Growing Greener

Orchid Blogging for January

2012-01-29T08:58:00.000-08:00

I can't take much credit for this Phalaenopsis - it was in bud when I bought it. This keeps blooming and blooming and blooming. The last Harlequin that i had bloomed for a year, but then when I was nurturing it back to the next bloom, I think I overwatered it, and it died. That doesn't happen much to my orchids, but it proves I am not the "orchid whisperer" yet.

This Cymbidium hybrid is the only one from last year that is blooming this year. I don't know why - if it is that it is more suited for my circumstances, or just a random difference. They are nice and fragrant, and I like these flowers more than the ones it had last year.

Oncidium "twinkle". This must be the easiest Oncidium hybrid to rebloom. This is the second rebloom this year. I have been growing this with dilute Miracle Grow Tomato food - 1/4 teaspoon per gallon. Not organic for the orchids, their situation is too artificial as it is, and miracle grow is mineral based, not a petrochemical.

I've had this Oncidium hybrid for 2 years. It was a tiny plant, beige / brown flower. I bought it as a "disposable" but then kept it anyway. Glad I did - now it's starting a spike. I'm starting to think I can grow Oncidiums - although I still can't get the yellow ones to bloom. I have another one in spike too, but one pic of a small early spike is enough.

Miltoniopsis hybrid. Or possibly, Miltonia. This is another plant I thought I would just keep while in bloom, left it on the deck for a month or two without any care at all, then another Miltoniopsis bloomed so I reconsidered and repotted it. That was last summer. And now... the beginning of a flower spike. Actually, 2 flower spikes. Amazing!

January Gardening

2012-01-12T16:01:00.000-08:00

No photos today. Pruned grapes. I usually do that on New Year's day. This is a little later, but not bad. There were more dead canes than I expected, and some fungal infections on a few dead sticks. I feel a bit concerned, but for the most part the canes had green fresh wood when cut. I trimmed new canes back to about nodes in most cases.

Last year was a bad grape year. There was a lot of mold - maybe they are in trouble. We'll see. With the thorough pruning, and with a few sprays of neem oil, maybe this year will be better.

These vines are about 10 years old. Technically, they should live decades. The damp NW climate may change that.

I also did some minor pruning of a couple of fig trees. Mostly to keep the centers open for sun and breeze. I cut back Lattarula's highest branches, but left the shorter ones in hopes of brebas.

Plans for 2012

2011-12-18T12:34:00.000-08:00

Reflecting on this 2011, I realized that what I enjoy the most, my garden, is almost always on the back burner now. Gardening gives me peace, and I feel one with the world. I love the smell of the soil, I love looking at buds opening, I love growing from seed and watching a plant sprout, grow the first true leaves, transition from sprout to seedling to plant, to whatever it's going to become, a vegetable, a shrub, a tree, or whatever. I love puttering and trimming and planting and transplanting. I love making compost, mulching, preparing garden beds and containers.

And yet, I barely get into the yard now. Homework usually extends through the day off or weekend, or I'm not up to it.

Will 2012 be different? I hope so. Life isn't really worthwhile, going day to day to day without a break. There will be more time off - this time around I really will take the vacation time I've earned. I will remove some of the non-performers. There I'm thinking of one fig tree in particular, and a hazel nut tree. If the peaches don't perform next year, they are going as well. That will take away some maintenance time.

The raspberries will go, too. They spread too much, are too vigorous, and I don't have the room. Despite producing a lot of raspberries last year, we didn't eat many.

I'm not sure what else will be different. I keep moving into containers - much lower maintenance, and very productive. This winter will be a turning point.

No pics today. Jan 1st will be the start of renewal.

Schlumbergera season

2011-11-19T15:53:00.000-08:00

They are way to easy to grow and bloom. Downside: as they grow larger, the flowers face downwards. If hanging, that's fine. On a table, up-facing flowers are easier to view. Summer outside in the shade. Try to remember to water them at least weekly. Bring inside when it's cooling down. Avoid keeping them in lit rooms at night - not difficult. When they start to bud, I provide some orchid bloom food in weak solution.

A pink Sclumbergera. Probably about 3 or 4 years old.

I think I was going to throw away this red one. But this year the color is very good. So I will keep it.

I grew this salmon Sclhumbergera from gift cuttings about 6 years ago. I think this year I will start from cuttings again, for more compact size.

Tolerance

2011-11-19T15:42:00.000-08:00

Can I get up there? Huh? Can I?

Please? I Promise I won't mess with the little animal there.

Don't even think about letting that creature up there. Don't even think about it.

You let it on the bed. Damn you!

That spot looks very comfortable.

Cymbidium spikes

2011-11-10T13:33:00.001-08:00

This NOID cymbidium is the only one producing spikes now. I'll hold on to some hope for the others. One that bloomed last year is not making spikes yet. If they don't bloom, I will have an excuse to buy a new one.

Peppers

2011-11-10T13:31:00.000-08:00

THe peppers did quite nicely this year. I've concluded that, in this area, the container method is the best way to grow them

Schlumbergera

2011-11-10T13:29:00.000-08:00

I took the best looking Schlumbergera to work, so no pics of those! This one was left to dry out too much this summer, but is making a nice display of salmon colored flowers now. I think I will start some cuttings after it blooms, to have a smaller plant that is easier to care for.

This Sclumbergera was pure white last year. This year it is a very pale pink & white mixture. Really quite striking. It was in a mix, half red, and half white, and I separated them to have each color individual. This is an ideal size. The photo doesn't do it justice.

Some of my Ginkgos in the fall

2011-11-10T13:20:00.000-08:00

These are 3 Ginkgo biloba trees that I started from seeds about 5 years ago. They are in potting soil in a half barrel. They got a big dose of compose this year and grew like crazy. The seeds were obtained locally from ginkgo trees here in Vancouver.

This is one of my front yard Ginkgo biloba trees. It is planted in the front yard in a hard clay soil. I water it once in a while in the summer. This tree is too tall for me to reach the top now. Growth is slower than the backyard tree, which is about 3 times as big, tall and with heavier trunk. The leaves on the backyard tree are still green, probably due to enrichment of the soil by the doggies - it's in the center of their "rest-room". This tree is about 13 years from seeds obtained by my dad from a local tree in Quincy Illinois, which itself had been grown by an old German gentleman, Herman Dege, who taught me about ginkgo trees, their ancient provenance, that they were conifers, and the dinosaurs grazed among them.

The 3rd Ginkgo, from my dad's seeds. This is the smallest, only about 6 ft tall now, in a drier spot with even worse clay soil. Still, it grows little by little.

Saturday homework

2011-11-05T17:08:00.000-07:00

Just homework today.
Goals tomorrow:
Get through homework backlog (yeah, right)
Inflate bike tires. Leave them for a few days to see if they deflate.
Bake pie.
Make lunches for Monday

I'm keeping the birds well fed. There were very few insects around this summer. Maybe the birds helped.

It's hard to get a good pic of the birds. I don't want to sit waiting for them. There are birds at the feeder almost constantly.

My buddy Charlie.

He stays by my side while I'm doing homework. I couldn't survive without him.

My home office window. The orchids are in an in-between stage. Not growing much, not blooming. The holiday cacti are blooming like crazy. One cymbidium has started sending out spikes. I haven't decided if I should leave the others outside. It's starting to become chilly.

Apricot Pie

2011-10-30T19:32:00.000-07:00

These were apricots that I processed and froze this summer. I baked the pie using instructions for peach pie but cut back the sugar by about a third. This is my usual olive oil crust, but I used vinegar instead of lemon juice. The taste of vinegar cooks out, but it makes the crust very flaky. Yummy pie!

Rainy and Chilly

2011-10-30T10:01:00.000-07:00

Turns out yesterday was the perfect day for a little planting - today is chilly and rainy. The rain will settle the bulbs and onion/garlic sets in nicely.

I read about planting garlic. Some gardeners plant on the shortest day of the year (Winter Solstice) - we are WAY ahead of that. Some plant in early October. So I'm in good company. The various ones that I'm sure I have missed in the ground have not sprouted above the ground, so I'm not much behind mother nature on that either.

I planted the following. They were from Dutchbulbs.com. The photos are from that site as well. I ordered them this summer, this time a small number due to I know I would not have a lot of planting time.

"Blushing Lady" Narcissus. Six bulbs. Something to add variety to the many others already planted over the years.

Narcussus "Dinner Plate". There were two very large bulbs - the size of Amaryllis bulbs.

Hemerocallis "Sixth Sense" listed as "6" flowers with ruffled petals in cream and gold tones with a red eye and wired edge. Mid-season, rebloomer, tetraploid, semi-evergreen." Being semi-evergreen it may not be as hardy as a dormant variety, more hardy than an evergreen.

Hemerocallis "Startle". This is a dormant variety, so considered more hardy.

Lilium citronella, an old variety. I like these. They are also labeled as "Yellow Turk's cap lilies".

After some time off from gardening

2011-10-29T12:19:00.000-07:00

During the past couple of days, I've started again. In an era when many are jobless, it's important to have perspective. Still, it is nice to do what I enjoy,

This week I bought 2 large plastic bins for container planters. I planted garlic and multiplier onions. One variety of garlic has been growing in my yard for 6 or 7 years, Incehlium red. The plants that I had in containers did very well. The plants in the garden were inhibited by weeds. I also bought via mail order, from Southern Exposure, a couple of German Garlic heads. These had huge cloves, but were a bit soft. Both are planted. If they grow, I'll have above 50 heads this fall.

I planted white potato onions this week, also in container. This year the patch was overtaken by weeds, and I'm more and more sold on containers. This is a bit late. I've planted them as late as January, and I think they did OK, so late Oct planting should work too.

There are still some peppers and tomatoes and figs. Not bad considering I let them all go to weeds this summer.

Orchid Report

2011-09-15T19:47:00.000-07:00

During all of the destruction, construction, work and chaos, I've tried to keep the orchids properly placed, watered and fed. There may be a few casualties, but I think most have come through it. One concern was the fumes from floor finishing - it may be a while before the effects show up, but there does not appear to be any immediate death due to that exposure.

A new addition, Brassada Orange Delight "Hilo Sunrise". It was in spike and is now blooming. Bright and cheerful, compact size. If it stays small, and grows new, blooming pseudobulbs next year, that will be great.

Yamamoto Dendrobium Spring Dream "Apollon". These are the first blossoms on growth in my hands. It's interesting that so many of the Yamamoto Dendrobiums bloom in summer and again in winter.

Another view of Spring Dream "Apollon". The central eye is greener than shows up on the digital photo. It has a single keiki, which is cool. If there were a lot of keikis, it would be a sign over too much nitrogen, but this one is on old non-blooming growth, and is a single keiki. I will let it grow in place for a while. There is also a new growth from the base. Once the plant is done blooming, I will change back to a higher nitrogen orchid food to encourage the new growth to develop.

Yamamoto Dendrobium Yellow Song "Canary".

Kitchen 99% done.

2011-09-09T19:36:00.000-07:00

There are still some odds and ends. I always withhold judgement, or try to, until the lady with the cow-horn helmet sings. But I gotta say, this is a big change for the better. Doesn't quite feel like home, but I'm told that will pass.

