Let's talk gardening. I see some neighbors doing some square-foot gardening, and I know one who wants to begin. Let's talk about what's growing well here in DV. What have you found that's draught tolerant. Of course we'll have to talk about gophers, snails, and crows, too.

A GREENHOUSE

Jim and Susie Norton built a greenhouse. It has a concrete floor with rock fill for drainage. We hope they will share their experience (and some "real" tomatos) of what they are able to produce. They said when they get up and running they would like to get together with other DV gardeners to share notes.

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MATILIJA POPPIES Sandra & Dan Ignosci have matilija poppies growing by their home. They're about 5 inches in diameter and have delicate, wrinkled pedals. Sometimes called "Fried Egg" flower, you don't see them often. Sandra says these burned to the ground in the fire, and fire seems to be benificial for their reproduction.

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Beautiful color from Sandra Ignosci's garden. We welcom more pictures from all. there are some beautiful gardens in DV.

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Container gardening is a good way to go. Anne and Sarah Evosevich use a wine barrel for oregano and cilantro. The Oregano (left) is blooming, and the cilantro is a must for Mexican food. Cilantro seed is coriander. Center, sweet peas, aromatic in the house, attracts humming birds. Silver lace vine, says Anne, Very drought tolerant (Sarah waters them maybe once a week), very prolific growth, no smell, comes back year after year (ours is at least 12 years old)

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DV Biology – Nira Clark:

[DVer Nira clark is a professor of biology at southwestern College who offered to do a Q & A spot for the antler. We sent her a link to our web page [secretly hoping she would like to submit occasionally to us also], and she said, "OK."

We will post most of her items on the Around DV page, but if they apply to gardening too, we'll also put them here.

NIRA, on earwigs: I have an answer for you..... go get a toad! Toads eat earwigs, so be nice to toads! Also keep the leaf litter cleaned up. Earwigs like leaf litter, and the underside of potted plants... and windowsills, and and and....

I know we all have tons of them - but I now have fewer after raking up all the leaves - trimming up all the plants and gathering the toads around my house.

My daughter, Jane did discover that mother earwigs actually tend to their babies. Look under pieces of wood. You might find a mother guarding her eggs or larvae. It would be a really sweet scene - if it weren't for the fact that they are all ear wigs.

Jane now considers earwigs to be her "pets" so I have to be careful of how I "dispose" of any on my property. If a 5 year old girl can come to love them... maybe we all can :)   (Hee hee!)

Nira.

ANNE Evosevich, on earwigs: What we have found most helpful so far is diatomaceous earth (D.E.), such as used in swimming pool filters. We put a ring or two around our herb barrels etc. and they stop harvesting them. Some times we have to apply a second dose, but it has not failed to work for us these recent years.

ROB: We had a window where the earwigs were getting in – right above my head when I was in bed. We put a barrier if D.E. on the sill outside and it worked. When we're inundated with them, we keep a glass of water with a few drops of liquid detergent to kill the surface tension, and we pick up the wigs and drop them in the glass. With the deturgent in, they sink immediately to the bottom. I'm embarrassed to say how many we have, but Kim beat me by five last wig season. I once broke a large chunk of bark from a log that was lying on the ground, and out ran at least three hundred of them. Yuuuuuck!

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