Main crop- Vancouver figs begin

These are the first of the main crop figs from my 'found' Vancouver variety fig. The first wasnt as sweet as the breba - due to cooler / shorter days? Ate too soon?

Project: Sempervivum roof from recycled materials.

This short wall at the house entrance had the unfortunate habit of channeling water into the basement.

I collected recycled wood from the garage, mainly 2 X 6 's and some plywood, and constructed the box in this photo. The bottom slopes away from the house. The liner is recycled black rubber pond liner. I still need to construct a drain system so that any water that collects will be directed away from the house.
The box will be filled with coarse broken rocks and slate, perlite, and potting soil. Sempervivums and sedums will be planted as a living roof. These plants tolerate dry conditions, poor rocky soil, heat, and cold. I've been sticking starts between rocks in a recycled concrete wall, and they grow well there.

Sempervivum has a long tradition as a roofing plant. It is very durable. The name means "I always live" and refers to the plant's durability. They are originally from the Mediterranian and Himalayas. Romans grew it at their entrances to show their prosperity, and in Northwestern Europe, it was grown on roofs to deter lightning and fire.

Sempervivum is used today in projects for creating "green roofs" in urban settings and for home projects. It will be fun to see how this project turns out. My main concern is the northern exposure, but I already have a number of these plants in north facing locations and they seem to do fine.

Just for Show. Worked from home today.

Rose of Sharon (Althea or Hibiscus syriacus) has been grown since Biblical times; there is mention in the Songs of Solomon. This shrub is tolerant of dry conditions, so I rarely water it. It blooms from mid summer to fall. There are self-sown seedling near the original shrub - will they have similar blossoms? If there is room for them, we'll know in a year or two.


Lilium Speciosum rubrum, nonhybrid oriental lilies. Nice fragrance, bloom later than all of the other lilies in the garden. These too seem fairly dry tolerant, now that they are established.

I worked via computer hookup from home, so no bike ride but no drive either. That seems like a fairly earth-friendly way to work, I suppose.

Friends. Summer cold.

Fortunately off work (although on call as backup).

Nasty cold today, cough, headache, congestion.

Kitty doesnt mind the dogs when she is closer to their height. At ground level they can be like overly frisky elephants (compared to her size) so she is less likely to put up with them.

Thursday. Tomatoes in Window. Bike miles this week.

Every day, a few more fresh tomatoes.






This year's favorites....

For large, 'meaty' tomatoes:

1. Lemonboy for production, earliness, and flavor. Kind of tropical fruity. Given all of it's qualities together, this is the #1 tomato for this year and last year.
2. Cherokee purple for flavor. Kind of smokey/salty. This tomato was neither purple, or as its other name suggests, black - it was more of a burgandy / brown. Wonderful, rich flavor. Not very productive (although not in the sunniest spot, so it may not have been a fair test).
3. Yellow Brandywine for flavor, although not very productive.

3. Betterboy for pruduction and traditional tomato flavor (not as productive as lemonboy which was #1 in number and size of fruits).
4. The remaining large tomato, Tomande, was more productive in numbers, than Cherokee or Betterboy, but really not much for juiciness (some fruits were almost hollow) and consistenct of good flavor.

For Cherry Tomatoes:

1. Sweet 100. Best flavor for cherries and second best production.
2. Distant second for flavor, Sungold - heavily hyped, very productive, the the flavor was a distant second.
3. Probably not worth repeating, Sweet Baby Girl and Sugar Snack. More compact plants, but flavor also a distant second from Sweet100 and not nearly as productive.
4. For persistence, the volunteer Golden Nuggets which were not planted in that location since three years ago, but came up from volunteer last year and this year (and ranks just behind Sweet 100 in flavor).

Bike miles 66 but I may be underestimating. Next Monday I need to drive, due to meetings in Portland, so will doublecheck the miles.