Home Orchard Society Scion Exchange. 3.10.19

 Today was the Home Orchard Society scion exchange.  Hundreds of varieties, apples more than others but zillions of pears and grapes, as well as a few others.  I brought some scion from my apple trees and another member from my area, gave away some scion to other members, and gave away the extra fig trees that I've been nurturing for the past year.

 I did pick up some scions to graft, nothing major.  A male fuzzy kiwi, some quince, a couple of other things I will document when they are grafted.


Overall very nice.  I'm not looking to add a lot of varieties now, just fine tuning my orchard, improving where I see a chance to make things better.  Still, it's a lot of fun, and I love grafting.

Plus, I bought some Bud-9 Apple rootstock.  Bud-9 is very dwarfing, somewhat fireblight resistant, precocious, and hardy.  I want to create some new columnar apple trees (Northpole) that are easier to maintain ar a small size. I have already grafted and planted those.

Early Grafting. 3.9.19

Quince Grafts.  Smyrna.  3.9.19

Today I did the first grafts of the year.  First, I grafted Smyrna quince onto a multitrunk quince that arose after I accidentally mowed over an Aromatnaya quince tree, 2 years ago.  I can't tell if the regrowth is from above or below the graft (oops) .  I was able to purchase some Smyrna scion (Burnt Ridge), so that is what I went with.

I'm reworking the vigorous Chehalis branch on a multigraft tree.  None of the Chehalis apples have been good, so far - cracked, mottled, bad spits, not much taste on the parts that were not discolored.  Yet, it's the most vigorous branch on the tree.

So, I'm reworking that branch with some other varieties.  The first is Pristine.  I salvaged the scion from a Pristine branch that had graft failure and broke off.

My grafting technique is rusty.  Plus, these are small caliper scions.  We'll see how they do.  These are all whip & tongue.  Apple is usually quite forgiving.  I used 1/2 inch wide strips, cut from freezer zip-lock bags, to firmly tie and splint the grafts.  Last year, that method had 100% success rate for me.  To cover the scion and it's cut end, I used 1/4 inch Parafilm.  I think thinner plastic might have bedn as good, but wanted to try it.

Apple Grafts.  Pristine.  3.9.19

Now it's wait and see.  I have a bunch more grafts to do in weeks to follow.

Shallots and Potatoes. 3:6.19

Grocery Store Shallots.  Planted 3.6.19

Last week I planted more shallots, and some grocery store potatoes that had sprouted in the garage and were no longer usable.  I planted the shallots in the fenced bed, next to the garlics.  I planted the potatoes in an "overflow bed", which last year had annual flowers, the previous year was weeds, and the year before that was corn.  This is my overflow bed, because it's in an easement and could wind up getting paved without notice.  Also, I don't want to plant things in that bed that will need a lot of watering in mid to late summer, due to distance from spigot, so potatoes are a good option.

Sprouted Red Potatoes Planted 

More Multiplier Onions, Planted 3.6.19

One set of shallots came from the produce section at the grocery store.  The others were another bag of multiplier onions, which looked so nice I bought this second bag.

For the following 3 nights, the temp dropped into the low 20s.  We'll see if that killed any of the early plantings.

Signs of Spring On the Way. 3.1.19

The First Dandelions of Spring.  3.1.19

 Today was in  the high 50s.  The soil was crumbly, moist but by no means sodden or muddy.

Bearded Iris Bed.  3.1.19

I made use of the nice weather by planting the first 2 rows of potatoes.  Then I cultivated around all of the irises.  Then I did cleanup of another bed, which is on sn easement.  Since I never know what may happen there, that willbe used for extras.  I found another bad of sprouted potatoes in the garage.  The will go there, among other things,

I think those irises are looking promising, so far.

Planting Potatoes. 3.1.19

Left Over Russet Potatoes, Planted 3.1.19

Today I planted the first batch of potatoes.  These were some Russets that didn't get eaten last summer and sat in tbe garage. I had removed tbe tall sprouts and let them chit in a window for 2 weeks. The other row was Russian Banana potatoes that I chitted for 2weeks, in the same window.

These are planted at tbe unused end of the bearded iris bed.  The plan is to grow and harvest these potatoes, then use that area to give the irises more room. There is room for 2 more rowsof potatoes there.

Russian Banana Potatoes, Planted 3.1.19

A Light Exists in Spring

A light exists in spring
Not present on the year
At any other period.
When March is scarcely here

A color stands abroad
On solitary hills
That science cannot overtake,
But human naturefeels.

