Apricot Orchard, Los Altos History Museum's Boletim

11/19/23

Planting Wildflower Seeds

After experiencing rain all week (0.6 inches), we are finally ready to plant our wildflower seeds. First, we must loosen up the soil and hoe the weeds. This brings nutrient rich layers upwards, and loosened up soil allows for more flexible transport of water and nutrients through the roots. We then sprinkle seeds randomly across the area. We have a variety of flower seeds, including Phacelia, Gumweed, and Clarkia. After, we use boards to press the seeds into the soil. Finally, we lightly place straws over our soil patch. Straws act as a cover, and help retain moisture in the soil, while still allowing sunlight to pass through. Thank you to the California Native Plant Society for donating wildflower seeds. We are very excited to watch them grow each week!

• KK <><

Folks in the Los Altos Library watched through the windows as volunteers planted wildflower seeds on the edge of the Heritage Orchard. When it was first planted with Blenheim apricot trees in 1901, this site was surrounded by meadows with resilient native species. We keep alive the stories of the past by inviting back the natives to live alongside the travelers who have spread their seeds so widely, encouraged by agricultural practices. Our goal is to increase biodiversity in this working landscape including all natives (fungi, microbes, plants, animals). Many of the non-natives provide resources for natives.

The management theme for this section of the orchard is “Resilient natives”. We are experimenting with restoration techniques because we are uncertain what will work best for the site. Following the advice of experts, we used several of the best practices for introducing wildflowers: (1) plant after the first rains, (2) disturb the soil, (3) soak lupine seeds overnight in boiling water, (4) scatter the seeds by hand aiming for about an inch between seeds, (5) press the seeds into the soil (stomp or a “dancing board”), and (6) protect the seeds from bird predators. We spread a loose layer of rice straw for protection from birds. However, we did not anticipate how many rice seeds were added and are concerned that the straw may be too thick in places.

Another concern is the amount of shadow cast by the library building. When we decided on this project, the sun was still high prior to the autumn equinox. Now it is low to the south, approaching the winter solstice. To explore this hypothesis, two plots were added outside the sun shadow: (a) between rows c & d (poppies, clarkia, lupine), and (b) southeast corner (lupine, pollinator mix) .

Native seeds donated by Grassroots Ecology included: elegant clarkia (Clarkia unguiculata), arroyo lupine (Lupinus succulentas), lacy scorpionweed (Phacelia tanacetifolia) and hairy gumweed (Grindelia hirsutula). These seeds were collected in summer 2022 from Bol Park. Volunteers from California Native Plant Society, SCV chapter, tended these plants and added seeds collected in summer 2023: California poppy (Eschscholzia californica), Hookers evening primrose (Oenothera elata), and ruby chalice clarkia (Clarkia rubicunda). Although not all strictly endemic, a seed mix beneficial to pollinators was added to patches, including annuals: borage (Borago officinalis), sunflower (Helianthus annuus), coriander (Coriandrum sativum), dill (Anethum graveolens), gallardia (Gaillardia pulchella), zinnia (Zinnia elegans), basil (Ocimum basilicum), cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus), globe gilia (Gilia capitata), lemon mint (Monarda citriodora), black-eyed susan (Rudbeckia hirta), Perennials included: lanceleaf coreopsis (Coriopsis lanceolata), Siberian wallflower (Eusimum x marshallii), purple prairie clover (Dalea purpurea), catnip (Nepeta cataria), goldenrod (Solidago rigida), lavender hyssop (Agastache foeniculum), and bergamot (Monarda fistulosa).

Stay tuned for more information from our Wildflower Watch! We plan to check sprouts weekly and document the life cycle of species that respond well to these restoration techniques at this site.

11/12/23

Pre Wildflower Seeds:

In preparation to plant wildflower seeds, we must create the best soil condition. Our volunteers watered the soil, making it easier to hoe the weeds. The roots of grass have extensive roots, which take all the nutrients from the soil, competing with the wildflowers. Grass was pulled up to provide our wildflower seeds with nutrient rich soil. We will plant our seeds after it rains this week!

Irrigating Trees:

While watering our Apricot trees in donut ditches, we noticed trees with different health levels (yellow and green leaves being the indicator) had different rates of soil moisture absorption. This is a question that would need more investigating, but it may be correlated to the nutrient content of the soil for the tree.

~ KK

We are curious about what might be health indicators for the trees. The results of soil analysis and leaf tissue analysis have provided clues. More about that later.

Alot has happened since our last post. The Los Altos History Museum has now taken over responsibility for this urban green space. Our new orchardist, Terence Welch, is keen on cultivating soil fertility, conserving water and inviting pollinators. We are on track to become certified organic, which will be good for restoring biodiversity. This land has been cultivated as a monoculture for over 120 years, so we are eager to watch it recover with a low-till regenerative agriculture approach.

