Anybody in Southern California?

[Twinkle Toes]

I LOVE crows! I would love to have a baby crow and raise it and teach it tricks and give it some kisses. Crows are very smart birds. Plus, they are always fashionably dressed in black!

[LaoTzuMindFu]

I am in Woodland Hills which is a pretty difficult area (at least for me) to grow many things. Its the hottest part of the hottest area (San Fernando Valley) of southern california. It also gets so much colder here.

I have a lemon tree, plum tree, small blood orange tree and a small nectarine tree. Also have lots of mint that grows wild almost everywhere and a few rose bushes, allyssum and morning glorys.

Ive seen the wild parrots in south central and south Los Angeles.

[denverian]

Originally Posted by hcgCali

Have any of you seen the wild parrots? I love when they come, because they chase off the crows.

We lived in the city of Orange for 10 years and had tons of them. Apparently they tend to stay in certain areas and don't go very far. They were green with peach/pink faces, and very loud! But fun to watch.

[Ginger Bee]

If you are in the San Gabriel Valley, there are parrots everywhere that there are mature trees. They love the camphor trees here in Pasadena.

So Cal is gardening heaven. Whatever you bring home to eat, you can put in the yard. The alluvial soil here is magnificent, and you don't have to dig anything under. Old tomatoes? Throw them out on the ground.

If you are at the beach, or on a salty mesa, good luck. Start to amend the soil, keep throwing out seed, and the seeds that can stand your environment will, after 2-3 years, adapt and thrive, if you persist in enhancing their environment.

Buy a few lettuce and arugala packs to start and let them go to seed where you used to have a lawn. No boxes necessary. The seed stems will bend to where they want to be next year. They will come right after the rains, as long as you've kept the ground weed free. No need for rows, (altho that is most efficient). No water? They'll sprout when they are ready, put forth seeds and die. Let them be. They'll be back as long as you leave them alone...and the goldfinches will go nuts with joy at their good fortune.

When you buy a hydroponic leaf plant with roots, eat it up to an inch or two of the bottom leaves. Plant the roots. It will grow again right away and eventually go to seed. They will come up next year. Plant the root sections of your cabbage too. Just leave a triangle of leaf section above ground You can buy a whole mature garden for the cost of a trip to the grocery. Let the stuff go to seed. They are sentient beings...pets...who have evolved for you to eat them, and are thrilled to be in the soil again!

Core any plant with seeds, all peppers, melons, etc. and just throw the gooey insides where you want them to grow. They will come up, in their own time.

Old onions, scallions, carrots, beets, radishes, anything with roots, however small, that you would normally throw out... dig them in, roots in ground, tops cut 1-2". Add water and they will grow. The onions, year after year. It might seem like they die...but their bulbs are still there. Chives, shallots...

Buy Brazilian passion fruit at store, lay on the ground where you want it, and let it moosh. You'll forget about it...but it will come up, usually in our fall season. Keep wet when little... Makes an incredible edible arbor. Year round leaves, tho takes a beating below 32 degrees, it comes back.

Potatoes you don't get around to eating, just before they moosh, dig 'em under. You'll remember your survival stash next season when their green parts come up.

Raid the grocery spice seeds packages. Much less expensive seeds than at the nursery.

Nasturtiams, beautiful cover, edible flowers. Climbs a little on hedges, very cute. Let it vine out & dry out. Pick the new soft seeds under them to pickle as capers. Easy to pull out when dry... but...

In this type of gardening situation, if you are a clean nut, you'll need to hold yourself back. Don't water or clean up too much. Content yourself during the dry season knowing that the plants will come back at first rain. Let them stay in/on the ground, dry, to protect where they want their "children" to grow...or take the seed stalks and put them where you want them. Bend the stalks of mature chard down, put a rock them, and the new chard will grow roots from there.

Got crickets? We should...everywhere! But listen...they are ONLY in the yards that a bit more "neglected". That is true of the native pollinators too. Don't tear up their ground by cultivating too much. No more mow & blow! Throw seed and help the bees. At some point, you will be just walking thru your garden to pull a few weeds before they go to seed. Nice way to take a walk, through your work of art, and talk with your plant friends who you are cultivating to ~become you~.