Varmints already chewing. Tree protection 10.19.14

Chewing damage.  Asian Pear.  10.20.14

Hardware Cloth Tree Protection.  10.20.14

 This is the first time I've seen chewing damage at the base of pear trees.    I suspect voles.  Could be rabbit.  Deer don't chew so low.  Fortunately it doesn't surround the tree, and pears heal quickly. 

This protection is a central part of winterizing.

I've learned it's just best to have a roll of hardware cloth on hand, and some zip ties.

The  zip ties make it very easy to put on a sleeve without a helper.  When it's time to remove the sleeve, the zip tie is easily cut with a scissors.  The extra tail can be trimmed off if the appearance is an issue.

The pear now has a protective sleeve of hardware cloth.  Usually I have more overlap where it joins, just didn't here.  I don't think the varmint will squeeze through the seam, anyway.

I try to make the sleeve loose enough for several years of growth.  That way I don't have to put it on every fall.

There are hardware cloth sleeves on, probably, most of my young trees.

I don't think the mesh size is too important.  I've used 1/2 inch and 1/4 inch.

It's time to get them protected.  Tender fig bark is a critter favorite.  Apparently they like Asian Pear bark. 

Fresh Tomatoes. Okra. Pears. 8.21.14

Lemon Boy, Cherokee Purple, SuperSweet 1,000, Sungold, and one I forget.  8.18.14

Burgundy Okra.  Container Grown.  8.21.14

 Now I know you can grow okra in the Pacific NW.  It takes effort, but it can be done.  Like anything else home grown, fresh is best.  The varieties that are working best for me are Burgundy, Dwarf Long Green Pod, and Baby Bubba.  Contrary to a lot of gardening advice, they can be started inside, very early.  They don't mind transplanting at all.  For me, container growing is clearly the best way.  The deck is as good as anywhere.

Nice looking plant, too.

Tomatoes are the best ever for me.  The seeds were left over from previous years.  The Lemon Boy were many years old.  Pee-fertilizing gave me the biggest, lushest, more productive tomato plants I've had.  I did not spritz them - the shine is their own juice.

Pears.  8.21.14

I still lose a lot of pears to spoilage.  But the ones I get before spoiling, I love.  I don't know the variety here, it's a multi-graft I planted 14 years ago.  I think this one is Bartlett.

Fruit Tree Grafting. 2.25.14

I've been watching the Calendar for grafting time.  I think this is grafting season now for apples and pears.  About the same time as I did last year, which was successful.

Today I added a pollinator variety to the little Honeycrisp, another to the one year old Sutton's Beauty, and one to the one year old Esopus Spitzenberg.  The pollinator varieties are old varieties.

I also added 3 varieties of Asian pear to the 2 year old Hosui, and 2 unknown varieties of European pear to the unknown variety of Asian pear.  This is for pollination.  Also I want to keep those varieties, if we move to the Battleground place.  I prefer more varieties, on the trees already there, than adding more trees.  We don't need a tree-full of each cultivar.  Just a branch for a couple bowls of fruit when each ripens.

Graafting Supplies and Scion Wood

Last year I did cleft grafting on existing trees.  I thought I was too uncoordinated to safely do whip & tongue grafting.  This time I did do whip & tongue grafting.  The saddle grafts all took, and some grew surprisingly fast.  But a cleft graft exposes open wound on each side, which dies and needs to be overgrown by new wood.   The whip & tongue graft does not leave exposed edges, so is potentially healthier.  In theory, all exposed scion cambium is matched with rootstock or branchstock cambium.  That's if the cuts are skillfully done.

I found that sharpening the knife between each graft, the wood cut very steadily.  I steadied my hand against my chest and mad the cuts very slowly, slicing along the blade. The biggest  concern with this method is it is hazardous to the fingers of the grafter.  I did get a small thumb laceration.  It only needed a bandaid.

Whip and Tongue Graft on Asian Pear

I used polyethylene wrap and treekote.  Looks nice and they seem like strongly splinted grafts.

Photo is blurred but still better than my sketch.  I found I had overlap of cut edge over bark.  So I carefully exposed cambium by shaving that section of bark.  Then it matched.

