Watering Tips & Flower Benefits

TEXT

• Dan asks how many gallons of water to put on a mature 40 year old elm tree
  • Goal is to get water 3 feet deep from a foot and a half from the trunk to around the root zone/canopy
  • Amount of gallons varies with soil composition
  • Using a soil probe to get to 3 feet

COMMENTARY

• Benefits of flowers
  • Add color to salads
  • Cake decorations
  • Medicinal purposes
• Garden benefits
  • Sunflower and amaranth can dig into the soil naturally
  • Pea type flowers to add nitrogen

More Edible Flowers

COMMENTARY

• Attention to the source of flowers. Grown with the intention to look good likely has systemic pesticides in the dirt
• Discussion of edible flowers and their uses
  • Amaranth
  • Batchelor Button
  • Bee Balm
  • Celosia
  • Daylily
  • Lavender
  • Dianthus
  • Hollyhock
  • Nasturtium
  • Sunflowers

RESOURCE

• Flower Street Urban Gardens
• Chef Brad

Desert Edibles

CALLER

• Matt has a wall of 40 foot ficus trees trimmed back with a mild canopy behind the pool. Replacing the floor around the pool with limestone. Ficus is dropping those fig/fruit bits. How can he slow down or stop those droppings to avoid getting the limestone stained

COMMENTARY

• Desert Edibles
  • Prickly pear and how to prepare and remove thorns
  • Prickly pear pad
  • Wolf berry (desert goji berry)

RESOURCE

• Sonoran Desert Food Plants by Charles Kane