Garden Page

The 2015 garden season is here. A few trees are starting to bloom but most are still dormant. Our chill hours were cut in half again this year do to a mild climate. This is the calculated chill hours from my weather station. 2014-2015 chill hours Below 45 - 315 32-45 - 305 2013-2014 chill hours Below 45 - 332 32-45 - 314 2012-2013 chill hours Below 45 - 683 32-45 - 643 Hydroponics Build 2  I built a new Hydroponic system this year by what I have learned over time and to fix a few things with my old setup. This promises to be a much better setup.  It is a combo of a NFT anf floating raft system. So far it is much more promising. Hydroponics Build 1 I am built a Hydroponic system to grow strawberries and some herbs using recirculating water with nutriants. This will have no soil and it will be above ground so no bugs will eat the fruit before I do. It will also save a huge amount of water since California is in a multi year drought. This was a NFT system. Fruit Trees I have cherry trees, an apricot, an aprium, a pomegranate, a plumb and plout and two new apple trees in my back yard. I also added a four-in-one asain pair. Citrus Trees There is a Blood Orange, Meyer Lemon, and an Calamansi tree planted in the ground. There is also a Bearss Lime planted in a container. Each are young so I have not gotten much out of them yet but they are improving every year. Shade Trees The shade trees have been losing ground to the productive ones in the last few years but some times looks are more important that what they can provide. Berries and Grapes Home grown is always way better than you can buy in any store. This said I am scaling down a little to devote my time to other things.