Grafting Apple Scion. 4.1.18

 It was a somewhat chilly and drizzly day.  I had a packet of scion from Fedco.  Earlier this Spring, I didn't have much chance to collect my own scion, due to events beyond my control, but I still like doing some grafting each Spring.

I've been wanting to add some Honeycrisp to the young Winecrisp (plus Milo Gibson plus Sweet-16) tree, so here it is.  I also haven't liked the Rubinette branch on another multigraft (originally Rubinette + Queen Cox + Pristine, but now with a deer-damaged King David + Dolgo + Goldrush + a puny Hawkeye branch).  Rubinette is reputed to be among the best tasting of all apples, but in my hands the apples are misshapen and disease magnets, while other varieties on the same tree are fine.  So I did some pruning and added Prima, another King David to replace the deer damaged branch, and  Fameuse.  I also had a rootstock taken from an underground sucker off an old semidwarf tree, and grafted Fameuse scion onto that as well.

 Over the years, I've dispensed with using wax or Tree-Kote on apple grafts.  I've seen some videos shoing grafters using ribbons cut from plastic bags, which worked well for me last year.  It takes some practice to stretch them tightly around the graft union without displacing the graft, but once in place the plastic ribbons make a tight bandage for the union to heal nicely.  I also wrap the entire scion, but not as tightly.  I do have to watch for growth, so the plastic does not restrict new growth and expansion.

 For the cut, I use a Felco grafting knife.  A lot of modern grafters like using box-cutter utility knife, which can result in a clean sharp blade each time.  I see the attraction but stick to my old Felco.

I cut tags from roadside beer can discards.  I rinse them with lysol in case the people who generously provide the cans (by throwing them out of their cars) have some sort of communicable disease, then cut with kitchen shears and use a paper punch to cut a hole.  I fassten them to the branch, using a loose zip tie.  I watch the tree so growth is not girdled later when the branch expands.  That's not a problem.  I putter around these trees all of the time.

These labels work as well as any mail order label.  I use a ball point pen to emboss the name of the cultivar and date of the graft.

Prima is a Purdue-Rutgers-Illinois hyrid, originally bred to be scab resistant although scab has evolved past that property; best eaten fresh.  Per Fedco, resistant to Fireblight, cedar apple rust, and mildew.

King David is an older variety, info here is from Fedco:  "thought to be to Jonathan x Arkansas Black... 1893. Intensely flavored... Pineapple, tangerine, lemon, sweet, sour, tart, sharp, aromatic and spicy all rush around simultaneously. The medium-sized roundish fruit is very dark solid maroon—nearly black. The fine juicy flesh is firm yet tender and distinctly yellow."

I already had Honeycrisp on M27 rootstock, which restricts growth so much it's never been more than  2 feet tall and has had, maybe, one apple in 5 years.  So I'm trying it on a larger growing multigraft semi-dwaf size tree.

Fameuse is also known as Snow.   I already have a graft of Fameuse on another tree, but it doesn't amount much yet and I want to give it a good chance.  Fedco describes Fameuse as originating in Quebec before 1700. "The 1865 Department of Agriculture yearbook sums it up: “Flesh remarkably white, tender, juicy"…deliciously pleasant, with a slight perfume… Medium-small roundish ruby-red thin-skinned fruit." and possibly a parent of McIntosh.

Seedlings - tomatoes, peppers, some brassicas, and onions. 3.31.18.

 The tomatoes, peppers, and brassicas germinated nicely.  They are under lights in a West window.

I always plant several seeds per cell.  I thinned to 1 or 2 plants per cell.  When they are a little larger, I may separate some into 2 plants for further growing.

The Brassicas (collard greens and brussels sprouts) are a little leggy.

 I may try again outside.

The onions seedlings that I started 2 months ago didn't do as well.  I was not able to give them the attention that I wanted to then.  Still, they look OK, so I planted them in the garden bed. 

Yamamoto Dendrobium nobile in Bloom. 3.20.18

These are Yamamoto Dendrobium nobile hybrid orchids that I've had for, maybe, 10 years. During the summer, I just sit them under a tree. During the winter, I keep them in the sunroom, although any sunny window would do. This is when they bloom like crazy. I gave them a little diluted general plant food in January. Super easy to grow and maintain.

Daffodils in Bloom. 3.18.18

 Full bloom time for dafodils. Each fall I buy a few bags of bulbs and plant them in random acts of daffodil planting. You never know where they will come up. Planting them is an act of faith, that winter will come and go, and we'll be here to see Spring once again.

