Castle of Costa Mesa Garden Sharing March 2025

March, 2025. Costa Mesa, Southern California, USA. Zone 10b

Dear Local Gardening Friends,

I will be sharing cuttings, seedlings and seeds 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 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.

Please RSVP one of these times you like to come –

Sat 3/22/25 9am – 12pm (Full)
(Please note: I will not be available 12pm – 2pm. I will be enjoying lunch with family).
Sat 3/22/25 2pm – 5pm (Full)
Sun 3/23/25 2pm – 6pm
I will reply to those who already RSVP, with my private address, around Friday 3/21/25.

Please bring some Ziploc /plastic bags, markers to label the plants/cuttings/seeds you take home. Below are what I have to share:

Flowers – Heirloom Rose Cuttings

Cecile Brunner Pink Profuse Climber

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 Rose – multicolor, Rambler Rose

Strawberry Hill, David Austin Climbing Rose

Teasing Georgia Rose – Yellow, cabbage type

What I want

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.
- I am also collecting fun, 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 for a school garden.
- Also new gardeners love earthworms – bring some if you have to spare!
Organic, living grubs of June Bug / Fig beetle – My Chickens’ Number 1 Favorite Food!

- 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!

Organic bagged potting mix/compost
- I rooted some of my cuttings into one big pot to share.
- However, it will be helpful for gardeners to dig them out into individual pots to take home.
- Thank you for your gift of bagged organic potting mix/compost so gardeners can take home individual rooted cuttings.
Organic leftover foods for my chickens or compost systems
- Bread, rice, carbs, meats, fish, coffee grounds, et cetera
- Ongoing or once in a while for my compost bin
- 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.
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
Organic yard trimmings
- Leaves / grass/ yard trimmings (no disease, no seeds, no weeds, no chemicals) for my big vermicompost bin
- Ongoing weekly drop off or occasional
Plants/ Seedlings
- Comfrey
- Purple Tree Collard
- Saint John’s Wort plants (a few), Tea 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
- etc
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!
Help me build a sharing library for my front yard
- Seed/ seedling “library” box in my front yard to share garden goodies.
Asian veggies or culinary herbs
- Pandan plant, galangal, lemongrass plant, Taiwan/Japanese flat cabbage, etc
Looking for someone local to me who can teach me …
- How to build things – woodworking, cabinet-making
- I have drawn up a design but need help with woodwork.
- Please share photos of what you made.
Biodynamic Farming mentor or buddy
- I want to learn Steiner’s biodynamic techniques.
I design your land/ homestead/ public community space.
- I am in the process of getting my Permaculture Design Certification with permaculturist Lucian Toma. (Follow the link if you want to join Lucian’s online permaculture course!)
- I am looking for a project to work on, pro bono to you. March – August 2025
- I could be your land, homestead, a school, church, neighborhood, public community space, etc
- Ideally your land/ project is local to me in Costa Mesa, California.
- Ideally, but not required, your land is 0.5 acre or more.
- I will help you design your land/project, and I will present the project publicly in August 2025 as part of my certification process.
Growing Shiitake mushrooms in my garden
- Do you have clean logs to grow shiitake mushrooms you can share or source?
- Have you successfully grown mushrooms in your garden? Please teach me! Thanks
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!

- Tip jar – Optional. Will pay for potting compost and etc

IF YOU DO NOT HAVE THESE, DON’T WORRY, JUST TAKE THE 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

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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.

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Apricot Cuttings – Royal Blenheim

I bought this excellent fruit tree from Green Thumb nursery in Lake Forest, CA.

Homemade apricot ice-cream in summer.

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Boysenberry, Thornless

(Very limited left, almost running out: Boysenberry cuttings)

Boysenberries – the fun summer snacks.

Please note: you may get thorny rootstocks growing out among thornless canes. Each year after fruiting season is over, I prune off any thorny canes, leaving only thornless ones.

Boysenberries are vigorous. They grow very long canes. Please plan ahead before planting, how you would trellis your boysenberries. I grow mine in a low long fence/hedge. Some people plant them in a pot trellising upwards. YouTube has many interesting examples to considering when you search for “training” or “pruning” boysenberry.

