Rufus. 10.15.19

Music Garlic. 10.15.18

Music Garlic Cloves to Plant.  Planted 10.5.18

This is the photo that I meant to post previously.  This is the garlic variety "Music".  These were the biggest garlic cloves that I have ever seen.  According to what I've read, "Music" is among the most productive and best tasting.  That info, of course, is not specific to the Maritime Pacific Northwest or to my area, soil, microclimate.  So we will see.

I still have some saved garlic cloves to plant from this year's crop.  Four days ago I planted some (I think it was "German Red" - big, red skinned, pungent cloves) but did not have it labeled.  I developed a back strain digging the heavy soil this time, so need to wait until that is better before planting the saved "Inchelium Red".  I think I'm growing the "Inchelium Red" more for sentimental, than practical reasons now.  That "German Red" actually seems more productive, with larger cloves. 

Rufus. 10.13.18

Rufus.  10.10.18

Rufus.  10.10.18

 He's not much help in the vegetable or flower garden yet, but this is my new buddy Rufus.  He was born April 20, 2018.  He has made a big difference for me.

As a puppy, Rufus has boundless energy and mischief.  He's very affectionate.   He is a mix of lab, poodle, and gremlin.  I'm hoping for a long, happy, healthy, loving life ahead for my buddy Rufus.

Rufus.  May, 2018.

First Chestnuts. 10.12.18

Maraval Chestnuts.  1.21.18

These are the first two Maraval chestnuts.  I know it's not a lot - two chestnuts.  The other burr may have two more.

My rule of thumb, for when trees first bear fruit, is one or two fruits the first year, 10 or 20 the second year, then a bowl or two or three the following year.  It's not a perfect rule, but interesting to think about.

I will keep these at room temperature for 2 to 4 days, then roast them.  That information is via WashingtonChestnuts.com.

Yates American Persimmonss. 10.9.18

Yates American Persimmon.  10.9.18

Today as I was wandering around my orchard, I passed by the Yates American Persimmon tree.  I brushed against a branch, and a fruit fell off.  Looking at the ground, there were multiple juicy, ripe persimmons.

These are delicious.

I planted this tree in January, 2015.  Not bad, just 3 years old.

The First, Ever, of the Pawpaws. 10.8.18

NC-1 Pawpaw.  10.8.18

 Here is the first of the pawpaws.


The outside is similar texture and skin as an avocado. Unlike avocado, there are multiple, Lima bean-sized seeds. Taking them out, the amount of flesh, and the consistency of flesh, was also similar to avocado. There the similarity ends. Super sweet, tropical tasting. Sort of banana-like but not. Interesting.

There will be a few smaller ones, if they ripen soon. This was the first ever, took 6 years from planting, and a very nice fruit adventure!

NC-1 Pawpaw.  10.8.18

NC-1 Pawpaw.  10.8.18

This was the only pawpaw on the tree, so may be larger than it would be if there were lots.  The variety was NC-1.

The other tree, Sunflower, has quite a few, small, fruits.  I'll keep watching for those.

Irises Planted from Dried Rhizomes, at One Month.  10.6.18

 On 9.6.18, I planted some bearded iris rhizomes that I bought at Costco.  I wondered if they would grow at all before the first frost.  Here there are, lots of increased / new growth.  So they are doing well.  One is "My friend Jonathan" and the other is "His Royal Highness" but I didn't label them, so I don't know which is which.

As for bearded irises that I replanted from about the property, that I had abandoned two or so years ago, also not labeled, they are putting on new growth too.

Finally, the bearded irises that I bough by mail order from Schreiners, and planted in July and August, those show nice growth too.

The big questions to follow this winter and next Spring:  Will any of these bloom?  Will they have bacterial and / or fungal rot disease?  Will they survive?  And the same, for other clumps that I planted in the woods border, which are currently looking OK where they are and are in full sun..

The other iris from the same package.

Bearded Iris Planted August, 2018

Gallardias. 10.7.18

Gallardia planted Aug, 2018

Gallardia Planted in 2017

I don't know when the year-old gallardia startied blooming this year.  I think, early summer.  I didn't dead head it regularly.  I almost never watered it.  Deer and rabbits did not touch it.  It just continued to grow and bloom.  I bought the other one this summer.  I forgot it was in the car, and it dried out to crispy brown flowers, although the wilted leaves were still green-ish.  Then I saw it and planted it.  That plant recovered, and is now blooming again.

These are tough flowers.  Inspired, I've bought some seeds to cultivars with other color nuances.

Healing "Summer Red" Maple Tree Trunk Wound, 6 Years Later. 10.7.18

Maple Tree Progress.  10.7.18

 This is a progress report, on a "Summer Red maple tree that we planted in September, 2012, update in 2914.  The nursery where we bought it is no longer in business.  My guess is they took damaged nursery stock from other places, to resell.  This tree was very inexpensive, but had a large wound - see lower photo or link.