Another small step in the kitchen

2011-09-02T15:08:00.000-07:00

So close. Maybe another week. The first thing I'll make is a vegetable pie, with tomatoes and peppers from the garden. And a stir fry with beans that are wanting to be cooked now. It's hard to do that with no stove.

Kitchen. Another step closer.

2011-08-22T13:51:00.000-07:00

Now with some cabinets.

The required doggie pic.

Fresh Fruit

2011-08-20T11:55:00.000-07:00

Shiro plums. Only a handfull of others on the tree. That's really all I need right now. They are only in their 3rd year. This was the branch most in the sun. It was rainy during pollination time. That might have been an issue. I tried hand pollinating, don't know if that helped. My idea is next spring if it is raining during blossom time, cover with plastic.

These plums are amazingly good. I never thought I liked plums. Then someone brought in a bag of Shiro plums to work, a few years ago. They were very good. So I bought this tree. It's worth it. Eating them is almost like drinking a very sweet wine, with no astringency, like a muscat.

Fresh figs and plums, seconds after picking them. There are only a few. That's all I need at a time. This makes ripe fig breba this year as #1 Latturula (this week) #2 King (this week) #3 & #4 Vancouver (probably Brunswick) and Petite negri. The bigger brown one is Vancouver, the black one is Petite negri. The plums are small. Probably because I didn't water the tree during the heat. That may be why they are so sweet as well.

Taste test for these varieties. I thought I would like the Brunswick (the light brown interior) better, based on memory from previous years. I like the Petite negri better. The Brunswick is sweet as honey, amazingly sweet. But I think the Petite negri is more "figgy" and still very sweet, with a better texture. Given a choice, I would take the Petite negri. They are all good.

Kitchen Remodel

2011-08-20T10:42:00.001-07:00

The kitchen is another step closer. It now has a floor, the ceiling is painted, and the walls are painted. Next week, cabinets.

More from the raised beds.

2011-08-20T10:41:00.001-07:00

The strawberries are doing great! I thought everbearing types might give one or two strawberries a month, but these are really productive, sweet, great flavor, red all of the way through. The deeper half/barrel has bigger and more berries compared to the shallower containers. That may be due to not drying out as fast.

The container grown beans are also more productive compared to the ones in the ground.

Another Miltoniopsis

2011-08-14T10:17:00.000-07:00

This is Miltoniopsis Breathless "From Love". I can't take credit for blooming it. It was in spike already. That's what happens - I discover that I can grow something, so I think "let's try more". This one has awesome markings. No scent that I can tell.

The flowers are much smaller than the "NOID" that I bloomed and is still blooming - but I like them.

Kitchen. Another step closer.

2011-08-14T10:13:00.000-07:00

Now I'm feeling like we might be getting there soon. Charlie is cautiously optimistic.

2011-08-08T19:12:00.000-07:00

The new kitchen now has a subfloor and insulation. Even though there have been many things completed since demolition, this is the first time when I start to feel like there is a kitchen here somewhere. Charlie agrees but wonders where his cookies have gone.

Baigou just doesn't care. He has the tail faster than light.

Miltoniopsis hybrid blooms

2011-08-04T20:59:00.000-07:00

Miltoniopsis hybrid. It's always nice when an orchid blooms on growth that occured entirely in my care. Makes me think I can grow orchids. This one was easy, because I didn't expect it to bloom so I kept in out of the way. Mostly it was in either a shaded west window, or an east window. Now that it's in bloom, I like it.

Now in full bloom. I didn't remember the flowers being so big. Very colorful and lush. Now I know I can rebloom Miltoniopsis!

Strawberries and Zucchinis

2011-07-31T21:16:00.000-07:00

Today after stopping homework I watered the containers and the newer fruit trees, and picked strawberries and zucchinis. The biggest of these are "Seascape" Strawberry. These were planted in containers this February. They are bearing nicely and still blooming well.

I also pruned back the Stanley plum to get it into a low branched bowl shape. The lead had reached about 7 feet. I pruned it back to the lowest point that had good branches in each direction, about 3 and a half feet tall.

Kitchen Garden Progress Report

2011-07-31T17:38:00.000-07:00

I pulled the multiplier onions ("yellow potato onion") and garlic from a small bed south of the house. This bed got out of control with weeds, and it looks like most of them died. Or someone ate them. I think I have a dozen to make a new start next year. These are an heirloom variety and I don't want to lose them. Plus they taste really good, but there won't be any to eat this time. I will have a special raised bed or garden box for them next year.

So

In the place of the onions I planted 2 types of bush beans. The seeds are a few years old. If they don't grow, no great loss. But I think they will. If they do, that should mean beans in September.

Fig cutting

2011-07-31T17:34:00.000-07:00

This fig cutting has grown about a foot. I stuck all of the fig branches in this container garden, among peppers and onions, this spring with no special treatment. I didn't care much if they grew. But it's nice if they do. Most have baby-leaves. Those are small leaves that grow before the roots take hold, so remain small. This is the first cutting to take off aaand really grow. This is Desert King, which seems to be harder to root compared to other fig trees.

Once the onion goes, the cutting will have a lot more room.

Container Gardens Progress Report

2011-07-31T17:30:00.000-07:00

These beans are growing like crazy! They are blooming great! These are an Italian pole bean. The container is a plastic basket, with holes drilled in the bottom. This is working great! It does need almost daily water though. I can't reach the top growth now!

Peppers! Before barrels, I could never get them to bear. I can't beleive they are almost ripe. This is great! I had garlic plants in this barrel too. It was the largest garlic I've grown.

More peppers. Cool! The onions are spring bunching onions. I planted the seeds in this barrel just to see what would happen.

Peach Progress Report

2011-07-31T17:24:00.000-07:00

The peaches have made excellent recovery from peach leaf curl. This tree is the only one with a significant number of peaches. All of the peach trees recovered and are covered with beautiful lush growth. They look tropical.

Despite thinning the peaches, there was some June drop. Maybe July drop. That was the tree saying "I can't manage all of this damn work! I've been sick mister!" Maybe the rest will get to ripen! There are enough for a good taste.

So lush! This fall I really really really have to stip the leaves in November and cover with plastic bag. It works if you do it.

Zygopetallum hybrid

2011-07-30T13:46:00.000-07:00

The larger plant is the result of one year of care at home. The smaller plant is new. It's subtle to me, but the smaller plant has lighter leaves. I think that indicates the lighting was better, and may be why the larger plant hasn't bloomed. I had it in brighter sun and now there is some sunburn. I don't know yet it it will bloom later. Always learning.

Little Potato

2011-07-16T19:05:00.000-07:00

The newest addition to the family. His name is Henry.

Kitchen Update

2011-07-16T18:47:00.000-07:00

We are still in the "what have I done" stage. The good news is that with all of the joists exposed, there is no sign at all of any insect issues. The challenge is that the roof needs better support, so an engineer had to be brought in. If the plans go through, work can resume early next week.

Orchid. An intergeneric oncidium hybrid

2011-07-15T13:23:00.000-07:00

I bought this as a throw-away last year. After it bloomed I thought, why not keep it. I repotted, and moved it to my workplace window. After a bit under one year, it bloomed. Interesting how that happens.

Kitchen Day #1

2011-07-12T19:37:00.000-07:00

Day #1 of Kitchen remodel. The change is dramatic. First, the appliances and plumbing go.

Washer and dryer too.

I wasn't here in between. Now, the cabinets are gone, the drywall, and the dividing wall. This view faces the North wall, where we'll have the sink.

View from the dining room. Much bigger. Even with dark walls, it's more open and brighter, and will be more so soon. Top layer of flooring is gone. Two more finish layers, and one in between, to follow.

Looking into the dining room. It's much more open now.

Kitchen "Before"

2011-07-11T09:02:00.000-07:00

I"ve been planning the kitchen renovation for 10 years. The original plan was to do it myself. There isn't time. It's going to be faster and less long term hassle to contract out. The extra shifts I am working will help with the extra cost. Silver lining on a cloud.

The layout will change. Charlie is demonstrating the dining room. The wall dividing dining room from kitchen will go. It will be brighter and more roomy, but less formal. We don't need, and don't use, formal.

There will be a small counter on the right. I'll use a lighter color. The original dining room was traffic signal red. We painted it lime green. That was ugly too, so I painted it this earthy brown. I like the brown but it's too dark. One thing about paint, it can always be repainted.

The old kitchen will go, but we'll keep the current dogs. The floor will no longer match the dogs - it will be the same oak as the rest of the house. I know, it will need to be kept clean. I'm hoping that the better kitchen will keep me inspired to do a better job. It worked with the bathrooms so I think it will work here.

We'll keep the cabinets and counter for the garage workshop / workbench. That will be a big improvement too. Recycle is good.

The mudroom will go. The wall, dividing current mudroom and kitchen, will go. I'm not sure where Baigou will sleep. He likes the basement family room. That is an option. More likely the laundry room. That will be downstairs in a formerly finished basement room, current junk room.

Charlie is demonstrating the Northern aspect of the kitchen. It's better in the photo than it is in reality. The sink will face the North-facing window instead of being in the corner. There will be a real gas range, where the current dishwasher stands.

It looks bright in the photo but is really cramped, difficult to maneuver around, and not so pleasant for cooking. I like cooking and I think I will enjoy the change a lot. It's really for Ning but it will be a real luxury for me too.

Baigou is sitting in the approximate location of the planned island. That currently non-working oven will be replaced with a free-standing gas range with oven. I've been waiting to replace the oven for 3 months. The current oven quit working, but was never completely predictable. The wall behind refrigerator and oven will go, that is the wall that divides kitchen from mudroom.

The fridge will be in a similar location, but in what is now the mudroom. Also against that wall, a second, small sink for coffee machine and smoothie station. Those are my luxuries. I use them several times daily. The smoothie blender is also the coffee grinder. Having their own sink will be a nice touch.

Piña Colada Smoothie: Start with one cup frozen pineapple chunks. Full the cup to the top of the frozen pineapple with orange juice. Add a couple tablespoons of flaked coconut. Add 1/2 cup of silken tofu. Blend about 10 seconds. Check for big chunks and blend a few more seconds if they are too big. I like small chunks. It's like a piña colada ice cream or milkshake. The exact amounts of ingredients don't matter.

Pruning Sweet Cherries for Backyard Orchard Culture

2011-07-09T19:48:00.000-07:00

For my version of backyard orchard culture with sweet cherries, cherry picking time and cherry pruning time are close together. I wouldn't prune before cherries are almost all picked, because then the birds can find them. Birds have not been much of a problem yet. Pruning now has some advantages:

*Summer pruning is considered to have a greater dwarfing effect, compared to winter pruning.

*In a rainy winter climate such as I have, winter pruning may lead to disease. Summer pruning gives the wounds a chance to seal.

*Summer pruning opens up the tree so that potential buds are exposed to sunshine.

*Summer pruning is an excuse to be outside. It's not so nice in the winter.

*By pruning when the cherries are on the tree, it's possible to see where cherries form. On these trees, they form on last year's growth.

These 2 sweet cherries are scruffy and need pruning. The camera angle was bad, into the late afternoon sun.

I cut off the majority of new growth. For outward facing branches, I leave 6 inches to a foot. For inward branches, I leave about 3 inches. Termed another way, I leave about 6 or 8 leaves on outward branches. I leave 2 or 3 leaves on inward branches.

One is pruned, one to go. It's much neater now, and I can reach all of the branches without a ladder.

