October. Bulbs, new plant room, late harvests

As noted earlier, it's been difficult doing gardening, keeping up with the house, working working working, and looking after others. So here we are.

Currently, figs are ripening. During September, Hardy Chicago was very productive, with a few dozen figs. Now it's Petite Negri. Vancouver has a few, but they are getting moldy before they ripen. That did not happen before. Lattarula has a few - the first year ever! They are sweet, also seem to mold slightly on the outside when ripe, but not enough to matter.

I dried some figs, as well as some grapes. They taste so much better when grown at home and dried in a food dehydrator! I had no idea.

Many grapes remain, after eating many pounds of grapes. This has been a productive year for grapes as well.

Lots of apples now. They are pretty much all ripening.

A bedroom (actually junk-room) on the southwest corner of the house will become my home office and plant room. And guest bedroom. It will have a futon/sofa, a desk, and some plant stands in the windows. I added a western window; there is already a large south facing window. I took some photos but the current computer room is too cluttered for me work with them, so they'll have to be added later. I tore out the carpet last year. The floor was badly damaged and had a large plywood patch. I replaced the patch with oak flooring taken from a closet (that is being cannabilized for a bathroom), so it is authentic to the house. I sanded off the remaining finish from the floor, and now have given it 2 coats of polyurethane. It may need a third coat. Then new baseboard, paint the walls. It has a new light fixture already.

Then I can have the cacti and other plants in the south window. I'm trying some orchids, they can go in the shaded west window.

I planted about 100 daffodils and about 100 tulips. They'll help cheer up the winter, when they start poking through the ground in Feb and March.

Most of the tulips were an unspecified tulip mix, but one package, planted under an old cherry tree, looks like this.

Daffodils included:
Bella Estrella (Biltmore collection)

Vanilla Peach (Dutchbulbs.com)

Sunnyside Up (Dutchbulbs.com)

Replete (Dutchbulbs.com) - How did I end up with this one? I don't like "pink" daffodils!

Ice Follies (Dutchbulbs.com)

Ice King (Biltmore Estates)



I also decided to try, once again, to grow some Lycoris.
Lycoris squamigera, photo from wikipedia. In the past, I've made several tries to grow Lycoris squamigera. These were traditional in my family, passed down through generations in the midwest. There, they were called "surprise lilies", and since I've heard them called "naked ladies" and "resurrection lilies". The leaaves grow in the Spring, then die off. In late Summer, the flower stems grow and bloom within a few days. I would love to have some. I've tried growing them here in the Northwest, without success. Internet research suggests that I'm planting them too deep. Most instructions state they should be 6 inches deep, but those seem to be based on the 'generic' bulb size. I found other instructions stating that they should only be covered up to their shoulders. So I'll give it a try. I also added a red variety, not the traditional family variety, Lycoris radiata, and a yellow one, Lycoris aurea.

Lycoris aurea, photo from wikipedia.

These have a different growth pattern, I think but the labels are contradictory.
Lycoris Radiata, photo from wikipedia. The L. radiata already has small leaves. We'll see what they do this fall and winter.

That's about all for now. I hope to get this blog going better once the home office is completed.

New Year's Tradition: Pruning the Grape Vines

I don't know how it started. Each year within a few days of New Year's day, I prune the grape vines. This year, new year's day was not possible, but yesterday was close enough. Pruning in Spring, after the sap starts to flow, leads to dripping of sap as it continues to run for a few days or week. That doesn't happen with mid-winter pruning. Plus, it's a nice chore to do for puttering meditation.

Most years I have gone with a combination of spur and cane methods, since I wasn't sure which was best. Last year they were quite productive, and it didn't seem to make much difference whether it was cane or spur pruning. I think that they may have over-grown the arbor, so this year, it's all spur pruning.

It's interesting how soon the trunks developed a gnarled, established look. I like that.

My approach with the spur pruning was to leave about 4-6 inches of growth from 2008, and remove the rest. That means that I removed about 95% of last year's growth. I left 2 to 4 buds in most cases. Most grapes seem to bloom from buds forming on last year's growth, and most from the first few buds on the cane. If I'm wrong about that, then this will not be a productive grape year. But I think that I'm right. We'll see.

This arbor has 3 vines: Interlaken (my favorite), Canadice (the most productive) and Venus (a nice change of pace).

I was more aggressive with Canadice, since it was too productive. That meant that the grapes were smaller, and there were too many. I left more of the Interlaken, since it is my favorite. Two vines would have been plenty on this arbor, but I wanted 3 varieties.