I planted the tree with the wound on the southern side, to reduce potential for growth of rotting organisms.  Maple wood is hard, and I read that trees have a process to seal off internal wounds, that stops spread of any potential rot.

Here we are, 6 years later.  The tree has flourished and grown.  It has beautiful fall color.  I wondered if the small root ball size would result in a dead tree.  It did not.  This was a very hot dry summer, historic I think.  I did water it about every 2 weeks, with water that I bailed out of the duck pond when replacing that water.  That was about 15 gallons every 2 weeks.

Maple Tree When Planted.  9.20.12

Healing Trunk Wound.  10.7.18

Wound At Time of Purchase  9.20.12

The wound is nearly completely sealed.  I wonder what the darkened area indicates, lateral to the wound.   Is that growth of bacterial or fungal infection?  I don't know.  In retrospect, I would not buy a tree with such a large wound, nor would I recommend it.  It just seems too "iffy".  Still, 6 years later, it looks healthy, flourishing, quite beautiful.  Only time will tell whether there is a long term effect of that large wound.

North Pole Apples. 10.6 18

North Pole Apples.  10.6.18

These are the apples from the young apple tree that I started from "North Pole" scion.  The tree is only about 5 feet tall, but the apples are large and have a good flavor, nice crispness.  They made an excellent apple sauce. 

I grafted this tree in 2015.  Not bad for such a young tree, and it received no watering this year.

Transplanting Columnar Apple Trees. 10.6.18

Three year old tree, made from "North Pole" scion .  10.6.18

Last year, I transplanted a columnar apple tree that I had started on a sucker from a dwarf or semidwarf apple tree, which I had cut down some time before that.  Despite the lost of significant, if not most, of the roots, that tree survived the winter, bloomed, and I allowed a few apples to develop.  The growth was less than for an established tree, but there was actual new growth, and the tree appears to be becoming established.

Today, I moved the sibling of that tree, and another older, much larger, columnar apple tree.

Above tree, replanted.  10.6.18

 The first was a tree from the same scion source (North Pole Apple), and root stock, as the above tree.  However, I had transplanted this one when it was smaller, and it had enough time to establish that there were more than a dozen large apples that I collected today.  The location is inconvenient for deer fencing, so I decided to move it.    I tried to get all of the roots that I could.  I think this has a better root ball than the previous tree, so it should survive.

The second was a Golden Sentinel tree that I planted in 2012.  This tree is much taller and larger biomass.  Again, I tried to get the most roots that I could, but losses were significant for the amount of tree.  From what I've read, we should not attempt to prune back to "match" the roots, but leave as much top as we can.  I did remove about the top 3 feet, and some of the side branches.

Because the second tree is top heavy, I also planted 3 fence posts and tied the tree loosely to the posts.

Six Year Old "Golden Sentinel" Columnar Apple Tree.  10.6.18

Above Columnar Apple, Replanted.  10.6.18

After the leaves are lost, I intend to prune back the branches and spurs, to match the ideal columnar shape.  That will be in a month or two.

I'm optimistic these trees will survive, despite root loss.  I've moved several apple trees that were similar age and had similar losses, and all survived.  They will need generous watering next year.

Planting Garlic.10.5.18

Spanish Roja Garlic to Plant.  10.5.18

Planting Garlic.  10.5.18

Today I planted the first batch of garlic.  These starts were from Territorial seeds.  I planted two strains:  Music and Spanish Roja.  The Music garlic cloves were among the largest I've seen.

I didn't intend to plant so much, but this is the size package sold.  I also want to plant some that I saved from this year.  I will need to clear additional garden space.

Learning - I hope - from mistakes made, these are all in the fenced in area where I had sauce tomatoes.  I hope the fencing is deterrent to deer and rabbits, which caused delay and probably smaller cloves this year and last year.

The rotation for this area overlaps garlic planted last year.  Also sweet corn and attempted okra.  There was no evidence of disease last year, so I'm thinking it's OK.  Last winter, this area was ducks, and this year it was tomatoes.

Smith Fig. Hardy Chicago Fig. 10.2.18

Smith Fig.  10.2.18

Smith Fig.  10.2.18

 Even though I don't have much expectation regarding Smith Fig, I left the tree in that space.  This tree is better adapted for the hot, humid Louisiana climate, not the cooler Pacific NW.  Two winters ago, I thought it was dead.  But it came back.  Last winter was very mild.  This summer was longer and hotter than usual.  This tree grew significantly.  The brebas were plentiful but fell off when small.  Today I noticed some ripe figs.  The one on the left appears overripe, the one on the right about perfect.  Both had sublime flavor - the expected flavor for dark figs, rich, sweet, juicy.  Now I will be checking, daily, for more ripe figs.

The lower pictured figs are from Hardy Chicago.  Also called Chicago Hardy.  I started this tree from a cutting taken from my Hardy Chicago fig tree in Vancouver.  It's interesting.  These are smaller, darker, sweeter, and richer, than the ones in Vancouver.  The site is sunnier, dryer in summer, more exposed.  I don't know about the soil differences.  I'm very happy with these figs, too.

