Garden Log. Mar 19 2007.

More accurately, continued from Sunday (Mar 17).

- Pruned Meyer lemon to 3 main branches, more upright. It has new gropwth on each branch tip. It has been outside for 3 days, but brought in tonight due to expected chill.

- Sprayed neem oil (again) on peaches, roses, meyer lemon, strawberries. Neem oil has been my fungicide / insecticide of choice for 3 years. On the roses, it stops black spot and mildew. Same on the grapes. I am not sure if it helps with peach leaf curl, but it seems to reduce the number of affected leaves. It is marketed as not only nontoxic, but actually used in botanical products for arthritis, cold sores, and other topical applications on skin. There is a nice article on neem oil in Wikipedia. Neem oil, sprayed on leaves of roses and strawberreis, also imparts a nice shine to the leaves. My main concern is that I may have overdone it, mixing it up 4 tablespoons per gallon and I sprayed twice. I should have shown more restraint. It rained today, so the oil portion on the surface may be washed off, but maybe some of the Azadirachtin already had a benefit (azadarachtin being at least one of the active agents - again, as explained in wikipedia, azadarachtin is an antifeedant (I suppose that means reduces feeding activity) and growth disruptor for many insects. This site states that neem should be sprayed on a 7-14 day schedule as a preventive (that would make some $$$ to the folks who sell it, but then again, better going to them than to toxic chemical manufacturers). http://www.biconet.com/botanicals/70NeemOil.htmlstates that it has been used to treat head lice, but does not harm bees, butterfles, or earthworms.

-Lilies are coming up. Asiatic lilies are 2 inches tall, nice stout stems.

- Ornamental alliums are 6 inches tall.

- Lilac leaves are about the size of a squirrels ear (I guess).

- I also sprayed the anigozanthos with neem oil. I'm frustrated that the one from Lowes has inky black leaf disease.

-It's supposed to be cold tonight. I brought the Meyer lemon, anigozanthos, and most of the geraniums back inside.

Comments on Chickens.

Ning has his new chickens. 2 little Rhode Island Reds. I dont know what the other 2 are - something "blue" - I'll have to look up photos for identification when they are grown. They will be raised fo eggs (and pets, I think)

What's green about chickens at home?
- not raised in massive chicken farms, little environmental impact.
- chicken poop / is great for compost.
- they eat insects and grubs, reducing pests in the garden without chemicals.
- they connect us to a source of or nutrition, providing a mental link to earth as our provider.
- they eat kitchen scraps, providing another way to recycle food waste.

Apparently, chickens are allowed in most urban and suburban communities. However, not roosters. The numbers and locations have some limitations depending on individual city codes.

We bought a book on this topic from a local author. I may quote from it later (I've misplaced it tonight but it can't be far).

Ning's chicks

Antiwar Rally, Portland OR 3/18/07

Today in Portland. Interesting - a lot of gray hair at this rally. Why is that? (I know this is off topic for the blog but it IS where I spent the afternoon today. )

Unknown Soldier 1907

There is no identification on the photo. It was taken in San Francisco, probably 1907. Look into his eyes. It's haunting.

I don't know why I've been posting these photos. Some are at least 100 years old. I dont know the people in them, not even their names. They do something to me.

The soldiers, in some of the photos, may not have survived another year after their photos were taken. Or they may have lived 65 years more. No way to know. I like the photos of people with their favorite shrub, or in their garden, because they remind me of... me. Actually, the same with the soldiers, too, since I was one (over 30 years ago).

To some extent, I look at these and think, their lives were not so different from our lives today. Then I think, yes they were, it's a different world entirely now. Then I think, what about tomorrow? If we waste the gift of this green earth, who will be there to remember those who went before? Will it matter?

Nothing to do with gardening, maybe a little about being greener - a protest against the Iraq war is planned for downtown Portland tomorrow. I wonder if an old veteran like me should be there?