Wintering A Container Garden

Wintering A Container Garden

Preparing A Patio Garden For Winter.

Container herbs can come indoors if needs be.

My struggling herbs just came in the house. This is a temporary spot for them until I rearrange some things outside.  I had to make a mess of my kitchen for a minute but I am looking at ways I can winter certain garden plants that are hardy enough to live on past a season. Herbs, tomatoes, and my peppers to be specific. 

Technically this way of growing plants is Bonzai. Confining them to small containers but still letting them grow big enough to produce edible items. 

My little patio does not get enough lighting to create large plants so I get to play in this miniature garden of mine. I want to secure and protect these little friends. Yes, they are my friends. I do talk to them when I have a few moments to admire them for staying with me. I'm considering using some of these in different methods but for now they can sit in my living room as house plants. That Basil plant smells really good!

Winter temperatures here in Las Vegas can get into the 20's so I need to get them ready to face cold weather. Last year I lost several pepper plants that were around 4 years old because I left them outdoors and unprotected. This year I learned my lesson. They will get blanketed over night in temperatures above freezing and brought into my home if we are having a spell of frost. 

In areas that are not as fortunate as we are with the weather, fields and garden plots have been tilled over and had straw added to them for wintering. The plant material left in the dirt will decompose and become nutrients for the next planting. In the meantime they will sit dormant.

A strawberry plant from last year that is still growing and enduring through my neglecting it. You can see it only has 4 leaves on it  at the moment. It is now in a violet pot that is self watering. 

Banana Pepper - Sept 19th 2013

My schedule gets hectic or I get distracted and this poor garden is wondering what the heck! I am so guilty of being garden lazy sometimes. If you are like most people that get that garden bug, we get jazzed about it for the first 2 weeks and then let the fascination fade away. No matter what these plants need to be tended to and watered regularly to survive, whether you are enthused or not, and even after they are not producing. Thankfully most of my plants are at least living so I didn't do too bad. I am getting better. Most of the things I grow are pretty tough. This marks the 4th year of my patio gardening in Las Vegas.

A small lavender is still with me and I think I am going to use it as a Bonsai tree. It looks the right texture and height. I have a tiny set of starters I planted from seed - a parsley, an oregano, and a set of 4 almost microscopic chive onions still clinging on to life so I want to give them a chance to live. It was time to bust them out of their peat pots, since they are still trying to stay with me. I scrubbed down the containers and ever so carefully removed them from their soil and starter pots, and set them into root starter. I am hoping the mixture will give them a good boost and help them return to a healthier state. 

I moved my larger oregano and basil to the corner of the living room after giving them a little spruce up. These are just the small plants I have. I have several other large pots I will discuss in a later post. If this looks a little odd, bare with me. There is a plan unfolding.

For lighting I have a lamp with an incandescent bulb that I will set over these plants to give them something until I secure a vita-light system. I have torn down my drip irrigation system because I am looking at ways to recapture the water used for the plants. The new neighbors gave me the eye of death when they were moving in a few months ago and the over flow from the plant containers was running down the deck dripping onto their patio. (Oops --Sorry!) I hope they don't blame me with the rain water dripping down...

Winter will give me time to remedy this issue and I am either going to move or alert my apartment manager to the issue and have them fix the deck and seal and water proof it. Now, this idea is still on the drawing board. I have a few plans drawn out, I just need to set the pieces up and see what works best. My system has been about 4 years in development and when I get all the information I need to make it work the way I want it to, I will let you know what is successful. 

I am also looking into Aquaponic gardening when I get the opportunity to secure the materials I need. This is still on my list of things to do at the moment.

The way I have arranged my garden is similar to what I would use in survival mode in a secure location after a bug out. Bringing seeds with me in my bug out bag will enable me to start this process as soon as I know the last frost is over where ever I settle. I would need to water them a bit every few days to keep them growing. 

The idea would be to keep a tomato, a pepper, and a small container of onions on hand. If needs be these can be taken with me if I keep them small enough. This is the next phase of my garden come Spring 2014... 

Severe Thunderstorms In Vegas Lands Furnished Projectiles

Las Vegas Cab Driver Takes A Seat At The Rio!

In the high winds, rain, and hail tonight, Las Vegas found itself faced with severe storm damage across the valley. 

Power was knocked out in areas south of the Rio resulting in traffic light disruption. The roadways filled with water causing some areas to be a river of rain water. 