The cherries grow in the first part of last year's growth. So the parts that I have left should be good for next year's cherries.

Now it's easy to see the cherries. Before they were hidden in the lush growth. Better get them before the birds do.

These sweet cherries are very good. Almost like little plums, with a snappy texture and lots of juice. I wish I was savvy enough when I planted them to know which was which. Now I keep better track.

Once the cherries are done, I'll also do some thinning in the center, so they are more open to the sun. They will also probably need a second pruning in late summer. Not as extensive. By now they have done most of their growth.

2011-07-09T15:39:00.000-07:00

Cymbidiums (cymbidia?) are growing nicely in full sun now. Currently feeding with 30:10:10 and occasional Epson salts, both at about 1/2 teaspoon per 1.5 gallon. This is less than 1/4 strength for the orchid food. It's weakly but more like every-other-daily instead of weekly, for the ones in full sun. The leaves are that nice light green that websites talk about being ideal for cymbidium and some other orchids.

Miltassia or something similar, I think. It's interesting, most of the oncidium intergerics have similar pseudobulbs and leaves, just different flowers. Miltassia is intergeneric Miltonium or Miltoniopsis, with Brassia. Other than the flower, the plant looks like Oncidium or Odontoglossum - completely different genera.

7/16/11 From an orchidtalk discussion, this is a Banfieldara. From a RHS forum, some Balfieldara are:

BANFIELDARA = ADA x BRASSIA X ODONTOGLOSSUM x
> ONCIDIUM
>
> BANFIELDARA Gilded Tower =
> = Adaglossum Summit (Odontoglossum x Ada) x
> Brassidium Gilded Urchin (Brassia x Oncidium)
>
> BANFIELDARA = ADA x BRASSIA X ODONTOGLOSSUM
>
> BANFIELDARA Gold Star =
> Brassada Memoria Bert Field (Ada x Brassia) x
> Odontoglossum Yellowstone Basin

Nice looking plant, view of the plant as well as the flowers. I like looking at the entire plant. Photos with just the flowers don't tell me as much.

Yellow Oncidium. It grows so easily. It bloomed once, and never since. It's now in full sun, resulting in sunburn, but also the new growth is that light apple-green that is sought for many orchids. Maybe that's what's needed to get it to bloom. Better get sun while it can, it's already July.

On Epson Salts - It's not clear that they are helpful. Some people think they help the plants grow faster, assuming there is no other source of Magnesium. "in an experiment the use of Epsom salts brought seedlings to maturity and flowering faster than those which were not provided with magnesium sulfate in the form of Epsom salts". The amount is given as ranging from one teaspoon per gallon with every watering, to 1 tablespoon per gallon, 4 times per year. I've rarely been using them, and at the low rate of one half teaspoon per gallon.

The death of one daydream

2011-07-09T15:24:00.000-07:00

Inspection didn't go so well. There was a lot more insect damage to structural systems and floor joists, than the owner apparently knew. Bummer. Not just carpenter ants, but apparently termites and 2 kinds of beetle that I never heard of, which apparently hollow out beams, leaving a nice looking shell and nothing inside. Most likely, the support structures and joists will need either substantial work, or replacement. I can't see the current owner going for that. I can't take it on, so we'll probably move on and look at some other places. Damn.

Cherries

2011-07-08T21:21:00.000-07:00

Haven't counted how many bowls of cherries this year. Lots. Too many to eat them all fresh. I need to get out and pick many times this tomorrow, so they don't spoil. Not bad for some dwarf backyard trees. Backyard orchard culture works.

Clever cherry pitter is handy for anything other than eating them fresh. I pitted a cup of cherries, added orange juice almost to the top of the cherries, a teaspoon of sugar, about 1/3 cup of silken tofu, and blended them to frothiness in the smoothie maker. Very good "milkshake'. Freezing some for pies. Pies have to wait for the kitchen resurrection. That's another story.

Maybe the new weekend retreat.

2011-07-08T21:09:00.000-07:00

We've been looking at some places more out of the way, with a little more land but not too much, off the main road but not too far, in reasonable shape but not too expensive, not needing major work but open for puttering. This is the current main contender. A little further north but not too far, climate is still going to be similar to Portland/Vancouver.

The yard is big enough for a couple dozen trees in the "backyard orchard" style that I already use at home. That means dwarf and summer pruned trees that are small enough for all fruit to be reached without a ladder. Hip fractures are not needed. An ongoing fruit crop through summer with multiple bowls of multiple varieties is welcomed.

I've been studying up on paw paws. Grampa used to grow them. They would be experimental in this climate - in theory not impossible, any more than figs are. Paw paws survive a lot colder than figs do, but might need wetter & warmer summers than we have here. I can devote some ground here to them. There is room for failure and success. Also more mulberries, plums, cherries. May kiwis.

I may have lots of fig trees if those cuttings grow. I don't know where to put them. There is room here. Also some grape vines, some rhubarb and some other stuff.

Inspection is tomorrow. The place needs to pass before I get carried away.

The house is an updated, old farm house. Relaxing. Does not appear to need any work.

Lilies are blooming

2011-07-08T20:51:00.000-07:00

These started as a little throw away potted lily, about 6 inches tall. As the years pass, I divide them now and then. They continue to multiply. They've also grown taller. I may have been over-generous with compost. Before I raised the level, the grass in this location barely grew.

These asiatic lilies are bigger every year too. I did add a layer of compost last year before mulching with bark nuggets. This year I won't add any. They don't need to grow any larger. Must be about 7 feet tall.

Orientals and trumpets are next.

Orchid Progress Report.

2011-07-04T14:28:00.000-07:00

Here are some lessons I have learned from experience with orchids, so far:
1. If you buy one in bloom, at least you get the pleasure of having it bloom once. If it has a number of unbloomed spikes, that may be a few months of blooming, depending on the variety. See the Burrageara photo, a fine example.

2. Sometimes you just have to try a few varieties of a genus or species. I've had great success with Dendrobium nobile, mostly Yamamoto hybrids. I've had no success with Dendrobium phaelenopsis, multiple varieties. I think the nobiles like it cooler, and the phaelenopsis like it warmer, and just can't adapt to my environment. Similarly, I've rebloomed a couple of Oncidium intergenerics that are extravagant in their flower production, but can't seem to get a standard yellow Oncidium to bloom no matter what I do. The Cymbidiums I've collected all looked pretty much the same out of bloom, but some are growing rapidly, while the one next to them sits and sulks.

3. I'm not sure how much the container type matters. I have some in glazed orchid pots, with lattice sides that allow drying of medium quickly. Others in clay pots. The clay does seem to build up salts. The references recommend occasional drenching with rain water to prevent salt buildup. I've been bad about doing that. Some are in plastic pots. I think Cymbidiums do well in plastic. I've been going to clay for the Oncidium intergenerics lately. Still trying to decide what's best, or if it matters.

The Yamamoto Dendrobiums are on the south deck under the grape arbor. For much of the day, they are in full sun. The young starts are growing quickly. I am feeding them high nitrogen 30:10:10 except for Apollon Spring Dream, which has the start of buds, looking a bit floral - so it's gettin 10:20:20.

A Miltoniopsis hybrid that, according to my label I bought and repotted in late 2010. After reading they can be difficult, I didn't expect much but never got around to throwing it away. Now producing a flower spike. There you go. That's why I salvaged another Miltoniopsis that I almost threw away - time will tell if that "dormancy" actually killed it.

Burrageara Nellie Isler. As I recall, this is Stefan Isler with some additional Miltoniopsis, hence the larger skirt. Quite fragrant. There are 3 unbloomed spikes, so I expect it to bloom for a long time. I repotted it into a squat 6" clay pot to give it a chance for growth, as well as better wet/dry pattern than the miniscule plastic pot it was in originally. These are labeled as "azalea pots". I haven't seen that repotting, even in full bloom, is a set back for most orchids. Leaving them in their original pots can be a challenge, because they are often packed very tightly and in a medium that might have worked in a greenhouse but not necessarily in my hands.

Here are the Cymbidiums. These are North of the house, but get full sun for several hours daily, as can be seen here. They will have to move when the contractor comes next week to tear out the old kitchen - not sure where I'll put them. I just up-potted one that I thought dried out too fast, not a big deal just pulled it out and put into a larger pot with as little disturbance as possible. The medium was recent, from this winter, so it did not need an aggressive replacement. Also here is an oncidium, now unfortunately sunburned. Doesn't like the sun that the Cymbidiums and Dendrobiums love, but it also hasn't bloomed in about 5 years, so maybe this will help it bloom. The new growth are pale green which is said to be a good thing.

Grape progress report.

2011-07-04T13:57:00.000-07:00

I wondered if I almost killed them during the pruning this year, because I removed so much growth. Then there was a hard freeze. Not the case. Now as lush as ever. The grape clusters have barely started to form, but there may be over a hundred clusters. The arbor shades the bedroom so well I think the temperature is 10 degrees cooler. I did not measure that effect however. One issue is that the branches grew so fast, some broke off at their origin. I've been pruning a few back. The chickens love eating grape leaves, denuding branches within minutes on throwing them into the chicken yard.

Some vines have grown more than 6 feet already, and they are not done yet.

Some more roses

2011-07-04T13:23:00.000-07:00

"Fair Bianca" is a David Austin rose. Pure, pure white. So white it's difficult to photograph. The fragrance reminds me of Mme. Hardy. Spicy. This rose has been off to a slow start, partly due to raspberries that over run it. I need to be more diligent. It's a beautiful and beautifully-scented rose.

Tranquility, not an Austin but 'almost'. Also really beautiful, the palest pink possible without being white. Wide open, many petaled rose, spicy fragrance. In my garden it tends to grow tall, about 6 feet.

Sceptered Isle, an Austin rose. It gets up to 10 feet or more. Nice rose, pretty, can't go wrong but I think I need to find a more roomy place for it.

Evelyn, another David Austin rose. Not too prolific here, but tolerates the dry summer and the flowers are large, unique and fragrant.

Happy Child, also a David Austin rose. Nice color. To me it's a tea-rose fragrance, unlike a lot of Austins that have a spicy fragrance. I moved it last winter, wondered if it would survive. It did.

Roses in bloom

2011-06-30T14:19:00.000-07:00

A random rose in the garden. This started out as a little grocery store potted rose. No name. It just quietly does its thing, not demanding much attention.

I think this is old garden rose, Damask-type, "Ville de Bruxelles". I've moved it a couple of times. Now it's about to be overtaken by a rhubarb plant, but I think the rhubarb will be the plant to move this time. I gave it a lot of fish emulsion this spring - probably why it's so lush now. Blooming like crazy.

Peach Progress

2011-06-30T14:15:00.000-07:00

Peaches are swelling quickly. I feel more optimistic now. This tree is recovering from its peach leaf curl infestation nicely. The thinned peaches will be enough for a pie and some fresh peaches. Maybe.

"First Fruits" strawberries, cherries, and raspberries.

2011-06-30T11:21:00.000-07:00

The cherries are ripening. I always wonder if we will get any. They are the first tree fruit of the year.

This is the multigraft cherry tree. Even though multigraft trees are often scorned, this tree always bears well.

Fallgold Raspberry. I usually don't get many to bring into the house. The reason is I stand at the canes eating them immediately on picking, they are so good. The one downside is the canes are invasive. However, it's easy pulling up spreading canes.

