Sprinkler problems and alternatives

Being a steadfast fan of automatic sprinkler systems, I was very unhappy when one of my circuits dribbled instead of sprinkled. At first, I thought it was blocked sprinkler heads -- replaced them all. Now I think it's a bad valve. I'm too chicken to disassemble and rebuild a valve, even after watching several YouTube videos on how-to.

What are good alternatives to automatic sprinklers? Hand-watering with a hose and a sprinkler thing on the front. Tedious and probably uneven. In the Northeast where I lived for many years, people used oscillating sprinklers or other temporary measures because it rains every few weeks so you don't need to depend on a big-deal system. The ground freezes so an in-ground system would be hard to maintain. When I was living in Phoenix, I had a drip system. OK, OK, it saves water and is more PC (politically correct) than spraying water into air as much as 50% (or more) evaporates before it falls to the ground, but it DIDN'T WORK. My trees couldn't put down deep enough roots. I could have increased the drip period but the ground is pretty impermeable caliche. The trees got top-heavy and fell over. That had a bad effect on the fences. When the drip system leaked underground, it was undetectable until it flooded the street. No, I am not a fan of drip systems. So, what to do that works well, is easy to maintain and is also PC, and not as expensive as fixing the existing automatic sprinkler system?

Soaker hoses seem to fit the criteria: good for plants, inexpensive, easy to install and PC. I bought enough 5/8 inch-diameter hoses to loop around my flowers and trees in the area where my sprinklers died. I dug shallow trenches to lay the hose in, topped with compost then wood mulch. I ran the water with low pressure for hour-long sessions thinking the moisture will spread out and and soak deep down.  Used this system all this Spring and Summer as well as hand-watered when I got worried.

None of my plants died, but they also did not thrive. I guess such systems are more effective for beds of veggies that have shallow roots.

Now that it's started to rain here, my flowers are blooming even though they don't get as much water from the 10-minute light showers as they had from my soaker hose system. The flowers seem to wave their petals at me while chanting "nay-nay-nay-na! Rain is better than soaker hose."

So, next idea is to get a portable sprinkler system to reproduce the automatic sprinkler system. Or bite the bullet and hire a pro to fix or replace the broken valve. Any other ideas?

Highlights that I forgot to mention

How could I have forgotten to post my blooming Cattlaya?! I've had it for years, gave cuttings of it to many people including my sister. Then the parent plant died -- I think I drowned it. My sister sent me cuttings from the plant I sent her! This year, my plant put out not just one, not just two, but FOUR huge corsage-quality blooms.  When I was tying it up to photograph it, I noticed for the first time that it's fragrant! All these years, I never knew it had a scent. I didn't think cattlayas had scent, but you see, I am a self-taught gardener. Sad news: I drowned the variegated phalanopsis by repotting it in the wrong medium. It was blooming too, 3 spikes. I wanted to replace it with a Brassia Rex but boy are they hard to find, and expensive! I also tried to buy Vanda Cerulea but as you know, Thailand is having problems (and do you believe this, they have an annual week-long holiday when the post office is closed. What a gift to courier services.) Anyway, I got from a group in Florida 2 tiny Vanda Panchera Delight that are 2 years from blooming size. Vanda should be easy to care for. "They" say just wire it to an orchid basket, no medium, and water and fertilize it. We'll see.

Another highlight that I forgot to mention is I received two cans of Orchard Mason bees for Christmas. It had never occurred to me  to keep bees and I know nothing about them other than they sting and pollinate. Well, Orchard Mason bees are also known as blue bees. They don't sting, they don't make hives, they don't form communities. All they do is pollinate, and pro-create. My bees came in a can full of tiny tubes. I am told that each tube contained bee lavae and food for them during hibernation. Yeah, I was surprised that there are hibernating bees. I had to keep the can in the 'fridge because they like 38 degrees to hibernate in. When it got to be consistently over 50 outside, I put opened the cans and put them out. Here's their own little house: After a few days, I looked in the tubes and they're GONE! Out working! I hope they were able to fly the quarter mile or so the the apricot orchard although it's finished flowering.

When I pruned the citrus, it was blooming and there were lots and lots of bumble bees, carpenter bees, yellow jackets, humming birds, ... but I did not notice any blue bees.  Maybe they're the smaller carpenter-like bees that hover?

My Citrus Grove and New Additions

This winter, it rained and rained. For the first time in all the years I've lived here, we have more than 100% of the annual average precipitation, and the snow pack hasn't melted yet! Thank goodness because one circuit of my sprinkler system, the one that waters my "Citrus Grove" and my beloved climbing rose is Kaput (again). If they can sell a whole TV reality series on the trials of airline gate agents, you'd think there's a program theme for diagnosing and repairing your sprinkler system.