It waits upon the lawn;
It shows the furthest tree
Upon the furthest slope we know;
It almost speaks to me.

Then, as horizons step,
Or noons report away,
Without the formula of sound,
It passes, and we stay:

A quality of loss
Affecting our content,
As trade had suddenly encroached
Upon a sacrament. 

A Light Exists In Spring

Emily Dickinson

Images from vintage image collection, Yokohama nursery, 1911-1912

Starting Amaranth, Swiss Chard, and Chive Seeds. 2.25.19

 I've never grown Amaranth before.  Today planted some seeds in 6-packs.  They will go into the sunroom for a while before planting outside.  I'm hoping the leaves are tasty. 

I also planted Swiss Chard and Chive seeds.  The chives will go into the border where deer hang out.  Deer don't eat chives.  They make a good bee plant, when in bloom.

Planting Some Itoh Peony Starts. 2.24.19

 We planted these Itoh peony starts.  They have a form similar to the usual herbaceous peonies, with leaves more like tree peonies and flowers more like tree peonies, I think.  Sort of in between the two.

Last year I planted a package of three Itoh peonies, so this brings the total up to 6.  We'll see how they do.

Planting Perennial Onions and Onion Sets. 2.22.19

 Over the past week, I perused the "vegetable start" sections at a few local stores.  I brought home some starts for onions, shallots, and multiplier onions.  

Yellow Moon Shallots - from Fred Meyer, but looking up information these are also sold by Fedco, who state:  "also called Multiplier Onions, these beefy yellow bulbs feature the unique flavor of the shallot sisterhood... home gardeners love this allium that stores through to the next Jul".  These were kind of costly, and of the 7 or 8 sets per package, a few were wrinkled and dry, and a couple were moldy.  I had 2 packages, and wound up with a dozen viable-looking sets.   Still, I'm curious about trying to grow shallots again, so I planted them.  In the past, I started some shallots from the grocery store.  I may do that to, for comparison.

"Windmill" brand red onion sets.  These don't state what cultivar.  At the least, they should be good for scallions.  I bought them at BiMart. The sets look plump and healthy.  These are sourced in Canada.

Multiplier Onion Package.  2.22.19

"Windmill" brand multiplier onions.  Are these shallots?  Or potato onions?  I don't know.  They are sourced in Canada.  I decided to give them a try.  The sets look healthy and plump.  Much more so thatn the Yellow Moon shallots.  These are also from BiMart.

It seems like an odd time of year to be planting but I did anyway.  I have to do what I can, when I can.  I think these will be hardy to whatever remaining, probably mild, winter conditions that we have.  Some multiplier onions can be planted in fall, so maybe these will do OK.

Of course, there are still those onion seedlings that I'm growing in the window sill.  We eat a lot of onions and scallions.  They will not go to waste.

Red Onion Sets.  2.22.19

Last year, my biggest challenge for onions was deer and rabbits.  These are in a fenced area.  I hope that is adequate.  Slugs can also be an issue.  I will start slug bait as soon as growth emerges.

Multiplier Onions Sets in Package.  2.22.19

Red Onions Sets in package.  2.22.19

Yellow Moon Shallot Sets.  2.22.19

Multiplier Onions as placed in rows, ready to be covered in soil.  2.22.19

The onion bed, planted, ready to grow.  2.22.19

Pepper and Onion Seedlings. 2.31.19

 These are some of  the pepper and onion plants that I started from seeds in January.  Doing quite well under LED lights.

Chitting Potatoes. 2.20.19

Seed Potatoes, Kinnebec.  2.19.19

Seed Potato Labels.  2.19.19

These are the first batches of potatoes that I plan to plant.   I bought 2 packages at the hardware store, Kinnebec and Russian Banana.  Not having grown either variety before, it's nice to try.

I had lots of the smaller size russets in the garage over the winter, with 6 inch or longer sprouts.  I broke off the sprouts, and am chitting them in a sunny window so new, stouter sprouts with shorter interstems will grow.  

Russet Seed Potatoes from Garage, Overwinter.  2.19.19

More Russets from Garage.  2.19.19

Russian Banana Seed Potatoes.  2.19.19

I still have packages of Yukon Gold, Red Norland, and I think some fresh Idaho Russet seed potatoes.  That's enough.  I don't know if the overwintered ones will work, or produce as much.  I'll wait a couple of weeks before chitting the other batches.  Too much to plant, otherwise.

