A rainy day garden: often a curse in the tropics, but a rare treat in Southern California. I can honestly tell you that I have never said, “Oh, darn. It’s going to rain” while I have had my garden here in Vista, California. If you do not live in a low-rainfall Mediterranean climate, you can not really understand why rain…
Here in Southern California my local forecast shows another two days of rain coming starting tomorrow morning. Considering the fact California is in a state of serious drought, all rain is welcomed. Last year was to be the year of the drought-breaking El Niño, but that never happened. Earlier this fall a few long-range forecasts guessed for…
Here comes El Niño. And no, it is not this guy. It is hard to believe that this Saturday Night Live skit featuring the hilarious Chris Farley was first shown almost 20 years ago. The year was 1997 and it marked the last time California felt the effects of a strong El Niño event. Since that time we have…
A few years ago I started looking around for a WiFi-based irrigation system. At the time only a few existed and none of them had all the features I needed or any quality reviews to back it. A few months deeper into my search I stumbled upon a company that had an encouraging solution that promised to be “Coming Soon.” Their website…
Until recently, winter was breezing by with evenings staying above the 40-degree fahrenheit Mendoza Line. Unfortunately, the new year ended my unrealistic dream of going through an entire winter without seeing temperatures drop into the thirties. Just about two weeks ago an Arctic storm pushed right through California and brought with it either frost or freezing temperatures for three straight nights. Looking…
Here we are into the first half of June already. My kids are out of school and it has me asking, “Where has the year gone?” In the garden it is usually a time for a massive wake up call for many of my more tropical plants. However, this year I am actually a good month or two…
How can we top a record-breaking winter here in Southern California? How about a second week in less then a month of high heat and brutal Santa Ana winds in spring? It is happening and I can not recall another time since I have lived here when we have had two separate weeks of high…
Even though I was born in California, I didn’t return to live full time until 1997. So my personal historical data only goes back so far. But I can tell you I have never experienced a winter such as this in my short time being a Southern California resident. Winter gardening in California started off…