ours are starting to grow. We had an early rain this year, 2-3 weeks ahead of the usual (according to my gardening journal) and this morning I saw the first bulbs poking their heads above all the leaf litter.
This was one reason I wanted to get out and work today -- to provide an easier time for the emerging bulbs.
(Click any picture for larger photos and additional photos in this set. -- Douglas)
As you probably read, we did our semi-annual roof cleaning last week. This always results in a large clump of leaves being pushed into the flower bed near the back patio. Today, I set out to clear as much of that bed as possible. I quickly filled our green gardening bin provided by the city, and started a new leaf mold-only compost pile by the back wall, in the space opened by demolishing our old garden shed.
There are several large clumps of Agapanthus in this bed and I have been meaning to divide them for years, but never got around to it. In cleaning up the leaves, though, the rhizomes of the Agapanthus came right up with them. They had pushed themselves completely out of the soil.
 So, with that, my project grew a bit. After I cleared the leaves from about 1/2 of the bed, I took out the Troy-Bilt mini-cultivator (Review | Audio | Video) I received a few months ago and cultivated the general area. I had to avoid the large tree root and some existing plantings, but in the end I worked up a fairly large area. I then selected the healthiest looking Agapanthus rhizomes and distributed them in a trench basically where they had originally been, but much more spread out. A few minutes of backfilling (and replanting any other bulbs we had turned up in our work), some heavy watering and we were done. There is one more large clump that will probably get the same treatment when we clean out the other end of this bed.
All told, today's project took about any hour, but I was also able to make it into my daily workout instead of taking my usual 2 mile walk.
Download File - 6.8 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)
Los Angeles Watering Restrictions
agn@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch)Author: Douglas E. Welch
Fri, Jul 24, 2009
Update: (July 25, 2009): "Councilman Greig Smith introduced a motion Friday, July 24 seeking to change the Department of Water and Power's (DWP) two-day-per-week lawn watering restrictions to three days a week in an effort to help homeowners save their lawns and save additional water.
"The twice-a-week restrictions are turning people's lawns brown, which hurts home values in our neighborhoods," Councilman Smith said. "For more than a decade we have had a policy of greening, not browning L.A."
The motion would change the restriction from Monday and Thursday, 15 minutes per day, as it is currently, to Monday, Wednesday and Saturday for 8 minutes per day. This would help lawns, trees and shrubs survive while still meeting conservation goals. It would even reduce watering by 6 minutes per home per week, saving many thousands of gallons of water.
Read entire article: Councilman Smith Seeks to Change Lawn Watering Restrictions from Two Days to Three Days a Week to Help Homeowners Save Their Lawns and Save More Water
 Image by Getty Images via Daylife
I don't use sprinklers very much in my garden, but even alternative methods like soaker and drip are effected by the watering restrictions passed by the City of Los Angeles on June 1, 2009. After getting conflicting answers on the subject, I went to LADWP.com and got the word from the "horse's mouth". (LA Water Restrictions PDF Flyer)
It is illegal to...
• Water using sprinklers on any day other than Monday and Thursday
• Water landscaping – including lawns - between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
• Water using sprinklers for more than 15 minutes per watering station, 10 minutes for other irrigation systems
• Use water on any hard surfaces such as sidewalks, walkways,driveways or parking areas
• Allow runoff onto streets and gutters from excessive watering
• Allow leaks from any pipe or fixture to go unrepaired
• Wash vehicles without using a hose with a shut-off nozzle
• Serve water to customers in restaurants unless requested
Source: Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
Download File - 0.0 MB
Review: TB57 Lithium Ion Battery Cordless String Trimmer / Weed Trimmer
agn@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch)Author: Douglas E. Welch
Sat, May 23, 2009
 A few weeks ago, Troy-Bilt was nice enough to send me their new TB57 Lithium Ion Battery Cordless String Trimmer / Weed Trimmer. Like most other products I review, I was unsure exactly how useful this would be in my urban garden, but after a trial run it seems that this will find a solid place among all my other tools.
I have never really considered buying a line trimmer before, as I have no lawn on my property. Typically trimmers are used to trim around obstacles in the line and edge the grass where it abuts sidewalks, walls and fences. That said, I have found a great use for this trimmer.
In my front garden, I have a large arrangement of geometrically shaped azalea beds planted by the previous owners. (You may have seen and heard me talk about trimming those in previous installments of A Gardener’s Notebook) In-between these beds are pea gravel paths. During our Winter rains, these paths quickly fill with grass and other weeds. The drier months cause these to die back, but every Spring the front garden looks a bit messier than I would like. Additionally, the mature elm tree that dominates the front yard also drops tens of thousands of seeds. These quickly sprout up in the paths and in the middle of the other plantings.
Enter this new line trimmer. Today, I was able to go out and spend about an hour clearing the paths and other open parts of the beds of all types of grasses (both tall and short), elm seedlings and anything else that decided to pop up in the paths. In the past I had thought about using Round-Up or other herbicide to clear the paths, but years ago I decided against using such products in my garden. Everything here must survive under the rule of benign neglect and organic gardening, even if I don’t go about it with any grand plan in mind.
This benign neglect “philosophy”, if you can call it that, really makes the TB57 a great choice for my garden. It allows me to physically control weeds that would take hours to remove by hand (ask my wife). It is electric and cordless, so I am not using the heavily polluting 2-cycle gasoline motors used by many devices. The battery life is certainly sufficient for my limited needs. It seems it should give at least 1-2 hours of typical trimming work on one charge. The specifications at Troy-Bilt.com also show that it is only supposed to take 4 hours to recharge the Lithium-Ion battery. This means with an extra battery you would be able to work most of a day.
My only issue with the TB57 trimmer is its hand grip. In my testing I was unable to find a way of holding the unit that was totally comfortable. I think that adding a bit of a curve to the straight handle might help to move the battery out of the way a bit and allow for a more natural grip. I am also playing with the placement of the U-shaped handle to see if moving that up or down might make it a bit more comfortable for me. My 11-year-old son was able to easily operate the unit and didn’t seem to have the same issue with the grip, so maybe those who are a bit smaller than I am will find this less of an issue. My usage of the trimmer is typically in the 30-45 minute range, not the hours that some might be spending with it, so it didn’t significantly impact my ability to use the trimmer.
If you are looking for a powerful, yet cordless, trimmer for your garden, the Troy-Bilt TB57 makes a good choice. It is easy to use, feels lighter weight than typical gas-powered units, pollutes less and is useful in a variety of roles – whether performing your typical lawn trimming needs or my more esoteric path clearing.
Download File - 61.7 MB
Watch This Podcast (Streaming Video)
- Published:
2002
- LearnOutLoud.com Product ID:
A019514
Sports & Hobbies
Home & Garden
|