The recycled vegetation we applied as a top dressing immediately after planting annual color or as an amendment to the soil was not actually from a compost pile but had been recycled through a steer. Incidentally, Brent has never planted so much as a single nasturtium seed in my garden!

Brent preferred to use steer manure as an organic fertilizer to sustain the activity of the rapidly growing warm-season annuals and to replenish previously applied amendments that had partially decomposed during the previous year. Warmer weather during spring enhances microbial activity and consequently accelerates decomposition of organic material within the soil, so addition of more is timely. If properly composted, as any packaged for resale is, steer manure is actually safer than fertilizer because it will not likely cause chemical burn or salt accumulation if applied too generously. However, it does produce a distinctive aroma that, when combined with fish emulsion, resembles that of Alameda in August.

Fish emulsion is, of course, another organic fertilizer that will not cause any of the rare but potential problems associated with chemical fertilizers, and it is very popular with every cat in the neighborhood. I am not quite certain what it consists of, but I think I can guess from the name—fish emulsion. I believe it comprises an emulsion of all the useless scraps of fish generated by evisceration and processing that are not used for the production of French cologne.

Well-seasoned household compost may be incorporated into the soil or used as a top dressing to improve the fertility of the soil without substantially enhancing salt accumulation, similar to "recycled vegetation." As a top dressing, compost will also inhibit proliferation of weed seedlings. Compost that is not yet adequately seasoned to be used immediately should be "turned" or incorporated into unused seasoned compost to accelerate the composting process. As weather continues to become warmer, composting will be accelerated.

The Friends of Guadalupe River Park and Gardens and the Santa Clara County Home Composting Education Program occasionally conduct free composting workshops at the Guadalupe Garden Center, located at 715 Spring St. (at Taylor Street) in San Jose. More information may be obtained, or reservations for future workshops may be arranged, by telephoning the education coordinator at 408.298.7657 or by visiting www.grpg.org.


Species of the Week: Sweet hakea

Brent accurately described sweet hakea, Hakea suaveolens, as "Hella prickly!" after he ran through a barrier hedge of it in front of Tenaya Hall while evading Cal Poly campus police. He learned from that experience that one only runs through sweet hakea once, and that campus police don't like pranks.

Sweet hakea appears to be soft and lush like a fern pine, but the 4-inch-long olive-green leaves are pinnately divided into very narrow, stiff lobes with surprisingly sharp tips, as Brent can attest. Dense trusses of small white flowers that appear in autumn or winter are fragrant but are otherwise not remarkable.

Healthy specimens are densely foliated and may grow rapidly as high as 15 feet. Like many large shrubs, sweet hakea may be pruned as a small tree with bare lower trunks. Full sun exposure is preferred. Minimal irrigation is tolerable, but excessive irrigation is not. Although sweet hakea had been introduced to North America from Australia during the Victorian period with the various species of eucalyptus, it is somewhat rare and is not yet available at most nurseries.

Horticulturist Tony Tomeo can be contacted at 408-358-2574 or at LGHORTICULTURE@aol.com.