Hopes for a Happy New Year

Wow! It's been quite a while since my last post. This is probably because it has been such a challenging year in the garden and I've not been inspired to blog about it. Why isn't the opposite of inspired just "spired" or even "outspired"?

Back to the blog...

First, we had no rain for most of last winter. And the total for the year is less than half the lowest ever recorded - 3.8 inches. That has greatly impacted my native garden in my frontyard. The plants had a tough summer and in the end I had to water them. They are struggling now and nothing looks that attractive.

In the backyard, the ground squirrels became the bane of my gardening existence. In the end, I had to trap and kill them using #110 body gripper traps, supposedly the most humane trap that kills the blighters instantly. ...I'm up to 6 now.

Since the winter came in, their activity has diminished, but there are still crop losses. So I set a trap right over my lettuce which they'd eaten down to about an inch in length. I was hoping for some regrowth. Next week I'm dog sitting for a friend so I needed to put away the traps. As I dismantled the trap I'd set over the lettuce, the claws sprung round and grabbed the lettuce, tearing all the plants in a eight-inch radius right out of the ground. Squirrels-0, Byddi-0!

Then the really cold spell we had just at the end of November killed quite a lot of my ornamentals.

Yet the weeds keep on coming. In the area I solarized last summer, I've notice a rash of Geranium dissectum. Not a big deal. I can pull it quite easily, but why can't it die from drought, get eaten by squirrels or succumb to the frost?

What actually did inspire me to write this post was an little indoor gardening experiment.

We had a New Years Eye Party, and as part of the "Black and White" theme, I made up a number of white flower arrangements to place around the room.  Most of the flowers were carnations (all bought in, not homegrown sadly!) but I had a few chrysanthemum in there too with some Gypsophila Babys Breath.

They made a refreshing change after all the Christmas decor.

The day after the party, I remembered an experiment I'd done when I worked as a teacher back in Ireland. I added food dye to the water in the plants and the white petals changed color - over night!

When I added black food dye, the white carnations developed a black stripe and the chrysanthemums even started to show some color.

Red food dye has produced a pink stripe and a pink hue to the rest of the leaves.

I just wish I'd other colors to play with now!

Hope it rains soon and that it drowns all my ground squirrels.

Happy New Year!  (unless you are a squirrel .....)


Byddi Lee

OMG - GMO!

The easiest part of this blog was the title. Which is in fact somewhat misleading because GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organism, when actually I want to share with you may musings on genetically engineered organisms. So, whats the difference?

GMO is a broader term - it includes organisms that have been bred by traditional means - I used to own a GMO. She was a cute West Highland Terrier...and I still miss her. It's not just pedigree dogs that are GMOs, I'd go so far as to say that all modern domestic dogs are GMO. Their genes have been modified by selective breeding by humans. To that end, all of our farm produce is also GMO - all domesticated from a ancestral wild-type and bred for favorable traits.

It also covers organisms that have been exposed to radiation that causes mutations in their genes (yes, this is has also been a field of genetic research) and of course genetic engineering.

Genetic engineering, actually recombining the DNA of an organism to change the gene sequence, can be thought of as a sub-group of GMO. I believe that most people who claim to be anti-GMO really mean that they are against genetic engineered crops. I can't blame folk for being unable to articulate clearly what it is they are protesting about. The whole world of genetic engineering  is a minefield of facts, half truths, exaggerations and outright lies - on both sides of the debate.

I've been reluctant to jump into the debate because I feel that both sides have been trying to manipulate us, yet the theory behind genetic engineering is absolutely fascinating and its potential to provide nutritional food to a growing human population - 9.5 billion by 2050 - is hard to ignore.

I studied genetics during the first year of my Environmental Biology degree and feel that I have a fairly sound idea of the theory of how gene insertion takes place. I can describe how the blueprints of an organism are stored in  chromosomes, long strings of DNA coiled up in the the nuclei of our cells. I can explain how these long strings of DNA carry genes, a code for the cells to join amino acids together so that proteins can be formed. These proteins then make up our enzymes, hormones and cell structures. One change in the sequence of the gene code changes a protein. That has a knock on effect of changing the shape of the enzyme and thus affecting it's function.

I can draw you diagrams to explain how the gene for human insulin is inserted into bacteria which "tricks " the bacteria  into producing insulin which is harvested and used to treat diabetes. It's really not a complex theory once you understand how DNA works and codes for proteins...it's like playing with lego really and by far the simplest facet of this whole thing.

