Castle of Costa Mesa Garden Sharing March 2023
March 5, 2023. Costa Mesa, Southern California, USA. Zone 10b
Dear Local Gardening Friends,
I will be sharing cuttings/ seeds/ seedlings from my organic home garden. I also have free wood chip mulch to share – bring bags to take home mulch.
I am located in Costa Mesa, (close to OC Fairgrounds) Southern California 92626. If you are far from me (post your city below), get together with other local gardeners in your area and bring more cuttings home to share with your local gardeners who may want them.
If you like something on my list, please PM me on Messenger (Jzin Teng) or on Instagram @CastleofCostaMesa. Please let me know the following:
(1) What you like so I can put together a package for you so I do not run out when you come by to pick up.
(2) What time you like to come within the times below so I know when to expect you.
Days we can meet –
- Mon 3/6/23 10am-12pm
- Tue 3/7/23 2pm – 6pm
- Wed 3/8/23 2pm – 6pm
- Thu 3/9/23 2pm – 6pm
- Fri 3/10/23 Not today
- Sat 3/11/23 2pm – 5pm
- Sun 3/12/23 2pm – 6pm
Cuttings from Trees
Apricot cuttings – Royal Blenheim
Boysenberry Cuttings – Thornless, fruits in summer
Fig – Violette de Bordeaux, sweet and prolific
Grape cuttings – Golden Muscat, ripens the end of August
Moringa tree trunks – to root
Mulberry cuttings – King Shahtoot, very sweet, very prolific
Mulberry cuttings – Pakistani. Delicious berry flavor, no acidity. Happy Memories but stains your mouth, hands and sidewalk
Nectarine cuttings – Panamint, tasty
Pomegranate cuttings – Parfianka, dark red, quality
Flowers – Heirloom Rose Cuttings
Gertrude Jekyll Rose – Heavenly Fragrance, Hot Pink, huge thorns
Lady Banks Alba – Thornless, white, like tiny stars falling from the skies
Lady of the Lake Rose – Elegant Citrusy fragrant, small pastel cup shape, can tolerate some shade
Phyllis Bide – multicolor, Rambler Rose
Teasing Georgia Rose – Yellow, cabbage type
Flowers – Not Roses
Borage seedling – limited numbers
Calendula seedling – Yellow
Coral Vine Seeds – Hot Pink
Nasturtium Seedlings – delicate – bring bag or small pots to carry
Herbs / Edible Plants
Cardoon Seeds – What Roman food? See photos below
Spearmint plants
Fennel plants – I have so many huge and also tiny plants to share
Korean vining squash seedlings
Longevity Spinach cuttings – They root easily and can grow in shadier part of garden
Luffa Gourd Seeds
What I want
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Please bring your extra plants/seedlings/produce/useful supplies to share with new gardeners
- Let’s help encourage new gardeners!
- Bring what is extra to you. If you have nothing, just come and take.
- So far, two school teachers are wanting edible plant seedlings to grow in the school garden for the children. If you have any live plants, bring them for the children and I will so love you for it. I think strawberry seedlings, cherry tomatoes, pollinator plants will be wonderful.
- Also new gardeners love earthworms – bring some if you have to spare!
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Organic, live grubs of June Bug / Fig beetle / Japanese beetle for my chickens to eat
- They are my chickens’ number one favorite food!
- When you are digging in your organic garden or community compost pile, if you find June bug grubs, please save them in a bucket with some compost and kitchen scraps and leave them in a shady spot in your garden, alive, until you can bring them to me. Or, if I am too far from you, share with your neighbors who have chickens
- Organic – no BT, no pesticides, no chemicals, no Roundup in your garden please
- We feed these grubs to our chickens. We eat the organic eggs daily. So please only clean, organic grubs. Thank you!
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Organic leftover foods for my chickens or compost systems
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Bread, rice, carbs, meats, fish, coffee grounds, et cetera
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Ongoing or once in a while for my compost bin
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You may save your daily leftovers in the freezer until you have a good amount, then drop off with me. If you are too far from me, you can save your scraps for your chicken friends closer to you.
- Use my garden vermicomposter as your kitchen/dinner scraps drop off.
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Organic cold manure
- If your pets and animals do not receive medicated feeds or medications, I would love their manures for my garden.
- rabbit, goat, etc poops that are organic
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Organic yard trimmings
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Leaves / grass/ yard trimmings (no disease, no seeds, no weeds, no chemicals) for my big vermicompost bin
- Ongoing weekly drop off or occasional
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Plants/ Seedlings
- Saint John’s Wort plants (a few), Tea plant, Strawberry guava plant, Meiwa kumquat plant or cutting, Jujube plant
- California native plant: Globe Mallow (pink) plant
- Hydrangea plants
- Annual flower seedlings/pollinator plants for my butterfly garden
- Vegetable seedlings – please bring your extras to share with new gardeners
- Heirloom tomato seedlings, please specify what you have
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Fig Cuttings
- If you have delicious variety of figs, please share cuttings with me. I like to graft to my trees.
