Removing Vole Guards. Stanley Plum. 11.17.18

Vole Guard - getting tight.   11.17.18

Plum Trunk, Freed from Vole Guard.  11.17.18

Stanley Plum, about 8 years old.  11.17.18

I planted this plum tree about 8 years ago, and moved it to its current location in 2012.  At that time, I added a hardware cloth sleeve for a vole guard.

This is a good time of the year to go around and see which trees are outgrowing their vole guard sleeves, and remove those sleeves.  As the trees age, the bark is less appetizing and I don't have problems with voles on these more mature trees.

The main problem with these vole guards is if they are partly underground, roots grow through them, making them difficult if not impossible to easily remove.  This tree had some rootstock suckers that grew through the guard, and I had to cut the guard off, leaving a bit, on that side.  I also removed the suckers.

The irony is, I'm not that crazy about Stanley plums.  They don't have the flavor of Asian plums, but are much later which is nice.  This tree also has a couple of other European plum grafts that have not bloomed yet.

I saw other vole guards around the orchard, also in need of removal.  A good project for the coming weeks.

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.