Late Summer Cleanup. Vitals.

Since I'm on call this weekend and could potentially have to return to work, the day was spent puttering and doing late summer cleanup. Some painting was done, some weeds pulled, some deadheading.


This is the ginkgo seedling that I planted to replace the dying monkey puzzle. The seed was planted 6 or 7 years ago in a Chicago apartment, and transported to Vancouver 5 years ago. The original plan was to create a large bonzai-type tree. However, the need for attention (primarily the need not to miss watering) makes it safer to plant in the ground, so here it is.



Irises were dug and replanted. Dividing and replanting is needed about every 3 to 5 years. I already gave away a number of starts. Now was time to cut out the old rhizomes and replant. Irises are said to like lime, so several handfulls of crushed eggshells were mixed into soil.



The strawberry bed was cleaned up and thinned. Some plants were moved to the border of the tomato bed. I read that the leaves should be removed in July and cleaning done then, so I'm about 1 1/2 months late - but if they don't make it, it's not a big loss. Looks bare now but I suspect that they will fill in. They were too closely planted, and it was hard to locate strawberries. I may thin them some more.

Vitals today: 205.5# (lowest this year) BP=136/88 HR=68 

"Volunteers" and today's putteriing

This is probably 'golden nugget' tomato, an open polinated Oregon variety which I grew for three years. It popped up in the rose bed. I didnt notice until I saw the yellow tomato.



This is probably 'gambo' pepper, an heirloom variety that I grew last year. It popped up in a flower pot along with some Italian Parsley; not much room left for the Euphorbia that was planted in the pot.



This is a morning glory that I grew last year. It looks very nice sprialling around the cleome. It's excessively exuberant - and there are others around the yard.

I remember the concept of 'volunteer' plants from growing up in Quincy. The volunteer is a seedling that sprouted, without human intervention, from seeds that fell or were otherwise distributed (such as seeds spread by birds, or a fruit pit abandoned after eating the fruit, or seeds that survived composting kitched scraps). Around the yard are volunteer Rose of Sharon, and semi-volunteer rose bushes (from discarded prunings that somehow survived and sprouted). These represent the tenacity of life, growing without effort from me or any other grower (such as commercial outfits). As such, they are treasures.

Unless they turn into weeds (like ivy, but that's another story).

Today's puttering:
1. I planted a seedling ginkgo, to replace the slowly dying Monkey Puzzle tree. Who knows whether there is something wrong with that yard location (in which case I might have doomed the ginkgo). I hope it's not Sudden Oak Death - but as slow as this tree has been dying (over three years), it's not sudden.
2. Cleaned up the strawberries. Removed old leaves. Pulled out crowded strawberries, and planted at the edge of the tomato bed and blueberry border.
3. Deadheaded roses.
4. Mowed the brown but weedy lawn. Maybe this will be the year to try an eco-lawn?
5. I think I'm going to pick some grapes now.

2 miniature and one columnar apples.

Jonagold. Last year this tree had fire blight and was "appleless". This is the first year to produce some fruit. Almost ripe.



Liberty. This tree was free of blight last year. The apples were bland. Will try eating them sooner this year, maybe there will be more flavor.



North pole. Also bland last year. Does anyone know when to pick the apples?

Today I pruned the sole non-fruiting apple tree (a golden delicious). This tree had a severe case of blight last year, and survived but no flowers this Spring.

Summer pruning keeps the trees compact. There are various methods. In some methods, the branches are cut back to a couple of nodes (Lorette pruning) in mid and late summer (more than one pruning). Since these trees are still young and small, I did not trim back so severely. I did cut back about 3/4 of new growth on the golden delicious. About one month ago, I similarly pruned several dwarf Cherry Trees.

Here is a good article about maintaining a backyard orchard. The key features are:

1. Plant a diversity of fruit trees for a succession of fruit over many months.
2. Choose dwarf varieties.
3. Plant them close together.
4. Keep them pruned to control size and optimize production on the small tree.
5. Don't be intimidated by pruning. Some shapes, such as espalier, can further increase the amount of fruit in a small space.

I would also add,
1. Also grow small fruiting plants (such as strawberries) and fruiting shrubs (such as blueberries and raspberries) which can be very productive in a small space. Fruiting vines, such a grapes, can produce in areas (such as an arbor on the side of a house or over a deck, that might otherwise not allow for plant growth.
2. Try container methods, which expand the climate limits by allowing for storage of dormant plants indoors, and which can be moved to different locations depending on yard needs and plant size.
3. Mix in other plants to improve pest control. I think that some herbs, such as chamomile, mints, chives, garlic chives, lavender, and others, attract small insects that help control pests.
4. Changing to a minimalis attitude about the lawn can reduce the nitrogen and water used in the garden. Decreasing nitrogen use can improve fruit production (by decreasing rampant growth favoring leaves over fruit). Im not sure about the effects of decreasing watering on fruit production, but at least one reference startes that an overwatered lawn also reducesfruit production.

There is still a chance: Figs from Oct 2005

Days are becoming shorter, nights getting cooler. Will there be any crop figs this year? Photos offer hope. Taken 10/15/05.

This is Vancouver Brunswick.



This is Petite Negri.



One of each. So, there is still a chance.


I think that the Brown Turkey figs will start to ripen in a few weeks.

Waiting for Gentrification: Downtown Quincy, Illinois

Well preserved architecture. I remember when this theater was open (boy am I old). I didnt have to wait for the street to clear - it was this empty already. There are so few cars - it's like a scene in an old sci fi movie, after everyone dies of a mysterous disease and leaves the town vacant (like, say, the Andromeda Strain).



When I was a high school student, this was the Quincy Free Public Library. I was a page there. Boy am I old. By the way, the year that "The Andromeda Strain" came out was about the last year that this building housed the Library.



Diamonds in the rough. If these buildings could be moved, brick by brick, to, say, Astoria, they would be a great tourist attraction. I suspect that the main reason that they are still standing is that no-one cares enough about the neighborhood to either renovate them (in the wrong hands, disasterous) or demolish (which would be a big loss).



Washington Park. These trees are huge. Lindens, Elms, Maples, Sycamores, a Ginkgo, various evergreens. What a treasure.