2009 ARCHIVE
IMAGES OF THE MONTH
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© Gaia Creations Ecological Landscaping & Permaculture Solutions 2007-2011 * PO Box 3358 Chico, CA 95927 * 530-321-9715
JANNUARY 2009
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Gaia Creations today for an initial consultation!

530-321-9715
530-828-6390
P.O. Box 3358
Chico, CA 95927
Our Eco Land Tips and Images of the Month web posts started up in March of 2008 to help inform and educate people about ecological landscaping and permaculture.   In 2009 we started up our blog.  We hope you will enjoy the photographs and reading about the various months of 2009 and what the seasons brought to us.


VISIT THE ARCHIVES PAGE FOR A MONTH BY MONTH VIEW


2008 Eco Land Tips,    2008 Images of the Month,    2009 Eco Land Tips
KUMQUAT  Fortunella spp.

The Kumquat is a delicious garden addition.  They are superb eaten raw; the outer layer slightly spicy while the inner layer sweet as in the variety.

Kumquats, or comquats, are called 'gold orange' in China from where they originated.  They thrive in our valley climate and are said to produce sweeter fruits in our warmer winters.

Slowly growing to 10 feet or more they require seasonal food and water once established.  All the while producing food for snacking or preserving.
FEBRUARY 2009
GROW YOUR OWN FOOD!!

Growing your own food is the most powerful voice of sustainability that human beings have.  Agribusiness degrades our planet under the premise that "farmers feed America" while we sit by and rely on them for everyday sustenance.

NO MORE!!  A small apartment patio can grow an amazing supply of food using creative strategies of garden design.  Find freedom through food!
Contact us today for more information!

PLANT SEEDS! A diverse selection of food plants creates a polyculture garden that is far more productive and pest resistent than monoculture farming. Get seed now and begin planting indoors or start outdoors in a coldframe or greenhouse.Plant snow peas now! For small spaces people often use a medium size pot with a teepee of stakes and string wrapped around to allow tendrils to climb up. A few plants will provide ample food for early spring harvesting. YUM!If starting broccoli seed outdoors protect them from frost using clear plastic over the top of containers or ground. Once germinated keep the covering on at night and hold the plastic away from plants using skewers into to sides of the pot and upsidedown yogurt cups to protect plastic from tears.Start potatoes either in the ground or grow them UP by planting in a tall container always using high quality compost and heavy mulch. Start "eyes" in the bottom layer then as they grow keep covering them til the container is full. When greenery dies back take apart and harvest!!!Mustard, lettuce, arugula, endive, even chinese cabbage are fantastic for planting outdoors now. Keep protected as described earlier. Plant more seed every 10-14 days for an endless supply of leafy greens. Once the heat sets in keep protected with shade plants grown around lettuce beds.Perrennial vegetables are easily grown in our temperate climate. Vegetables such as chard (shown here), sunchokes (Jerusalem artichokes -eaten like a potato), rhubarb, asparagus, horseradish, chives and winter onions.Pineapple guava or the Feijoa shrub is an old-time favorite we should see a lot more of in the future. The many uses include its edibility (both flowers and fruit can be eaten and are super sweet), ability to provide shade as well as fruit in part shade and habitat for birds and insects.Apricots are a favorite for many. One semi-dwarf tree can provide two people with plenty to eat fresh, preserve or share with friends. Fruit trees take time to mature so if you want to have one in your gardens or on your patio (use a dwarf tree) plant them bareroot NOW!!!Go vertical! Grow tomatoes up arbors and trellises made from reused materials (an old awning frame shown here). In the background is a Scarlett runner bean, grown for its showy flowers many people don't realize you can eat the beans as well as the root (a tuberish root eaten like a potato)
click on images to enlarge
MARCH 2009
Narcissus

Narcissus is the genus of bulbous herbs in the amaryllis family.  The genus is native to Europe, North Africa, and Asia and is widely cultivated in gardens.
Other common names for Narcissus include daffodil, daffydown-dilly, fleur de coucou, Lent lily, and porillon.

