Nothing Gold Can Stay*

*Thank you to Robert Frost for this line of poetry!

The rain has finally begun. Rain, or the lack of it, marks the seasons for us in California. When the rains arrive, we know that the ‘long dark’ (as Tom likes to call it) is upon us; winter is nearly here. It transforms our dry landscapes into something green and lush, and all the native California plants wake up and start to perform.

But before that happens, the hills still retain the gold of summer, and that color is reflected in the garden. I look around, and suddenly everything is yellow.

The Chinese pistache trees are dropping gold all over the ground.

The gold of the spice bush picks up the gold in the neighbor’s tulip poplar.

A white-crowned sparrow with a beautifully yellow beak complements the yellow in the elderberry leaves.

The nectarines are reflecting the gold fronds of the asparagus behind them.

The Japanese maples are starting to show their signature flaming colors, which mirror the Asian pear, just starting to turn at the edges.

A yellow-rumped warbler shows off its coloring, and is framed by the neighbor’s changing crepe myrtle tree beyond the fence.

The raspberry’s yellowing leaves mirror those of the just-beginning-to-turn Western redbud behind it and the liquidambar tree up the street.

And coming full circle, the mock orange tree’s yellowish-green fruits are highlighted with the Chinese pistache behind.

We even see yellow in abundance while out hiking. The lovely golden grasses of California are set off by a perfect blue sky and a paraglider with a yellow sail floating down from the top of Mount Diablo.

Nature’s colors are lovely, no matter the season, but I’m especially enjoying the warm golds of autumn.

A golden sunset

Rats like Brassicas

This photograph is from the end of September, the day that my Edible Landscaping class took all these seedlings, both in the greenhouse and on shelves and tables outside, and planted them out in our garden. (Did I tell you about the new greenhouse at school? It’s excellent.) There are always so many seedlings that there are extras for the students to take home and plant in their own gardens, and then for a few weeks there are a few stray seedlings in the greenhouse just waiting for a taker - maybe someone from another class, or the garden club. But finally, when I’m sure the ones left are definitely up for grabs, I bring them home. It always yields an interesting assortment of things, some I would have definitely planted on my own (broccoli, cauliflower, turnip) and some I probably wouldn’t have (mustard greens, always there are a ton of mustard greens… not my favorite, but good in small doses, and also for the chickens). I reserved my two 4x4 beds for this purpose, and planted them out the third week of October.

And then, suddenly, they started disappearing. Just the leaves - and not the mustard leaves, no, just the brassica leaves. Very weird. I thought, well, the snails are back (we had one very light rain), or maybe it’s birds. I went to a local nursery and bought a bunch of cabbage seedlings, four different kinds. Tom and I like a leafy salad that also has some crunchy things in it, and cabbage fits the bill. I planted them out and then spread netting over the beds, figuring job done.

But every morning, I’d go out and one or two would be eaten. Pretty soon, not much was left, and I was frustrated. It’s getting towards the time, here in Nor Cal, that the nights are getting very chilly and even though the soil is still warm and the days are sunny and in the 60s, the plants aren’t going to do much growing, or even get their roots firmly established by the time true winter sets in. So I asked Tom to place the wildlife camera IN the bed, at soil level, to see what was eating the greens.

I guess I didn’t know that rats would eat my garden. Or maybe was just naive, or maybe just hopeful. I’ve certainly never had this issue before. I mean, tomatoes, sure. But never the greens. The rats usually stick to the birdseed that has fallen from the feeder, or the scattered chicken food, or the odds and ends in the compost bin.

Anyway, I knew that it was time to change tactics. I planted two kinds of onion in this particular bed instead (“Candy,” and “Cabernet”) and netted it more tightly with the sides clamped down. Rats, of course, can tunnel under beds, just like voles (one of our tough customers at school), but hopefully the combination of alliums and netting will do the trick. Just in case they don’t, Tom has set traps all over the place by the bed in question. Hopefully, we’ll have lots of dead rats in the coming days.

