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Tag Archives: zone 4
Plant profile – Fennel, Foeniculum vulgare
Fennel is one of those weeds that turns up all over the place around this city. It’s also a useful herb. As both weed and herb it has a potential role in my low-water zones. It’s in the Apiaceae (formerly … Continue reading
Posted in Cooking and eating, Plant profiles
Tagged anethole, drylands, fennel, foeniculum vulgare, food forest, herbs, medieval plants, mediterranean agriculture, spices, weeds, zone 3, zone 4
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Plant profile: Alexanders, Smyrnium olusatrum
Alexanders, Smyrnium olusatrum, is an old plant. There are records of it being written about, cooked with, used as fodder in Ancient Roman times and before. It’s named for Alexander the Great, or perhaps Alexandria the city that AtG named … Continue reading
Posted in Plant profiles
Tagged alexanders, Apiaceae, edible, edible weeds, historic plants, medieval plants, Smyrnium olusatrum, zone 4
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Friday photo – 2013’s “also rans” part 2
I know it’s Saturday, but today instead of a link post I’m doing part two of the photos I almost displayed as a Friday photo. Each of these photos was good enough and interesting enough to go in, but got … Continue reading
Posted in Friday photos
Tagged asteraceae, blossom, chickpeas, corymbia, dandelion, featherflower, firstsummer, flies, grasshopper, hanging baskets, harvest, insects, kalanchoe, lime, low water use, mating, orange morrison, peanuts, pelargonium, pot plants, predation, red flowering gum, secondspring, seedhead, seedpods, shadow, verticordia, verticordia nitens, west indian lime, zone 4
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Notes on brome grass (greater brome, ripgut brome, Bromus diandrus)
This is a post to record some notes from my current reading, on the assumption that I’ll forget what I’ve read if I don’t write it down. Ripgut brome – common name for two species, diandrus and rigidus. Better common … Continue reading
Posted in Plant profiles
Tagged brome grass, bromus diandrus, cereals, drylands, drylands farming, drylands food forest, fermenting, grains, greater brome, herbicide, herbicide resistance, mediterranean agriculture, opportunities, organic weed control, outside-the-box, ripgut brome, weed control, weed management, weed tea, weeds, weedscaping, zone 4
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Secret soil tanks
When we first talked about moving over here, my then-two-year-old daughter was very clear that she wanted us to plant an orange tree. I thought that sounded just fine. I highly approve of kids eating oranges straight from the tree. … Continue reading
Posted in Technology
Tagged citrus, companion planting, droughtproofing, legumes, lemon, lemonade lemon, lime, liquorice, long term strategy, low water use, peanuts, secret soil tanks, self-watering, soil conditioning, soil protection, soil rehabilitation, soil structures, unirrigated, west indian lime, zone 4
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Friday photo – Larvae damage in tomato
Posted in Friday photos
Tagged crop loss, insects, larvae, pest management, pests, tomatoes, zone 4
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Plant profile – Eschscholzia californica, the California Poppy
This is the state flower of California. It grows in gorgeous meadows there, lighting up hills golden-orange when in season. It’s native to an area around California, Arizona, Mexico, the Sonoran Desert – that sort of thing. It’s one of … Continue reading
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