It’s nearly summer. Spring in the Bay Area has been a turbulent mix of quasi-tropical sun days and torrential down pour. The rainy spring has been great for the Sierra snow pack, the young bare root trees planted this winter and the general environmental health of California. The bees have finally started bringing in honey and I’m getting jealous at the size of some of my neighbors tomato plants. I’ve been working hard in the courtyard and parking lot of my warehouse, to create a Spring/Summer garden. Here is a short photo tour of what I’ve been up to!
Courtyard list of characters: two beehives, tandom bike, scrap wood, bamboo, roses, redwood siding planters, dream catchers, compost bin, trash can…..
Our Courtyard
The left/north side of the courtyard gets the most southern exposure, so I decided to plant some tomatillo’s and Pepino’s.
Sunny Side of Courtyard
Pepino Dulce (Solanum muricatum) are native to South America and produce a delicious sweet melon. Max at People’s Grocery raised these in the green houses. Hopefully the courtyard in Oakland will be hot enough!
Pepino Dulce (Solanum muricatum)
The final fruit look delicious!
Pepino Dulce
In the corner of the courtyard we’ve go New Zealand Spinach in large Safeway container, some cucumbers along the fence and a wild strawbery from oregon in an old gaudy planter. New Zealand Spinach is a perennial green that will spread if you let it. Ideally I would have planted this in larger bed, but I’m determined to keep leafy greens in soil thats been tested for lead.
New Zealand Spinach
Spinach close up.
New Zealand Spinach (Tetragonia tetragonioides)
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Recently Planted Brassica (I think it's a Brocoli?? Damn)
The Bee Hives. One of them swarmed last week and landed across the street on to the same pear tree branch that it swarmed to last year. Weird bee intuition.
Da Bees
Outside we built a raised bed along the fence from redwood burls and stumps. This was our main garden last year.
The Parking Lot
Some pretty Brassica Close ups
Lacinato Kale
More Kale (we eat a lot of it)
The Sea Kale below is a portuguese perennial collard that Max grew at People’s Grocery.
Sea Kale (Crambe maritima)
A goji berry in a big pot. Might need more cool temps. We will see. Got this little bad boy along with some other great/rare perennials from Anders and the Merritt Landscape Hort Plant Sale!!
Goji Berry (Lycium Barbarum)
A pine box planter I found on the street. A polyculture including tomatos, kale, lettuce, beets and carrots.
Pine Box Polyculture
Beauty Lechuga
Beauty Lettuce
Our fence soon to be covered with Scarlet Runner Beans
Nasturtium Barb Wire
Oca ready to be moved into a bigger pot. This is a root crop from Peru that grows well in the Bay Area.
Oca (Oxalis tuberosa)
Ice Cream Bean Tree (Inga edulis) is a sub-tropics/tropical plant that might work in the Bay. The large bean tubers have a vanilla flavored cotton candy fiber that you can eat!
Ice Cream Bean Tree (Inga edulis)
Parking Lot Nursery
Parking Lot Nursery
Roof Top Nursery
Roof Top Nursery
Thats all folks.
City Sown 