- Please let me know what variety – in case I already have it.
- Please label what you bring. Thank you!
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Help me build a sharing library for my front yard
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Seed/ seedling “library” box in my front yard to share garden goodies.
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Asian veggies or culinary herbs
- Pandan plant, galangal, big leaf tong ho seedlings or seeds, Thai basil, lemongrass plant, Taiwan/Japanese flat cabbage, etc
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Looking for someone local to me who can teach me …
- How to build things – woodworking, cabinet-making, earthbag house, construction, power tools or etc.
- I am always inventing new things but do not have enough background skills to construct or do woodwork. All my buildings can use improvements. Can I visit your workshop/ set up?
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Biodynamic Farming mentor or buddy
- I want to learn Steiner’s biodynamic techniques.
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Looking for someone local to me that I can experiment building a mandala garden and earthbag house on your land
- I have tons of ideas, not enough land local to me to experiment
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Growing mushrooms in my garden
- Do you have logs to grow shiitake mushrooms you can share or source?
- Have you successfully grown mushrooms in your garden? Please teach me! Thanks
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Need advice pruning my 6 year old longan tree.
- How much fruit will I sacrifice this October if I prune my very tall longan tree into vase shape now in March? What time of year is best to prune longans ? Can you tell me what variety my longan tree is ? Click here for Photo of tree and fruits.
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Dragon fruit technical and moral support
- My neglected dragon fruit plants – a source of procrastination. Need moral support to start organizing my many plants.
- Support and experience – My first time endeavor – building wooden trellises for my dragon fruits
Please label what you bring so I know what they are. Thank you very much!
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- Tip jar – Optional. Accepted for my son’s funds. He has been a great garden helper and will be so happy for the tips.
IF YOU DO NOT HAVE THESE, DON’T WORRY, JUST TAKE MY GIFTS FOR FREE
Past Sharings –
- February 11, 2023. Scion Exchange at CRFG South OC at The Food Lab, Irvine.
- April 25, 2021. Seedlings Exchange and Free Wood Chip Mulch at Paideia’s house, Huntington Beach.
- February 27, 28, 2021. Sharing goodies from my organic garden, Part Two.
- February 15, 2021. Sharing goodies from my organic garden, Part One. Instagram post
Cuttings from Trees
- I offer these fruit tree cuttings, seedlings and seeds from my garden:
- Please note: most of these are cuttings that you have to root or graft, they are not fruit trees.
Apricot Cuttings – Royal Blenheim
I bought this excellent fruit tree from Green Thumb nursery in Lake Forest, CA.
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
Homemade apricot ice-cream in summer.
View this post on Instagram
Boysenberry, Thornless
(Very limited left, almost running out: Boysenberry cuttings)
Boysenberries – the fun summer snacks
View this post on Instagram
Boysenberry growing on a low fence to feed the neighborhood children of all ages
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
Fig Cuttings – Violette de Bordeaux
My prolific and delicious Violette de Bordeaux – I have taken cuttings from this tree to share with you. The gigantic figs pictured are the overwintered breba crops. The main crop is more of a regular size.
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
my prolific and delicious Violette de Bordeaux – I have taken cuttings from this tree to share with you:
View this post on Instagram
If you will be grafting, here is an awesome fig grafting video: Grafting Fruit Trees | The 2 Best Techniques for Grafting Figs and other fruit trees
If you plan to root – Kathy (photo shown are not my figs) says it takes 8 weeks from rooting to the state shown in the photo). Click here to see her Facebook Post.
See how Kathy Jill does it: Click here to Facebook Post
Grapes – Golden Muscat
Golden Muscat grapes, not yet ripen. They ripen at the end of August.
View this post on Instagram
Harvesting abundant grape leaves for sarmi.
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Bulgarian Sarmi using freshly pruned grape leaves
View this post on Instagram
Mulberry Cuttings – King Shahtoot (White, Long, very sweet)
King Shahtoot mulberry
– Long, white berries, very sweet – my favorite!
View this post on Instagram
The King Shahtoot mulberry is like candy from a tree – so sweet and prolific, it makes an introvert like me have friends just so folks could come to my house to out-compete the squirrels in eating the awesome daily bounty! – Jzin
View this post on Instagram
Mulberries are very easy to graft. Success! For me as a first time grafter! YAY!
View this post on Instagram
Idea: graft my mulberry cuttings to your existing mulberry tree, or graft to one growing in your community
View this post on Instagram
– Noted on 2/14/21: King Shatoot is starting to bear fruits now.