In the same way, I also understand the basic theory of the derivation of nuclear energy ... but do I want nuclear power in my world? Yes and no. Yes if we could be guaranteed no accidents and safe waste storage until its radioactivity has dissipated. It produces no carbon dioxide and could meet the increasing demand for energy without the same impact on climate as burning fossil fuels has caused.

I really do think that genetic engineering is to the biology world what nuclear power is to the physics world - highly contentious, highly emotive and, in reality, a great solution to some really huge problems, but also with the potential to cause even more problems.

In an ideal world, lies could not be posted online (nor even told at all), people would be working wholeheartedly for the benefit of all, and there would be no hidden agendas. But that's not our reality. So what to believe? It boils down to two things - does genetic engineering harm our health directly and does it adversely impact our environment. Genetic engineering to produce insulin for diabetics is an easy argument - It works,  it's safe for humans and it won't damage the environment because it can be contained inside a lab until the finished product is purified and ready for use.

As for the genetically engineered crops debate - some people claim that if we eat GMO food (I think they mean genetically engineered!) we could incorporate the transplanted gene into our own genes and then mutate into... what? Monsters? OMG!

However, this is an outrageous claim, since we take DNA into our bodies all the time from other organisms - it simply gets broken down in our gut. If this were not the case why aren't we incorporating apple DNA into our cells when we eat an apple, or pig DNA when we eat pork ... and what about if we eat oysters? OMG!

But, I do think we need to worry about other ways our health can be impacted. Allergens and poisons can be inadvertently introduced to the food by accidently adding genes that code for that protein.


Then there's the very real problem of producing a super-organism that is so robust that we cannot actually control it. Even those with less robust features escaping into the wild can cause harm. We have seen this in conventionally bred horticultural species...invasive plants like Pampas grass here in California and rhododendrons in Ireland.

Recently, I attended a Master Gardener talk on genetic engineering. The talk was given by Alan McHughen, Ph.D. He is a molecular geneticist at University of California, Riverside, with an interest in crop improvement and environmental sustainability, he helped develop US and Canadian regulations governing the safety of genetically engineered crops and foods. His credentials are pretty impressive - doctorate at Oxford University, worked at Yale University and the University of Saskatchewan.

I came away thinking that, yes, there is a place for genetically engineered plants in our future (actually they are already here).  According to Dr McHughen, genetically engineered food has not be found to be harmful to humans despite many (over 600) scientific studies that he referenced. 

He addressed the allergen issue and said that it is something they are always testing for. He showed us photographs of the amount of paperwork that needs to be done before a genetically engineered product can declared safe and introduced into the food chain. I was heartened that he at least could admit that there were dangers and limitations to this technology.

It was exciting to see how genetically modified food could be enriched - golden rice for example, enriched with vitamin A to help prevent blindness in the poor areas of the world. Oh what potential there! Can I really campaign against a technology that could benefit so many people who don't have access to good food as I go out to my organic garden to harvest this evenings dinner? Yet, can I promote the same technology knowing that I'm wealthy enough to avoid eating it by growing my own food, and at a push, shopping in Whole Foods (if you buy into the whole marketing farce that is "Organic produce")?

Dr McHughen also made a convincing case for the use of Roundup ready crops on the basis that Roundup is one of the less noxious herbicides available and pointed out that farming conventionally-bred crops also uses herbicides. (And he did state that he does not get any funding from Monsanto - a company easy for us to vilify because of the amount of noxious pesticide it produces, its sheer size and the fact it appears to be heading towards global domination in its field - in many fields- pun intended!) He said that using a genetically engineered crop with a built in pesticide - like Bt corn - may actually reduce the application of pesticides. I did discuss this with a friend and colleague of mine who brought up the case that the Monarch butterfly population is impacted by this type of genetic engineering.

So, as Dr McHughen suggested, I did my own research. He advised us to look at websites that did not end in .com or .org, and try to look at actual scientific studies. When I did, I found two studies that claimed "no significant" impact on the monarch butterfly and one that showed some impact. I haven't had a chance to examine the actual experiment methodology nor even the raw data, so I'm still officially "non the wiser".

Master Gardeners is a great organization for keeping us focused on "What does the science say?" Today, online, we were discussing counter-arguments to some of Dr McHughen's claims. It appears he may have "omitted" some truths. That's disheartening.

One of the Master Gardeners suggested this link... it's not an official Master Gardener standpoint, and it's a .org site. At the end of the day, I find myself going round in circles trying to get to the bottom of all the conflicting claims. 

