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.

Seed germination

From the recently planted seeds, so far:

Cilantro (2 days ago)
Tiny Tim tomato (today)
Lemon Boy tomato (today)
Cherokee Black Tomato (barely, today)

Germination time for these, then, is 9 days. For cilantro, 8 days.

Unknown Soldiers 1907

 

Ziplock Fig Cuttings. Lively Bees. Geranium Revival.

Here is the result so far, of the ziplock fig cutting experiment. basically, fig cuttings were wrapped in moist paper towels, left on high shelf, in ziplock bag. I opened them when I remembered. About a month later, here they are. A bit moldy. Now to transition them to soil & a brighter location. The roots are fragile but it is interesting how easily they rooted. No rooting hormone. This method is popular in the fig forum on the gardenweb.

The Orchard Mason Bees are active and lively. They are using their new nesting box as well as the prior ones. They seem to like sitting in the sun.I will need to make another next weekend. Excellent reference on Orchard Mason Bees: "The Orchard Mason Bee" by Brian L. Griffin (creative title, too).

Daffodils are starting to wilt now. I removed some, to prevent seed heads from forming. Maybe I'll leave a couple as an experiment.

Cherries are in full bloom. Peaches are almost done. Apples have'nt oepened yet.

I saw my first hummingbird of the year, actually heard it first. It was sippin the nectar from flowering quince.

I cut all of the dead leaved from the oeverwintered geraniums, gave them new soil, repotted a couple, pruned off lanky growth that occurred in the dark garage. They ar eoutside now. I gave them some organic bloom food (slow release) and a little fish emulsion for a boost.

More daffodils. Rhubarb. Candytuft.

More daffodils

Peach Blossoms. Bees. Chilly Nights. Ginkgo buds.

Lots going on in the yard.

The little peach "trees" are in full bloom

The cherries are in almost-full bloom.

The daffodils continue to bloom.

A frost was predicted last night, but the low was 39. I brought in everything tender and left them all inside today.

Article in the Oregonian about honey bee problems, disappearing bees. It describes how dependent our fruit orchards are, on honey bees. I hope that the orchard mason bees can make an impact. Even more, I hope that the honey bees resurge, but it doesnt look like it will happen this year. The orchard mason bees in the "growing greener yard" were active all afternoon on sunday, using their older bee-house as well as the new one that I "built".

The ginkgo tree has green buds. also tru for the cuttings that I stuck into the ground in the tomato patch. I don't know if they have taken root, or are expending their "last effort" on some buds.

Brugmansia

The brugmansia was starting to produce tiny leaves in the garage. I decided to repot it and move it outside. The root ball wasn't as thick and difficult as I had expected. Not at all like what a fig would be, for a similar size tree. I removed as much soil as could be easily removed, about 1/2 of the original soil.
Here it is after repotting and some light pruning. I added some perlite and some Whitney's "Bulb and Bloom" organic fertilizer to the soil. It's now on the south side of the house. Hoping it doesn't get sunburned. This time of year, the sun is still low in the sky.

There were a few prunings left. I stuck them into a glass of water. If they grow, I don't know what I'll do with them.

Spring here in leaps and bounds

This variety is "Ice Follies". The bunch was ONE bulb, 3 years ago.
Are the "volunteers" or weeds? I ca't decide. Sometimes I pull them up. Most of the time, when they are in an inconvenient place, I move them, otherwise I leave them be.
The grape buds are quickly swelling.
I planted seeds today. These are 3 oz paper cups. They are in seed starting mix. I think that I listed the tomato seed varieties previously. This flat also contains cucumbers, zucchinis, peppers, and cilantro.

More Daffodils. Leucojum vernum.

Another rescued daffodil. I don't know the name of this one either. They are multiplying nicely among the strawberries. When the leavs get messy, the strawberries take over.
Yet another unknown variety. I might have planted this one a few years ago.
These are in a warm location. I dug up and divided two bunches from the lawn 3 years ago. Most are not blooming yet. This buch is next to the house. The nearby leaves are Alstroemeria.

Saturday Projects

Neem Oil. I sprayed the Anigozanthos again. The Kanga Red-Green is looking very sad with inky black spot disease. It might die. The yellow "nameless" is more perky, but I may be risking it by having it outside now. It's raining, but they are in a protected area under the eaves. Since I had some neem mixed up, I re-sprayed the back yard roses and the peach leaf tips. There is frost damage on some of the rose leaves, but most are looking sturdy. The new rose bush (Fair Bianca) is growing a number of shoots. The new bare-root rose (Pascali) is further behind but buds are starting to swell. I suspect that leaf curl will be a problem this year again. The strawberries got another spray of neem as well.
This daffodil was 'rescued' when it appeared in the lawn. There is also a larger bunch. The flowers tend to nod, so it can be difficult to see. It would be nice as a cut flower.
I made another bee house for the Orchard Mason Bees. That's the one on the left. The one on the right was purchased last year. The holes are all drilled out. I hope that they return. I'll leave some mud for them as well. The cherries are starting to bloom. so it's time for the bees to do their thing.