Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Eggs. 11.22.16

The hens had stopped producing, so we fired up the light timer in their hen house.  Now they are on 14 hours days again, and producing eggs.  The white egg is from a leghorn.  Small hen, big eggs. I bet that one hurt.  The smallest is from an Ameraucana.  This is her first egg.  Most of the rest are Rhode Island Red or mixed heritage hens.

Thursday, November 17, 2016

Planting a Dawn Redwood, Metasequia glyptostroboides. 11.17.16

Dawn Redwood with ball/burlap/clay removed.  11.17.16

Close up of Root Ball.  My finger touches a girdling root that will be removed.
 Today we planted a Dawn Redwood Metasequia glyptostroboides tree.  Dawn redwoods are deciduous conifers, related to Bald Cyprus and redwood trees.  They were known in the fossil record long before living trees were found in Southeast China.

I wanted to plant a tree for a memorial for my aging dogs.  Planting a tree gives me peace of mind and a focus for my thoughts.

To the best of my ability, I followed the bare-rooting method described by Linda Chalker-Scott of WSU.  I had done that before with a Gravenstein apple tree in full leaf, so far so good.  It looks radical, but the logic is sound.  This tree was in last week's shipment at Portland Nursery, balled and burlaped and placed in container with compost yesterday.  Because it was so recently dug, there has been no chance for roots to fill throughout the container.  It looks scary, seeing so few roots, but this feels like a good chance to catch it before roots grow in bad directions, setting the tree up for future girdling and early failure to thrive, or death.

As Chalker-Scott notes, fall planting is an excellent time to plant trees.  They have the remainder of the fall rainy season, plus late winter and early spring,  to add feeder roots, before starting to produce leaves next year.

When I removed the ropes and burlap, most of the clay just fell off.  I hosed off the rest.  This is the tree inside that pot, that you can't see unless you remove the burlap and wash of the roots.  It looks so drastic.  I've planted lots of fruit trees that were as drastic looking, and they did great.  So I think this is OK.
The girdling root is removed.

Holding another deformed root that crosses through others.  I removed that one too.
 Three photos illustrate the root pruning that I did.  Even though it seems this tree already has almost no roots, I removed the ones that looked like they might lead to future troubles, such as girdling.  One appeared to have auto-grafted onto another.  I removed the smaller of the two.

In the end, my root removal was very minimal.

I also followed other recommendations by Chalker-Scott.  Her two books, "The Informed Gardner" series, are the best that I have read.  In this case, I planted the tree much more shallowly than the burlap would have indicated.  It was too deep.  All  of the roots are fully buried, but the root flare is still at the soil level.

Second, I did not amend the soil with anything extraneous.  The tree has nothing between it and the native soil.  The roots are in full contact with the soil that will nourish and support the tree.  As I discussed with the Gravenstein tree, I also did not want to attract moles and voles to this tree, which I suspect to be an issue if I include compost additives in the soil.

This is the area that I cleared of blackberry brambles and some fallen Douglas Hawthorn trees, over the past couple of weeks.  The soil has been nourished by fallen blackberry leaves, rotting brambles, and tree leaves, for unknown number of years.  But even if that was not the case, I would not be adding compost or other amendments to the soil.

I did tie support to the tree, very loosely.  The intent is not to prevent swaying, but to keep it from falling over if there is excessive weather.  The main thing holding the tree in place, is the soil and root interaction.
The tree is planted about 6" shallower than the burlap was.

There were daffodils on sale at Home Depot.  I planted a wide circle outside of the planting hole area.  Those are for my benefit, but I like to think the bulbs deter underground rodents. There is no proof, that I know of, that daffodils do that.

Ning with the tree.  He's about 5'10".  Temporary deer fencing.
 Finally, I provided hardware cloth vole protection, and fencing deer protection.

This week I will also add some wood chip mulch, and check the support.  The rope is very loose, by intent.  This makes me a bit nervous, with such a tall tree - about 8 foot.  However, the trunk is thin and the top is not very heavy.  I've had posts that were heavier and not any deeper, and they stayed in place just fine.

As an after thought, I looked at those pruned roots and wondered if Metasequoia can produce shoots from roots.  I can't find any such info on the internet, but there are trees that grow from root cuttings.  So I planted those in my ginkgo seed raised bed.  If they grow, fine.  If they don't, nothing lost.

I think this will be a beautiful and healthy tree. 
Prunings saved for root cuttings experiment.

Monday, November 14, 2016

Planting Ginkgo Seeds. 11.14.16

Planting ginkgo seeds.  11.14.16
I decided to plant the ginkgo seeds that I collected without cleaning off the punguent seed coat.  It's not that difficult, but I just wanted to get them planted.

These are from 2 female trees about 3 miles apart from my part of Vancouver WA.  They are different source from the ones that I obtained 3 years ago.  The aim is for genetic diversity.

Most references state the seeds need to be cleaned before planting.  I don't know why.  Maybe they will grow, maybe not.

I am planting directly in the kitchen garden, no refridgeration or scarification.