I think that in the future, we will need a combination of conventionally bred and genetically engineered crops, but each individual gene insertion needs to be rigorously researched. We need to be able to trust that research too. It's hard to trust research made by big corporations who have lots to gain by passing the safety criteria. On the other hand, it's easy to get sucked into believing conspiracy theories too. It's almost as if it's trendy to be seen to hate big successful corporations like Montasanto, MacDonalds, and even Starbucks!

The most important thing is to keep an open mind, and to try to uncover as many of the facts as possible. Genetic engineering has the potential to be a great way to produce food for our ever-increasing population in the same way that nuclear energy has the potential to solve the problem of our ever escalating energy needs - also a problem caused by over population.

And there is it right there ... perhaps its not the breeding of crops that needs to be examined, but rather the breeding of Homo sapiens. Over population on  a global scale is our biggest problem. By treating the cause of the problem, then we wouldn't even need to worry about how harmful the solutions to the symptoms are. Somehow I can't see anti-GMO protesters going down that route!

Well, with that I've just about melted my own brain - and yours too, I'm sure! Better go now and relax with that new Dan Brown novel ;-)

Byddi Lee

 

How hardscaping got its name.

Hardscaping is hard! It's that part of gardening that doesn't really involve plants or even soil. It's hard on your hands, your back and especially your wallet.

But hardscaping is literally the back bone of the garden design - the rigid backdrop against which the plants will grow and drape themselves.

In June I began the lawn removal journey by solarizing the lawn. So far, so good - not a single weed/plant has grown back, even after that great day of rain we had last week.

I went berserk with spray paints and gave the garden furniture a makeover in July.

In August my friends helped me to build Wee Lee Canyon - a dry creek around the perimeter of the lawn.

September saw the grand hardscaping finale - the pergola and the patio.

I wanted a redwood pergola and the big box stores didn't seem to offer redwood. Plenty of cedar, precut and self assembly that cost way more than buying redwood lumber and getting a real carpenter to build it.  The redwood lumber for the pergola cost so much that I knew it would be foolhardy to attempt to build it myself. Besides,I knew an excellent carpenter who would give me a reasonable price on the labor. My friend, Jimmy Quenelle and his helper Steve did the entire job from start to finish in two days.

Jimmy helped me settle on the design for the pergola and pretty much made it to measure for my yard. He laid concrete foundations for the four posts and sunk steel braces into the concrete. These then held the upright posts so that none of the wood would be touching soil.

This structure is probably sturdier than our house. You can hang a swing from it. In fact, Jimmy and Steve swung hand-over-hand like moneys from it to prove how strong it was. They are both over 6'4! When the big earthquake comes it will be the only thing standing on our property. Jimmy did an amazing job, with great attention to detail, making sure that I got exactly what I had envisioned in my head. If anyone who lives in Santa Clara wants more details, send me a comment (not for publishing online) and I'll put you in touch with him.

With the pergola built, the next step was to get the sandstone pavers. My Husband and I went to Evergreen Supplies, a family run business near us in San Jose. Everyone who works there claims to be one of a squad of brothers...even the girls. Okay, I jest...

A recurring problem with small garden projects like ours is that the shop would not deliver anything smaller than a pallet of pavers and that was more than twice what we needed. So we borrowed a truck from our friends Cathy and Tom (who have just launched a great kickstarter project - click here for more details if you love Lord of the Rings.)

Neither My Husband nor I are very big, so it was with a great deal of effort that we hauled eighteen huge twelve-foot-square slabs of rock home. It took a couple of runs, but we got there in the end.

We'd researched online how to lay pavers. We wanted a more "crazy paving" style with ground cover growing in between the cracks. After much debate we settled on a layer of sand as a base rather than setting them on the bare dirt, or the base gravel, cement foundation rigmarole they talked a lot about. I hope the whole damn thing doesn't disappear when the rains come!

My Husband still marvels at how our giant jig-saw puzzle all seemed to just fit together. What he should really be marveling at is how his wife managed to maneuver them into place by herself when he was at work! It was another one of those days where I thought, "If I had a job I'd not have to do hard labor...if I was in jail I wouldn't have to  work this hard!"

But finally, it was done.

After not one, not two, but three trips to the local DIY store, I had all the bark mulch laid. I really should have measured and calculated rather that cast an eye and guestimated.

The mulch is really just to keep moisture in the soil when I plant it out. Although all the weed seeds were killed in the soil by the solarization, wind-born seeds will have been deposited in the short time the ground has been left bare. You never completely win the war against weeds.

