Robert Kourik's Garden Roots

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69764853509839589712026-01-08T13:27:17.093-08:00Robert Kourik's Garden RootsRambling thoughts and observations about horticulture and nature.Robert Kourikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03933671774116987956noreply@blogger.comBlogger181125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976485350983958971.post-51798397887663421232010-08-16T14:31:00.000-07:002011-08-30T20:57:14.484-07:00Fasciation is Fascinating (not a typo)

Fasciation is when a plant's stem widens out to be abnormally wide instead of round. Here is a small example. The photo on the right is a normal foxglove after blooming. The one on the left is the fasciated top, - the usual place where fasication is found. The cause of this phenomena is not understood. Reasons for this freak event include: damage to the apical bud [tip]; viruses; herbicides [

Robert Kourikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03933671774116987956noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976485350983958971.post-6260171109261693042010-08-07T10:44:00.000-07:002010-08-07T11:23:37.313-07:00More & More Garlic

It's garlic harvest time around here. (60 miles North of San Fransisco.) Here's the Garlic Guru with a fist full of garlic. Until he was 66, Chester Aaron had 60 raised beds 4' X 10' for his collection of up to 90 varieties of garlic. At 67 he double stacked his boxes into 2' tall boxes. Of the myriad of choices I still favour the 'Creole Red' pictured here. A robust flavor that's rather spicy

Robert Kourikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03933671774116987956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976485350983958971.post-12312552310345460692010-07-23T20:43:00.000-07:002010-07-24T15:30:52.335-07:00Drought Resistant Landscape

What can I say?“BUY FROM THE SOURCE TO HELP KEEP WRITERS WRITING”Let me know what you think. Visit my web site to learn about my new book on drip irrigation and other gardening books. Thanks, Robert

Robert Kourikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03933671774116987956noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976485350983958971.post-71496935756454254322010-07-22T08:02:00.000-07:002010-07-22T08:14:22.019-07:00Trees with Shallow Roots

Getting ready for fall planting trees? Near a deck, patio or pathway? Here are some general guidelines to allow for adequate space root growth: (All info. from: Roots Demystified, change your gardening habits to help roots thrive.)- It’s best not to plant trees between paved areas with less than three feet of soil to grow. - Use trees that mature at less than 30 feet tall when you have a space

Robert Kourikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03933671774116987956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976485350983958971.post-69532001746973750162010-07-11T13:55:00.000-07:002010-07-23T20:47:42.300-07:00In-line Growth

The photo on the left shows in-line drip irrigation tubing placed over the landscape as recommend in my book Drip Irrigation, for Every Landscape & All Climates. The right photo is a bit over one month of growth. Good growth. less water.“BUY FROM THE SOURCE TO HELP KEEP WRITERS WRITING”Let me know what you think. Visit my web site to learn about my new book on drip irrigation and other gardening

Robert Kourikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03933671774116987956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976485350983958971.post-79997204756835300812010-07-07T10:56:00.000-07:002010-07-07T19:09:58.615-07:00My Garden

A view of my little garden. I let the foxglove "walk around". A different pleasure each year. This section was drip irrigated for three years, then 20 years without irrigation. Not a benefit to a publisher of my book Drip Irrigation for Every Landscape All Climates.

Robert Kourikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03933671774116987956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976485350983958971.post-68990500043575743382010-07-06T14:47:00.000-07:002010-07-26T19:41:25.813-07:00Chaos as Beauty

I came out one morning to see dozens of spider orbs gracing the former summers lavender stalks. An angelic beauty I had only seen this once because I now prune back all my lavenders. This photo never got into my book The Lavender Garden (Still for sale on web site for only $10.) It came about as I had let one section of my tight plantings, deeply-mulched garden go without any work for several

Robert Kourikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03933671774116987956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976485350983958971.post-44264580801419826872010-06-24T05:31:00.000-07:002010-06-24T05:45:12.706-07:00Grape Roots

These grape roots reveal a lot about root growth in naturally shallow soils. The roots here are all in the top two feet of the soil.Roots find conditions the most cushy and convenient near the surface of the soil and will do almost anything to live there. Since they can’t find their way through hardpan or less fertile soil, it can be quite deep and there’s no real reason to try to break it up. If

Robert Kourikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03933671774116987956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976485350983958971.post-3769050648719518592010-06-18T07:56:00.001-07:002010-06-24T05:44:31.638-07:00Trees Bent Out of Shape, Actually the Right Way