They are a little bent.  They came together with the wrapping.  I dipped in water so cut surfaces would not be dry.

Labels state variety name, expected ripening time, and on the back, graft date.

Wrapped snugly with polyethylene, and labeled.

Some references state polyethlene wrapping does not need external sealer.  Other references state sealer is needed.  A key to success is prevention of dessication, so I sealed.  Treekote is easy to apply.  Messy and not easy to get off the fingers.

Altogether today I did 3 grafts on Hosui pear, 3 grafts on unknown Asian pear, and one each on 3 small apple trees.  Then I wanted to do more but I had homework and a doctor's appointment so I quit.

Lessons learned today.
1.  Grafting is not as hard as I thought.  It takes practice.

Sealed with Treekote

2.  A very sharp knife is essential.  I used a grafting knife, and a hunting knife sharpener from Fred Meyer.
3.  Apply bandaid to thumb before starting.
4.  Work slowly, carefully.  Don't try to slice quickly.
5.  The whip and tongue stays together nicely and does not leave exposed surfaces.
6. Prepare labels ahead of time, with variety name, date of graft, and expected ripening time.  Label each graft as it is completed.
7.  Polyethylene tape is easier than wide rubber bands.  It can be cut from freezer bags, although I got mine via Amazon.
8.  The Treekote is easy to apply too.  That was also via Amazon.

Maybe this weekend I'll graft some plums and cherries.  They are considered more difficult.  The grafting season is short, so I might as well do it now instead of waiting to see how the others do.

Grafting fruit trees. Progress Report.

Pear Graft #1

 All of the pear grafts and apple grafts took and grew this year.

I did not keep track of varieties.  The pear grafts were on the 2 Asian pear trees.  The intent is to have pollinating varieties, on the same tree.  And novelty.

The pollinating varieties were, two from a multigraft Asian pear in the Vancouver yard, plus 2 prunings from newly planted pear trees.  Those were European pears, Rescue and Orca.

Pear Graft #2

Pear Graft #3

 Some of the grafts grew very fast.  Others barely grew.

I grafted the apples on Feb 23rd at the Home Orchard Society grafting class.  Spitzenberg and Suttons Beauty.  Each has 2 strong growths.  Late winter, I want to graft each with an additional variety.  Or with 2 additional varieties, allowing a bud to form a branch below the graft for the originals.  These would be very low branching trees, which is what I want.  I want to get them planted in-ground this fall, so the roots have a chance to grow.  That means I will need deer protection, too, which is more of a chore.  Not too difficult.

The regenerated Honeycrisp broke off near the ground, but above the graft, last year.  I debated re-grafting it.  Instead, I pruned short, and allowed the tree to grow from below the cut.  It has 2 strong growths.  Again, I would like to graft an additional variety onto one or both of the growths.

In the Vancouver yard, I have the Honeycrisp start, Jonagold, Liberty, and Karmijn de Sonneville.  At Battleground, there are the columnar varieties Golden Sentinel and Red Sentinel.  GS had one apple this year.  It's only about 2 feet tall.  That's enough varieties for my test garden.

There is also Prairie Fire crabapple, now, which I hope serves as a pollinator.

Pear Graft #4

Regenerated Honeycrisp Apple

New Dwarf Apple Grafts

Broken Honeycrisp tree Sept 2012

Pear Grafts

After taking the Home Orchard Society grafting class, I was anxious to try. These are the attempts. This is a russeted Asian pear, Chojuro. I've grafted a nonrusseted variety, unsure cultivar. Purpose is for pollination. Mostly I think it's just cool. This is the nonrusseted Asian pear. Unknown variety, had one pear last year. Grafted another unknown onto it from my home tree, plus 2 Euro pears, Orcas Island and Rescue. I tried to graft near the trunk.  Not the best grafts I've seen.  We did bench grafting in the class.  Learned whip and tongue graft, which took more finesse than I have on the bench.  On the tree it would likely have meant a blood sacrifice to the tree god.  So I tried the less hazardous but possibly less successful cleft grafting.  No loss if they don't take.  Pears have a reputation for easy grafting, so maybe.

Planting Seeds. Planting Fruit Trees.

Planted these today.