Strawberries, my favorite! This is the first bowl full. There are many, many berries on the plants. These are june-bearing. The ever-bearing are close behind, even though I pulled off the first flowers. I think this will be a good strawberry year.

Roses are in full bloom

2011-06-25T20:16:00.000-07:00

The David Austin roses are amazing now. These are Tamara (aprocot colored), Tranquility (not an Austin, this is from Heritage roses, white/pink), Sceptere'd Isle (peach) and Fair Bianca (white). All of the roses responded well to the severe pruning that I gave them earlier this year. That means the pruning was OK.

Repotting a Miltoniopsis hybrid

2011-06-24T20:53:00.000-07:00

I bought this Miltoniopsis hybrid a couple of months ago, intending to throw it away when it finished blooming. I sat it on the deck when it was done. It sat there dry and exposed for more than a month. Yesterday I noted that my only other Miltoniopsis is producing what looks like a flower shoot. That development inspired me to try to rescue this one.

It's not in too bad shape considering what I did to it.

I soaked the roots in rain water for 20 minutes.

The pot is too deep. The manufacture of shards to fill space in the bottom is a precision method. It takes years of experience, a graduate degree, and a hammer.

All done. Planted in orchid bark-based potting mix. It's a little close to the top, but might settle. Then again I might take it back out and remove some medium before it gets too settled. I watered it in nicely, and now it's in a East facing window.

I'm an odd person. I like leaving on the old stems. If the dead flowers stay on, I like that too. It gives the orchid a "natural" or "botanical" look, like it would be on the tree branch if no humans were around. Plus, it reminds me that this plant once bloomed, so might again. I do remove dead leaves. They can be a source of infection, and generally fall off anyway.

Progress Report: Figs.

2011-06-23T16:25:00.000-07:00

There remain a few breba on Vancouver (Probably Magnolia / Dalmation / Brunswick). Most of the fig branch tips are already cut back at 3 or 4 nodes. Today I trimmed back most of the rest. I did not do that treatment for King, which is a Breba-only variety, so I don't see benefit for stimulating new fig embryos. Still not sure about that. Chicago and Petite Negri have many new fig embryos for the fall crop. We'll see if the pinch at 3 leaves results in earlier figs than the pinch at 5 or 5 leaves. Pinching just involves bending the branch tip. They snap off. I also did that with the mulberry today, which is a fig cousin.

The King fig cuttings are growing at the tips. I don't know about roots yet. Last week I pulled one out and there were no signs of root growth yet. No problem, they are no effort and take no room, in the tomato and pepper half-barrels. If they grow, cool.

Petite Negri. Many brebas fell off, not unusual. A significant number remain. All of the new shoots have been snipped off at 3 or 4 leaves. Some are starting to grow embryonic figs, for the fall crop.

King (Desert King): I don't think any have fallen off. This is the best crop ever. Fingers are crossed. I have not been pinching branch tips back, but intend to.

Lemon (White Marseilles, Lattarula): I don't think any have fallen from this one either. I have pinched back branch tips. I missed some earlier, so they are up to 6 nodes, but that's OK.

Progress Report: Citrus

2011-06-23T16:14:00.000-07:00

Today I repotted the Meyer Lemon. It was fairly neglected through the winter, then developed some sunburn when I sat it out on the deck. Two weeks ago I pruned it for shape and to remove some dead branches, and started feeding it with a rhododendron plant food for the acidity. Now it's growing and has produced several flower buds. I've repotted it in a somewhat larger container. I hope to have lemons this summer.

Generic citrus trees, grown from seed about 13 years ago. I don't remember what it is - lemon, maybe, but could be orange or grapefruit. It has never bloomed. Probably wont. It also suffered from neglect, but got the same treatment as the Meyer lemon, and is sending out new leaves.

Oncidium progress report.

2011-06-23T16:01:00.000-07:00

This is an Oncidium "Gower Ramsey" that I started from a backbulb in 2009. Neither it nor its parent has bloomed since then. Bummer. Plus, I gave away one of the other starts, and the 3rd I accidentally left outside and it froze. The parent is in the sun and got some sunburn, but is growing new sections. I repotted this start yesterday into a larger squat clay pot. I have moved it now to a south window. I think I will just give it bloom food now, low nitrogen.

This is an oncidium-type that I bought as a throw-away last year. After it bloomed, I potted it into a small clay pot and took it to work, where it was in a bright window. I gave it house-plant food as a weak solution roughly weekly. Then I brought it home this Spring, and moved it into a south bathroom window. It bloomed. I was surprised. It's cool! Strange, I thought this was a brown flower... Still, it's cool! Now it's starting a new growth, which is a little wrinkled due to missing some watering, but I think it will be OK.

Oncidium "Twinkle". I didn't think I would buy one of these, but I did. It's been blooming for about 4 months. This flower spike started after the earlier one finished. I potted it into what's become my usual small squat clay pot. It's in a south bathroom window. It's growing a number of new growths so I'm giving it growth food.

I tentatively identified this one as "Stefan Isler". It's been blooming for months. The first 2 spikes are gone, and these are starting to drop flowers. This Oncidium hybrid has been amazing. Really a start performer.

Yamamoto Dendrobiums progress report

2011-06-23T15:46:00.000-07:00

These are most of the Yamamoto dendrobiums, out for the summer. I've been gradually moving them from the shaded part of the grape arbor to the full sun area. No sun burn to speak of. I've been watering them every couple of days. The weather is mostly overcast and warm but not hot. I've been giving them high nitrogen growth-food in a weak 1/4 strength solution. We still have rain water so I am not worried yet about salts.

This is the one that I identified as "Love Memory Fizz". I was surprised that it provided a few flowers in early summer. As I was taking the photo, I noted the fragrance. I did not recall it being fragrant. It has 3 new canes. They started slightly above the bark level so I added some fresh bark to the top to give the roots a place to grow. With some TLC and sunshine it should make a nice show next winter.

I stuck this cane section from "Yellow Song Canary" in bark medium this winter, just to see if it would grow. At this stage, the answer is "maybe". It will be slow. I like these little experiments.

The other keiki starts, one from "Love Memory Fizz" from July 2010 and the other from "Yellow Song Canary" this spring. Yesterday I potted them up a little into small, squat, clay pots. The heavier pots are less likely to fall over.

Cymbidium progress report.

2011-06-23T15:32:00.000-07:00

These are the cymbidiums, out for the summer. I moved them from the shaded grape arbor to the full sun on the front deck. Not much sunburn. They are getting water every couple of days, with weak concentration of orchid growth food. Orchid growth food is high nitrogen, to help with leaf production.

Mulberry

2011-06-05T14:19:00.000-07:00

This is the second season for this little "Illinois Everbearing" mulberry tree. I pruned it back this winter to develop low scaffold branches, then one branch developed rust so I removed that one too.

Despite that this is only the 2nd season for this tree, the new little branches have the beginnings of mulberries at each new leaf node. That's very cool. I think it will be easy to maintain this tree at a small "Backyard Orchard Culture" size with judicious pruning. It will be fun to eat some mulberries this year.

This tree has interesting leaves. I like that.

If they are good, mulberries will be a great backyard crop. Mulberries are too tender to transport to grocery stores, so the only way to get them is to grow your own. In that way, they are like figs, which can be transported only if picked so early they taste awful and turn people off from figs, or transported dried or newtonized.

Peaches and peach leaf curl.

2011-06-05T14:09:00.000-07:00

Bummer. Leaf curl was a mess this year. As noted earlier, I didn't cover them for the winter. This is the result. Damn. I did try Copper dormant spray. I don't think it did any good at all.

I think the tree will survive. This one set a lot of fruit. Today I pruned to one fruit per little branch. New leaves should start filling in now that weather is warmer. If it kills the tree, I won't mind too much - dig it out and see if there is a more resistant variety.

During the 2 years when I stripped of leaves in November, bunbdled the branches, and covered with plastic bags, leaf curl was minimal, almost none. That is the lesson here.

No photo but the peach-plum hybrid, TriLite was no better. The plum genes did not make it resist leaf curl. It is also a mess.

Prevention of aphids and fig spoilage with Tanglefoot

2011-06-05T11:27:00.000-07:00

Two major problems can be prevented if I am diligent now. When the figs start to ripen, ants enter the fruits. The originally sterile fig then develops infection with fungus and bacteria that the ant carries. This is the plant version of an STD. The figs spoil. If they don't spoil, the presence of the ants, inside the figs, adds an interesting sensation to the tongue when I bite into the fig. Crunchy, with a slight tang, not entirely bad. But odd.

Cherry trees develop debilitating cherry aphids in the summer, carried onto the leaves by ants. Without the ants, the aphids don't occur. I read that ants farm, using aphids as their "cows".

Both issues are prevented by a ring of Tanglefoot. Tanglefoot is a very very gooey sticky substance that, once applied, doesn't go away. Ants can't crawl across tanglefoot, and don't even try. It repels them. I place a collar of stretchy plastic on the bark first. I cut plastic baggies into strips, then tie around the tree. This makes a collar to appy tanglefoot. Without the collar, the tanglefoot would remain on the bark, and after a year is a sticky mess but has enough debris attached that ants can crawl over it. Each Spring I remove the old collars. Now is time to replace.

This is all that's needed. Strips of plastic, a disposable spoon, knife or fork, and the Tanglefoot. It's impossible to remove Tanglefoot from a nondisposable tool, so I use plastic.

Up close. This is a fig tree.

At a distance. The collar is not unsightly, it can barely be seen.

Aphids also infest apples, pears, and peaches via ant farming practices. They are next. When I do this ground level work then stand up, it makes me dizzy. I can do a half dozen at a time.

Any weeds or grass that can create "bridges" for the ants are pulled.

Fig progress report.

2011-06-04T20:48:00.000-07:00

So far the fig trees are looking great this year. Several are loaded with brebas. I can't complain.

King fig. This variety is considered breba-only, so if no brebas, no figs. I've kept it pruned as a bush, branching from ground level. If all of these develop into figs, I'll be very blessed. This tree may be benefiting from the Southern exposure.

Lattarula, also considered breba-predominant. I think this is the most it's ever had at this point. Ditto on the southern exposure comment.

Petite negri, a handful of brebas. It's always produced a few. Not a lot. Can't complain.

This Sal's deserves a permanent spot. I grew it from a cutting. The first year it didn't sprout so I left it in the tomato patch as a stick. The second year it grew, then a rogue chicken at it off. The third year it grew, and I left it in place. The 4th year I moved it into a pot, then forgot it and it dried out. The 5th year I left it out in the hard freeze - it was outside all winter, even in the coldest freeze. Here it is, still alive. It really does deserve a trial of actual horticulture instead of neglect and punishment.

Sal's fig again. Having been so inspired, I gave it a new container, about twice the volume of the prior container. The white color will keep the soil cooler. I also provided a dose of fish emulsion to promote growth. This year it will get the good treatment that it deserves.

I was surprised to discover that this neglected Petite negri fig, which I started a few years ago, was still alive. I was certain that it died in the big freeze, and never bothered to look or water it. I picked up the container to clean it out, and lo and behold there were swelling buds and a couple of leaves. I pulled out the weeds (pansies) and gave it some water, then a little fish emulsion. If I can find some potting soil, I'll pot it up as well.