Reminder - the rats we have in our neck of the woods are either roof rats, or Norway rats, both of which are non-native and invasive, and taking a few out of commission won’t even put a dent in the population. Normally I do not encourage killing any kind of wildlife, but this is one species it’s ok to target. However, I would never use poison on rats, because that would then kill their predators (opossums, owls, hawks), and that would upset the balance of the ecosystem. The traps we set are snap traps and kill the rats as quickly and humanely as possible.

Perhaps this is a good time to review Integrated Pest Management (IPM) best practices. I use the definition set by University of California Agricultural and Natural Resources: “IPM is an ecosystem-based strategy that focuses on long-term prevention of pests or their damage through a combination of techniques such as biological control, habitat manipulation, modification of cultural practices, and use of resistant varieties.”

credit: UCANR

Note that chemical control is the absolute last resort, and even then it’s done very carefully and mindfully.

So - we’ll see what happens with these two 4x4 beds where the rats have been feasting. I’m hoping my cultural, physical and mechanical controls (plus any biological control that would like to visit my garden - I’m talking to you, barn owl!) will help keep my crops safe, so we have a winter of good eating.

Pacific Chorus Frogs

A couple of nights ago, I was out watering the garden at dusk. It’s been quite hot here, and I’m finding that I need to water all my containers twice a day when it’s this warm. So there I was, making the rounds, when a little dark shadow popped up behind the seasoning celery/lobelia pot. At first I thought it was another black widow - the light was nearly gone and it was hard to see. I went inside to get my phone so I could take a look. Not a spider - a Pacific Chorus Frog!

Well, I was simply delighted, having never seen a frog in our garden before. We do not have a pond, only a water feature (a bubbling fountain with a large reserve of water underneath it). We do not have any excessively wet places, that I know of. We have found newts in the fountain area, and also under things like rain barrels, but that’s been infrequent. I don’t think of my garden as a good habitat for things that like cool wet places. So this was totally unexpected!

Pacific Chorus Frogs (also known as Pacific Tree Frogs) are found up and down the west coast, from British Columbia to Baja California, as far east as Montana; and from sea level to 10,000 feet, in anything from desert to redwood forests!

In this geographic range, there are two things that distinguish these frogs from other species: The presence of toe pads, and a dark stripe that extends from the nostril, through the eye, and past the ear. No other frogs found within the geographic range of the Pacific Chorus Frog have both of these characteristics. They are quite small, between 1-2 inches, though the females are larger than the males. Females have a smooth white throat while males have a wrinkly dark throat.

It’s hard to tell from my pictures, but I think this one is female. I’ve never heard any of the breeding calls this close to my house, and it’s also not breeding season, which is usually in spring through early summer. We do hear the males down near our creek, about 100 yards away from our house, at that time. They make quite a racket, but it’s a welcome racket!

Here’s the thing that’s really twisting my noodle: How did this frog end up in our garden? A neighbor a few doors down has a pond, but it seems like a long journey for such a little guy. Our water fountain’s water reserve is under 1/4” hardware mesh, so as far as we know, inaccessible. I suppose it’s possible that there’s a hole or something. I don’t know, it’s just a mystery! But I’m thrilled. This means our ecosystem here is healthy - it’s a good place to catch a meal. Lately I’ve been feeling very bummed out about the garden, because I have such little time to spend in it, but having a bit of a mess seems to be a good thing for biodiversity, which is cheering.

Reference: Michael F. Benard, Natural History of the Pacific Chorus Frog, Pseudocris regilla

The Misunderstood Western Black Widow Spider

I found this female and her egg sac about a week ago, nesting behind a large planter made out of wood and gutters. At the moment, this planter is filled with nasturtiums which died in our most recent heatwave, so I won’t be showing you the planter itself. I will say that I’ve tried many a flower (and berry) in these shallow gutters, and the nasturtiums fared the best yet; it’s hard to keep things wet enough here to stay happy. Anyway…. I was inspecting the dead flowers and trying to figure out what to plant next when I came across this beautiful Western Black Widow.