Garlic Update. 2.18.19

Overwintered Garlic Starts.  L is Spanish Roja. R is Music.  2.18.19

Here is the garlic that I planted last fall. Some varieties look good. The Spanish Roja is the tallest, while Musik is much smaller and Inchelium Red is even smaller.  I gave them all a boost of urea, and watered it in.  Since they are growing, albeit slowly, I thought that would be beneficial.  I dont know if the greater height, this early, will help or hinder productivity later.  I'm guessing it willhelp,

Planting in a fully fenced bed really helped.  Last year they were all chewed off at this point,

Next I need to pull the rest of last years's tomatoes from the same bed, for onion plants.  That will be in about a month, I think.

Swelling Flower Buds. Hollywood Plum and "Son of Oregon Curl Free" Peach. 2.16.19

Flower Buds, Hollywood Plum Tree. 2.16.19

These are in the chicken and duck yard.  The Hollywood Plum tree was grown from cuttings taken about 5 years ago, I think.  The tree is covered with swelling buds now.

The peach tree was grown from a peach pit, from an Oregon Curl Free peach tree.  That tree died of canker.  This tree is also 4 or 5 years old.  Last year were the first flowers, no fruits.  It could be a dud, but I hope not.  No evidence at all for any leaf curl.   No canker yet, either.  This tree grew fast. If it bears nice fruits, I want to give it a name that honors those who were here before, possibly a word in the Cowlitz language.

These blooms could be killed by a late freeze.   However, they seem to produce, every year.   Wait and see.

Flower Buds, Peach Tree Grown From Oregon Curl Free.  2.16.19

Rufus Watching the Rain. 2.16.19

After his bath, Rufus watches the El Nino rains pouring down.  Too muddy out thete to do any gardening.

Clivias in Bloom. 2.16.19

 We grew these clivias from seeds, sVed from other clivias.  They like to bloom now. Large, dramatic plants.  Very easy to grow.

Starting More Seeds Indoors. 2.11.19

 Here are the seeds that I started yesterday.  It's too early for tomato seeds. I wanted to test them, and also see how they do in the sunroom.

The Supersweet 100 seeds are from 2015, as are the Sunny Boy hybrid.  The Brandy Boy seeds are from 2018.  If any don't germinate, there is plenty of time to try again.

I'm also teying again with the peppers that did not germinate 2 or 3 weeks ago, and trying a very early start of some perennials, Ridbeckia, Echinacea, and  Goldenrod.  Interesting, the goldenrod seeds were so tiny, they were like fine dust.

This Weekend in The Garden.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

by Robert Frost

 Whose woods these are I think I know.
 His house is in the village though;
 He will not see me stopping here
 To watch his woods fill up with snow.

 My little horse must think it queer
 To stop without a farmhouse near
 Between the woods and frozen lake
 The darkest evening of the year.

 He gives his harness bells a shake
 To ask if there is some mistake.
 The only other sound’s the sweep
 Of easy wind and downy flake.

 The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
 But I have promises to keep,
 And miles to go before I sleep,
 And miles to go before I sleep.

Starting Peppers and Onions under LEDs. Update 2.9.19

Here are the pepper and onion seedlings under LEDs. I bought an additional unit.  I think this one was 35 Watts.  I did not realize it would give, in addition to the blue and red lights, some yellow and white.  That's fine, and from what I read, better.  I also have aluminum foil sheets that I hang on side and ends of the plant rack to reflect more light onto the plants.  So far Im very happy with how the plants are doing.

The bottom photo shows my old CFL light.  I got it out for getanium cuttings that I started from last fall's plants, and a couple of orchids.  Those geraniums are growing fast under this light.

Repotting Yamamoto Dendrobiums. 1.29.19

These Yamamoto Dendrobiums kept falling over.  I think I over-nurtured them last summer and fall, and they became top heavy.  Maybe they would have bloomed already if I held off longer on watering and did not fertilize as much.  Still, they are very lush.  Maybe they will bloom later.

These orchids usually prefer being fairly pot-bound, but I don't like having them be so top-heavy and maybe dry out too fast between waterings.  So I repotted them.

Not much to it this time.  I just removed the pots and without much root disturbance, filled in with more orchid bark medium around the original roots.  I watered them in to settle the orchid bark.  They will be without water for a while now, as they settle in.

There is no excess of keikis - new stems with roots growing on top of the old stems.  That can happen with too much fertilizing too.  So I think they got enough, and not too much.  They look pretty happy with the care they got.