Some more space to stretch?

2011-06-04T19:52:00.000-07:00

Looking at this little cottage for a weekend retreat. There is more room for a mini orchard. I've been daydreaming about which trees to move there, this fig, that cherry, some grapevines I started by accident, the smallest and still moveable ginkgo tree, last of it's breed (the parent tree in Illinois was gone, when I looked last month).... That's even though it might still fall through. I'll try to leave uncounted these unhatched chickens, until they start to hatch. Oh, there are some other mulberry varieties I want to try, and some gage plums....

Kitchen Garden. Potato and strawberry progress report.

2011-05-29T21:37:00.000-07:00

Now we are in the season of rapid growth. Today I noticed the potatoes had grown more than a foot, so I covered the lower parts of the stems with about 6 to 9 inches of growth medium, to the upper edges of the barrels.

Potato barrel, they are growing fast. I may add some edging to raise the soil level a few more inches.

These are the older June bearing strawberries. They are blooming like crazy. That promises lots of good strawberries in a few weeks. Meanwhile, I removed the first sets of flowers from the ever bearing strawberry plants that I started in barrels this winter. Flower removal gives them a chance to produce a few more leaves before making strawberries, which should result in more and bigger strawberries later on.

Chickens, rhodendrons, cat.

2011-05-29T21:08:00.000-07:00

We cut down about half of the timber bamboo today. More sunlight for the chickens, and it was entirely too congested. From that came about 20 really big bamboo poles. Some are 12 feet long and 3 or 4 inches diameter. They give nice shade to the hens, and the hens fertilize the bamboo. We trimmed the leaves from the poles, they make great chicken straw. Plus, unlike real straw, it's free. The mud around the bamboo is now covered with about inches of bamboo leaves too. That will make for cleaner eggs. The poles will go into the garage to cure for a year then who knows what use?

Two new residents in the Chicken bamboo plaza. One of the older hens might retire soon. No real plans, as long as they all get along.

Ning at the rhododendron garden in Portland.

Some of the bunches of rhodies are as big as my head.

At the Portland rhododendron garden today. Lovely place.

There are lots of ducks there too.

Back home again. Kitty Cat being a cat.

2011-05-20T19:27:00.000-07:00

“I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.” Jack London. at the Woodland Cemetery Necropolis, Quincy Illinois. This stone was one of my favorites, not only a "here I was" statement by the departed, but a message and an invitation to the visitor to rest his feet and enjoy the moment.

Backyard Orchard Progress Report

2011-05-16T19:36:00.000-07:00

Here is a bit of a backyard orchard progress report. Backyard orchard also includes front yard. It also includes strawberries, grapes, and raspberries. They are all sweet fruits, so why not. Not sure about tomatoes, which are annual, but they make fruit and some are sweet. Peppers, too. Separate issue I think.

Desert King = King Fig. This vigorous, fast growing tree benefited from the pruning I did last year, to keep it compact. It is on the south side of the house. The # of brebas is amazing. King is reputed to be great in the northwest and to keep its brebas. I will hold it to its reputation. I have about a dozen cuttings in the wine barrel container beds among the peppers and tomatoes. If they grow that will be fun. Lattarula = White Marseilles = Lemon Fig. Thomas Jefferson grew it at Monticello. Also good Northwest reputation. Seems to have more brebas against the house, than a couple of feet further away. Interesting.

Not so many on Hardy Chicago Fig. Chicago is the first to make main crop for me. So I'm not too worried about it. Not pictured, Petite Negri Fig and Vancouver = Brunswick? Fig. Both of those have a few brebas as well, larger but fewer in number, compared to the other fig trees.

Grapes are almost to the blooming stage. I was worried that they froze. Also that I over-pruned them in Jan. Now they are looking good. So I think they will do well.

Flower clusters starting to show on grape vines.

Strawberries are blooming. These are the June bearing plants that have been there for several years, and I got behind on weeding last year. They are looking pretty good despite that. Lots of flowers. I've been snipping off the flowers from the ever bearing plants, as per the instructions, to give them a chance to establish. I will let them bloom in June or July.
Illinois Everbearing Mulberry. The top branch had some orange fungus so I cut it off last month. That left 2 branches for my backyard-orchard-culture low-pruned tree, which I think is less stable than 3 branches. Still that is perfectionism. Mulberries are reputed to be late to leaf out. Looks like one little spur or early branch has potential mulberries. I would like that.

Daniel's Ginkgo Trees

2011-05-15T17:33:00.000-07:00

Here are the 3 seedling ginkgo trees. They are all about 13 years from seed. The tallest, generously fertilized by 13 years of doggie contributions, looks like it's about 25 feet tall. The other 2 are about 7 and 9 feet tall. They were also planted from containers one or 2 years later, and have not been watered as much.

Ning's Lilacs

2011-05-15T17:22:00.001-07:00

These are not Hulda's lilacs, they are a selection of Ning's lilacs. Most have been establishing for about 4 or 5 years. Some older ones in Ning's yard are much larger, but folwered earlier and are not as photogenic now. The variety names fell off, and I was not diligent about recording which one was where. The goal was a lilac privacy hedge. This is a slow process, but now is beginning to develop into an informal hedge.

Hulda Klager's Lilac Garden

2011-05-15T07:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Ning and I went to Hulda Klager's Lilac garden in Woodland Washington. Nice historical mini-botanical garden featuring Lilacs and the lady who was fascinated by them. Her house is a museum of the time as well.

Some of the Lilacs are massive. This one is 3 times as tall as Ning.
Some are covered with flowers. That seems to be variety-specific. They vary in the number of flowers and how early they bloom, as well as the colors.
A nice lilac-colored lilac. There are also magenta, pink, and white varieties.
Of course, I'm especially interested in the huge gingko tree. This one is further ahead in leafing out, compared to mine. It's at the stage of leaves the size of a squirrel's ear.

Maxine passed away thurs night.

2011-05-14T20:42:00.001-07:00

It's hard to say when Maxine really left us. Alzheimer's doesn't give an exact day and time for when you lose your loved one. It makes for an agonizing fading away, until they speak no words, remember no one, cant walk, feed, or clean themselves. For the past 6 months, she swallowed when they put food into her mouth. I last visited a few weeks ago, and as in all visits for the past year, there was no hint of recognition, and it was unclear whether she was awake or asleep or something in between. I'm glad I found these photos, it reminds me of who she really was.

Maxine in the later 40s, I think. No date on the photo.

Another photo with no date. She liked smiling like that in photos.

Not so happy looking here. Nice angel food cake.

Later in life she didn't like having pictures taken. She said she looked like an old lady, and quit smiling for photos, but she did smile a lot in person. This was with me in 1989 in Indiana. Maxine liked prairie and pioneer themes.

Lilac is blooming

2011-05-08T18:59:00.001-07:00

This weekend was literally a sit-on-my-butt weekend doing homework. Now at 7pm sunday night I'm done-enough although "done" is never an option. Stargate in the background.

So... looking around the yard. Lilac is blooming. Nice a fragrant "lilacy" fragrance. Cherry is almost done. Tulips are near done.

I did take some time to plant peppers in the 1/2 barrels. Various varieties from Fred Meyer and Shorty's nursery.

Each year the lilacs look better and bloom more.

Tomato covers

2011-05-03T12:32:00.000-07:00

I ran out of covers so tried these. THe plants look healthy inside, after one week so far.

There are the usual "wall-o-water" units. They are about 10 degrees warmer than ambient temperature now.

Burrageara Stefan Isler

2011-05-03T12:30:00.000-07:00

At least I think that's the variety.
I'm very pleased. I wondered if I could get it to bloom.

Iwanagaara Appleblossom "fantasy"

2011-05-01T21:15:00.000-07:00

I'm a bit pleased with myself for blooming this again.

Starting Another Dendrobium nobile from a keiki

2011-04-30T11:19:00.000-07:00

Dendrobium Yellow Song "Canary" grew a nice keiki so I decided to remove it and pot it up. Some of the web references, that I read, claim that keikis siphon energy off from the parent plant. Removal of the keiki ("keikiectomy"?) might help it grow and bloom. I don't know if the authors truly know that. But it's part of web orchid lore. There's also the fun of watching a new plant grow.

This was a keiki that I started in July. This was a nice, easily blooming variety, white flowers with blue fringes. It grew a nice fat looking pseudobulb cane, and now is producing 2 new sprouts. It's been getting the "weakly, weekly" 1/4 strength plant food treatment, high nitrogen growth formula version.

I've left it in the original container and growth medium. It may be good for another 6 months or year, before repotting is needed.

This is the Dendrobium Yellow Song "Canary" and keiki. I let it grow longer than I intended. I think no harm was done.

A section of parent pseudobulb is cut off along with the keiki. I don't have the fine touch, to just pull it off without causing damage. So I cut a section instead. The green root tips are a sign of healthy active growth.

Similarly, I removed the remainder of the cane, from above the keiki.

Some cinnamon is added to the cut surfaces. That's for mold prevention.
Resting in new container on bark-based orchid mix. Before adding medium, I placed the bamboo support stake into the pot. Easier that way. Less likely to damage the keiki's roots.
Now more bark medium is added. The top of the medium is at the juncture of keiki with stem.

Now it's just a matter of care. Same as an established orchid plant. I watered to settle it in, but will try to hold off more watering for a week or so. Probably best not to have watered the first day. I don't have the self discipline to wait.

Fig Progress Report

2011-04-26T12:14:00.000-07:00

In another posting, the brebas on "Vancouver" (probable Brunswick) are shown.

Other trees with brebas now include Hardy Chicago (only a few, small), Petite Negri (few, small), Lattarula (more) and Desert King (many more).

I will try to avoid too much optimism. Brebas often enlarge then fall off. It would be great if they grow and ripen instead.

Meanwhile, I took the Desert King cuttings out of the refridgerator and stuck them into the half-barrel containers. I don't know if they will grow but the effort expended was truly minimal - I just stuck them into the growth medium such that about 9 inches was below soil line and 3 inches above soil line. If even one grows, I plan to start a tree to be kept in a less prime location. Then I expect to remove the existing tree. This is a long term plan. It takes about 3 years to reach significant fruiting stage.

2011-04-26T10:28:00.000-07:00

Fig brebas, embryonic figs beginning to swell. Often, many if not most drop. I hope that most will stay this year.

One view of front border. The white flowers are "Stella" cherry.

A view of backyard orchard. I don't know the cherry varieties.

Pink Cherry in Bloom.

2011-04-26T10:20:00.000-07:00

Each year, someone suggests this tree is either about to die, or that I should cut it down. Each year, it is more beautiful than the year before. Today the earliest blossoms are open, with many more to follow.

Tomato progress report

2011-04-26T10:11:00.001-07:00

The tomato seedlings are almost too large to maintain outside now. The temperatures are still in the 40s at night, so too soon to plant outside unprotected.

I've been setting them outside in the morning, and bringing inside at night. The day temperatures are into the 50s and 60s, for the most part.

They are a little more leggy than I like, but still OK. If too leggy I can just plant them deeper.

I wasn't going to set up the "wall-o-water" units but under the circumstances, I think they are the best approach. I took the soil temperature, it's 50 degrees, so technically warm enough to plant. I will leave these units in place for 2 days then plant tomato plants. There will be some extra plants to try elsewhere. The arrangement is not planned. My garden not only has an "organic" soil/pest management/compost/plant food philosophy, but apparently has an "organic" constantly evolving shape. Not planned that way, but it is what it is. Nonlinear, no straight edges or 90 degree corners.

