Some Ugly Irises. 5.23.2020

I need to do some thinning out of the bearded iris plants.  That's hard to do, they are my favorite flower.  However, some are ugly, and some do poorly.  This season will be when I make some decisions.

The iris garden is getting weedy and the rains and chills have not been kind.

The cultivar "Cheetah Cheese was more oranges and yellows in the photos from the nursery.  This one is mauve-ugly with white.  It's uglier in person than in this photo.  It will go into the trash  The cultivar "Blatant" is sold as a rebloomer.  In the internet photos, the flowers practically glow.  In my garden, they look like the skin of someone with a really bad blood vessel disease.  This one also did not bloom last year, and one of the two plants that I had developed rot.  This one looks like that might happen too.  I think some are over-hybridized and more susceptible to disease compared to some of the oldies.  Blatant will also go.  They probably shouldn't go into compost if they are possibly infected with something.

Bearded Iris "Cheetah Cheese".  5.23.2020

Bearded Iris "Blatant"  5.23.2020

Planting Bush Bean Seeds. 5.23.2020

Of the beans that I planted in the past week to 2 weeks, only the Dragon's Tongue bush beans have germinated.  I need to double check that name, it might be Fire Tongue or something.  These look healthy so far.

I also planted Limas, Yellow Wax, Romas, and Landreth Stringless, all a day or a few days after the Dragon's tongue.  Only a couple of Landreth Stringless have germinated.  Those YellowWax and Romas were older seeds.  Maybe they won't grow.  It might be their age, or not giving them enough time, or the cool weather.

Tonight I'm soaking some fresh, new seeds of Landreth and Roma.  I can plant them tomorrow.

Dragon's Tongue bush beans.  5.23.2020

Tomatoes and Protective Covers. 5.23.2020

With predicted cool temperatures and ongoing rains, I got out the wall-o-water units that i bought last year, and protected three tomato plants.  I also got, via amazon, a flimsy polyethylene painting tarp, and covered some of the sauce tomato plants, first placing fencing tunnels over the plants so the plastic would not touch them. Most of the nights were in the 40s and 50s, and the days in 50s and 60s.

Almost two weeks later, I removed the protections.

For the plants that were not protected,  they look fine.  The leaves are nice and green, and they grew a bit.
The plants that were protected by plastic on fencing tunnels grew the fastest.  They are sturdy and green and quite a bit bigger.
The plants that were covered with the wall-o-water, were not as healthy looking.  They did increase some in size, but are more lanky and droopy.  I imagine they will come out of it, but the wall-o-water did not do as well as the plastic layer on fencing tunnels, and probably not as good as unprotected plants.

I think the water cones might be better used for colder weather than we had.  Maybe they heated up too much.

Top Left and top middle:  Bodeaceous.  Bottom Left and bottom Middle:  Better boy.  Right:  Supersweet 100 and Sungold.  Only  The left most were covered with Wall-o-water for 2 weeks.

Mostly Ranger tomato plants, protected by plastic tunnels, or no tunnel.  Plus Early Girl protected by wall-o-water.  5.23.2020

Early Girl Bush Tomato, protected by wall o water for 2 weeks.  5.23.2020

Planting Sweet Corn. Germinating Sweet Corn. 5.23.2020

Most years, my rule of thumb is to plant sweetcorn starting on May 15.  This year I started about a week sooner - check prior post for actual date.  That batch was Bilicious, an SE type.  I always grow SE sweet corn.

Then it was chilly and rainy for the past approx two weeks.  Most days in 50s and 60s, nights in 40s and 50s.  I wondered if the seeds would germinate, but most of them did. These were 1/2 new seeds, and 1/2 one-year-old seeds.  I think the majority of them germinated.

I cover with 1 inch square plastic mesh, so birds don't eat the seeds.  Then I switch to low fencing tunnels, so rabbits and deer don't eat the tender young plants.  When they grow out of the fencing tunnels, they usually don't get eaten.