Crinum Bulbs. 3.16.18

These were at Costco.  I bought them on impulse.   I had Crinums in the old yard in Vancouver, surviving at least 15 years, and the yard in Battleground too.  They come up every year, bloom for a while, and disappear.  The remind me of Lycoris, which I have never been able to establish. 

I planted them in a container with existing lilies.  Their flowers are transient, but nice.  We'll see how they do.

Venus Flytrap. Cool Stuff.

This is an experiment to see if I can embed videos.  This one is from Youtube, not something I filmed or grew.  It shows a Venus Flytrap eating a fly.  These plants have their own kind of nerve-like responses, and grab their prey after a specific number of movements.  I couldn't figure out how to embed this even cooler video from NY times, but here is a link.  Scienceline describes how the plants create electrical impulses from their trigger hairs, that serve as mechanosensors, back to the mechanical energy to snap shut around their prey.  The scienceline link also shows a Venus flytrap catching a small frog.

Inspired by my friend Jacob Farin at the carnivorous plant nursery, Sarracenia NW, I've started a new carnivorous plant blog "Beautiful Carnivorous Plants" also on the blogspot platform.

Plum Bloom Times. 3.15.18

Sweet Treat Pluerry.  3.15.18

It's hard to find overlapping bloom times for fruit trees. Many of the plums and hybrid plums need a pollenizer, but that only helps if they bloom at the same time.  In addition, for areas with late frosts, it's better to plant cultivars that have later bloom times.

So far this year, the following are in bloom at the same time.  These are early bloomers:  Sweet Treat Pluerry (hybrid plum / cherry with some peach and apricot in its ancestry), Crimson Spire ornamental plum (small but flavorful fruits), Hollywood plum, and Shiro plum.  My multigraft is blooming too, but I don't know the main variety - I think it's a pluot.  Methley plum is not quite open now.  Nadia Cherry/Plum is also on the verge, with a few blossoms open.

I removed some blooming twigs from Hollywood and Crimson Spire, and placed them into the branches of Sweet Treat, to improve the chances of pollination.  There are no honeybees around now,  but there are lots of tiny pollinating insects within the tree.  Since they don't appear to fly from tree to tree, I added those branches to improve the chances of good pollination.

Starting Seeds. 3.15.18

 Now the seeds are tucked away into a seed starting tray.  I like to start peppers now or a little earlier, and tomatoes a little later, but there is flexibility and you never know what the weather will do.

This time I tried 3 different types of sauce tomatoes, which I process and freeze in the summer and freeze for winter use.  I go through a lot of those.  "Roma" and "San Marzano" always seems to have a lot of blossom end rot, which none of the others have.  Last year I added more lime, but there was still blossom end rot.  So this year I'm trying 3 other types of paste tomatoes: "Big Mama" hybrid from Burpee, and "Ranger F1" and "Heinz 2653" from Territorial seeds.  I'm holding on cherry tomatoes, because there are always lots of started plants of those in the Spring anyway.  There are also my favorite, "Better Boy", and some others for early crop ("Beaver Lodge 6808 and Glacier") which did seem earlier last year, and some experiments.

 For peppers, my favorites last year were the Jalapenos, which were productive and earlier than some of the other chilis. I'm trying a different one, sold as "Early Jalapeno",  I had too many cayennes, so just one cell of those, and Sweet Banana, Bird Thai, Mini Bells, King of the North, Peter Pepper, and Tabasco.  I think the Tabascos are later but would like to make Tabasco sauce this year if they do produce.

I also threw in some hybrid Collards (Hi Crop F1) and Brussels Sprouts (Franklin F1).  I've never grown Brussels Sprouts before, and I don't know when they are best planted, but it wont hurt to experiment.

Meyer Lemon. 3.14.18

I've had this Meyer Lemon plant since about 2001.  It's never grown very large.  The container is a wooden box.  The soil is a normal potting soil.  I have given it a plant food for acid-loving plants, from time to time.

During the summer, this plant is on the deck in full sun.  During the winter, I keep it in an unheated bedroom, with a South-facing window, although it's not in the window.  I rarely water it in the winter, maybe once a month.

Currently, there are dozens of flower buds, and a few ripening lemons that set last summer.  These lemons are delicious.

Plums in bloom. 3.14.18

Hollywood Plum.  3.14.18

Hollywood Plum (pink flower) and Shiro Plum (white flower) in full bloom. Unless there's a late frost, it looks like there will be a bumper crop of the world's best plums this year. Hollywood is deep purple, inside and out. Shiro is yellow, super juicy, and super sweet. 