I planted 3 tomato plants in this barrel, too. One has a plastic container cover. I'll look around and see if I can find more, otherwise I'll buy something at the grocery store today. I think it's still too cool to have them completely unexposed, at least at night. A cover would also result in warmer soil & roots.

Doing what the honeybee does.

2011-04-21T09:30:00.000-07:00

The sweet cherries and pears are blooming nicely. It's chilly and rainy outside at the moment. I didn't stay outside very long. I have a bad cold.

This is a 5-variety pear tree. I played the honeybee, using a paintbrush, taking pollen from flower to flower. With compact trees, it's easy to pollenate several dozen flowers in 10 minutes. That's plenty. Pears require pollination from a different variety. With a multigraft tree such as this one, I can go from variety to variety without going from tree to tree. The pollen is a bit wet. I don't know if that's good or bad.

I found the label for the Asian pear combo tree. The varieties from bottom to top are Shinseiki, Yonashi, Hamese, and Mishirasu. One is missing, I think Yonashi. Stock is OHxF 97

Container gardens, early spring

2011-04-16T06:54:00.000-07:00

The potato project was described yesterday. Here are a few others.

The mixed winter greens an vegetables are behind last year. Radishes, mesclun, spinach, lettuce, and some scallions from seed. They are starting to grow faster now. The chicken wire protect from kitty cat and squirrel doing their gardening. It works. I planted seeds more thinly this year. Less need to think them out now. The green onions have all been eaten. I recommend that everyone who likes early vegetables and loves green onions to grow Egyptian Walking onions. One of the stars of the early vegetable garden. I have many more in the ground. Some of those are too big to eat now, which is good. That means more for later.

Another of the barrel planters. "Inch by inch, row by row. Gonna watch my garden grow." Or in this case, "patch by patch." If I get ambitious I'll add tops to the barrels. That will let in light and warm them up more. That's if I get ambitious.

The potato project was described yesterday. Here are some of the other containers.

The strawberries are growing nicely. Each plant has several leaves. These were the bare root plants that I started 2 months ago. They looked near-death. Every plant survived and grew. I see that some have a few roots above the growth medium. I'll add another inch. Enough to cover the roots. Not enough to cover the crowns. The white spots are crush eggshells. I use them to add calcium.

2011-04-16T06:32:00.000-07:00

Peaches are still blooming. I usually go out with a paintbrush and play the honeybee, pollinating the flowers. This year I'm not. There are usually way too many pollinated flowers, resulting in way too many fruits. Then they need to be thinned. Good peaches only happen if they are at least a hand width apart. That's a fat hand like mine. Maybe 6 inches.. That's for genetic dwarf peaches. If there is a lot of leaf curl, many if not all of the peaches are lost, and pollination was not worth the effort. The trees are lovely. If they did not have peaches, they would be sold purely as ornamentals. That is, except here in the Maritime Pacific Northwest, where ornamentals that get leaf curl are not needed. It lookes like the infestation could be small. It's on some leaves. Not all tips. Leave curl results in a very pretty appearance at this stage. The leaves have a maroon variegated edge and start to become curly. Evil is sometimes quite pretty. It usually gets worse as the leaves grow. Wait and see. Treatment now is not helpful. Maybe the midwinter copper spray was helpful. I try not to get my hopes up. It would be great if that method worked.

White Cherry, Harbinger of Spring

2011-04-15T17:22:00.001-07:00

This white cherry is one of my favorite things about this house. I'm guessing it was planted when the house was new. That would make it 45 years old. The thick trunk suggests it is an old tree. This year it's blooming about 4 weeks later than 2010. I will need to prune dead wood from the top this year. That will be after bloom is over, and after the rains have stopped. Summer trimming reduces risk for rain-borne disease. Meanwhile, I can enjoy the tradition of oohing and ahhing over the double white blossoms. Under the tree, daffodils are blooming, ferns are starting to unfurl, and hostas are beginning to poke through the mulch. I avoid disturbing the soil. Except minor planting and cleanup. Soil disturbance would hurt the tree. I did spread some chicken coop cleanings around the tree this winter, to give the tree s nutritional boost. Not much, just a thin layer. Then mulched with bark nuggets. It's a low maintenance part of the yard.

Potato barrels 2.0

2011-04-15T14:10:00.001-07:00

I just finished reading the book, "Potato, A history of the Propitious Esculent", by John Reader. The potato has a fascinating history. They started in the Andes, in Peru, Chile, and Argentina, and were one of the first plants to be domesticated. They fueled the Inca empire, but Spanish invaders destroyed the Inca civilization. I guess throwing potatoes isn't as effective as horses, metal weapons, and smallpox. The potato then used the Spanish to spread itself around Europe, and the world, fueling population explosions and all sorts of history. All of which inspired me to become more ambitious about potato barrels. The starts that I planted in January grew above the soil line, frosted, and looked dead. I gave up looking. Yesterday I saw they have sent out new shoots. About half survived. They have healthy-looking, thick, dark green leaves on stout stems. They are barely above the soil line. There were some remaining spaces. I bought a tiny bag of chitted potatoes, "Satina" variety, and planted the empty spaces with starts. Satina is a small, oval, yellow fleshed, nice looking potato. The bin at the plant store only had a few remaining starts, but that's all I wanted. The starts cost 30 cents. Feeling ambitions about growing potatoes in barrels, and with good experience last year, I wanted to add more. I found this plastic container for $7.99, much, much cheaper than the wooden containers and should last as long or longer. It might over heat, mid summer, but I have a plan for that. Apply shiny foil to the outside when it starts to become hot. That will lower soil temperature by 10 or more degrees, from my measurements a few years ago. Meanwhile, the dark plastic should soak up some heat and might speed early growth. I got out the electric drill and drilled about a dozen 3/4 inch holes in the bottom for drainage. Easy. Then added about 6 inches of potting soil. I planted a different variety, "Carmine." According to the clerk, carmine is red inside and out. I could not find information on this variety on the internet, so we'll see. I covered with about 3 inches of potting soil. When they grow to about a foot tall, I'll add anouther 6 inches, and repeat when they grow another foot. It's hard not to plant too many. These are spaced about 9 inches apart. That might be too close for optimum growth, but is a little further apart than last year, and they did fine. Looking at my blog last year, I'm about 5 weeks behind planting the potatoes. The trees are blooming late too - maybe 3 or 4 weeks late. I think they will still do fine.

Tomato seedling progress report.

2011-04-15T13:44:00.001-07:00

Here are the tomato seedlings now. Amazingly fast. Now I'm concerned they will get too big before planting outside. I'll figure something out. I'm thinking about making some cloches, but I might get out the "wall-o-water" units instead. They are more trouble but they work really well. These are SuperSweet 100, in a south window, with a fluorescent desk lamp for supplemental light. They are more compact and look sturdier than the other plants. That might be due to the lamp, the South window setting (rain rain rain clouds clouds clouds) or the variety. The little seedlings stretching toward the light are the many year old.pepper seeds, I planted thinking they would not germinate. I need to juggle plants around so they get more light.

These are all of the others. Taller, a little floppy, but OK. I think I'll replant them today.

The roots grow very easily through the coconut coir pots. It's almost like there is nothing there. I've always thought that pressed peat pots were not so root friendly, so did not use plantable pots. The coir pots have changed my mind. Even so, the tomatoes need to be up-potted, so this time I'll use the plastic pots. I'm concerned that roots will dry out when sticking out, and the coir pots become soft and might break easily when wet, especially with the larger size / heavier soil. I up-potted the SuperSweet 100 seedlings into plastic pots. Also one of the slicing tomatoes. It's only 48 outside now. Against the house, I think it's warmer, and not in the rain. I'm setting them outside in a sheltered, south-facing spot. This will start the hardening off process. I will bring them inside at night. Now in the "sun" (if you can call it that, rain rain rain) the differences are more apparent. Supersweet 100 from the South window, desk-lamp are stout, dark green, compact plants. Slicing tomato from east, grow-lamp are lankier, lighter green, a little floppy. Not scientific at all. I think the difference is the laps, with the desk lamp being much brighter.

More seeds

2011-04-03T13:23:00.000-07:00

Getting a little excited about the tomato seedlings, so I started some peppers as well. These were old seeds, no way to know if they'll grow, except to germinate them. Some date back to 2006. The newest are dated 2008. Varieties included "Bulgarian Carrot", "Big Red" and a Cayenne pepper. I planted 3 seeds per pellet, 2 pellets each, so if one of 6 grow, I get a plant. If they don't germinate, it's not a problem. There will be plenty of plants available at the nursery in late May, which is when they go into the ground. I planted the seeds in the same coconut-husk pellets that I used for tomatoes. Better pic here of the cups I up-potted the tomato seedlings in, same manufacturer as the pellets. The pellets are called "Planter's Pride." The cups are called "Fiber Grow" and website is www.saveourpeatbogs.com I like these. The tomato seeds started at least equally well to starting in peat. Compared to peat, the product seems a little less hydrophobic, allowing better hydration. The pots are more porous than peat pots. I don't know in the long run if that's good or bad, but so far they seem no worse and possibly a little better than peat-based products. So far, "like".

Tomato Seedlings

2011-04-03T09:36:00.000-07:00

Still struggling with computer programs. The editor that I bought seems to automatically remove pixels, and the photos are less crisp. My review at the momenr of "Phot Explosion" is that it sucks. So, I downloaded Picasa, which is easier to use, and free, but removed all of my cropping. I also worry that, being from google, it might upload onto the internet without my knowing, or collect information. Plus, this program now unedits some of my edits. Damn programmers..... but here we are. Here are the tomato seedlings in their original "pellets". The pellets are coconut-based fiber, much mroe environmentally friendly than peat. They worked really well. The seedlings are 2 weeks from bare seed. Amazingly fast. It's still not too late to start tomato seeds here - about 6 weeks from time to plant outside. I may start some peppers now. They go in even later. These were all old tomato seeds, up to 6 years old. They all sprouted. Roots are sticking out of the sides, as long as an inch outside the pellets. Time to replant them. This is the coconut-fiber based product I'm using for plantable containers. I've placed a couple of spoon-fulls of organic potting soil into the containers, then added the tomato seedlings, still in their pellets. I've added more organic potting soil to fill in around the pellets, then covered them as well, then watered them in. Here is the lighting setup that I'll use for a few weeks. It doesn't seem as bright as last year. Maybe the bulbs need time to warm up. Or need replacing. They are 20-watt bulbs. Gardening blooks usually call for 40-watt, but these are half as long, so half the wattage. I added some foil to reflect light back onto the seedlings. The plnats are only a few inches from the bulbs. The short distance maximizes the impact of the lights. They are cool bulbs, so no concern about burning. They do warm the air a little, which is beneficial. Overall I'm pleased with the seedlings. I did not order new seeds at all this year. Except the coconut-fiber pellets and pots, I did not buy new supplies. The plastic contaners are old. I may size them up one more time, this time into plastic pots, when they outgrow the current containers. The seedlings are all varieties that I like: Lemon Boy (favorite #1), Better Boy (favorite #2), Cherokee Purple (favorite #2), Black Krim (favorite #3), Supersweet 100 (favorite #4), 4th of July (second chance at becoming a favorite, pretty good last year and produced before the others). I have 3 plants of each variety, so 15 plants total. They will go into 3 beds of 5 each, more or less. Last year was a bad tomato year, partly climate and partly I was overworked and could not tend them. This year is already starting out better.

