MSN112118

More documents

Recommendations

Info

10 | November 23, 2018 | MALIBU SURFSIDE NEWS SOUND OFF malibusurfsidenews.com DON’T PANIC, IT’S ORGANIC Helping trees, plants recover from fire With the recent fires in Malibu and surrounding areas, homeowners will not only have to deal with rebuilding but also with what to do for their damaged trees. If your trees survived then you will need to know if they are capable of new ANDY LOPEZ growth or totally dead. It is CONTRIBUTING possible COLUMNIST that a tree may look Invisible dead Gardener and still be alive! If it is alive, with the proper care, it will come back very fast. Here are some things to look for that will tell you if the tree can be saved: • Check to see if the tree is still green underneath any burned areas. You can do this by gently scraping a thin layer of the burned area. If it is green, then it is still alive. • Look to see if the trunk is completely damaged all the way around. Trees will not recover if the trunk is severely damaged all the way around. • Look for any signs of any leaves that survived. That will tell you that a tree is not entirely dead. If you are not sure if it is still alive, get an arborist to take a look. Do not ask your gardener; they Malibu Glass & Mirror 310.456.1844 Come visit our showroom will not know. If you decide that your trees are alive, there are steps you can take to help with recovery. First off, do not add any chemical fertilizers. That is not what the trees need now. Also, do not overwater. The first thing you must do is get someone to cut off all dead branches. Don’t worry about removing any burned areas, as they will fall off over time, and you may cause more damage than good. Concentrate on amending the soil with rock dust, compost and azalea mix mulch. Add an organic tree fertilizer with all the proper nutrients. This will slowly help the tree recover. It also is vital that you learn how to foliar spray the tree. Foliar spraying provides immediate nutrients to the tree. But, you say, the tree was burned, and it doesn’t have any leaves to spray? No problem, spray the trunk! The nutrients will be absorbed directly into the trunk! This is important, as the tree will die if it cannot get food as needed and it will need a lot to recover. You will need to foliar spray at least once or twice a week for the next few months. It will be around this time that you will finally know if your trees will survive. If it is too far gone, the trees will not show any signs of recovery and the green you saw when you scratched the surface will have disappeared. If, on the other hand, your trees show signs of improvement then you are on your way to helping it get well. It will take all of next year for it to show lots of new growth. This is the same for your fruit trees, roses, etc. So, you ask, what do I spray? One option is milk. Yes, milk. It is rich in calcium needed for healthy tree growth. Mix one part milk to 10 parts clean water. You will need to rotate with other foliage products since it is not complete plant food. You can add to the milk molasses at 1/4 cup for a gallon of water. Try Granny Smith’s since it is rich in trace minerals. You also can spray liquid seaweed. You also can spray with a trace mineral rich product like Sea-90. Just follow instructions and never overdo it, as this can kill your trees if you overdo the trace minerals. Compost tea is an excellent foliar spray. Just make sure that the compost comes from a good source and is not store-bought. Join a local gardening club, as many gardeners make their own compost. There are many wonderful foliar sprays on the market that are organic. You should use Bio- Char, as this also will help the trees to recover. I use SuperChar, which is made from earthworm castings and BioChar. You should buy any of the microbial liquids available on the internet that will provide the trees with a wide variety of microbes for the soil. You can not only spray the trunk etc. with it but also use it as a soil soak to add the beneficial bacteria back to the soil. You can make a foliar spray from rock dust. Just add 1/2 cup of a rock dust blend into a pantyhose, soak it in 5 gallons of clean water and spray. I like buying various sources of rock dust and blending them together for a complete Windows and Doors Showers and MIrrors Railings and Skylights Screens and Glass Repair Additional Services www.malibuglass.com fax: 310.456.2594 3547 Winter Canyon, Malibu CA 90265 Licensed Contractor #396181 mix of minerals. Please be careful not to overwater, as this will drown the soil and kill the tree really fast. It’s best if it is on a drip system. Make sure to protect the soil from future fires by adding a generous layer of compost several times per year. Compost will not burn. Once we get through this month and into December, we should see conditions change and cool off, allowing trees to recover. Expect temperatures to be high come early spring and, therefore, make sure you have installed drip systems and provided adequate compost and azalea/gardenia mix. This type of mulch will not burn, but do not overdo it as too much will kill the trees. Times are changing fast. We can learn from this and survive while also helping the trees to survive. May everyone be safe. Let’s work together to make it through. Any questions? Email me at andylopez@invisiblegardener. com. VISIT US ONLINE AT MALIBU SURFSIDE NEWS.COM ASHLEY’S ANGLE In gratitude — even now, even here ASHLEY HAMILTON CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST Malibu resident Before we give thanks, let us give thought to the faces we do not see and the voices we do not hear. Let us honor the victims of the Woolsey Fire. We can summon their images and replay the sound of their voices in the virtual world of video clips and audio files: an ethereal world — with an Ethernet connection — where what the physical world hath reduced to dust and ashes the digital realm automatically converts into ones and zeros. It is, however, little comfort to see what we cannot touch. It is hard to listen to what we may not want to hear. The burden is nonetheless ours to bear, as we are lucky to be alive. Let us, therefore, be thankful for our lives. Let us also be mindful of the friend who never complains; because we never asked, and he never told us, about the pain he suffers and the silence he endures — alone — when he goes home to an empty apartment, when he has a house but no home, when he has a Please see GRATITUDE, 11