View the photos below larger (click on them) for more information about Narcissus plants!
Narcissus or Daffodils are some of the first plants to emerge from the soil in early spring. They signify, so to speak, the end of winter and the arrival of the next cycle of seasons.The poet's narcissus has pure white petals and a shallow, wrinkled, reddish crown. Common species is the yellow daffodil, which is characterized by a deep, trumpet-shaped crown. The jonquil has yellow flowers with short crowns. The polyanthus has small, white or yellow flowers having short corona.The yellow daffodil is classified as Narcissus pseudonarcissus; the jonquil as Narcissus jonquilla; the poet's narcissus as Narcissus poeticus; the polyanthus as Narcissus tazetta; Ganymede's cup as Narcissus triandus; and butter-and-eggs as Narcissus incomparabilis.MYTH: Narcissus was a handsome Greek youth who rejected the advances of the nymph Echo. As a punishment, he was doomed to fall in love with his own reflection in a pool of water. Unable to consummate his love, Narcissus pined away and changed into the flower that bears his name, the narcissus.The word Narcissus is derived from the Greek word 'narke', meaning numbness or stupor. Some attribute the naming of the flower to its narcotic fragrance while others debate that it is associated with the poisonous nature of the Narcissus bulbs.
APRIL 2009
Akebia quinata

Akebia quinata is a deciduous climbing vine growing to 36’ at a fast rate.  A native to China, Korea, and Japan it flowers in clusters of fragrant purple from April to May while the large seedpods ripen from September to October. 

Ideal for food forests or container gardening!  It grows well trained as a ‘living wall’ on North, East or West facing walls.  Ensure watering does not encourage spread as it can become a rampant if left to grow near riparian areas.  The dense mat of vines can displace native understory species.

USES: Akebia quinata fruit has a delicate flavor and a soft, juicy texture while the peeled stems are very pliable and can be used in basket making.

Female and male flowers spearate but born on the same plant.Easily grown up bamboo or other trllis systems; can also be a ground cover but will not set fruit well.Beautiful flowers and useful plant.
MAY 2009
Pomegranate   Punica granatum

The pomegranate is a deciduous tree growing to 20ft in height by 15ft wide.  A native from Iran to the Himalayas in northern India it has been cultivated since ancient times throughout the Mediterranean region of Asia, Africa and Europe. Because of the many seeds found in pomegranate fruits, they were regarded as a symbol of fertility by the ancient cultures of Egypt, Greece, and Rome.

The fruits ripen 6 to 7 months after flowering.  The fruits improve in storage if not split and become juicier and more flavorful.  The juice sacs may be frozen intact or the extracted juice may be concentrated and frozen, for future use.
The flowers are sought after by hummingbirds and butterflies. The fruit is highly nutritious and one tree can produce hundreds of pounds of pomegranates each year.
JUNE 2009
Praying Mantid
(over 20 species are native to the United States)

Praying mantids are voracious garden predators that wait in ambush for prey to come along. They are not picky and will eat any insect!  The CA native mantid (Stigmomantis californica) is often seen though most species seen in our gardens in CA are foreign (Chinese and European species) introduced early this century for agricultural pest control purposes.
This ootheca has just hatched. They hang out around their egg case for a few hours before taking off to catch prey.These guys are less than 1/2" long. Amazing little creatures are now (July 2009) over 2 inches long and very active.
JULY 2009
GARDEN DIVERSITY

Over 300 different species of plants thrive on this 1/3 acre property in N. California.  4 humans, 2 dogs, insects, birds, lizards, even moles co-exist in harmony within these gardens.  Next animal needed: CHICKENS!  Expected food crop yield this season is approximately 1000 lbs!
Plants Shown in Picture