I couldn't decide which of the photos of the finished job was the best so I posted them all.

When the rain comes I'll get to the soft furnishings...plants! I'll probably leave off putting up shade cloth, curtains and furniture until after the winter.

In the meantime I'm looking forward to using the green thumb again!

Byddi Lee

The creation of Wee Lee Canyon

The lawn is dead - or perhaps not - we'll know for certain after the rains come, but it sure looks deader than a dead thing, and I'm fairly confident that we've blasted most of those weeds seeds. So now it's time to landscape the area.

I put out a call to some of my girl friends. We'd been discussing how we'd like to try a spot of "Barn Raising." None of us needed a barn but the principle was the same. We'd get a group of us together to work on a project. Then that project host would owe back the time in labor to the various projects of the participants. So I suppose it is more of a labor exchange than a barn raising, but whatever it was, it worked.

On the day before my buddies arrived to help dig the dry creek I'd wanted to build, I laid down an outline of where I wanted to dig and hosed the area down with water so the soil was saturated and easy to dig the next day.

My friend Christal wisely suggested that I should have the wide-end closest to where we did most of our sitting around, and thus cash in on the perspective, so that the far-away side would look thinner and farther from us.

I'd read online that a dry creek needs to be half as wide as it is deep. Mine would be 3 feet wide at it's widest point, and therefore 18 inches deep. In hindsight, since my creek is only for decoration, and I do not anticipate it filling up with water, I could have gotten away with it being less deep but specs were specs and that was how it had to be.

 

Within three hours of girl power, my friends Cathy, Eva and Christal (from left to right in photo) had it dug! I helped too, but as project host, it seemed that I ended up with all the fiddly wee jobs, like putting air in the wheels of the wheelbarrows, (Okay - wheeling the them over to Al's house and asking him to put the air in them) providing water and snacks, and managing where the soil would be dumped - soil seems to expand fourfold when dug up and I used the soil to make a new bed along the back fence...

 

and halfway along the side fence too.

And I was left with a trough in the ground to fill with river rock.

The solarization of the soil only goes down to six inches or so. The bed was three times as deep in its deepest part, so I decided to put down some cardboard to block weeds.

But then I discovered a huge bale of plastic in the shed. I hadn't bought it. It was not saving the planet by not being used and getting wasted sitting my shed. After a lot of soul searching, I decided to use it to prevent the rocks from sinking into the soil after the cardboard had broken down. It was a heavy grade plastic and would most likely still be there a century from now. But it was only a little wee patch of ground really and...See? I'm still trying to convince myself I did the right thing! Put it this way - I wouldn't have gone out and bought the black plastic...I probably don't need it...but...

My next-door-neighbor Al took me to the rock shop to buy the rocks that afternoon. They were delivered the next day...the day that I was sore from digging and the last thing I needed was to shovel rocks!

The pile seemed small and I panicked in case I would run out. This is what $250 of rocks looks like (delivery $65 and taxes included.)

Al (my hero) came over and helped me shovel them into the wheel barrows and dump them in the creek. After two hours the pile had gone.


My back yard neighbor had piles of larger rocks he didn't want and I texted him and asked if  I could use some of these as accent stones and he told me to help myself. My friend Lucy came over and helped me position these heavier ones.

With the help of my friends, I'd built an Dry Creek in 48 hours!

I was plum tuckered!

The following week I added the finishing touches. I ordered a couple of bridges online and painted one red - well if it's good enough for the Golden Gate Bridge...

 It's plainer, sturdier sister, I just varnished so as to appreciate the beauty of the wood grain.

I invited a few of my friends' children to come by and paint trolls, ladybugs, flowers and butterflies on rocks just to  involve the little people in my life. The trolls sit under the bridges and watch for billy goats! Billy goats can really do some damage in a garden you know.

And if you look closely you will even see some gold and silver nuggets in that thar crick bed! What wonderful things we can do with Rusto-leum metallic paints. I was really tempted to paint Al's wheelbarrow gold before I returned it to him and thus award him the coveted gardeners "Golden Wheelbarrow" award but thought better of it - I may need to ask him for it again - but knowing Al he'd have forgiven me for girly-fying his wheelbarrow by then!

The finished product was really something to be proud of.

And so I made a silver plaque to remember everyone who helped me make this happen.

 Thanks again you guys!

Byddi Lee

P.S. I used a similar method to build a wildlife pond in my garden in Ireland – check it out here.