Now, I want to start out by acknowledging that if you do get bitten by a WBW, the bite will be quite painful and you’ll need emergency care. However, death is unlikely. WBWs are the most poisonous American spider and as such, they get a bad rap; but like many insects, they feel no need to sting humans, unless the humans happen to be messing around in their territory. Even then, unless the spider’s body is pinched repeatedly, it will not bite.

Despite knowing this, when I had little kids, I confess I killed many WBWs. They used to nest inside our wooden perimeter fence (they probably still do), and I was worried that a kid (either my own or a neighbor kid) would climb the fence and grab a spider inadvertently. That would have been bad. But I do feel terrible for killing them like I did back then. If I had little kids now, I would explain all about the spiders and get the kids aware of how and where they live, so that we could all live in peace together. Oh well. We all evolve.

In fact, WBWs are described by arachnologists as ‘shy.’ They tend to hide in dark places where they will go unnoticed. They spin a huge, strong, messy, complicated web (not pretty at all), which is very unique to its species. I see far more WBW webs than I do the actual spiders, and it’s the primary way I figure out where they are living. They catch a lot of flies in those webs (as well as other insects and arthropods). They bite their prey in several places, and suck out their insides, leaving the external shell in the web.

The females also put pheromones on their webs to attract males. The male then performs a sort of ‘courtship dance’ on the web to let the female know he’s a potential mate, rather than dinner. Female WBWs don’t always eat the males after mating, either - it just depends on how hungry she is, how fit the male is, and how fast he scurries away.

There are hundreds of baby spiderlings in that egg case you see in the photo. They will hatch inside the sac, and then emerge. Most of them get eaten right away by their siblings. Very few survive, and those eventually (like the spiderlings in Charlotte’s Web) spin a long silk that takes them flying through the air to another part of the garden.

It’s been interesting to watch how the mother spider behind my planter protects her egg sac. Since I water there regularly (the plants don’t need the water anymore, being DEAD, but the bees like to drink from the soil there - wasn’t that spider smart to build her web in such a place???), the spray naturally hits the sac sometimes. She doesn’t love that, and will often move the sac behind a crosspiece to protect it. But spiders aren’t really ‘good’ mothers. Not in the sense we think of, anyway.

I must confess that spiders are not my favorite thing. I really like insects in general, but it’s tough for me to like spiders, and I’m not sure why. The way I combat this is to learn all I can about them. Anytime I see a spider than I’ve never seen before, I take a picture and use iNaturalist to ID it. Then I read about it and learn all about the ecosystem services it provides. This usually helps me to get over my ‘shivery’ feelings about spiders. I will say this is a work in progress for me, and I may never really like spiders. But I appreciate them, and see that they are an integral part of biological processes. We need them. So - every time I walk by this WBW, I crouch down and say hi. I’m actually looking forward to seeing the eggs hatch, and hope I get the privilege to witness it.

EDITED 7/22/24: SHE’S FEASTING Check it out!

A Week's Worth of Tomatoes

It’s that glorious season when every time I go out to check the garden, I see another tomato ripening on the vine. I’ve had a few bad years of tomatoes at Poppy Corners, and have had to rely on my school garden supply; this year I’ve gotten lucky. Somehow I’ve found the right place (morning and late afternoon sun, midday shade) with the right watering plan (every other day, deeply), with the correct amount of pruning (none!), and with the right method of staking (Florida weave, sort of) - or at least ‘correct’ and ‘right’ for this particular summer in this particular climate. I may do the exact same thing again next year and get entirely different results - that’s the way things are going, my friends. I’ll never take a good harvest for granted again.

Anyway, it’s been glorious to have our fill of tomato dishes. I love summer cooking - lots of grilling, and picking of basil, and shucking of corn. I ask you, what else does one need for a delicious meal?