Over the gate, Price grape. Also very tasty, larger grapes in smaller bunches. Price has not been very productive so far. Squirrels eat the flower buds. In 2008 I added some screening, which deterred the squirrels somewhat. I'll have to do that this year as well.

Price was also pruned mainly as 2 to 4 bud spurs. Last year it was too unruly, so I was more aggressive this time.

The prunings were chopped into pieces about 3 to 4 inches long, and applied as a mulch around some shrubs. Last year, I did the same thing, but then applied compost on top of the grape vine mulch. That resulted in numerous small grapevines growing from the chopped pieces. This time, I'll leave the chopped vines on top so that I don't get unintended starts.

Kitchen Garden Log

The workload continues unabated. I can't do much in the garden. In some ways it's on autopilot, except for watering.

Jonagold - this is the first year for some apples.

Mesclun, seeds planted late summer.

Scepter'ed Isle, 8 feet tall.

Hey, wait a minute! Another chance at the epiphyllum.

This cayenne pepper continues to produce. Nice and hot!

Beans, seeds planted late summer.

Canadace grape. The color doesn't come true wtih the flash, it's more red in natural light.

A throwaway chrysanthemum. I left it in the veggie bed for the summer.

Hibiscus. First flower.

Progress Notes - Kitchen Garden

Beans are done. New beans not yet blooming.

Cucumbers bearing like crazy.
Pattypan squash started bearing.

Grapes are starting to ripen. Price is first, then Venus. Each year, I can't wait for the grapes beause I know how good they will be, then I am amazed anyway with how good they taste. No comparison with grocery grapes, not even close.

Tomatoes bearing. Ive had a few Lemon Boy, and some of the "Black" varieties (Black Krim, Black Cherokee). For the first time in my yard, blossom end rot has taken some of the larger tomatoes. Like the grapes, the flavor amazes me. They are so very, very good.

We get a bowl of cherry tomatoes every day now.

Pruning Grapes

Here is the arbor before pruning. I read that it's necessary to remove 90% of the previous year's growth. These vines are Interlaken, Canadice, and Venus.

After. For the most part, all 3 vines were pruned to spurs. In most cases, to 2 or 3 buds per spur. That meant that more than 90% of last year's growth was removed. I keep debating, am I leaving too much? Am I removing too much? Since this year the vines were amost too crowded, I should not leave more now than I did last year.

Similarly for this Price grape. There were only a few bunches of grapes this year. I don't know if I am using the right method. Plus, the squirrels (furry little Satans with paws) chewed off most of the flower buds along the top, which is where most of ther flower buds were.


After. Most of the remaining vine is pruned to spurs. There is one cane left along the top as well. I couldnt decide which method was better. Maybe I'll pay more attention this time.

Plus, I need to add a chicken-wire top, or something, to thwart the furry little beasties in their develish missions.

Grapes in Cherry Tree

What's that up in the cherry tree? Grapes! I'm not sure of the variety, possible Niagra. I suggest Niagra as the variety because it is the most popular seeded green grape variety sold in stores, although I bought the original plant at a Farmer's Marker in Vancouver 4 or 5 years ago.
They are very juicy and sweet, but given their locaton 20 or 30 feet off the gound, it takes a ladder to harvest them. The plan was to have them grow along a fence UNDER the tree, but this vine has aspirations of its own.

After a hiatus

It's been a difficult summer. Work hours are long and the work is the most intense ever. Coming home, I'm often too exhausted to do more than water 'essentials' about every other night on hot days, less often if cooler. No time for more significant garden projects. I have also tried to get the bathroom project finished, but only about 1 day every other weekend.

What has happened in the garden?

1. Most of the plants continue to survive. The grapes (Venus here) are producing like crazy now. I've about finished off Interlaken and Venus, and Price is done. Price didnt have many anyway, but they are the most 'grapy', most flavorful and largest. They do have seeds, but I think I even like that.

2. Of course, the hummingbirds dont take much attention, and they have been the big treat of the summer. I read that they eat the nectar for energy, but get all of their protein from insects. No wonder this yard is doing so well wtihout insecticides.

3. Tomatoes are producing well now. I eat at least one large tomato daily, sometimes more. Principe Borghese makes for great 'tomato raisons' - slice in have and leave in the dehydrator for about 24 hours.

4. Figs have not done much yet. The containerized figs are barely limping by. Vancouver / Brunswick has lots of large figs and Petite Negri has many many small ones. Hardy Chicage has a few, I ate one yesterday - these are small, but so is the tree. next year?

5. Raspberries are bearing well. I think I do like the Fallgold better, and my just ust that one next year.

6. Roses are surviving, not much disease, and most bloom a little all summer. Nothing dramatic.

7. Brugmansia has had a few flowers but not as much as last year. Maybe the container is too small. It gets daily waterings.