  • 10-30 year old fruit trees/vines: apple, fig, pomegranates, almond, grape, pecan
  • 3 Sisters Spiral + clover: Sweet corn, 7 types squash (spaghetti, 3 types pumpkin, yellow crookneck, scallop bush, zucchini) and 2 types pole beans
  • Elderberry with grape vine
  • Potatoes interplanted with Yin Yang and Blue Lake bush beans and Nasturtiums: 6 varieties potatoes planted vertically: purple, red, Yucon gold, yellow finn, banana fingerling and russet
  • Scarlet Runner bean Phaseolus coccineus
  • Joe Pye Weed Eupatorium purpureum
  • Costmary Tanacetum balsamita
  • Garden Sage Salvia offincinalis
  • Coneflower Echinacea purpurea
  • English Lavender Lavandula angustifolia

**Not shown but growing lower down are chives, calendula, wooly and creeping thyme, oregano, feverfew and nasturtiums
Garden Diversity.pdf
AUGUST 2009
Equisetum hyemale L.

Common name: scouring rush horsetail   -from Latin equus (horse) and saeta (bristle)

Families of vascular plants, horsetails reproduce by spores rather than seeds.  For over one hundred million years the equisetum family dominated the sub canopy of late Paleozoic forests.  They are known as living fossils.

Horsetails are a valuable dynamic accumulator plant very rich in silica but also in magnesium, calcium and iron. As it decomposes these nutrients become available to soil organisms and ultimately our plants.

They are wonderful for bog gardens and for covering a wet low spot where nothing else will grow; always taking care not to let it become invasive to native populations.

Uses:
The leaves are used as a dye and give a soft green color; its extract is often used to provide silica for supplementation.  It’s also used as a fungicide, liquid feed; musical instrument; paper; parasiticide; polish; sandpaper; scourer.

SEPTEMBER 2009
Calendula officinalis

Calendula, sometimes called Pot Marigold, is an easy and carefree addition to any garden.  Its origin is practically unknown but history shows it was readily used in ancient Greek, Roman, Arabic and Indian cultures as a medicinal herb as well as a dye for fabrics, foods and cosmetics.   This versatile plant has too many functions and benefits to list here but a few of them to include are:

  • Medicine –used to treat skin problems and inflammation
  • Companion plant –attracts beneficial predatory insects to gardens
  • Human Food –leaves and flowers are good in salads and sandwiches
  • Nutrient accumulator –stores nutrients vital to soil health/compost activator
  • Self sustaining –self sows and maintains itself in the garden
  • Yellow dye –food coloring or cloth
  • Cosmetics –salves, creams and hair coloring

OCTOBER 2009
October Garden in California!

For the next few weeks we will enjoy the last of our summer garden.  Tomatoes, bell peppers, summer squash, pole beans, basil and more are still thriving in the long summer we had this year.

Before the cold weather and rains set in we will say goodbye to our summer harvest and cover the soil with a blanket of mulch and cover crop seeds.  No tilling... just adding more winter vegetable plants.
chadwick cherry tomatobasil and tomatoesbeanpole beanswonder bell pepperwonder bell pepperpatty pan squashlast of the summer garden
NOVEMBER 2009
NASTURTIUMS  Tropaeolum majus

MEDICINE: A native to South and Central America Nasturtiums have long been used in Andean herbal medicine; as a wound-healing herb, and as an expectorant to relieve chest conditions.

FOOD: Any part of the plant can be eaten if it is harvested during the growing season and used fresh.  The mature seed can be ground into a powder and used as a pepper substitute.

ART: The seeds yield a high percentage of a drying oil that can be used in making paints and varnish.

Their nectar is adored by hummingbirds.Climbing Nasturtiums with scarlet-red blossoms.The unique shape of the flower before it opens is beautiful.All parts are edible and delicious if not a bit peppery!The leaves are reminiscent of watercress with a pinch of honey.Train the climbing varieties up short trellises or potato baskets.
DECEMBER 2009
ROSEBUD SAGE Salvia involucrata

This beauty is native to Mexico growing in shady places such as the edge of forests.  Salvia involucrata is a great tall accent plant growing more than 8 feet tall.  

Hummingbirds and butterflies love this late blooming Salvia.  Autumn through Winter (in warm climates) this abundant nectar is adored. 

While tender to frosts dipping past 20 degrees the plant will survive colder spells.  Make sure to mulch well and cut back the top in the spring!