Here are some recipes that have been in heavy rotation here.

1. Summer Steak with Corn and Tomatoes: This one comes from the always-reliable Deb at Smitten Kitchen. This is an easy, delicious meal, and if you double it, you’ll have great leftovers for lunch the next day. You don’t have to use cherry tomatoes; slicing work just as well. And any ‘flat’ steak will do - skirt, flank, flap, flat iron. I also use another ear of corn because why not?

2. Chickpea Tagine with Tomato Jam (and fresh-caught halibut!): Adam is spending the summer with us as he works his way through job interviews. He’s been lucky enough to go out on a friend’s boat several times, fishing in the Pacific. He’s caught rockfish and halibut. He grilled the halibut to go with this tagine and it was amazing. We just piled the fish with the chickpeas and ate it all at once. Alexandra at Alexandra Cooks is a wonderful recipe-writer and has a lot of fabulous vegetarian recipes. I made my own ras-el-hanout and used some as seasoning on the fish, too. You could also have this with any protein of your choice although I think pork chops would be delicious with this.

3. Garlic Lime Steak and Tomato Salad: Another Smitten Kitchen recipe, this uses up a lot of ingredients we have in the garden right now (beans, cucumbers, cilantro, basil, jalapenos) and has a real Vietnamese flavor. I usually double the dressing/marinade and up the fish sauce a little bit.

4. Pasta Pomodoro with Grilled Chicken: You don’t need a recipe for this. Just throw together plenty of chopped tomatoes, garlic, basil, salt, and olive oil on a sheet pan and roast in a 425 degree oven for 20 minutes or so. Marinate some chicken in lemon juice, sherry, garlic, and salt, then grill it. Cook some thin noodles. Wham! You’ve got pasta pomodoro. Any leftover sauce can be frozen and used later as a topping for pretty much anything!

5. Polenta-baked Eggs with Corn, Tomato, and Fontina: This is another Smitten Kitchen recipe that I got from one of Deb’s cookbooks. It’s especially great this time of year because eggs are also usually quite plentiful from our backyard chickens. Cook 1/2 cup polenta following directions on the package (I like Bob’s Red Mill or Anson Mills). When the polenta is nearly finished cooking, add 1/2 cup of corn kernels (fresh or thawed frozen). Stir and cook for a few more minutes. Add 1/2 cup grated fontina, and season well with salt and pepper. Then add 2 tablespoons of creme fraiche or sour cream. Stir until everything is creamy. Coat a cast iron skillet with butter, and transfer over the polenta mixture. Stir in a chopped tomato (or two) or some pureed tomato sauce. Smooth the surface, and make four indentations. Crack an egg into each one. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and with more grated fontina. Bake in a 400 degree oven until the whites are set. You might have to broil it for a few minutes to finish it up. It’s a trick to get the whites set but the yolks still runny, but the end result is delicious with a good crusty baguette.

6. One-pan Farro with Tomatoes (and Tom’s homemade Italian sausage!): Tom made a huge amount of Italian sausage this past spring, and it’s been fun to add it to all kinds of dishes. I love the chewy nuttiness of farro (I also like Bob’s Red Mill farro), and it goes really well with meaty things. Again, you can use any kind of tomato here.

7. Savory Tomato Galette with Tomato, Corn, Caramelized Onions, and Gruyere: Tom doesn’t love this because he has trouble with any soggy bottom pastry, but I don’t find this recipe all that soggy (the corn and cheese at the bottom help a lot) and frankly I wouldn’t mind if it was. Have I mentioned that Alexandra has my favorite focaccia recipe of all time? It’s worth checking that out, too. Both Adam and Rin make it regularly for sandwiches. Alexandra’s good at bread, in general, and has written both a bread cookbook (‘Bread, Toast, Crumbs’) and a new pizza cookbook.

Happy Cooking!