The Catnip and Lemon Balm are listed in companion planting books as beneficial to various vegetables. I don't know that I believe that, but no harm either.  I could have just divided more of the volunteer lemon balm from the yard.  Wanted to see if the seedlings are different.  Somewhere I read, Malva zebrina is a Korean vegetable.  Better find that before eating it. Seedaholic.com states they are edible and have a mild flavor.  pfaf.org states the leaves can be used in salads and soups, and the flowers are an edible and tasty garnish.    Planted in old plant 6-packs I had in the garage. Reuse / recycle. Once they are growing I can put them in the protected raised bed to acclimate.

Also planted the Orca pear and Rescue pear that I had buried in compost on Sunday.   Glad they are in the ground.

Home Orchard Society

Went to the meeting today. It was a great experience. I felt like I was among kindred spirits. Lots of fruit to view and taste.

Zillions of Apple varieties. All so much better than grocery apples.

These are the biggest. I don't need apples this big. They are fun to look at.

Grapes. Home grown grapes are fit for kings. People don't know what they are missing. Tasting many, I'm still convinced that grapes with seeds are superior to seedless grapes. Those tart tasteless things that pass for grapes in the grocery store should have a different name. They are not even close.

Chinese Haw / Shan zha. I didn't get a change to taste them. First time I've seen one. Second time might be on my own tree. Two years? Three?

Medlars/ I didn't get to taste these either. Another time. Later, other attendees told me they taste like spiced apple sauce.

Backyard Orchard Culture: Thinning baby fruits for better harvest.

Once fruit has set on the tree, it's time to thin the baby fruits for best yield. By thinning, each of the remaining fruits will get much more leaf-produced sunshine-generated energy. That means much larger fruits, more flavor, and earlier yield.

In years when I did not thin, my fruits were small and not as tasty.

 In my yard, thinning time is now - for apples, pears, asian pears, peaches, plums. If there are already about 1 fruit every 4 to 6 inches of branch, they don't need to be thinned. They say the fruit should be about one human fist apart. I have fat fists, so I left them slightly closer together. Do not thin tart cherries, sweet cherries, mulberries. It would just reduce the yield. Do thin apples, peaches, pears, asian pears, plums, unless setting was sparce. I'm not sure figs need thinning - mine drop a lot so I let the tree decide. I might remove a few that are too closer together. In my climate, the time to thin is now, to a few weeks from now. It may be a little early but I get excited. This week I thinned pears, asian pears, and apples. The peach fruits are sparse, but on branches where there are many clustered together, I thinned them to 1 per spur.

These are Liberty Apple, a disease-resistant apple that tastes great and bears well every year. This tree is on an ultra-dwarfing stock, so at 8 years old it is only 5 feet tall. It's more of a bush, than a tree. The blossom clusters set very well. Almost every blossom set. There are 4 to 8 baby apples per cluster. Left in place, the apples will be late, small, and not as flavorful. All but one or 2 should be removed, per cluster. Even with thinning this little tree may have a hundred apples this year.


Some people use their fingers to pull off the small fruits. I find that I pull of the entire spur, or twist and damage the remaining apple. I have fat clumsy fingers. So, I use a kitchen shears. To avoid spreading disease, I run them through the dishwasher between uses, once per tree. That also washes off the sticky sap.  This scissor is in a slightly wrong place - that's the one little apple I left in place. It's not easy taking a pic while holding an apple branch and a pair of scissors.  I avoiding thinning my fingers, and still have 10 on each hand.

After thinning, I have one apple per cluster. I left one per spur, which are about 4 inches apart. In each case, I tried to leave the biggest apple in place. When they grow a little bigger, I may remove a few of the closest-together ones, but basically the job is done. I'm pretty sure I left healthy baby apples - the blossoms that did not set just fall off now, whereas these have a nice start of little apples.


Of the other apple trees, the North Pole was also due for thinning, so I did that.  Also the Jonagold.   Both of these also set very well this year.  Of the new ones, Karmin de Sonneville and Honeycrisp, this is just their 2nd year of growth, but they are covered with flowers.  I thinned them as well.  I would like to get a few apples from each of those, even if it stunts future years.  I want them to be stunted.