Kitchen Garden. Turnips. 11.14.16

We have some nice turnips waiting in the kitchen garden.  These are "Ideal Purple Top Milan" from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.  I also grew the more standard Purple Top turnips, which are not as big but very good.

Turnips, Chinese Radish, Sunchokes, are all good for roasting, stir fry, and slicing thin for snacking.

Saturday, November 12, 2016

Kitchen Garden. Sunchokes and Chinese Radishes. 11.11.17

Green Luobo Chinese Radish.  11.11.17

Sunchokes.  11.11.17
Even though I don't do much in the vegetable beds, they continue to provide interesting crops for cool weather use.  The Chinese Green Luobo Radishes, planted late summer, finally plumped up very nicely.  The Jerusalem Artichokes / Sunchokes were growing in an out of the way spot.  They were planted, I think, in 2014 and I gave up on them because either deer or rabbits ate the plants.  This year two big Jerusalom Artichoke plants grew in that spot, and here is the harvest today from one of those.  Tasty, crisp, a little peppery.  Nice.

Thursday, November 10, 2016

Saijo Persimmons. 11.9.16

Saijo Persimmons, with Nikita's Gift for Comparison.  11.9.16

Saijo Persimmon.  11.9.16
I placed Saijo Persimmons into a plastic box with apples for ripening, for a few days.  They are now very soft and sweet with no atringency at all.  Nice flavor.  I think I like the Nikita's Gift better, but if I had not tried those, I would like the Saijo a lot.

Only 8 persimmons on the Saijo tree, but that's OK.  This is my first taste of this variety and this is the first year of any persimmons in my orchard.  Very nice.

Friday, November 04, 2016

Nikita's Gift Persimmons. 11.4.16

Nikita's Gift Persimmons.  11.4.16
About 10 days ago, maybe less, I cut these persimmons from the tree.  They were firm and fully colored, although not as red as now.  I placed them in a plastic bag with 3 apples for ripening.  Now they are as soft as a slightly overripe tomato. 

I sliced in half and scooped out the jelly-like contents with a spoon, eating like a small cup of pudding.  Excellent sweet flavor, with a spicy element similar to clove or cinnamon. 

So now I know, at least these persimmons can be grown and ripen in my cool summer, short season Southwest Washington State climate.  So good.

There are some Saijo to follow.   A little behind Nikita's Gift, but not by much.

Saturday, October 29, 2016

Fall Chores, Persimmons, Zucchinis, Garlic. 10.29.16

Vegetable bed covered with leaves.  10.29.16
 Yesterday I raked up a neighbor's maple leaves.  Those now cover a bed that was Indian Corn (this year) and will be kitchen garden (not sure - potatoes, onions, tomatoes, squash) next year.  I chopped the corn stalks into about 1 foot sections, and also spread lime before spreading leaves.  It should pack down and mostly decompose to dig in, by late winter.
The Last Zucchini.  10.29.16

Nikita's Gift (Plate) and Saijo (Countertop) Persimmons.  10.29.16
 I also went around the neighborhood to ask neighbors for their leaves.  That way, they get some old guy to rake them up (me) quietly with rake, not a blower, and haul away.  I get a big pile of tree leaves for the vegetable beds.
Baja (Roja?) Garlic.  10.29.16

More Garlic Starts.  10.26.16
One last zucchini.  Such a good year for those.

Picked about 1/4 of the Nikita's Gift Persimmons.  They are hard, so will need to ripen.  I placed them into a bag of apples to assist that process.

Apples produce ethylene gas, as part of their ripening process.  The ethylene gas will help the persimmons to ripen, too.

Not sure about that Saijo, there is still some green.  The rest, only about 6 fruits, are still on the tree.

The garlic starts from local nursery, they labeled "Baja" but I wonder if they are Spanish Roja, are all growing nicely.  When I get a chance and it's not raining, they need hoeing for the weeds.  I checked other local nurseries, no garlic starts.  Finally, I checked Portland Nursery, they had multiple types.  I bought 2 heads of "Duganski", just for variety.  Ordered from a catalog, I would have to order more than I need, for an even higher price plus shipping.  Territorial sells Duganski.  "beautiful, purple stripe garlic with large bulbs and an amazing flavor that matches its looks and size. Purple outer wrappers protect the violet-tinged cloves that burst with a fiery flavor and mellow out with a pleasant aftertaste." This is just for novelty, see if they are different from the Inchelium Red that I grow each year.

Speaking of Inchelium Red, it's far behind the Baja/Roja this year.  A few have germinated, maybe 10 of the 40 or so that I planted.

Edit 10.30.16  It turns our there actually is a Baja Garlic, called "Baja Morado".   From the link - "Baja Morado...  was at first thought to be a long storing Creole but upon detailed examination turned out to be an even longer storing Silverskin that has a nice pleasant garlickiness with some pungency... similar to Mexican Red Silver but with much white in the clove covers rather than solid deep red."  As with anything from nurseries, local and mail order, it's best to take things with a grain of salt.  But who know"  Maybe this IS Baja, and Baja Morado at that.