8. Ning's Changchun beans actually did quite well. we are still getting more than we can eat.

9. Garlic did very well. It's almost time to plant again.

10. Cacti did well this year. A few blossoms as noted earlier. Most have grown guite a lot.

All for now. I dont know how to move back closer to work/life balance (I've NEVER been in balance) but seriously need to strive for it, lose the 20 "stress pounds" that piled on, and figure out how to find time and energy to bike again. Can I do it?

veggies

At this time I've barely had time to keep them watered. Still, with large amounts of organic matter added to the soil over the past several years, and a compost mulch, they are producing pretty well. Lots of tomatoes now, plus zucchinis, cucumbers, some cayenne and hungarian peppers. Also, I've been eating about 1/2 pound of grapes daily for the past week, and they are just starting to ripen. First was Interlaken, quickly followed by Venus and Price. Price has the largest grapes, with a 'grapey' flavor, and I don't mind the seeds. Interlaken is the sweetest, but being seedless they are smaller than Price. Venus is interesting - I can't decide how much I like them, but they are not fully sweet yet and they are bigger than Interlaken. Canadice hasn't started to ripen yet. Looking forward to them.

Grapes

The first variety to sweeten this year is Interlaken. VERY 'grapey' flavor, much better than those grocery store grapes!

Update

No photos today.

Weekend in Quincy IL. Things look stable there.

Interesting - growing up there, everyone had a backyard garden. I didn't see any this time.

Back in vancouver, lots of beans on Ning's Chinese Bean vines. There have been several batches to eat.

Grapes are "almost" there. Sour but starting to sweeten up.

Roses are blooming nicely.

Another bud on the Epiphyllum.

There have been 3 breba figs plus one main crop fig on the petite negri. None yet on the others.
Too much going on otherwise. I hope that I can weed and prune a little this weekend.

Seed Germination. Garden Log.

Most of the tomato seeds have sprouted.
Once cucumber has germinated.
Still a few squash and a small number of tomato seedlings to go.

Tulips are in bloom. Daffodils are declining. Grapes are beginning to bloom. Lilacs are beginning to bloom.

Ginkgo trees have tiny clusters of leaves.

The arbor is pruned.

Grape arbor before tackling the pruning. Last year these were pruned primarily as canes, with a few spurs along the 'trunk'. Growth was rampant last year. Canadice and Interlaken bore fruit both from the spurs or canes, so either method should be OK.






This year, they are pruned mainly as spurs, with a few canes at the ends to cover the reaainder of the arbor. I may shorten them some more, since I suspect that I left too many buds. In the future, if these varieties can bear well from spurs, I think that spur pruning will be the way to go.

Each vine has 4 arms, informally arranged on the supports.

It was evening by the time that I finished. I'm happy to have this once-yearly job done.

Detail of spurs.

New Year's Day. Grape pruning.

This gateway arch was built 2 years ago from Home Depot scraps. It seemed like a good way to convert unusable yard space into productive garden space.

The detail above shows the pruned vines, each support holding a string to attach the vines. Last year the vine grew rampantly, and true to most recommendations, I removed the majority of last year's growth. One cane was left for each side of the archway, and a replacement spur is present for each cane.

It's difficult to see the vines given that they are about the same color as the fence. If I had not pruned it today, then I would be thinking about it until it's done. With last year as a guide, by mid summer the vines will be rampant, covering the gateway with a thick mop-top.

The Price grape had only a few grapes last year. Apparently the squirrels decided that this is really a rest stop on their fence-top I-5, with pre-blossom grape buds as the squirrel-equivalent of Chicken McNuggets. Once the vines actually grew, the squirrels left them alone. So, only a few grapes, and none from the top.

Not sure what squirrel-resistent devices to attempt this year. Maybe a sloping board covered with foil? Stretch out a slinky and attach to the fence top? Of course, if a squirrel WANTS it, it will GET it regardles of what I do.

The pruned ginkgo. Lower branches are removed, upper branches shorted to buds pointed in (hopefully) the best directions. A couple of upper branches, that looked like they would result in badly placed branches, were also removed. It's ready for a new year, come Spring.

One day's harvest

One day of harvest. Plus a half-pound of Chinese chive for dumplings. Not bad for a small yard.

Still tired; last night was an all-nighter at work, no breaks. Slept 1/2 of today.

Small back spasm, more due to being tired than anything that I did, so will drive tomorrow. Will bring clothes to work for anticipated bike ride on Tuesday.