After hibernating indoors for months, I ventured out to see what's sprouting. My friend in Menlo Park actually gave a Wisteria Viewing party last month and indeed, her arbor was loaded with long, looooong, frrrrragrant blossoms. My wisteria looked dead. Even now, it only has only a few tender leaves. I guess the trees on either side have grown tall and shade it too much, but my wisteria fights on valiantly. It'll bloom f'sure.

In my last post, I said the miniature pomegranate probably didn't make it. Well, it's fine, all green with new leaves, branches, everything. What didn't make it was my 10 year old Bearss Lime!!!!! I now fall victim to the vicissitudes of the supermarket's stock of limes for my gin and tonics. Feeling insecure in that co-dependency, I planted a foot-tall  Bearss Lime in my Citrus Grove.

The Citrus Grove

I finally had the garden shed moved from a sunny spot to a shady spot in a neglected corner of my yard. The previous tenant of that shady spot, a fruiting pear tree, never did well and what meager fruits it produced were immediately gnawed by the vermin.  So now I have sunny real estate on which I planted the new Bearss Lime next to the seven foot tall grafted grapefruit/lemon tree. I also planted the kumquat there and it's doing well. I already ate all its fruit. I hope it makes more.

Newest Additions
The other new additions this spring is a Casa Blanca oriental lily. It's growing aggressively. I hope to get at least one huge, white, fragrant flower from it. I finally put the French lavender in the ground next to the beloved classic rose. I am starting heirloom tomatoes from seed for the first time. I have about 40 seedlings and room for, oh I guess I have enough room if I put them where the lawn was. A better use of that space than the crab grass-infested lawn. Lawns are no long PC in this native-plant, water conservation culture. I plant to give those tomatoes a really hard time namely with minimal water, poor soil... what vineyards do to concentrate flavor.

Here's some eye-candy, the azeleas in full bloom! Until next post!

Big Storm is Over, Who Survived?

Two weeks of storm with serious winds and lots of rain. Plants should like that. A walk-around the yard shows the lime tree's droopy leaves have fallen off, but scratching the branches still reveals green wood. It looks moribund so, if I don't put it into the ground (from the half-barrel it has lived in for 10 years), there's no down-side to a major pruning. A quick check of YouTube revealed a 4:43 Aussie video that gave me courage. I might even take the chain saw to the BIG grapefruit/lemon tree.

Another candidate for drastic pruning is the star jasmine. I had intended it as a ground cover and it was great at that, but it really wants to climb. So now that the 7' trellis is no longer trapped by the huge rose, I'll prune the jasmine to maybe 2 feet-diameter and let it use the trellis. Or, put the Stephanotis into the ground with that trellis for support? The star jasmine seems too plebian to deserve such a prominent role.  

Other winter casualties seem to be the miniature pomegranate in the 1-gallon pot and the night blooming jasmine. But it's real tough so maybe it'll come back.

Lots of digging and transplanting to do! Put the lavender in the ground, ditto the azalea; English roses...

The Hellebores is blooming well, as are the two varigated Daphnes. I wish blogs could convey scents -- Daphnes truly have very lovely scents.

Oh and when the temperature stays above 60, I will put out the bees. I got as Christmas presents a bunch of blue bees who are currently hibernating in the 'fridge.

Season's Over!

Here's the biggest of the tomatoes that I got this year. Tasted good too. The fancy 'french chef's favorite' tomatoes were smaller and tasty, but not wonderful. This 'common' tomato was nearly twice as tall and put out a lot more fruits.

Next year, if I'm planting veggies again, I won't bother with the soaker hose and mulch. Just in the ground and that's all.

In the late summer, I noticed that the huge climbing rose that's about 10 feet from the tomatoes was forming hips very early, and the lemon tree that's just behind the tomatoes stopped making lemons. It turned out all the sprinklers were blocked. After much running around, trips to the hardware store, hassle, hassle, hassle, the watering system is working again. But the plants I guess thought it's spring again. A new flush of flowers and fruits, including tomatoes, even when the temperature begain to get low.


In November, well-meaning friends helped me by pruning the big climbing rose for the first time in its more than 10 year life. They reduced that 12-foot high, immense bush, down to 3 sticks. So they were able to remove the trellis that I had put in when I planted that rose that had since been so entwined that you can't even see it. I was quite alarmed that this huge, fragrant, carefree rose might have been pruned to death. I am relieved to see today that it's leafing out on two of the smaller branches. The 2-inch diameter ones are still bare. Now I can prune the other roses with more confidence, even though they're blooming still.

The Stephanotis is trying to take over the tree next to it so it's probably out-grown its pot. Now that I have the 10 foot trellis freed from the huge rose, I can use it to support the Stephanotis. The big question is where to put it?

Comes Spring, I will be ruthless about getting rid of so many of the potted plants that dot my garden. Looks like the miniature pomegranate bit the dust as did the very hardy night blooming jasmine and the sickly Bearss lime that was root pruned and re-potted (in a half barrel) two years ago. Oh well, good that they're plants and not children who can become ax murders due to neglectful or incompetent parenting.