Wind carried items with speeds up to 71 mph according to the Review Journal. Trees were downed and the area around the city prone to flooding did cause some major traffic delays.

Cabbie - Take A Seat!

A taxi driver was in for a huge surprise as she exited the driveway heading south on Rio Drive. 

A white, leather couch planted itself in front of her cab barely missing the hood. 

She did collide with the item and knocked the bumper loose. "I am lucky I wasn't killed!" replied taxi driver, Ms. Sarah. A foot or two closer to the windshield and she might have been. 

There were 4 couch benches total ripped off of the top of the Rio's Voodoo Lounge. This club is 50 stories atop the Rio Hotel. 

Two of the couches landed in the front of the hotel. I saw this one on my way in tonight. It was in the median entering the hotel.I was wondering where it came from when I met Ms. Sarah. 

She's lucky all that happened was a dislocated bumper.

Storm damages

In related news, pieces of the strip are without their fancy neon lighting as various objects were tossed around the city's resort corridor. 

Damages all over can be seen tonight. 

Lights on the outside of the Luxor are missing. 



Various properties including the Rio are facing repairs to their Marquee signs and lighting displays.  New York New York's Sign has been reworded with sideways V's.

The Hotel is partially striped with it's gold neon. 

The rains will continue through the week. 

This storm system is not over by a long shot!

Wildfires Near Las Vegas In Kyle Canyon Nevada

Las Vegas Skyline With Smoke From Wildfire Looming Overhead

The wildfire north of Las Vegas has moved to the Kyle Canyon Area. 

It started apparently Monday. I thought it started on the 1st, Tuesday when we were going up on a retreat. The smoke was visible for miles over our city today and a huge dark cloud of it is spreading throughout the evening. 

This is the largest fire in my memory and it is frightening that it is this close.

Images from Tuesday evening July 1st, 2013. From the Mt. Charleston Resort.

In my cousin's words, our beloved mountain is on fire. It is heartbreaking to watch and even more devastating to those that have had to evacuate. In the event of an emergency of this scale, your life is the most important thing you bring with you. No matter what you have in your home that is of any importance it can be replaced. You and your family cannot. You must leave, don't look back. It is like trying to out run a ticked off dragon.

Over the week I have watched at a distance as this scene painfully becomes darker and more frightening. The images tonight are positively prehistoric. They look like something from the top of a volcano!




This area is so rugged a terrain that they are having difficulty getting to the area and trying to shut off the fuel supply for this fire. There are craggy drops throughout these mountain areas and they are only accessible through a hiking trails. I think all they can do is let it burn to the cliff face and try to prevent it from coming down to the small town atop Mt. Charleston.

Images from around 4:30 pm shot near the Airport

Video of the Mt. Charleston Fire smoke covering the valley this afternoon. Tonight it is even thicker than this! People with breathing problems are urged to stay indoors as this fire continues to spread an the air is tinged with the ashes, smoke, and dust.

Video time lapse video 

About all they can do at this point is dump flame retardant and water from airplanes. Its not like you can just drive a fire truck up 12,000 feet of mountain. It is really making things difficult for firefighters.

These images were from sunset this evening July 8, 2013 - All images: M Burgess

What do you do to prepare for a wild fire crisis? 

Hope you have a good vehicle to run like the dickens! Keep your gas tank at least at 3/4 full, keep a change of clothes or two for each member of your family in a bag ready to go. If we are still in a functioning society you can get somewhere to shelter and be fed so emergency and survival items aren't as pressing, unless you are suspecting your vehicle to break down on the way out.

Tend to a bag for each of you and the animals you can take with you. Water for all. If your home is in the wake of something of this magnitude, there isn't much you can do. We see people in California showering their roof down and trying to stand up to the fires. Fire doesn't give. It consumes. If you are careless enough to think putting your life on the line for stuff and things you will probably suffer serious and even fatal injuries. Another thing to have prepared is a dust mask and a bandanna or a cloth you can put over your face to breath through if you are close to the smoke. If you have to, moisten it down a little.

In the safety of our families, I am asking for prayers for those that have had to leave and those who cannot. Please, pray for rain and the protection of the animals still trapped on these hills! There are wild horses, burros, ground squirrels and chipmunks, lizards, birds and many beautiful things on this once pristine area.

Mt. Charleston our hearts and tears are with you tonight!

Related news stories:

http://www.fox5vegas.com/story/22780010/mt-charleston-fire-containment-estimated-for-july-19

Mt. Charleston Memories