From what I've read, neither of these cultivars require a pollination partner.  Since I have them planted near each other, I can't say whether that is true.  Both are on the North side of the house, not in full sun, and are still incredibly productive and trouble free.

Sourdough Cast Iron Skillet Pizzas. 3.13.18

Pizza Pizza! Not about gardening, except for the Roma tomato sauce.  Back on track with sourdough crust, cast-iron skillet pizzas with home grown Roma tomato sauce. These crusts take a long time to rise, starting in the morning for an evening pizza. I might experiment with a faster yeast crust, or a hybrid for more sourdough flavor, but they are worth it. Time to start Roma tomato seeds today, too.

Sourdough bread with Jalapenos. 3.11.18

Since Ning had his heart surgery, I quit adding cheese to the breads. This loaf is sourdough, with jalapenos sauteed in olive oil, plus 2 tbsp olive oil. I don't miss the cheese, and love the flavor and texture. I've been feeding and using and regenerating this sourdough starter for more than a year now, and it's still excellent.  Often, I use at least 50% whole wheat flour, but sometimes I just use unbleached bread flour.

Violets. 3.11.18

From time to time I dig up violet plants from the old yard in Vancouver, and plant them in borders and beds in the Battleground yard.  They make a nice ground cover and few weeds will grow in them.  Herbivores and slugs don't seem to eat them.  I don't give them any care. 

Fifteen years ago, I planted some violets from my parents' yard in Illinois..   The plants and leaves were bigger, but slugs kept eating those and they died out.  So apparently, NW violets are less palatible to slugs.

Resilient Collard Greens Plants. 3.11.18

This is different. These are old collard greens plants that I pulled out last fall to clean up a garden bed. I threw them into the chicken yard so the hens could pick them clean, and left them in the sun for a couple of weeks. The stems were still firm, so I thought, wonder what will happen if I replant them. So I did. They survived the winter, and are making new crowns of greens on the top again. Those are resilient plants.  We've been eating greens from the collard greeen plants all winter long.  This is the 3rd year for these chicken-rescue plants.

Planting Potatoes. 3.10.18

Today I planted potatoes. I cut these seed potatoes into chunks and let the dry, and sprout, for a couple of weeks in a window sill. 

This year I'm planting them in trenches, instead of shallow & hilling them up.  We'll see how that works out.  I think deeper will mean less watering during the summer.  I planted a foot deep, but barely covered the starts with soil.  As they grow, I'll fill in the trenches until they are up to ground level.

Next come the Russets They grow more slowly and harvest is later. That's nice because it spreads out the harvest.  In 2017, by planting different types at differerent times, and storing in a cool dry pantry, I had home grown potatoes for 6 months

Carnivorous Plants. 3.9.18

I decided to try a few carnivorous plants.  I don't know anything about them.  I bought via mail order, 3 pitcher plants (Sarracenia hybrids) and one Venus Flytrap.  Based on the nursery information, these can be grown entirely outdoors in this Western WA climate.  These plants require bog-like conditions, so are grown in containers in a peat moss based mix, half submerged in rain water or distilled water - not tap water or well water, which are too high in minerals.  We'll see if they survive or grow.  These are tiny, in 4 inch pots now.  They should grow quite a bit larger, I think

The old book print is what the pitcher plants should look like when they mature.  I use old vintage images because the copyright should be expired.  If someone thinks otherwise, please let me know.

The Venus Flytraps (Dionaea muscipula) seem smaller.   I couldn't find a good public domain print so that will have to wait until it grows, for a better photo.

Sunroom Orchids. 3.9.18

Cymbidium Orchid.  3.9.18

 This is a good time for the sunroom orchids.  These get little care, just outside under a tree with occasional water, in the spring, summer, and fall, and into the sunroom for the winter.  I might fertilize with a very dilute general purpose plant food, but usually forget.  The orchid flowers last for a few months.  

Yamamoto Dendrobium.  3.9.18

Yamamoto Dendrobium.  3.9.18

Reformed Raised Beds. 3.9.18

 During the winter, I rebuilt two of the raised beds, converting from wooden sides to concrete blocks.   The blocks are collected from various other old projects, so were free.  These beds are taller than the old wooden beds, so easier to work in.

I have one more bed to replace.  This time, I had to buy the blocks.  They clost slightly over a dollar each, with 36 blocks being needed, so that bed will be about $36 to build.  Not bad.