malibusurfsidenews.com SOUND OFF MALIBU SURFSIDE NEWS | November 23, 2018 | 11 SOCIAL SNAPSHOT FROM THE EDITOR Top WeB STorieS from MalibuSurfsideNews.com as of Monday, Nov. 19 1. Woolsey Fire Watch: Constant updates of disaster in Malibu 2. Three dead, councilman hospitalized, at least 1,500 structures destroyed as Woolsey Fire devastates Malibu 3. Accounts from Woolsey Fire victims, survivors and evacuees 4. Little Angels looks for owners of injured German shepherd, other animals 5. Woolsey Fire rewrites Malibu’s history books LAUREN COUGHLIN lauren@malibususidenews.com Become a member: malibusurfsidenews.com P22 Mountain Lion of Hollywood (@p22mountainlionofhollywood) posted Nov. 14: “The rumors of my death were greatly exaggerated. I am doing okay, fans! But let’s all send some good vibes to P-74 and P-42 hoping they will be located soon!” Like Malibu Surfside News: facebook.com/malibusurfsidenews Malibu, you are not alone Year after year, Thanksgiving is a time to express gratitude. GRATITUDE From Page 10 Given Malibu’s recent events, that is much easier said than done. Traditions are sure to be uprooted, and homes full of happy memories have vanished. The path to recovery and relief has no doubt begun, but there are plenty of tough days ahead. In times of grief, a strong community is the backbone one needs — and a strong, resilient Malibu is the city I know and admire. The generosity of area residents has been apparent in this trying time. From supplies and monetary donations to mental health support, there are many people who are willing and ready to help those who need it. And this Thanksgiving week, there also are some opportunities to gather and to heal. Events aside, there are people who are willing to lend an ear no matter what hour. phone but no messages. The quiet time is when our friend is most vulnerable. We owe the quiet man the sound of our voices and the sight of so many helping hands. We owe the widow the same, just as we owe the orphan the present of our presence. Thanksgiving is meaningless otherwise. It is neither a day to be thankful nor a holiday to give or receive love, unless we not only call a friend but act as his keeper — so he may feel the warmth of our kindness, so he may warm our hearts, too. We owe it to ourselves to acknowledge the lost and to accommodate the dispossessed. It is our obligation to conquer the quiet, so a chorus of humanity can outperform a crescendo of harm, so a concert of charity can outlast a concerto of hardship, so an encore of love can outlive an ensemble of hate. This Thanksgiving, let us bring the music. Let it ring throughout Malibu, and echo from the mountains to the valleys. Let it be a chord of brotherhood — and a chime of sisterhood — so the quiet may pass and the best of Thanksgiving may never die. Let our works be louder than our words, because it is easier to do what we say than it is to struggle to find the right words to say. If I struggle to write my intentions, despite my intention to do the right thing, I know what to do: call a friend or visit a neighbor. I call upon you — as I hope you will call upon me — to make Thanksgiving a day of action. Our acts can bless a life, or at least better a day in the life of a friend, thereby repairing the world. It can be a less harsh world. It Those in need of mental health support are encouraged to call Los Angeles County’s Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985- 5990. In the weeks ahead, we will continue to share any outlets of support that we are made aware of, and we will continue to honor the heroes in Malibu’s own backyard. Slowly but surely, Malibu will recover. should be a world worth living to see, rather than existing to have an everlasting life in the world to come; in a world that may never come, because it may not exist, while the choice is ours to live well — or die quietly — in the world of the here and now. It is an imperfect world. It is a world of poverty and privation, of tyranny and terror. It is also a world of grit and gallantry, of dash and daring. It is a world in which Thanksgiving thrives. Ashley’s Angle is a monthly column from Malibu resident Ashley Hamilton. Hamilton is an artist and father who seeks to express the truth through his work. Ashley’s Angle will cover issues and politics which are relevant to the Malibu community at large. The opinions of this column are that of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect those of the Malibu Surfside News. Malibu Search Rescue (@MalibuSAR) posted Friday, Nov. 16: “Despite the #WoolseyFire, the #sunsets are still amazing in #Malibu” Follow Malibu Surfside News: @malibusurfsidenews SOUND OFF POLICY Editorials and columns are the opinions of the author. Pieces from 22nd Century Media are the thoughts of the company as a whole. Malibu Surfside News MALIBU SURFSIDE NEWS encourages readers to write letters to Sound Off. All letters must be signed, and names and hometowns will be published. We also ask that writers include their address and phone number for verification, not publication. Letters should be limited to 400 words. Malibu Surfside News reserves the right to edit letters. Letters become property of Malibu Surfside News. Letters that are published do not reflect the thoughts and views of Malibu Surfside News. Letters can be mailed to: Malibu Surfside News, P.O. Box 6854 Malibu, CA 90264. Fax letters to (310) 457-0936 or email news@malibusurfsidenews.com.
Page 1 and 2: FORWARD MOTION Officials meet with
Page 3 and 4: malibusurfsidenews.com NEWS MALIBU
Page 5 and 6: malibusurfsidenews.com MALIBU MALIB
Page 9: malibusurfsidenews.com NEWS MALIBU
Page 15 and 16: malibusurfsidenews.com LIFE & ARTS
Page 17 and 18: malibusurfsidenews.com SOUND OFF MA
Page 19 and 20: malibusurfsidenews.com SPORTS MALIB
Page 21 and 22: malibusurfsidenews.com MALIBU SURFS
Page 23 and 24: malibusurfsidenews.com LIFE & ARTS

MSN112118

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?