Today I planted "Ruby Queen", from Burpee.  These are red kernel sweet corn.  I imagine the flavor is about the same as the yellow, but since there is a difference between yellow and white, who knows?  Ruby Queen is also SE.

Germinating Sweet Corn Plants.  5.23.2020

Honeybee on Collard and Poppy Flowers. 5.15.2020

Honeybee on Oriental Poppy Flower.  5.15.2020

Honeybee on Collard Green Flowers.  5.15.2020

Iris Garden Today. 5.15.2020

Sunny Disposition.  5.15.2020

Bearded Iris Garden.  5.15.2020

Victoria Falls.  5.15.2020

Apple protectors for birds and bugs. 5.15.2020

While thinning apples, I noticed some had been partially eaten by birds. I also read on a gardening website about people anxiously awaiting their Redlove apples, only to have them eaten by birds who apparently mistook them for cherries.

This year will be the first chance to taste my Redlove Calypso and Redlove Era apples, with only 2 or three of each per tree.  I'd rather be the one to taste them, not some stupid birds.

Last year I bought some organza gift bags, to see if individually bagging apples on the trees would prevent some insect damage.   Some people claim that doesn't prevent bird damage.  So, I sewed holographic scare tape to a couple of organza bags, and cut flaps so when the birds are looking at the bags and thinking "that stupid guy thinks those bags will keep us out", they will be distracted by the flashing moving lights.  Last year, the scare tape helped a lot with blueberries and cherries.

Organza bag / scare tape on a Redlove Era tiny apple.  5.15.2020

First Rhubarb Harvest. 5.15.2020

Today I harvested some rhubarb.  I was going to make a pie, but it was kind of a "COVID-19" and too much other bad news day, so I didn't.  Tomorrow.

I don't know the variety.  It was here when we bought the place, 8 years ago.  I'd like to divide it and plant in a nicer spot.  The stems are juicy and pink inside, an it makes a nice pink rhubarb pie.

Might make a good freezer jam, too.

More Bearded Iris Blossoms. 5.14.2020

Here is the white orphaned irise today.  It's nice.  Unlike "Immortality", it doesn't look like wet tissue paper after a rain. 

Here is what that iris rhizome looked like 5.21.2020 after I cleaned it up, after pulling it out of the brush pile.  It's amazing that it bloomed in almost exactly one year.  Irises are rugged.  That blossom was probably from the largest of these rhizome pieces.

Here is a view of the iris garden today.

"Immortality".  It actually does not look like wet tissue paper this time.  5.14.2020

Honorabile or Sans Souci, which may be the same thing.  5.14.2020

"Spiced Custard"  5.14.2020

"Red Dirt Road".  5.14.2020

"Edith Wolford".  5.14.2020

Some Efforts to Warm The Soil a Little. 5.14.2020

Soil temp is running about 58 to 60 this am.  I found some "Wall-o-water"-type cover   systems that I bought last year at Bi-mart but never used.  A long time ago, I used these to give tomatoes a head start. 

Since I have two "Bodaceous" and two "Better Boy" plants, I set up a water cover for one each of those.  There was one to spare, so I set that up on the "Early Girl Bush" tomato.

Today it's been raining all day.  After about 8 hours, the soil temp is only 62 in these units, but give them some sun and I imagine they will warm up better

After a week or two, we can see if the covered tomato plants are bigger than the uncovered ones of the same type.

For the raised bed with peppers, I added "Quonset hut" made from fencing, and topped that with clear polyethylene painter's dropcloth.  The Quonset looks like this, which is on some tomatoes.  An additional package of the polyethylene painter's dropcloth should come today via Amazon, in which case those tomatoes will also get a warming cover.

Here is the set-up on the peppers, in a raised bed.  Also, in front of that raised bed is a planted row of Lima bean seeds that I soaked last night.  I'm sure they also need some warmth.