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Fertilizing Trees in the Fall. 10.18.16

This post is a lot more dry than usual.  I have wondered whether it is beneficial to fertilize trees in the fall.  For the past few years I have done so, and do not see harm occuring from that practice.  In addition, the fertilized trees do seem to have a good burst of growth in the Spring, more than trees that I have not fall-fertilized. 

Different websites give different advice about fall-fertilizing of trees.  For the most part, these sites refer to deciduous shade trees.  Much of the research that has been done, relates to conifer forestry.

Growingagreenworld.com:  "many experts now consider late fall, or about a month after the first killing frost, to be the ideal time for applying fertilizers. We now know plants utilize nutrients throughout the year in different ways."  The site further states, that when trees are dormant, their roots absorb nutrients and apply them to root growth, disease resistance, and storage of nutrients for Spring.  I don't know if those claims are supported by science, but they make sense.

According to the University of Minnesota extension, early Spring is the best time.

Gregory Forrest Lester (Ohio) states that Fall fertilization is essential.  Again, the rationale is to prepare for Spring.  There aren't a lot of sources regarding fall fertilization of trees.  Via google scholar, there has been some specific research, that may or may not apply to yard shade trees.

Annals of Forest Science.  Related to seedlings of red pine,  "Results suggest that fall fertilization of red pine seedlings can help render desired target height in the nursery, while maintaining or increasing cold hardiness levels."  Benefits were seen for number of needles. concentration of nitrogen in shoots and roots, and cold hardiness parameters.

Western Journal of Applied Forestry.   Related to Douglas fir seedlings, fall fertilization increased nitrogen concentrations in the seedlings.  There was no difference in root growth or cold hardiness.  It did not appear in this project that fall fertilization had much effect.

Annals of Forest Science.   Regarding a species of oak,  "early fall fertilization promotes nutrient loading of P(hosphate) in Holm oak, with significant effects on root growth potential and field growth by means of a phenologically earlier development and a higher aboveground biomass."  and in the discussion it was noted that "six months after planting, fall fertilized plants showed higher shoot biomass, higher proportion of new leaves, and faster development, producing leaves earlier compared with unfertilized plants."

 Southern Journal of Applied Forestry.  Regarding fall fertilization of one year old longleaf pine, there was "substantial overwinter dry weight gains and increases in nutrient content and concentrations" especially for nitrogen.  Based on their research, they conclude that fall fertilization "offers a means of increasing seedling size and nutrient reserves prior to out-planting on the relatively infertile sites where seedlings are normally established."

 Journal of American Society for Horticultural Science.  Regarding field-grown peach trees, there was not a benefit for fall fertilization vs. spring fertilization, for peach production or tree growth.

Journal of Agriculture.   Regarding shade tree fertilization researchm up to 2002.  The authors state that nitrogen usually appears to be the most important nutrient, and note that "studies conducted with (labeled) nitrogen
showed low N(itrogen) uptake during the dormant (leafless) season, bringing into question the practice of dormant-season N applications."  However, they also note the inadequacies and limitations of the research that had been done.


Canadian Journal of Forest Research.   Regarding more Douglas fir seedling research, one month after fall fertilization,  "Total nitrogen concentrations increased 1 month after fertilization, remained stable throughout winter, and tended to decrease or remain stable just before budbreak."

My conclusions:  A lot more work is needed to determine whether fall feeding benefits, doesn't benefit, or harms trees, and in what situations.   There does appear be benefit in some situations.  Nitrogen sources are more likely to be beneficial, and unless a deficiency is seen, fertilizers that contain signicant amounts of other major nutrients are usually probably not useful.  If one is interested in pee-cycling,  that seems like a reasonable approach as long as it is not overdone.  A liter of "liquid gold", diluted to 4 liters, could be applied over an area of about 10 feet by 10 feet, to a tree with a drip line about 8 feet in diameter.  It's not rocket science, and I would not do so if the soil salts are high. 

(All images are public domain, via vintageprintable.com)

Update. Ginkgo #2. 10.17.16

Ginkgo Tree Planted Summer, 2012.  Now 10.18.16
Above Ginkgo Tree after planting in 2012.
It's obvious by now that I have a Ginkgo biloba tree obsession. 

This was the smallest of the trees that I grew from seeds that my late father collected qround 1995 in Illinois.  I kept it in a flower pot, then planted in poor soil at the place in Vancouver, then when we bought the Battleground place, moved the tree there. That was 2012.  It's done nicely, and was given minimal water this summer.  It's turning into a handsome tree that my Dad would have been proud of.  I miss him.

The parent tree was grown by a neighbor in that small Illinois town.  That neighbor was a WWI veteran, a German man who was in a British POW camp for part of the war.  He later emigrated to Illinois.  I remember his telling me that Gingko biloba trees had a shape like pine trees, and were around in the time of dinosaurs.  He grew his tree from a seed as well.  That tree was the source of the seeds that my dad collected.  It has since been cut down.