I also reused some decking planks to rebuild 3 of the wood sided beds to a higher level to be easier to work.  The wooden beds are starting to degrade.  I don't ecpect them to last a lot longer.

I'm being careful to use the raised beds only for plants that seem to benefit from that method.  Peppers do really well, because they like the warmer soil.  It's easy to keep the soil surface nice and weed free.  Chinese chives and other alliums are also easier to keep clean and weed free in the beds.  Strawberries, being small plants, benefit similarly.  So these beds are mainly Chinese chives, strawberries, Egyptian Winter Onions, some of the garlic, and one will have pepppers.

Sorry for the long absence. 2.28.18

Sorry for the long absence.  I suffered a retinal detatchment that required emergency surgery, followed by extended bedres and restricted activity.  Then Ning developed unstable coronary artery syndrome and required emergency coronary artery bypass (heart) surgery, and now needs 8 weeks of home care.  If it's not one thing it's another.

Charlie my closest companion for 17 years, the most loved dog in the world, died leaving me feeling unambitious about doing gardening.

• Assuming no new disasters, I anticipate new posts soon.

The ducks have a new yard, my future tomato and bean garden. 12.22.17

 We've had some problems with the chickens and ducks together, although I don't know if it's the birds or local predators.  The duck eggs have had holes punched in them, with some contents removed and the rest left to spoil.  Chicken beaks poking the holes?  Rodents?  Meanwhile, two hens were murdered, leaving their corpses mutilated and missing parts.  We did see then ducks eating at the hen remains.  Did the ducks do it, or racoons, or other predators?

So, I built a new duck enclosure.

This is completely separate from the chicken yard.  The area will become a warm-season kitchen garden bed in May or June, for tomatoes and beans.  I wanted fencing against deer, but for now it's fencing to keep the ducks in and, hopefully,  potential predators out.  They have a grassy area, and areas that I already turned over, and lots of tree leaves for rooting around in, and dry tree leaves for bedding.

They already started rooting around in the grass.  As they eat the bugs, slugs, maggots and worms, I hope this will feed the ducks and make the garden bed more hospitable for future gardening.  Of course, the ducks also fertilize it. 

In May, I have two potential new areas for ducks and/or chickens to work.  The first is orchard, and the second is around the raised beds, which will be separated by an expanse of grass.  Meanwhile, we'll see if the egg damage and hen murders come to an end.

Moving an Established Fig Tree. Delayed post from Nov 2017

Moving an Established Fig Tree.  Nov, 2017

 I decided to move a fig tree, that I originally planted in 2001.  It was at my old house in town, which I have been gradually converting the yard into a more conventional lawn and specimen planting lawn, for eventual sale.  That process is almost complete, but I didn't want to lose this good fig variety.

This tree was bought via mail order from Wayside Nursery on the East Coast in 2001.  It was sold as Petite Negri.  They sell fig trees using the same photo, but different name, currently.  On the defunct figs4fun website, it was identified as Aubique Petite.

Root Ball of Fig Tree.  Nov, 2017

Planted and a Little Wilted.  Nov, 2017

Whatever the true name, this tree does not grow as fast or large as many other varieties.  I 16 years, it's grown to about 8 feet tall, and similar spread, and bushy.  I had it pruned to a single trunk, but let some suckers grow in case the main tree does not survive the move.

This is probably my favorite fig by flavor, richly flavored figs, black skin and dark red flesh.  On the down side, it has almost no breba crop, and the main crop usually ripens when the rains come, so most are lost to mold.  The tree  grows slowly, and cuttings take a few years to start producing, so I wanted to preserve the tree rather than just taking cuttings.

The old location was near the base of a slope, shaded on its South and Western sides and a little Eastern shade as well.  Maybe it will produce earlier and better in a sunny spot.  The new location has full sun on South and West, and almost full sun on East.  It is near the top of a slope.  North of the location is the light yellow painted house.  This change of location might have the intended effect of earlier figs, although Battleground is a higher elevation and a little colder during winter, than the old Vancouver location.  The soil in the new location is also softer and more fertile.

I'm not getting younger.  It took 2 days to dig.  I had to remove some lower branches and suckers, to dig a trench, then dig under the tree.  I got all of the root ball that I could handle.  Obviously, a lot of root mass was lost, probably 75% of it,  a couple of roots as big as 3 inches diameter.  Leaves were already starting to yellow and fall before the move, and many fell completely, within a week after the move.  It's a drastic trauma to the tree, but fig trees are tough and resilient.  The stems continue to look healthy, with healthy looking buds.  I think it will adjust it's top growth next Spring, with slower growth, while the roots branch out and re-establish during Winter and Spring, in the new soil.  I will have a nice mulch, and water weekly.

