TAM Blog

It has been only 8 days since I wrote the first blog entry about our oak tree.  This morning we discovered sawdust on and around the trunk of the tree.  Sawdust means the beetles has started boring their holes in the trunk.  The Sudden Oak Death fungus isn't what kills the tree-it's the beetles.  So now we have to make a decision about what to do next-spray pesticides?  I pride myself on avoiding pesticides completely.  It has been a gradual change.  With my first garden, I bought the bottles with the promises of a healthy garden.  As I started my garden in West Marin and learned more about sustainable gardening, I turned from bottled products to compost, worm castings and choosing hardier plants.  My garden is still a work in progress, so I cannot claim to have won the battle. 

But now our 125 year-old oak is dying.  What to do?  Here are some pictures so you can get a visual of what S.O.D. looks like.

We have a 125-year old coast live oak tree that nicely shades our parking area. It has Sudden Oak Death, an affliction that has killed many trees in Marin and Sonoma and other coastal counties in California. Our oak had not been treated or checked out in the last 10 or so years, but we were fairly certain that it was healthy, from our casual monitoring. Just to be sure, though, we invited a tree specialist to come out and take a look early this spring. He gave us the bad news: it is in the early stages of sudden oak death.

The treatment consists of a spray that kills the fungus that is attacking the bark. It is applied every 3-6 months for a year or two, with results uncertain until the end of the treatment period. We have applied the treatment, and now we wait.

I’m watching the tree very closely, hoping for a smooth recovery. It is a huge tree with a fantastic spread that protects the front of the house from the hot afternoon sun. It also gives the cats a place to escape the dogs and hide from us. We don’t climb it or swing from it, as that just wouldn’t seem respectful.

We have several other oaks on our property, one of which recently succumbed to sudden oak death. It was a small tree-about 4’ in diameter. I understand now why they call it Sudden oak death: it died very suddenly. The leaves went brown and the tree tumbled over seemingly overnight. I don’t worry as much about the smaller trees dying-I guess because they are easier to replace. The younger trees are the next generation – I guess I’ll keep an eye on them, too.

Stay tuned for oak health updates.

On May 20 several homes in Marin in Sonoma Counties participated in Build it Green’s Green Home Tour. The handful of homes I saw were very diverse: a modern solar-powered home on the mesa in Bolinas with a view of the Bolinas Lagoon; a convent on Dominican University’s grounds built with recycled materials and environmentally friendly methods; a classic Eichler with a new radiant heat system.

I learned that green can be beautiful, modern and livable. I also learned that there are very expensive ways of ‘greening’ your house (photovoltaic systems, for example) and that there are more simple, subtle ways to go green. The builders of the Dominican Convent in San Rafael recycled their unused building materials instead of sending them to the landfill.

The homeowners were present to talk with the guests and explain the green aspects of their homes. There were also volunteers from the sponsoring organization ‘Build it Green’ www.BuilditGreen.org to answer questions. There were signs everywhere to point out and explain the green features. Some of the most prevalent green features were:

• the use of salvaged materials in construction or remodeling
• energy-efficient insulation
• hydronic radiant floor heating
• Forest Stewardship Council-certified wood framing or finish materials
• photovoltaic systems and solar hot water heating
• low- or zero-volatile organic compound interior paints
• dual-flush toilets

It was a beautiful, inspiring tour, and I can't wait until next year.