First Seed Starts Of The Year. 1.12.2021

 Today I set up the LED Plant lights on the plant stand, so they will be ready when the seedlings germinate.  I still need to construct a wider shelf.  The first seedlings are onions, which do well started now; peppers and eggplants, which seem to need to longest head start.  I think last year I started peppers in March but it might have been April.  The pepper crop was quite late.  Their raised bed is already set up, which is a nice feeling.

Here is a view of the LED light set up, taken from below.  The light colors do not come at all true in the photo.

The seeds I started today.

Onions - Yellow Sweet Spanish (heirloom), New York Early, and Evergreen White Nebuka scallions.

Shallots from Seeds- Ambition F1.  I have not tried growing shallots from seeds before.

Peppers- Early Jalapeno, Serrano, Jalafuego F1 hybrid, and Arapaho F1.  Tomorrow I may get out some old seeds for others.  There is room on the mats.

Eggplants-Long Purple and (I forget) Black.  These are old seeds.

I like using the little mushroom containers from the grocery store, as holders for seedling sis packs.  They are more sturdy, and hold water.  The size is perfect.  I have them covered with plastic wrap, and they are on seed starting warming mats.

Some of this year's new seeds are from Johnny's Selected Seeds.  They are located in Maine, so my guess is their varieties should be good for Northern gardens.  Also some from "Seeds n Such" which I have not tried before.  They had several that I could not find elsewhere, and their prices were good.

Propagating / Transplanting Oriental Poppy. The Result. 1.10.2020

Back in 2000 or so, I grew brilliant red oriental poppies from seeds.  This was an homage to my grandfather who grew them.  I remember him saying that they don't transplant easily.  That might be a false memory, so long ago.  A few years ago, I tried transplanting the mature oriental poppy plants when they were dormant.  The roots were woody and brittle, and broke off under ground.  I planted them  any way, and they grew and bloomed the next year.

Those original plants grew new tops from the deep roots.  Last summer I dug them again, breaking them off as deeply as I could.  I did that when they were fully dormant, mid summer, dried brown stems.  The roots were about 9 inches long.  I planted them in the perennial border around my garden.  

Checking the garden now, there are healthy looking poppy plants at each site where I planted the transplants.  This method works nicely.  I expect they will bloom next summer.

Rufus' New Rain Jacket. 1.10.2021

 Given the gloomy weather, I want Rufus in a more visible color than his natural shadow-black, on our daily walks.  We don't have sidewalks.  I wear bright yellow, so he should too.  I started this jacket last year then set it aside.  The main thing it needed was a belt and belt loops, to keep it from sliding off his back.  Here he is wearing the improved jacket.

Pruning the Apple Trees. 1/4/2021

 There is a role for summer and for winter pruning of apples.  Summer pruning is more dwarfing, but can expose apples to sunburn.  Growth on winter pruned apples can be too vigorous.  There is more time in the winter, and without leaves the form shows up better.

This is Liberty apple on the minidwarfing M27 rootstock.  The tree is 20 years old.  I moved it from the Vancouver place about 5 years ago.  It never did well there, but in Battle Ground  got a new lease on life.  I don't want branches that are too high to reach with a ladder, but also don't want them so low it's hard to keep the soil clean around the tree and hard to get to the apples.  So, I've been progressively removing the lowest branches, and bending the top growth to a horizontal shape, sort of a 3-dimensional Espalier.  I bend those, tie them down for a year or two, then shorten branches that grown one them, in the summer by a Lorette-type approach.  So far it's working OK.

This is the Jonagold.  It's also on M27 but much more vigorous than the Liberty.  Probably because it is triploid.  I'm trying to use the same approach, bending the upper branches to a horizontal position, then prune for spurs in the summer.

I'm not sure about the rootstock on the Winecrisp apple.  It seems to be a dwarf or mid size tree, maybe semidwarfing rootstock.  Again, a similar approach.  I've added some grafts as well, Sweet-16, Fameuse, and Mile Gibson.  So far. the Sweet-16 and Fameuse seem promising.  I'm not sure about the Milo and may change that over to something else.  Anyway, I'm aiming for the same idea, horizontal top branches.  Not pictured.

This was the first tree I grafted.  The base tree is Sutton Beauty, on M26 Rootstock.  I think.  I've added Baldwin, Liberty, Airlie Red Flesh, and Prima.  I'm not impressed with Baldwin and might remove it.  Same for the Airlie Red Flesh, which is good but can be scabby.  No harm in keeping them another year.  This tree remains quite dwarf.  It needs a little more tying down.

These columnar trees are North Pole on M27.  I'm keeping them to single cordon, with spurs about a foot long or less.  They do need support.

 There are still lots more apple trees that need pruning.

Making a Machine Washable Doggie Bed Out of Old Comforter. 1.4.2021

 This was an old comforter I bought at Good Will two years ago for Rufus.  It cost $6.  Most of the dog beds are not really washable and become lumpy and dirty fairly fast, and are quite expensive.  In the past, I used old comforters and folded then for bulk, to make a soft dog bed.  Those can be washed but can be too big for the washer/dryer.  This one was king size, so I never used it.  No way would it fit in our washer.  I didn't notice that when I bought it.

Today I got it out and cut it into quarters, then hemmed the edges.  That made four pillowy minicomforters that can be folded in half or thirds and stacked for the little "prince and the pea.".  Plus, they are a nice washable / dryable size for Mr. Muddy Paws.  I think these will last longer than a bought purpose-made dog bed, and he likes them.

Reuse, repurpose, upcycle, whatever.  Plus cheap.