Mulberry Cuttings – Pakistani (Black, Long, Berry Flavor, Sweet)
Pakistani mulberry cuttings
– sweet, dark, very delicious fruits that stain your sidewalk, so plan to you grow away from sidewalks, patios and driveways.
View this post on Instagram
Mulberries are fast growers. The branches can reach the sky and fruits eaten by birds. Consider festooning your tree into a beautiful umbrella shape for easy harvest:
View this post on Instagram
Nectarine Cuttings – Panamint
Nectarine (Panamint)
– I only have very fine branches for grafting (most are thinner than pencil thickness)
https://www.instagram.com/p/CbYk3vfvuJv/?igshid=MjkzY2Y1YTY=
Moringa Tree Trunks
– try to grow from my tree trunk prunings.
– YouTube has videos on how to grow.
– Photos of our trees
View this post on Instagram
– What do these trees look like? Jake Mace’s garden: Moringa Oleifera Tree – Miracle Tree – Growing in Arizona Garden!– Ask your favorite Indian friends if they would like a cutting
View this post on Instagram
Fragrant Climbing Rose cuttings for rooting:
View this post on Instagram
LADY OF THE LAKE CLIMBING ROSE – PASTEL
View this post on Instagram
Lady of the Lake (Pastel) climbing rose
– elegant citrus scent, some thorns, small bloom size
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
Phyllis Bide Rambler Rose – Multi-Color, Pastel
– Profusion of pastel roses in different hues, cute, not so fragrant. The light pink ones behind the green bench are Phyllis Bide. The hot pink ones on the left are Gertrude Jekyll roses.
View this post on Instagram
They are multi-colored. The colors changes in the sun and seasons.
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I got my plant from Annie’s Annuals.
Cecile Brunner Climbing Rose – Powder Pink
View this post on Instagram
Cecile Brunner (powder pink) climbing rose
– french talcum fragrance, some thorns. I love these!
View this post on Instagram
Lady Banks Alba – White
Lady Banks Alba (white)
– THORNLESS, weeping, dramatic
– tiny blossoms like stars falling from the skies.
– Blooms only once a year – early spring https://pin.it/5EGP6zu
Gertrude Jekyll Rose – Hot Pink
Gertrude Jekyll rose
– amazing fragrance! HUGE thorns https://www.davidaustinroses.com/products/gertrude-jekyll
The hot pink ones in the photo are gertrude jekyll roses:
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Gertrude Jekyll rose has large long canes. I train them as climbers.
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Up close:
Note: the rose cuttings you have to root and grow yourself. YouTube has instructions on how to do it, eg this video on how to root rose cuttings:
Teasing Georgia Rose – Cabbage, Yellow
The romantic, beautiful yellow roses across the eaves:
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
The yellow rose in the picture below:
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https://www.instagram.com/p/B_O0L2mAIvB/?igshid=MjkzY2Y1YTY=
Flowers – Not Roses
Calendula Seedlings – Yellow
calendula seedlings Return to the Menu aboveCoral Vine Seeds – Hot Pink Blossoms, Bees Magnet
Coral Vine seeds
– bees are crazy over these pink flowers.
hot pink, on the top of this photo:
View this post on Instagram
Vigorous vine. YouTube video of coral vines and bees: Bees love Coral Vine (Queens Wreath) in Mesa, Arizona
Nasturtium Seedlings
Nasturtium
– I dig out seedlings for you (I let them go to seed last year and now I have too many)
Tromboncino Squash Seeds
- Thank you Laura for bringing tromboncino squash from your garden!
- vine
Herbs / Edible Plants
Cardoon Seed Pods
Cardoon seed pods (Baker Creek Seeds).
– Warning: Cardoons take space like artichokes! They are related to artichoke but you don’t eat the “artichoke” but eat the stems like the Romans did.
– Grow one and you will have food always.
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
Cardoon on the right:
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Bees are crazy for Cardoon Blossom, blooms once every 2 years:
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Fennel – I have so many huge and tiny plants to share
Korean Vining Squash – Seedlings
View this post on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/p/Ce_oWAlptKZ/?igshid=MjkzY2Y1YTY=
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cbse_uYpsyF/?igshid=MjkzY2Y1YTY=
Luffa Gourd Seeds
Luffa gourd seeds. Another vigorous grower!
Spearmints
BRANCHES FROM WINTER PRUNINGS – TRELLISES
Make rustic DIY garden branch trellises, using pruned branches from the garden
– Example: my DIY heart trellis to support grapes:
View this post on Instagram
– Another view of this branch trellis:
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View this post on Instagram
– DIY idea: Trellis using mulberry branches for my black cherry tomato:
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– Example: fig and mulberry branches make tomatoes arch trellis – supported my black cherry and Brandywine pink tomatoes:
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– Large cherry tomato trellis using branches:
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