Spring Mountain Spring Moon
Light and shade photographs. Every hour I’m taking shots of our yard, searching for duration of sunlight at given spots. Vegetables need around 8 hours, a pretty high standard for most yards with trees and buildings. Some flowers and other perennials can get by with less, some thriving in part shade.
Of course, there are other factors at play here, too. One is that we’re closer to the sun and have less atmosphere to block out the UV radiation, so plants can burn. Another is that we’re west of the 20 inches of moisture per year line, meaning that in most years we get less than that. Vegetables, again, need plenty of water. Witness the struggle going on in California’s Central Valley to keep the farms watered. Most flowers and perennials can get by with less than vegetables and here in the West there are many species and varieties already adapted to the xeric environment. That’s what we’ll be looking for when it comes to plantings for aesthetics.
As or more important than all of these are temperature fluctuation and maximum temperatures. Temperature fluctuations can be extreme here, but they’re not a huge problem as long as they remain above 32. The average last frost here is early June and the average first frost around September 20th. Maximum temperatures can interact with aridity and UV exposure to increase the likelihood of burning plants. Also, some vegetables, notably tomatoes, need sustained warmth to fruit.
Not sure how much we’re going to get done this year, probably reconnoiter, meet others who garden up here, try a few things. Next year will be bees and garden. Of course, we still have to sell that Andover house.
