Blog
June 26, 2025 Mulch Madness It’s my goal to cover bare soil at FECO, both in the garden beds and in the tree guilds. You can see a variety of living and non-living mulches at FECO. See photos of of various plants and other materials: Hazelnut shells, early-flowering borage (Trachystemon orientalis), straw, leaves, prunings and […]
Guarding the Grapes
September 23, 2018 The predictable announcement was, “Yum!” from anyone who tasted our Interlaken table grapes. One taster cocked her head and let her eyes drift upward, savoring the sweet with a little tart sensation. We were thankful to have a few grapes this year! Last year was a bust due to powdery mildew. In […]
Tulle – A Cool Tool
September 3, 2018 Stretching the parameters of our climate is part of gardening. We add row covers or netting to keep out a pest or alter sunlight transmission. But it’s not that simple is it? These tools can affect soil and air temperature, humidity, wind, light penetration, pollination, and productivity. Did you know red shade […]
In Praise of the Power of Pollinators
August 5, 2018 Gardening is hard work. It is rewarding, but the task is never over. That’s why we should always remember to give thanks to all the help we get at the orchard. Our wonderful volunteers help keep us going. But our hardest workers are some of our smallest. Without our pollinators, we wouldn’t […]
Water Conservation in 2018 – Is It Working?
August 2, 2018 Please visit us this Saturday, 10-noon, for a tour of our new watering system. We will have signage throughout the orchard and we will be anxious to get your ideas about how we can manage water even more efficiently. Our system begins with our three cisterns, which catch 4,000 gallons during winter […]
Water Conservation – Ideas are still percolating in …
June 21, 2018 Yesterday I set out to water the fruit and nut trees for the first time this year. I thought it would be a lot of work because 1) it has been hot and, 2) because May precipitation was a record low .3 inches and June is just average at 1.29 inches so […]
Soil Camp
May 27, 2018 Last week I attended a five-day soil science class with research scientist Dr. Elaine Ingham, just outside of Oroville, CA, where they say Ahmonds when referring to Almonds. Seven of us hovered over microscopes much of the time, counting nematodes, protozoa, and bacteria. Near the end of each day, it was hard […]
Let ‘er Drip
April 17, 2018 Last summer, as most of you know, we carried water around in buckets to water the plants. A few times each summer, we got help from a dozen 5-8 year olds. One hot August day, we gave each of the kids a yogurt container, showed them where the drip line was and […]
FECO Water Conservation Grant – Step Three – Ollas and Perforated Pipe
March 19, 2018 Our efforts this year center on water conservation and we are attempting three different methods to deliver water to plants: gravity fed drip irrigation (coming soon), ollas, and deep perforated pipe. All of these methods will save water but they all will also minimize the time and physical effort it takes to […]
FECO Water Conservation Grant – Step Two – Treadle Pump
February 7, 2018 For three summers we have filled and lifted 5 gallon buckets to water the plants. That’s fine if you have a strong back and a lot of time. Currently, we are working on a setup to move the water from the cisterns around the orchard using less effort and time. Last week, […]
FECO Water Conservation Grant – Step One
January 21, 2018 Our newest cistern is in place, poised to capture 1,000 gallons of water every winter. A volunteer found it used on Craig’s List and donated it to FECO. On the last day of 2017, nine volunteers worked 2.5 hours to set a bamboo structure in place and to build and attach a […]