As a backup, one of the suckers already had roots, so I had already severed that from the parent tree, and planted into a container. 

Planting a New Bare Root Chestnut Tree. 12.1.17

Precose Migoule bare root chestnut tree.  11.30.17

 This is chestnut Precose Migoule, a French hybrid between European and Japanese species.  I chose it because some reports have it bearing at 2-3 years after planting, although others state 3-5 years.  It is described as a good pollinator for others, and with good nuts.  Also disease resistant.

This replaces the Marigoule chestnut that barely grew in 2017, and wasn't much to start out with. 

Burnt Ridge did a great job with packing.  I asked for the tallest tree possible.  They bent the top foot over in a wide loop, to fit into the box.  Other trees have been topped instead.  I provided a brace to straighten it.  That may be removed by Spring.

I gave it the usual protection, 1/2" hardware cloth sleeve to discourage voles, and a 5 foot tall circle of wire fencing.  Later, I can add 1 inch mesh plastic fencing to reduce deer problems with pulling on leaves that stick through.

Newly Planted Precose Migoule Chestnut Tree.  11.30.17

No mulch, yet.  I don't want to provide vole habitat.

Fall planting usually works well for me.  This is a little late but I think OK.   It won't grow or heal immediately, but I think that's OK too.

Now comes the wait for Spring!

Mushrooms. 11.29.17

 Some mushrooms around my yard. I don't know what kind they are, except for the lovely red cap Amanita muscari. Those have emerged a little more fully too. I think they are more plentiful here because I apply so much tree leaves and arborist chips to the yard.

As I understand it, the visible mushrooms are just a visible manifestation of a much more extensive underground soil network of mycelium, connecting with tree and plant roots and nourishing the connected plants and trees. I don't know which ones are edible, and which ones are not. Since I prefer to keep my current liver, I'm not eating them.

I ordered some morel spawn, online.  Maybe there will be morels in a year or two.

Drying Ripe Cayenne and Thai Peppers. 11.24.17

The darker peppers are cayenne.  They ripen earlier, than Thai peppers.  It's chilly and rainy outside now, and there has been a light frost.  I don't think these hybrid Thai peppers will ripen further outside, so we strung them up.

Simple.  Use needle and thread.  Run the needle through the green stems.  These are hanging from a light fixture.  They might make a nice Xmas wreath, done a little differently.

Moving a 16-year-old Fig Tree. 11.24.17

Recently Transplanted, 16-yr-old Petite Negri Fig Tree.  11.24.17

I moved this fig tree about 3 weeks ago, but  just now catching up on blog entries.  I moved this fig tree from my old suburban place, to the country place.  This is part of preparing the suburban place for sale, making a more conventional landscape - mostly lawn, with a few specimen plantings - while trying to keep the favorite, established varieties where they can grow for many more years.

This was a challenge.  This was one of the first fig cultivars that I grew.  The figs are delicious, dark red interior with black exterior.    The negative side is, there are not a lot of Summer (breba) figs, and the Fall (main crop) figs ripen so late that most wind up spoiled in the chill and rain.  I wonder if location change will help.  The old location was shaded on the South by the house, and down a slope, and shaded on the West by a majestic, old, ornamental cherry tree.  The new location is on the South side of the house, with no shade on West or South side, and near the top of a slope.  So it should be warmer and sunnier. 

The trunk was about 5 inches in diameter.  This variety doesn't grow as tall as most fig trees, and was sold as "dwarf".  But in its 16 years in that location, it still grew into a thick trunked, extensively rooted tree.  I dug as large a root ball as I could, with as much soil as I could handle, pruned back the biggest branches and some of the suckers, and still had to cut some large roots.  It may not survive.

Meanwhile, this old guy wound up with a hip strain from the digging.  I should act my age.  That's one reason for fewer entries during the past couple of weeks.

The tree still had some leaves, but most were ready to fall when I dug it up.  Moving it in the fall, there is less watering to worry about during the rainy winter.  I think it will have a chance to settle in, and spend the next year establishing new roots.  If some of the top dies, that's OK.  It would be nice if some of the top does live, since deer don't seem to bother branches about 5 feet.  The highest growth on this tree now, is about 8 feet.

There was also a sucker with roots.  I had already cut that off and planted in a container.  If the main tree doesn't survive the move, I can still grow a new one.