My other preparation today was to spray each tree with some neem oil. Neem is organic. It is an extract from neem trees. Neem oil reduces fungal disease and aphids. I find it helpful, although not as helpful as selecting the right variety. My Golden Delicious got a leaf blight every year despite spraying, and Liberty so far has not got any blight, even when I don't spray. I finally cut down the Golden Delicious, and have new small starts of Karmin de Sonneville and Honeycrisp, both of which I expect to give a few apples this year. Jonagold is in between on the blight issue, so I neemed it well this year. Jonagolds are very good. I wish I could find a Jonathan or some scion wood from a Jonathan, which were my favorite apples when I was a boy.  Karmin seemed to get a little blight late in the year last year, but I still want to try with that one.  Karmin has interesting, downy furry leaves.  The apples are said to be among the most flavorfull.

In a few weeks, I will also cut the tips from the apple branches. I do that when they have about 6 inches of growth. Doing so stimulates spur formation for next year, and makes the tree/bush very compact.   But for now, they just need some sunshine and an occasional rain.

Fruit trees in bloom.

Asian Pear in bloom. This is 3-in-one Asian pear. In keeping with Backyard Orchard Culture methods, I'm keeping it pruned short and summer pruning of new growth back to about 6 inches of new growth. All 3 varieties are blooming this spring, covered with flowers. I played honey bee with them and transferred pollen among the varieties to pollinate. Not many bees outside this spring.

Left to right, Illinois Mulberry, not yet leafed out. The buds are swelling. Then 5-in-one European pear, beautiful flowers. You can't see the little Morello tart cherry, it has a couple of flowers, is in its 2nd spring, so not expecting much. Then Lapin? Cherry, covered in flowers, and the 3-in-one sweet cherry. I played the honey bee among the cherry trees, too.

This is the front side yard orchard. Each summer as I prune back I think "I've done too much! It won't bloom". Not true - covered with flowers. Last summer mid summer I pruned 3 or 4 feet of new growth off, back to about 6 inches of new growth. The trees are covered with flower buds. One is in full bloom, the other are just starting.

Hollywood Plum. The petals have fallen off. In bloom it was very beautiful. Unsure if it will fruit - pollinator may be wrong type, and too far away. Supposed to be self fruitful. Last year had 2 plums. They were SO GOOD! IF THE late frost didn't kill the flowers, I hope there will be a bowl of fruit this year.

The genetic dwarf peaches are nearly done blooming. More to follow. Shiro plum is finished blooming.

Kitchen Garden Log

Fresh tomatoes, peaches, peppers, and eggplant. I also picked 2-dozen pears yesterday - at the stage where they come loose from the tree when barely nudged.

Last weekend, we picked 1 dozen peaches from Honey Babe. Summer Gold isn't even close to ripe.

We have beans sprouting from last week's planting. Chinese pole beans and Romano.

Preventive measure: Tanglefoot for ants and aphids

Every year, I discover ants in the figs. It's not too bad - slice open and wash them out. If you miss a few, the ants have a nice crunchy texture and nutty flavor. However, the ants carry fungal spores, and it seems that the ant-infested figs also spoil before they reach their ultimate sweetness. Every year, I tell myself that "next year" I'll prevent the ant infestation.

Same with the cherries. Every summer, the leaves develop massive black cherry aphid infestations. I suspect that the ants cultivate the aphids. AFTER I see them, I get out the tanglefoot, but by then a lot of damage is done.

So this year WILL BE DIFFERENT! I actually did remember. What's up with that! Tanglefoot is great at stopping the ants from climbing the trees, and no toxic chemicals.

The instructions state to wrap the tree tightly with plastic, before applying the tanglefoot. I cut wide strips from plastic grocery store bags. These have enough stretch to make snug, bark-tight bands. They also tear quite easily, so there is no risk of girdling the tree with them. They start to deteriorate in about a year, which is time for the new coating.

I use a disposable plastic knife to apply the Tanglefoot. It's very gooey. Next to impossible to wash out of clothing.

I applied the same treatment to the pears, apples, cherries, and figs. The reason for also applying to the apples and pears is to reduce spread of disease by aphids.