The bluebirds and warblers are passing through this week and we have received our first rain showers!
~JP

Drought continues. In March, our site received a total of 0.9 inches of rain, 0.2 inches two weeks ago and 0.7 on 3/22. Green velvety fruits have set on the apricots. A variety of flowers are attracting bees in the pollinator plot. After tilling, the cover crop has shifted from mustard/oxalis to heron's bill and cheese mallow.

Irrigation is in progress this week, still using the traditional agricultural pipes and sprayers. We are still working out the plans for transition to drip irrigation. The apricot trees are fully leafed and green fruits are about an inch long, with a good set. The pruned branches have been collected into a dumpster ready for pick up. Plants have been hoed out from around the youngest trees to reduce competition for water.

Flowers in the pollinator plot are attracting bees and ladybugs. The purple island sage is showy, surrounded by accents of white yarrow and a volunteer yellow mustard. The warty ceanothus adds a delicate light blue along the ground and heron's bill provides tiny pink eye-pops. Aphids on the sow thistles attract lady bugs. The phacelia, buckwheat, gumweed, coyote mint, California fuschia and penstemon are looking robust and starting to set buds. Some welcome wanderers include cheese mallow, sow thistles, mustards and heron's bill. Although these are not natives, I trimmed and tended them since they add diversity for the pollinators. Tiny yarrow sprouts and buckwheat are getting started throughout the bare dirt. I am delighted to see such diversity.

The camellias planted along the library are in full bloom. For mulch and an artistic touch, I placed the fallen blooms around the penstemon in the corner. Although those penstemon were barely alive at the end of the first year, they now seem to have a good start and I have high hopes for them!

After the driest January on record, we got a sprinkle of rain yesterday (2/22/22). I was surprised to see 1.8 inches of water in the rain guage at the pollinator plot. If that was from rain (not from hand watering on Tuesday), we are getting really patchy precipitation. We got only 0.2 inches in the La Cresta hill.

I am delighted to see that the naked buckwheat is spreading by seed into the open areas of the plot. Plants that are flowering include Island sage, gumweed, yarrow, penstemon. We wanted something flowering all year and it looks like that is happening. The bed is looking full.

We lost one of the creeping ceanothus that I planted in January. One newly planted bee bliss sage is looking a little stressed.

The apricot trees are starting to bloom. The pruning has been in process over the last two weeks. Last year pruning was in November. The previous week was relatively warm. Frosts are predicted this week.

Cheery yellow mustard flowers, beneath bare brown branches, greeted over 24 participants in the January Orchard Walk. Folks rotated among three information stations: orchard irrigation, garden tree irrigation, and drought-resilient plantings.

Orchardist Phil Doetsch explained how the current inefficient irrigation system in the Heritage Orchard will be transformed to mulched drip lines. Water savings of 30-50% will be possible, supported by a mini-grant from Valley Water.

In phase 1, the basic backbone plumbing of durable PVC pipes will be buried to protect them from tractor cultivation and rodents. An online irrigation controller will remotely control the watering schedule.

In phase 2, two parallel driplines will be installed along each row of trees in the middle section. Landscape fabric mulched with 3-4 inches of wood chips will control weeds. The cover crop will be tilled in the lanes between irrigated rows.

In phase 3, the irrigation system will be extended to additional sections. The watering schedule will be fine-tuned based on soil moisture probes installed by the Valley Water Mobile Irrigation Lab.

“Some folks want water-wise irrigation of fruit trees in their home gardens” said Jane Packard, Chair of the Orchard Commons Committee. “Create a basin extending to the dripline with 3-4 inches of mulch. Watering options include (1) two half-circle fan micro-sprinklers, (2) a loop of drip irrigation line, or (3) hand-watering when a moisture meter reads low.”

Jean Struthers, from the Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the California Native Plant Society, discussed how to conserve water by planting native species. Struthers recommended the resources listed on www.cnps-scv.org/gardening.

In this period of severe drought, we can all pitch in to conserve water and keep trees healthy using precision irrigation approaches. Valley Water offers several rebates to improve water conservation in outdoor landscapes. We hope our orchard make-over will inspire local residents.