Summer and many gardeners are planting trees. But what to do with wobbly trees after they are cut from the stake in the pot or B&B? If it’s necessary to stake a new skinny-trunked transplant to keep it from flopping, the lower you tie the tree to the stake(s), the more the trunk will be able to flex and strengthen in the wind. To determine the best height for tying (a height which will allow

Robert Kourikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03933671774116987956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976485350983958971.post-70793493851283173312010-06-16T10:38:00.000-07:002010-06-16T10:52:30.809-07:00On the right road to drip irrigation

I've been seeing more and more use of in line emitter tubing in commercial settings. Here's a sample from Kaiser's (my HMO) parking lot. I applaud the circles of in-line tubing as it follows some of the recommendations as outlined in my book - Drip Irrigation for All Landscapes & All Climates. However the inner circle is not needed as the crown of this tree would get plenty of water with the

Robert Kourikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03933671774116987956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976485350983958971.post-13342207734452368762010-06-16T10:27:00.000-07:002010-06-16T10:54:01.676-07:00A crime, don't do this at home.

I first stumbled on the disgusting hack job someone did on the tree on the left. Little did I know at would serve such a glorious purpose as shown on the right. :)

Robert Kourikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03933671774116987956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976485350983958971.post-69395798468545584652010-06-14T13:57:00.000-07:002010-06-14T16:36:11.185-07:00Get Your Wet Spots Figured Out

The drawing in the middle is from my book Drip Irrigation – For Every Landscapes & All Climates, it shows an ideal view of how the wet spots on the surface merge together 2-6 inches below the soil’s surface. The photo on the left shows the spots of irrigation on the surface of potting soil filling a horse trough. Notice how much of the soil appears to be dry. The other photograph shows the soil

Robert Kourikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03933671774116987956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976485350983958971.post-42800373195154165162010-05-27T08:34:00.001-07:002010-05-27T08:41:34.359-07:00Peasant Gardens versus Convenience

One of the big trends in gardening these days is planting a multilayered garden with edible plants as ground cover, shrubs, & fruit trees, with a few herbs and/or ornamentals thrown into the mix. I was intrigued by this concept in the mid-70s. I learned my lesson well—the hard way.Mixing layered plants with & under fruit trees is a royal pain in the @#s. You’re forever looking for a place to

Robert Kourikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03933671774116987956noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976485350983958971.post-91714945216187073912010-05-26T15:38:00.000-07:002010-06-16T10:47:52.648-07:00Peasant Gardens vrs. Convenience

One of the big trends in gardening these days is planting a multilayered garden with edible plants as ground cover, shrubs, & fruit trees, with a few herbs and/ornamental thrown into the mix. I was intrigued by this concept in the mid-70s. I learned my lesson well—the hard way.Mixing layered plants with & under fruit trees is a royal pain in the @#s. You’re forever looking for a place to step

Robert Kourikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03933671774116987956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976485350983958971.post-14684616132504789492010-05-26T10:41:00.000-07:002010-05-27T08:17:27.876-07:00A Tasty Way to Landscape

Long before the Berlin wall came down, the arbitrary horticultural barriers between the vegetable garden and the flower border, between fruit trees and shade trees, and between herbs and ornamental flowers had already begun to crumble. This was due to a new trend known as edible landscaping, which sprang up in the mid-1970’s and combined food-growing and landscaping with a sense of design, an eye

Robert Kourikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03933671774116987956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976485350983958971.post-47833784042850771432010-05-24T10:17:00.000-07:002010-05-25T07:03:20.782-07:00Foxy Flowers - Foxgloves

My garden is full of dozens of foxglove that have seed themselves, leading to a wide range of colors-from creamy white to pink, rosy pink, and almost deep red. Our eyes see delightful beauty in our gardens. People see all the colors of the rainbow; red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Bees do not see red and can only distinguish between six colors:, blue-green, blue, violet,

Robert Kourikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03933671774116987956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976485350983958971.post-63365707209995554672010-05-23T08:59:00.000-07:002010-05-24T10:24:07.334-07:00Mustering more info. about mustards

More fooder for the discussion about mustard plants growing in vineyards.In college, Knoll, who has a Ph. D. in Chemistry, researched the science of allelopathy—the study of the toxic or antagonistic chemicals (many of which are called secondary metabolites) which some plants produce. These compounds act, in Knoll's words, "as ecological chemicals to gain an advantage over other plants and act