Mission Impossible: But it will be done.

2011-03-31T20:13:00.001-07:00

Eradication of 3 of the worst invasives in my yard. Fortunately, none of them were started by me. Each year, I try pulling them out. Even one or two remaining leads to repopulation with these obnoxious weeds. When I pull them up, the rhizomes break, and new plants grow form the nodes. They re-seed like crazy. OK, I'm tired of this endless futile battle. This year, 2011, I'm declaring war. Lemon Balm. The yard was full of them 9 years ago when I bought this house. I made the mistake of leaving a few plants. Unfortunately, they grew and spread new plants all over the yard. This year, I am using Worry Free, an organic weed killer. Has a nice citrus scent. Every time I see a Lemon Balm plant, I spray again. They are dying off. I will continue to seek and destroy them. By summer, there will be no more. Canada thistle. Not as bad, but pulling them out doesn't kill the parent rhizome. One side border now has lawn, trailing around fruit trees. Repeated mowing will do the job. As it turns out, Worry Free quickly kills the new sprouts. I don't know yet if the plant carries the substance into the rhizome, but I have confidence that repeated killing will remove this pest from my yard for the first time in 9 years. Goutweed. This is the worst. Invasive as hell. The chickens love to eat it, but leaving any for them results in re-infestation. Areas that I have cleared are highly reinfested again. Repeated applications of Worry Free don't seem to kill the parent rhizome. Digging results in spreading of rhizomes. I hate to say it, but if no improvement with repeated applications of Worry Free, I may resort to Roundup. Not my favorite thought, but some organic authors don't have problems with roundup, which is biodegradable, and my use will be very limited. That's if I use it. This damn plant has got to go. In addition, I have ambitions to remove English Ivy, Himalayan Blackberry, and Garlic Mustard Weed. This last was a "gift" "nice groundcover" that I accepted and planted in ignorance. The infested area is relatively small, so I should be able to remove it. Again, digging doesnt work, so more Worry Free. The ivy and blackberry will have to be pulled out.

Intergeneric orchid Stefan Isler

2011-03-31T17:05:00.000-07:00

Really lovely. There are 4 spikes. Im proud of myself, getting this to bloom. These are the first flowers to open - I expect many.

The season begins. Peaches and plums in bloom.

2011-03-31T16:52:00.000-07:00

This is garden gold peach. There are traces of leaf curl on the new leaves. Leaf curl usually starts small then dominates. I'll be watching. If it's bad, that means no way to gtrow genetic dwarf peaches in my area without bagging them in plastic for the winter or heavy sprays. I did spray belated with micro-cop but might have been too little too late. Depends on how bad it is. I might cut these down and replace with "resistant" varieties next spring, if they don't produce.

Shiro plum. The most blooms so far. I did the "bee" thing and went back and forth between Shiro, Hollywood, and Trilite Peach-Plum.

The front border. Tri-lite peach-plum is in bloom with pink flowers. Quite lovely.

Hollywood plum. This tree is so lovely, it doesn't have to fruit to be worth having. But I hope it does. The plums are tasty and beautiful.

Bonanza miniature peach. Or is it Pondorosa - I get those mixed up. Tiny tree but lots of flowers.

Back on line. What's blooming?

2011-03-24T20:46:00.000-07:00

Desktop computer died. Camera seemed to be taking fuzzy pics. Got new camera. For some reason, laptop started displaying all instructions in Chinese - not helpful at all. Rebuild laptop from scratch. Whew! Almost back in business. Need better program to crop and edit pics. Here are the 1st ones from new camera.

Charlei got a haircut. He's my #1 buddy, always.The earliest narcissus are blooming. I think these are "jetfire".

Hollywood plum is blooming. This is the first plum to bloom. Bonanza peach and Trilite peach-plum are almost open as well. We had frost yesterday am, but it looked like it didn't frost the buds.

As things start working again, I hope to have more posted. Front bed renovations are 80% completed.

New Composter. New Strawberries. Tree Peony Buds.

2011-02-21T20:09:00.000-08:00

Tree peony buds promise of spring.

Got some more bare root strawberry starts. These are TriStar. Popular day-neutral. Cheap, $9.99 for 25 plants. Now several of the planters contain strawberry plants. They looked brown and depressing in the bundles but once planted and watered some had green leaves. Not sure if I ever bough bare root strawberries before. Seems pretty easy.

Ning and I put together his new composting barrel. It took about an hour. We should have done a YouTube, it was rather simple yet complicated at the same time. Turns nicely. Kitchen scraps will go into this one. We also added some starter compost as inoculum. Now a turn a day keeps the compost cooking.

Fruit and Rose Bed Renovation

2011-02-13T17:56:00.001-08:00

Front border "Fruit & Rose Bed". Actually, as many lilacs as roses. They are starting to come into their own, closest to the curb. As the roses reach their life span, the lilacs will fill in. Weeds pulled, although I know there are still grass roots under the surface. Still, looking a lot better. Compost is added around the lilacs and roses. Over the next week or two, I'm planning to add bark nuggets to the currently bare areas.

Side view, showing the completed, mulched areas as well. Getting closer... That hardy Windmill Palm is 8 years old. I trimmed the lower leaves, to make it look more "palm-like". It's a good, low maintenance, low water demand tree for this area.

Out in the yard

2011-02-13T17:43:00.000-08:00

Pieris is blooming. It's easily taken for granted, but what else blooms in early february? I like the old name, Andromeda.

I transplanted this oriental poppy from a hidden, inconvenient spot. I grew it from seeds about 8 years ago. Nice big red flower. The inspiration was, my grandfather grew poppies from seeds. Something tells me he thought they were opium poppies. They're not! I've been beleiving they're too sensitive to be transplanted, but I don't know where I got that idea. The plant and its roots looks a lot like a dandelion, which can be chopped off and regrow, so maybe it's more resilient than I thought. I hope so.

These are some of my "Quincy" chinese chives, descendents of plants I grew from seeds 40 years ago. I left on the dried flowers to mark the spot and protect new shoots, but I like the appearance of new plants coming up through the dried stems.

Shiro plum. Closer.... closer.....

Radishes planted 3 weeks ago in barrel. The chicken wire is there to reduce cat and squirrel digging. Seems to help.

Close up of radishes. It's been raining.

Chinese chives in barrel planter. These clusters are about 5 years old. This is a promise of dumplings in March or April.

Helleborus. The flowers tend to droop, so it's good to grow them in a raised location, such as a retaining wall. Quite pretty. And blooming in early February. Cool!

This helleborus is even droopier... and prettier.

A little progress.

2011-02-12T19:35:00.000-08:00

As discussed, the Stanley plum and Montmorency cherry are in the ground now. I cleaned up about 200 more square feet of front border. Probably 1,000 square feet done, 500 to go, my wild guess. Moved a couple of roses and a peony to more convenient spots. There was also a cluster of Chinese chives that I saved from my parent's yard a few years ago, that I had grown from seeds 40 years ago. Moved them to a slightly better spot where I can keep an eye on them. Another case of Darwin at work - I did my best, but if they don't survive this move, the've taken their place with the dodo bird as far as my yard is concerned. I think the roses will make it but digging up the peony involved slicing through some huge tubers. It was unavoidable. My guess is it will sulk for a year then resume former blooming.

Pulled away a lot of the creeping phlox. The idea with that groundcover was it would keep weeds away. Instead, it sheltered crabgrass and other grassy weeds. So I'm pulling it all up.

I gave the blueberries and rhododendrons a scoop of Whitney's organic acid shrub fertilizer, and mixed with the compost mulch.

Roses have an inch of growth. Chinese chives are a few inches tall. Pussy willow is blooming. Stone fruit buds are swelling. As I type it's raining like crazy.

Now I've done it.

2011-02-12T05:50:00.000-08:00

I was at Home Depot buying tree-rings for two miniature apple trees on Thursday. They are reasonably cheap, cement-composite edging that will keep grass away from the tree trunks, hold in the compost and mulch, and make my life slightly easier, less maintenance. I also installed them on Thursday, my day off, removing grass from around those baby trees, and applying a mulch of compost. While at the store, I saw bare root fruit trees. Well, sort of bare root, they have been placed into large plastic containers with potting soil so they look like container-grown, but I think they are really bare root.

I don't know what's got into me. Yesterday I returned and bought a Montmorency Cherry and a Stanley Plum. The cherry is another tart (pie) cherry. I don't know if it is red juice - something I like. Rationale is as with the other tart cherries, later bloom less likely to be killed by frost, compared with sweet cherries. Plus I enjoy making pies and it's hard to find real pie-cherries at the grocery store. The pic is from Edenbros.com. References list Montmorency as self-pollinating as well, so no concerns about going from flower to flower and tree to tree with a paintbrush. Plan is to keep it pruned small as I do all of my fruit trees. I don't know where I will plant it. Dumb idea to buy a tree not knowing where it will be, even though I've thought about it for several days.

Similar for the Stanley Plum. Not sure where I will plant it. This is also listed in most references as self pollinating. Unlike my other plum trees, which are Asian plums, this is a European plum, not the same species at all so really qualifies as a totally different beast. So I'm not replicating other fruits. Pic is from EdibleLandscaping.com, which I like very much but is too far from me.This pic of Stanley Plum flowers also from EdibleLandscaping.com. Which kind of makes the point, my "backyard" orchard isn't all about fruit, it's about flowers, fragrance, growing stuff, puttering, and super-slow food, and a "green" thing to do. I'll find a spot for it, I have several places in mind.

Part of my rationale is I suspect the genetic dwarf peaches won't last too long, and I'll want replacements. Peach Leaf Curl is too much hassle. It takes a few years to get fruits, so I want a head start. I can move them next Spring if needed, they won't be too big. The trees are actually quite large, though, 6 foot. I will prune them back severely once Spring is here, to promote low branching, "Backyard Orchard Culture" low branch training.

Monday off, with chores

2011-02-07T17:20:00.000-08:00

I forgot that I had today off, and went to work. After insisting that I was scheduled, I looked at the schedule and... oops.

So I came home, cleared some more grass-invaded border, hauled a truckload of prunings and brush to the recycling & composting center, and returned home with a half cubic yard of composted yard trimmings. Moved two roses into a better spot. Neither had great roots, but they should be OK. This will be a "Darwin year": where survival of the fittest means they either make it with the care that I can give, or they don't. No pampering for fruits and roses and shrubs that don't thrive. Even so, I surrounded the moved roses with compost, then did the same with the night-planted Indian Free peach and Almaden Duke cherry. Placed circular concrete aggregate border around 2 miniature apple trees (Liberty and Jonagold), clearing / weeding the center and adding a couple inches of compost. So no more grass invasion, or at least minimal. I'm gradually installing edging to prevent grass invasion along the entire front border, but it's a lot of work pulling out the old grass, so it takes time.