(draft submitted to Under the Oaks, a newsletter for members of the Los Altos History Museum)

To learn more about this ongoing project, here are some links:

First Field Day:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HV8iUkLHwkAcnMOvJb8pH_g0a9jHtzwm/view?usp=sharing

Ground-breaking Ceremony: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1557o9GUkxiPjtdO9CTQu9eis6xaxK8En/view?usp=sharing

Irrigation Analysis:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/19GM0mUvNjDcXXKO-6hx15DNqWpjzw1YK/view?usp=sharing

Water Conservation: Smart Irrigation Panel Discussion
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RaDMf-R-ZhQAvAh3ywFHci8XXaC48Zw2/view?usp=sharing

Ground Squirrel IPM Best Practices
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qX6jQ_JmCbM05EcRQQ6Rzfn0EadLcdh5/view?usp=sharing

Micro-Irrigation Design: Version 1
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1z03vqa-tDku0JiznW-GIMG1VhHZcj06a/view?usp=sharing

Soil Moisture Sensors
https://drive.google.com/file/d/123QMLZHscb5-Np4iDlvQbLsE8jFuUGn1/view?usp=sharing

Our apricot trees are in the process of being sculpted, by skilled hands with several decades of experience. New growth is trimmed to open up the centers of the trees so sunlight can reach the leaves in the centers. Twigs that will bear next years fruit are left. Here is a link to a video about pruning our apricots:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzOUs8ea7nI

Native plants in our pollinator plot are still vibrant. I have been asking each plant if it wants water, when I visit weekly. Except for one week in August when the orchard was watered, the answers have been "yes". We were delighted when first rains arrived this month. Yet it was not enough to trickle down to the roots.

As I care for each plant, my heart is full of gratitude for my father. He supported this project because he saw it bring joy to me as I was caring for him. After 99 years, he closed his last chapter at the end of July. Although he passed peacefully from this material world, his spirit lives on in the hearts of those whose lives he touched.

The apricots are ripening early this year! Harvest is underway and folks can purchase fruit from DiMartini's Orchard produce stand across San Antonio from the Los Altos Civic Center or place an order for a lug with the City Manager. I bought a lug from DiMartini's to share the sweet flavors with friends and family.

The fruits seem smaller this year and many have fallen. From my mother's perspective, this would be such a waste of fruit that could be used for making jams and sauces. She battled the squirrels who were so persistent at picking fruit before she thought they were ripe. I understand her dismay. I placed my lug of apricots on a table outside and fussed when I noticed a squirrel stealing my apricots! It was easy to bring my lug of apricots indoors. Much more difficult to avoid sharing the orchard crop with the squirrels.

Maybe next year we can organize a crew of volunteers to help. From my perspective, the fallen fruits feed the microbes in the soil and the insects as well as the birds and the squirrels. However, I am also noticing that many of the trees with fallen fruit also are showing the dead leaf clumps, mummified fruit and rot spots that may indicate the brown rot fungus infection. Our extension service says it is important to clean out these diseased fruits so the fungal spores do not spread. Phil is also very concerned and wants to use an organic spray in the winter redbud stage to protect the trees against brown rot fungus. Learn more here:

http://fruitandnuteducation.ucdavis.edu/fruitnutproduction/Apricot/Apricot_Pests/Apricot_Diseases_Disorders/

The small fruits may also be a result of the irrigation difficulties. The portable system that has been used for decades is getting old, meaning more problems with gaskets. We really need to ramp up on ideas to replace it with a drip irrigation system. The water needs to get directly to the tree roots. We believe a drip irrigation system would pay for itself in water conservation. However, there are lots of details to work out regarding installment and maintenance. So we will put this high priority for discussions within the Orchard Commons Committee.

Learn more about harvest, irrigation, weed abatement, and pruning from our Orchard Talk video series on the Los Altos History Museum website and YouTube channel:

https://www.losaltoshistory.org/exhibits/outdoor-agricultural-exhibit/

On a positive note, we are pleased to announce that the informative signs for the native plants in the pollinator plot have arrived! The signs identify each species and tell a bit about the pollinator benefits of that species. Thanks to Nikki Hanson from Grassroots Ecology for designing and installing the signs!
https://www.grassrootsecology.org/nursery

We welcome your input! Email me at HELLO@losaltoshistory.org
Jane

I am thrilled to see our coyote mint and gumweed are already flowering in our pollinator plot! Also, the buckwheats have sprung to life although they were struggling for months after planting.

Although we had a couple rain sprinkles last week, several of our new native plants were dry (based on the moisture meter readings). So I watered them.

This weekend Phil plans to irrigate the orchard. The apricots need water now to fill out and become juicy in June.

I noticed one of the apricot saplings from last year died. It has mummified apricots and the sienna colored leaves associated with brown rot fungus.