Robert Kourikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03933671774116987956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976485350983958971.post-48812722247888432662010-05-20T21:36:00.000-07:002010-05-21T10:17:20.510-07:00Drip Increases Yields, much of the time

Numero uno is one of the often poorly-understood concepts about drip irrigation.There are many scientific studies which indicate that drip irrigation can improve growth and yields. For example, in 1981 T. A. Howell et al surveyed 50 research reports on crops grown with drip irrigation, and concluded: “Where trickle [drip] irrigation was compared with either no irrigation or other

Robert Kourikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03933671774116987956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976485350983958971.post-38360305948858539372010-05-20T18:35:00.000-07:002010-05-24T08:54:50.699-07:00Lawn Irrigation That's Really "Out of Sight"

Lawns, yawns. They aren’t needed as much as they are found. However, there's no better place to have young kids run around and, play badminton or croquet, or necking while watching the stars. (This subsurface approach to irrigation means you can neck at the same time the lawn is being irrigated!)The latest revolution in irrigation is happening quietly underground, four to eight inches beneath

Robert Kourikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03933671774116987956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976485350983958971.post-60550016548219567112010-05-20T10:07:00.000-07:002010-05-20T15:16:41.183-07:00Drip Paraphernalia

It' time for tuning up & testing drip systems. If, gawd forbid, you have a a system with lots of punched-in emitters you'll need to carry around spare emitters, a punch, goof plugs & more. Use a box with lots of chambers like the sewing paraphernalia shown on the left. Or, boxes used for fishing hooks & gear or small tool boxes with transparent plastic covers. Although the sewing box is

Robert Kourikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03933671774116987956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976485350983958971.post-10167826726073255052010-05-16T13:41:00.001-07:002010-05-16T13:45:19.827-07:00Basket Bondage?

It’s spring in full-tilt boogie. Where there are gophers, the trend has been to plant in wire baskets. In the past ½-inch aviary wire was used. While fairly easy to work with, it doesn’t last a long hardware cloth with regards to rust. There are some pre-made commercial wire baskets. They aren’t very deep, but the wire is studier than aviary wire. The fear is what happens to the roots that grow

Robert Kourikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03933671774116987956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976485350983958971.post-25305336220743130202010-05-12T07:58:00.000-07:002010-05-12T08:02:21.132-07:00The Egg-Beater Tree

An eccentric tree no doubt. I got carried away while pruning. (Actually, this is being cultivated by a person I haven’t met yet.) I like to call it the egg-beater tree. The winter deciduous shot of this London Plane tree shows all the limbs and the layout. The leafy version show why apical dominance has such a strong influence on tree growth. With more leaves at the top of each main “beater” the

Robert Kourikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03933671774116987956noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976485350983958971.post-170767398884734472010-05-10T14:45:00.001-07:002010-05-11T15:07:07.214-07:00Gopher It - Baskets & All

Spring time and baskets are rollin’…into the ground. Gophers in the west (certainly around my home) have sprung from the womb and are seeking new territory. This means there’s a mass migration as each gopher tries to stake out it’s new home. Thus many gophers means plenty of damage to roots. In my neck of the woods, gardeners are “planting” wire baskets with the transplants inside. It seems to

Robert Kourikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03933671774116987956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976485350983958971.post-56776196347357197162010-05-05T15:44:00.000-07:002010-05-05T16:04:35.409-07:00Pretty? NO!

The Scotch broom pictured here is beautiful while blooming. But this exotic invasive is like standing gasoline during the summer & fall. See the list below of other invasive plants.When Masanobu Fukuoka, author & guru of The One-Straw Revolution, visited the Northwest he remarked that we should spreed this plant around because it was such a good nitrogen fixer. Shows what carnage can be

Robert Kourikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03933671774116987956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976485350983958971.post-69531136084573360922010-05-05T15:26:00.000-07:002010-05-05T15:35:08.862-07:00As Good as Beans

The Ceanothus shrubs & trees (Ceanothus spp.) are just past their peak. But they have offered a glorious view. In the forest it is especially important to have the early colonizing trees because, while not being in the legume family, they fix nitrogen from the air into soluble nitrogen nodules on their roots—just like beans & peas. Other non-leguminous nitrogen fixers include: Alder trees &

Robert Kourikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03933671774116987956noreply@blogger.com0