It will be a couple months yet for these grapes in Vernon. If they make it. The weather is turning cold. 23 or 24% sugar is a high bar. Perhaps, we should […]
Some Things Ripen, Some Don’t
Fighting Fire With Weeds
Well, this is a first. Oregano that has decided to go feral. Interestingly enough, it doesn’t look as burnable, in the short term, as this bunchgrass… … and about the same as […]
Hot Climate Onions
It was 47 degrees Celsius last week. My garlic ripened off, my currants fizzled, my raspberries got set back, my winter onions explained that the year was over, and my perennial Egyptian […]
Rakeball: The New Lacrosse
You play it under one of those waterfilled basketball hoops that get parked on the gravel outside your driveway. But you need abandoned 1970s landscaping, or the rake is just a danger […]
Black Widow on Guard
The watch spider at my front door has been killing bees and using the protein to lay eggs. Here is one sac she’s just finishing up. 200 eggs in there. By the […]
Want to Buy Some Land in Vernon?
This orchard will be for sale soon. It’s dying. There’s no way that it can pay off the cost of its posts now, let alone anything else. There’s an idea out there […]
A Good Year for Birds (But Not for Everyone)
The robins hatched their young a couple weeks early, but the gold finches are six weeks ahead. Viruses are spreading through the wild roses and some have lost their pink .. … […]
Compacting the Soil in Vernon
This Mexican rock-picking crew in Vernon is an example of what I call magical thinking. Notice a couple things. First, how many rocks are being picked (to make it easier for machine […]
Coyote Laughs Once More
Apparently, one farmer believes this will keep the tricksters out. I don’t know whether to weep at his innocence or applaud his sense of determination and hope. This could be why coyotes […]
Do Temporary Foreign Workers Feed the Okanagan?
I dunno. Here are some of these hardworking guys planting Frind’s industrial vineyard in Vernon. It’s hard to say, isn’t it. Wine, a tourist product, sold at about $22 a bottle, may […]
