Roses & a little rain...

So the weather here in San Diego this past week has been cloudy and humid, which is typical for this time of year, we call it June Gloom. We did get a little rain! That's really important for us, we are going through our third(or is it fourth?...) drought. We do live in a desert basically, but we are used to getting more rain then we have been these past few years. Hopefully we still have a few showers headed our way, at least the watering I do have to do stays around longer.

My gopher problem is out of control. I really can't bring myself to poison them, no matter how much I despise them. I'm worried a) about any cats or predator animals getting secondary poisoning b) I find them actually cute(I know, what am I thinking?) c) I strongly believe in Karma, so the thought of killing a living creature hurts me. I suppose that's also why I am a Vegetarian. Anyways, I can't build the lovely gopher-proof planter boxes that I would love, due to lack of my own yard and funds. So to fix my problem I'm using cardboard boxes, I'm not joking. HA! It's kinda rinkydink for lack of a better term but hey, it gets the job done! Plus I am saving my plants from the gophers and a bunch of cardboard boxes from being sent to the landfill. My boyfriend and I got them from Vons(Safeway Co. a local/US grocery chain.)

Right now is a really good time of year for the roses too. My parents have about 50 rose bushes around the yard, all different kinds. Here's a few shots of what's blooming right now:
'Perfect Moment''Oranges & Lemons'
& a Bromeliad

Rochelle

Volunteers

I have in my garden what I like to call 'volunteers'. I use strictly food scraps in my compost; mostly veggies, fruit, coffee grounds and eggshells. I have heard that some fruits and veggies shouldn't be used in compost piles though. The reason being the seeds withstand the heat and 'curing' of the compost, only to sprout up in random places. Well these people are correct! HA! I kind of like that though. This is just one of three tomatoes I have sprouting in a bird of paradise out back.
I just wait till the first true leaves show, then I transplant the little guy to it's own pot. It's kind of fun to see what kind of fruit or veggie it will be. I always get tons of tomatoes, I like to share the seedlings with my family and friends. This year I have some random kind of squash, I've been trying to figure out what kind it is. The only squash I have planted in my garden is a summer squash that goes by a lot of different names; Tatuma Squash, Mexican Squash, as well as Gray Zucchini. The plant itself is bush like, not like a vine. The leaves are a deep emerald green with this really pretty silver marble type effect. The squash itself can get quite large, but it's a high yielding plant so most are picked and sold at about 3-4 inches long. The color of the squash varies with how much sun it has had, the side that faces the sun is usually dark green with light flecks, and the under side is usually pale green with the same light flecks.
This particular squash that has popped up several places at my boyfriend, Mike's, is different though. It's not like any kind of squash I've bought from the store or farmer's market either. I've even tried searching the internet(which I do for almost everything), no such luck, I cannot find it anywhere. It's a vine and it's leaves are plain grass green with no markings. The squash itself is a very pale green with the same light flecks as the Mexican Squash, however it's a completely different shape, it's actually shaped more like a butternut squash. The size is completely different as well, the squash gets no bigger then my thumb before the blossom blooms and starts to rot.
The Pismo Clam shells you see I use as borders for the garden at Mike's. He's an avid fisherman, he loves to go dig these guys up at one of our local beaches. I figure it's a good way to reuse them, plus the garden at Mike's is really, I guess you could say 'free form'. On another side note, there is this bird that lives somewhere around Mike's house. It's a crazy looking bird, it wakes us up at about 6 am everyday screeching on the balcony railing. This morning I grabbed my camera and tried to get a shot of it, in my half sleep I didn't realize my flash was on, so of course the picture came out horrible. I tried to fix it as much as possible on photoshop, it's still not great but you can get the idea.

It's bigger then a dove, smaller then a crow. I knew right away it must be some kind of Jay, it is bright blue with a black and white markings. It looks like a giant Blue Jay with a really LONG tail! I swear that tail is longer then a foot. Oh and did I mention it's screech? Jeez, it's very high pitched and shrill! So I found out on the internet( I told you I look up everything), it's called a Black Throated Magpie Jay. It's original habitat is the Northwest corner of Mexico, but I guess some have made their way up here. In my research I found this link, http://whozoo.org/Intro2002/ChrisYork/CEY_MagpieJay.htm I guess they also have some living in Balboa Park here in San Diego. Pretty cool bird I just thought I would share!

Rochelle

Here we go....

***UPDATE: I do not like how the pics look, I'm still learning. Next time I will resize the images :] Sorry!***

So I guess let's get this show started! I have been reading Sunset Magazine for years(once again, thanks to my parents for the good habits), I just recently read about this blog by a woman named Adriana(I guess I wasn't alone). I have been gardening with my boyfriend, Mike, for about 2 years now, this being our third year. I was inspired by her blog http://victoryhomegarden.blogspot.com/ aka Anarchy in the Garden, needless to say I found many other great blogs from there(can we say hooked?). I think I will use this blog for not only gardening but for cooking, photography and all my random life adventures. Unfortunately like most of you on here I have a lot of time on my hands now that I do not have a job. The positives and negatives of life I guess. Hopefully you enjoy what you read and take something useful from my blogs.
On with the gardening... Mike and I mostly grow what I call salsa & herb gardens, lots of tomatoes, peppers, tomatillos, squash & all kinds of herbs. I really enjoy growing things you don't find at a supermarket. So far this year we have 2 different gardens going. One is at my parents house and the other is at Mike's parents home. Neither garden is ideal, I wish I had planters, I do not. We have a really bad gopher problem at both homes, his is worse then mine. When we finally get our own place(hopefully soon) then first thing is first... in with the gopher proof planters!
The garden at my parents house at this point is mostly in pots. I only have 2 things in the ground, a 'Mexican Squash'(aka 'Grey Squash') and a tomato plant(I have yet to figure out what kind, it's either a 'Martian Giant' or an 'Orange Queen'). In large pots I have 2 more unknown tomatoes, as well as a 'Oaxacan Pink' and 2 'Yellow Perfections'. The 'Yellow Perfections' have such and interesting leaf to them, one of my plants also has aphids pretty bad. I mixed up a solution of dish soap and water to spray on them. I also have quite an extensive rose garden and aphids love roses. My parents taught me that simple remedy, it works really well. As for the herbs I have tons of rosemary(shrubs of it), 'Mexican Oregano'(aka Hot 'n Spicy Oregano), and 'Cinnamon Basil'. I like to snip back my herbs and dry them, and of course I always leave some to grow back and for fresh sprigs as well. We use the rosemary sprigs as skewers for cherry tomatoes. I toss the tomatoes in a little olive oil, salt & pepper first, then I choose bigger sprigs of rosemary and strip off the lower 3/4 of the leaves, after that I just skewer them up! *Don't try to use the sprig as a handle when flipping them on the grill, do yourself a favor and use tongs*
Now to leave with a flower you will find in my parents backyard, a beautiful day lily. This particular species of day lily is edible, I believe(if my memory serves me right) it's called 'Red Magic'.