Our orchard intern met with city staff to discuss issues associated with soil wash into the storm drain on San Antonio Road. The city could lose their permit for stormwater drains if any material other than water enters storm drains. This is part of the Regional Plan to protect San Francisco bay from water pollution:

https://www.losaltosca.gov/publicworks/page/storm-water-protection

Apparently the concern is mostly about soil washed across the sidewalk during rainstorm events in autumn when there is not a bank of weeds along the edge of the sidewalk (extending from the Civic Center sign to the Library entrance walkway). We will need to work within the constraints of limited budgets, so are thinking in terms of a phased approach. This might include grading the soil first, then gradually ramping up as we find sources of funding and volunteer effort. Our Foothill College intern, Melanie, has created a new concept design to landscape this strip at the orchard edge: Hedgerow Swale Garden. The concept integrates elements from Pollinator Hedgerows planted at orchard edges, Rain Gardens and Bio Swales designed to capture rainwater runoff from impervious surfaces. Watch for more later as her ideas develop further.

Pollinator Hedgerows
https://xerces.org/sites/default/files/2018-05/16-031_01_XercesSoc_Estimated-Cost_Pollinator-Hedgerows_web.pdf

Rain Gardens
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs142p2_011366.pdf

BioSwales
https://www.sandiego.gov/sites/default/files/legacy/thinkblue/pdf/bioswalelidcard.pdf

Partnering with Living Classroom, we planted 30 seedling narrowleaf milkweed (Asclepias fascicularis) in the garden at the Los Altos History Museum. About 30% of the seeds planted by students (before Shelter in Place), sprouted under the care of their teacher, Zac Hansel. Students participated in planting the seedlings at the museum via a virtual field trip. Here is a video describing the event:

https://youtu.be/4GpgcEoJBP0

Our goal is to establish two species of milkweeds, so we can register the site as a monarch waystation joining thousands across the nation: https://www.monarchwatch.org/waystations/ In the meantime, we can register the museum garden with the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge, https://www.pollinator.org/million-pollinator-garden-challenge putting our site on the map that connects like-minded folks across our community and the nation!

Our new intern from Foothill College HORT program, Melanie Hollenstein, helped with the planting. In the video you will also see her pulling bedstraw (Galium spp) from the garden plot. Invasive Galium is growing prolifically this year in the the irrigated parts of the landscape. I am pulling it wherever I can before the "velcro" seeds set, we definitely do not want it in the orchard!

Melanie and I also did a site reconnaisance for her project, which will be a landscape design to reduce debris from the orchard entering the storm drain on San Antonio. The area is between the two crosswalks at the lights. We measured a strip 6 feet deep, running 45 feet on either side of the storm drain. That includes the orchard sign to the corner of the walkway.

As we walked through the orchard, we noticed there is a really good fruit set on the apricot trees, even on the little ones planted last year. Most of the bare root apricots we planted in February have now leafed out. We did see wilted tips on some of the branches, so will get some advice on what pathogen is causing that. Also, the Western tussock moth caterpillars have arrived and are eating apricot leaves. We will keep an eye on how many trees are affected.

The native plants in our pollinator plot are still alive, some sending out more new shoots than others. The buckwheat are all struggling. Using my moisture meter as a guide, the bed did not need watering even though we have not had rain for a week.

Alot to celebrate on Earth Day! Monarchs connect us with nature and with each other!

After waiting for rain without a drop throughout February, our plants seem happier now that we have had two days of a persistent gentle rain followed by showers today. This was good timing to wash in the fertilizer that Phil spread at the base of all the apricot trees. Their basins were already showing mud cracks at the surface.

Two weeks ago, we noticed that our Emerald carpet manzanita in the pollinator plot was looking dry with brownish reddish leaves. When I used a moisture meter to probe around each of the native plants, the manzanita was dry in comparison to all the others. The other plants had readings in the middle of the moisture meter, even though I have not watered them for 3 weeks.

Last week, I dug up the manzanita and confirmed that the root ball was so dense and hydrophobic that no water was penetrating. So I dug the hole bigger and filled it with water. The adobe clay is so dense that the water did not percolate. I mixed the adobe and compost better, then made a mound in the center of the water. After pulling apart the roots in quarter sections, I spread the roots over the mud, filled in and watered again. I made a little basin so that I can fill it with water to better soak the roots. And then the rains came!

On March 12, the Santa Clara Watercolor Society enjoyed painting in the orchard and garden of the J.W. Smith house. Some photos of art in action are on the third page of the Los Altos Town Crier:
https://www.losaltosonline.com/images/a_digital_edition/2020/LATC_03_18_20.pdf

As you can see, the apricot blossoms are past prime and the leaves are budding out. I posted a few photos of these details on observations for this iNaturalist project. The leaves are very serrated when they are young. I was also interested in seeing that the young saplings planted last year were the first to bloom and to leaf. The new saplings planted last month are starting to put out a few leaves.

The bees are working the flowers. However, they are collecting pollen, not nectar. Their pollen baskets were full!