What else.... moved a yellow shrub peony to a raised location, above a retaining wall. It only grows to about a foot tall, and the flowers, while very beautiful, huge, and fragrant, droop and can't be seen unless the viewer is on their knees. This is a weird peony, not big enough to be a "tree peony" but with woody stems that add an inch or two per year, not dying down like other peonies. It's nice as a cut flower. I'm convinced it's an intersectional, a cross between tree peony and herbaceous peony, much like this one - Garden Treasure. (Wow, these cost a fortune! It came with the house, I'm too cheap to pay that much or a plant!) Peonies don't like being moved, but it's been moved before and did OK after a year of sulking. This peony sends out underground stolons with new stems, so it spreads laterally instead of vertically. I cut off a couple as a gift, maybe they will survive too. The main plant was also given a liberal ground covering couple of shovel fulls of compost.

Oh, planted 2 half-barrels with the new Seascape day-neutral strawberries. That's about a dozen plants, so I need to figure out what to do with the other dozen.

Orchid Show at Missouri Botanical Garden

2011-02-06T17:34:00.000-08:00

This weekend I paid a visit to my ill mom in the midwest. On the trip back, I stayed overnight in St. Louis. My choice of dates was interesting - this was just after one of the greatest blizzards in recent history. Still, Saturday the snow stopped and the roads cleared and I had a chance to visit the Orchid Show at the Missouri Botanical Garden. This is something I was looking forward to, a lot.

My photos don't do it justice. It was amazing. The orchids were huge, the room was filled with fragrance, and the displays were awesome. I would make the trip just for this alone.

This Phaius may be recognizable from a recent posting, under an entirely different name. From the illustrations from the "Temple of Flora". Interesting coincidence.

Love the Cymbidiums.

The displays dwarf the visitors.

There are various Mayan-inspired displays. Makes me wonder if Bateman's "The Orchids of Mexico and Guatemala" was the inspiration. Too much coincidence not to be the case.

The orchid show was not in the climatron, but afterwards I walked around the botanical garden, and this was a nice scene of that massive tropical "flying saucer". Much of the garden was almost abandoned - it was serenely beautiful.

Oh, that's me.

Planting in the dark

2011-02-02T11:07:00.000-08:00

Wow, the Almaden Duke Cherry and the Indian Free (Blood) Peach came yesterday via UPS. I knew they would be coming because UPS sent an email

No chance this weekend to plant them. I dug the holes before work, and when I got home there was the package. So I planted them in the dark, via flashlight.

Nice looking trees, as usual for Raintree.

The strawberry plants are in the fridge until I can plant them.

New Fruits for 2011

2011-01-29T15:21:00.000-08:00

I've been cleaning up the front border, basically a renovation after a couple of years of neglect. In the process I'm moving towards less ornamental and lower maintenance. I'm putting in edging to keep grass invasion limited (a challenge and the biggest weed problem), and mulching with a medium bark nugget for decreased cat digging - seems to be working so far.

I cut down a Golden Delicious apple tree that has been in place for 8 years without bearing a single edible apple. Each year it blooms then disease strikes. It's not good for my garden/climate and time to get over it. Plus, I cut down a volunteer Japanese maple, nothing special, and taking "forever" to make a nice size. A fruit tree would be perfect in that spot, would look better, bloom nicely, be the perfect size, and provide sustainance. I've calculated that there is space for 3 eventually well-pruned fruit trees as a result of this cleanup.

Among the challenges here in my Portland Oregon - area yard, mild winter combined with late frost leads to some of the biggest fruit-growing disappointments. Sweet cherries bloom early, and last year the frost took a lot of them. Even so, we had several big bowls-full. Sour cherries have great flavor, and bloom later. I have added a "Sure-fire" sour cherry that looks like it will have a good year this year (3rd season) and now will add another variety.

This is Almaden Duke from Raintree Nursery. I'm hoping for a sort of wild-cherry flavor. It's on Gisela-5 dwarfing rootstock. After placing the order, I've been looking online for this variety and it isn't discussed much. I'm suspicious it's more in the sweet than tart cherry category, but I don't know what that will mean about bloom time.

This is Beauty Plum. The pic is from Dave Wilson Nurseries. I hope that my Shiro and Hollywood both bear this year. Last year (2nd or 3rd year, I forget) the HOllywood had one and the Shiro had none. It's probably their youth, but reading about pollination I get very conflicting data. Shiro is either self pollinating, or partial, or not at all, depending on the website. Same for Hollywood. Plus they don't pollinate each other. So, I'm adding Beauty, which Raintree Nursery states pollinates both Shiro and Hollywood, and is very precicious, bearing in the nursery row. So probably at least blooming in the first year and more likely second year, to provide pollen for the other varieties. Plus of course they claim wonderful flavor.

Raintree lists Beauty as one of its earliest ripening plums, Shiro in mid-season, and Hollywood as late. That should provide a spread of harvest as well as color and flavor. (Arggh, just now, looking at Raintree, Beauty won't pollinate Shiro. I can't win!) Here is a site (Wolcott Garden Treasures) claiming that Shiro can be pollinated by Hollywood and Beauty, and vice versa. WSU Extension lists Shiro, Hollywood, and Beauty as good for Western Washington.

The Peach-leaf-curl has also been a source of disappointment. This Indian Free peach is reported as resistant. I think I don't really need a genetic dwarf variety if I prune carefully. Also from Raintree. Needs a pollinizer; other peaches are nearby. Here's a website with a gorgeous pic of this peach; amazing. This peach is very well-regarded on the Dave Wilson nursery website as well, although being a commercial site, I doubt that they wouyld describe any peach negatively. " For some tasters, the unique white (and red!) peach ‘Indian Free’ (or Indian Blood Free - origin obscure) is still unsurpassed among the white fruits. The intense aroma and tart-sweet flavor of a fully tree-ripe Indian Free has to be experienced to be believed. " Apparently the "Indian Free" and "Indian Cling" are different varieties, and my be referred to as "Indian blood" as well. Not self fertile, but apparently many have been grown from seed, which would mean they are genetically diverse.

Interesting article about the history of Peaches in the American colonies of the SouthEast here: "Historians believe that peach trees were first introduced into the colonial settlements of the United States by the French explorers in 1562 at territories along the Gulf coastal region near Mobile, Alabama, then by the Spaniards who established Saint Augustine, Florida in 1565 on the Atlantic seaboard. The peach trees were planted from peach seed imported from Europe in an effort to establish a self sustaining, agricultural. fruit tree product to feed the colonists. American Indians spread the planting of the peach trees throughout vast territories by transporting the peach seed to other tribes that lived in the interior regions. This new crop of fruit was fast growing, producing a delicious peach two or three years from planting. The trees were so productive and vigorous that sometimes, widespread impenetrable thickets became established from the peach seeds that fell to the ground from fruit unharvested. The illusion was formed by settlers after 1600 that the peach trees were native to the United States, since they were so widely spread and grew so vigorously everywhere. " also "In December of 1795, Jefferson planted 1151, peach trees after he had experimented with planting in 1807, the "black plumb peach of Georgia," (Indian Blood Cling Peach). This naturalized peach wonder had been planted throughout the State of Georgia by the Indians and was a dark-red velvety color with tiger-like striping. This fragrant peach was extremely desirable because of its rich coloring and taste... Jefferson believed that this Indian cling blood peach was a cross between naturalized peach trees and a French cultivar peach, "Sanguinole."

Finally, the strawberry borders are invaded by grasses. I've learned that I like having a harvest spread out, not all at once. So I am adding Seascape Strawberry, also from Raintree. These will be in containers. As it happens, I left containerized cannas outside this winter and they froze, so will have a convenient place to plant the new strawberries. It's hard to find a reasonably unbiased review of strawberry varieties - here's a comparison on growingstrawberriesguide.com; they seem to like Seascape. Of course it's all person- and locality-dependent, but most of the other "reviews" that I could find were really just ads. I may also try a local source of another variety, to compare and increase my odds of getting some good berries.

Cymbidium in full bloom

2011-01-27T11:16:00.000-08:00

People who grow orchids might be a little crazy. I'm very pleased about this Cymbidium now in full bloom, so here's another pair of pictures.

Winter Kitchen Garden Chores.

2011-01-23T12:31:00.000-08:00

Nice place to build a nest. Even the most dedicated kitty cat can't get through the mess of rose thorns. The roses will need pruning but that's not urgent yet. The nest will go then - I think they build a new one each year.

This was Jan 1st before I started cleaning up the rose & fruit bed. I felt bad about letting it become such a mess last year.
Looking at this, I wondered if I could get it cleaned up. What a mess.
Over the past couple of weeks, I've pruned all of the roses (mainly on Jan 1st) and raked out the weeds. Charlie may not approve. He likes messes. But he tolerates my idiosyncrasies. Then this weekend, a layer of bark nuggets except the area around the raspberries.
Behind the apple tree, the " yellow everbearing raspberry "Fallgold" was still a mess. These are great raspberries. They started as a small grocery store bare root start. Now they are starting to take over their neighborhood.
My photo is bad. I trimmed off the tops at about the top of the photo. Removed one clump and moved it to a better spot on the opposite side, more in the direction where I wanted them to grow. Pulled up about half of the canes, concentrating on pulling up the scrawniest ones. These are "ever bearing". They bear early summer on the canes that grew last summer and fall. I shortened these a little because they bore at the tips last summer, an once a node has produced fruit, it's done. Below that level, they'll grow branches at each node, and those branches will bear fruit. Once they have done the second fruiting, they are done. So I also removed all of the spent canes from last year. Much tidier now. Now to head off to the bark mulch place and finish this garden bed, so it's ready for Spring. I feel a bit better now.

More:
I hauled another 3/4 yard of medium bark nuggets, spread them on the rest of the middle mini-orchard/rose bed, one side border, and some under a fig tree that I cleaned underneath first. This is already a better and earlier start than next year. Still lots to do however.

For the container gardens, I cleaned up the surface on 2 additional barrels. I planted seeds, a mini-ball shaped carrot ("Parisian Market"), more mesclun, lettuce mix ("Bon Vivant Blend"), a Chinese greens mix. They may not grow, because the seeds were old (1 to 3 years) and because, after all, it's only January. On the other hand, some seeds can last for years (I've blogged on that before, and tested some last year), and it doesn't matter if they take a month or more to come up. Plus, they may be hardier for being planted in the winter and allowed to grow with the weather. Plenty of weeds are already sprouting, and some greens are just a few steps removed from "weed". If they don't sprout in, say, a month, I'll buy some new seeds and try again.

My First Home Grown Cymbidium Flower

2011-01-22T19:13:00.000-08:00

At long last, I've re bloomed a Cymbidium. This is on growth that occurred in my care, starting from new growth last winter, and that I re potted at that time. I kept it mostly in full sun for the summer, fall, and early winter. I let it stay outside until freezing seemed imminent, then brought it inside. The flowers last year were darker, almost brown, with a Burgundy accent on the lip. I don't know if this lighter is due to the flowers just being one day old; less sun; or some other aspect of my care. Doesn't matter, I'm excited to have raised one to the point of blooming.

So to celebrate, I get another one? What's up with that? Still, it's more compact, one of the most compact I've seen here. The flower colors are great. Unfortunately, when I removed it from the plastic-lined, basket cache-pot, there was about an inch of water in the pot. Will that mean loss of roots? Early demise? Loss of flowers? So far it looks fine, but I won't really know until the flowers fall off and it's time to re pot.

Really love the coloration. Quite beautiful.