Boysenberry growing on a low fence to feed the neighborhood children of all ages

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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.

my prolific and delicious Violette de Bordeaux – I have taken cuttings from this tree to share with you:

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

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Grapes – Golden Muscat

Golden Muscat grapes, not yet ripen. They ripen at the end of August.

Harvesting abundant grape leaves for sarmi.

Bulgarian Sarmi using freshly pruned grape leaves

Mulberry Cuttings – King Shahtoot (White, Long, very sweet)

King Shahtoot mulberry

– Long, white berries, very sweet – my favorite!

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

Mulberries are very easy to graft. Success! For me as a first time grafter! YAY!

Idea: graft my mulberry cuttings to your existing mulberry tree, or graft to one growing in your community

– Noted on 2/14/21: King Shatoot is starting to bear fruits now.

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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.

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:

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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=

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Trees

Moringa Tree Trunks

– try to grow from my tree trunk prunings.

– YouTube has videos on how to grow.

– Photos of our trees

– 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

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Pomegranate cuttings – Parfianka, dark red, quality

September 2020. Zhenny’s birthday.

When I bought my Parfianka pomegranate tree from Thom in Huntington Beach (he is on Craigslist. (714) 968-7091), he told me this variety is an award-winning quality one!

Pomegranates will need full sun and NOTE this tree has thorns! So plan where you will plant it so it will not impale you or your garden guests.

I gave my friend Alena a big pomegranate stick and she stuck it in a big pot and was able to grow a tree! That woman is so amazing. If you are planting and not grafting, you should take a bigger stick and not a tiny one (for grafting) – Jzin

Our delicious homegrown Parfianka pomegranate. October 2020.

Flowers – Heirloom Rose Cuttings

Fragrant Climbing Rose cuttings for rooting:

LADY OF THE LAKE CLIMBING ROSE – PASTEL

Lady of the Lake (Pastel) climbing rose

– elegant citrus scent, some thorns, small bloom size

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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.

They are multi-colored. The colors changes in the sun and seasons.

I got my plant from Annie’s Annuals.

Cecile Brunner Climbing Rose – Powder Pink

Cecile Brunner (powder pink) climbing rose

– french talcum fragrance, some thorns. I love these!

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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

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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:

Gertrude Jekyll rose has large long canes. I train them as climbers.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C7jwp8ARI3C/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

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:

How to Grow Roses From Cuttings Fast and Easy | Rooting Rose Cuttings with a 2 Liter Soda Bottle

Strawberry Hill David Austin Climbing Rose

Source: David Austin roses

Teasing Georgia Rose – Cabbage, Yellow

The romantic, beautiful yellow roses across the eaves:

The yellow rose in the picture below:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_O0L2mAIvB/?igshid=MjkzY2Y1YTY=

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Flowers – Not Roses

Borage Seedlings

See Herbs and Edible Plants section

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Calendula Seedlings – Yellow

calendula seedlings

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Coral 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:

Vigorous vine. YouTube video of coral vines and bees: Bees love Coral Vine (Queens Wreath) in Mesa, Arizona

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Nasturtium Seedlings

Nasturtium seedlings – I let them go to seed last year and now I have too many.
- multiple colors, long vines
- great for children’s garden! These are umbrellas for fairies!

Tromboncino Squash Seeds

Thank you Laura for bringing tromboncino squash and seeds from your garden!
- This vining edible squash look so dramatic!

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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.

Cardoon on the right:

Bees are crazy for Cardoon Blossom, blooms once every 2 years:

Fennel – I have so many huge and tiny plants to share

A post shared by Castle Of Costa Mesa (@castleofcostamesa)

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ce_oWAlptKZ/?igshid=MjkzY2Y1YTY=

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cbse_uYpsyF/?igshid=MjkzY2Y1YTY=

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:

– Another view of this branch trellis:

– DIY idea: Trellis using mulberry branches for my black cherry tomato:

– Example: fig and mulberry branches make tomatoes arch trellis – supported my black cherry and Brandywine pink tomatoes:

– Large cherry tomato trellis using branches:

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