Hardy Chicago Figs.  10.2.18

Hardy Chicago Figs.  10.2.18

Persimmons Almost Ripe. 10.1.18

Nikita's Gift Persimmons.  10.1.18

They are still hard to the touch.  With the changing color, I think we will have ripe persimmons soon.

Transplanting Dwarf Apple Trees, Progress Reports. 10.1.18

Minidwarf Liberty Apple, 2 Years After Transplanting.  10.1.18

These were dwarf trees that did not perform well in their established locations, so I decided to transplant them.  The trees were about 13 years old, but possibly older  The Liberty on M27 was still a small bush, about 5 feet tall.  I think the Jonagold was also on M27 but because of its vigor, had grown to about 8 feet tall.  In their original location, they had competition from a massive old Cherry tree, and were shaded on their south and west sides.

I decided there was not a lot to lose.  I transplanted these trees on 12.3.16.   I pruned branches that were too low.  They were given generous waterings for their first summer, and watered about once weekly, or every other week, for their second summer.

I'm very happy with the result.  Now they are in full sun, and have no lawn or large tree competition.  Both trees produced like crazy this year.  The Liberty put on about a foot of height, and the Jonagold filled in new branches where they had been sparse.

Dwarf Jonagold Apple Tree, 2 Years After Transplanting.  10.1.18

This is the best production that I have had from either tree.  I am happy that I moved them.  More importantly, this shows that dwart apple trees, even once that are more than 10 years old, can survive transplanting and be planted in a new location with good results.

Now I have two columnar trees that need moving.  Rainy season will begin soon, and the area is prepared, so as soon as their apples have been picked, they will be ready to move.

Apple Tree Made from Root Stock Sucker with Grafted Columnar Apple Scion. 10.1.18

Columnar Apple Tree 10.1.19

This post is a follow up on a columnar apple tree, that I created by grafting a columnar apple tree scion to suckers that arose from a semidwarf apple tree that I removed several years prior.  The suckers were from below the graft, so I knew they were from rootstock.

I think I grafted those in 2015.  Last year, I wanted to move the resulted tree to Battleground.  So I dug out the rootstock, and cut it from the original trunk.  That was last year in October.

This Spring, the tree bloomed.  Since it did not have much root mass, I removed most of the flowers but allowed a couple of apples to ripen.  I also watered it about once a week this summer.

Here is the tree.  It is looking good.  I think it will take off and grow better next year.  There were some additional suckers that I cut off.

The tree when dug from the original location is shown below, from post 10.1.17.

Columnar Apple Tree Grafted onto Rootstock Sucker.  10.1.17

Tweaking The Fig Freezer Jam Recipe. 9.27.18

Fig Freezer Jam.  9.27.18

I tweaked the fig freezer jam recipe a little, to make it a little less firm.  I meant to make it less sweet, too, but miscalculated.

This is 1/2 of the box recipe.  The box recipe makes too much for me.  Measuring out the contents of the pectin packet, I used the scale to portion out 1/2 of the packet.  That is a little more than 2 tablespoons.

This recipe used 6 cups of figs that I had rinsed, cut off the stems, and cut into half.  Most were Hardy Chicago but a few were LSU Tiger.


Fig Jam Recipe:

6 cups of fresh figs, cut off stems and cut in half.
1/4 cup lemon juice.
1 cup water.
1/2 packet of Sure Jel pectin for low or no sugar added recipes.
1 3/4 cups sugar.

Transfer the figs into food processor, along with the lemon juice.  Pulse to chop roughly.  I like having chunks of figs in my jam.  I had to process in 2 batches.

Transfer the chopped figs into large sauce pan.  Heat on low to medium heat with occasional stirring, to bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, make a slurry with the pectin in the water.  I poured in a little water, stirred thoroughly, the gradually added more of the water while stirring to keep it even.  Then in large bowl, microwave a minute, stir, microwave another minute, stir, to dissolve all of the pectin.

Pour the dissolved pectin into the hot fig mixture.  Stir, continue heating until it reaches a rolling boil.

Transfer into clean labeled pint jars, leaving 1/4 inch of space at the top.  Add the cap, then let cool overnight.

These gelled very nicely, a little less firm than the last batch.  These are not sterile canned, so I store in the freezer until using, or for shorter time - a few weeks -  in the fridge.

I think the cooking helps break down the fig structure a little, but it's not cooking long enough to destroy nutrients and flavor.

Easy Apple Sauce from Fallen Apples, Using Slow Cooker. 9.27.18

 I'm not that big of an apple sauce fan.  Rarely eat it.  Looking for something to do with extra fallen apples of all varieties, I found some apple sauce recipes.  This could not be easier.

About 8 medium apples.
1 cup water
2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon.

Peel the apples, cut into half.  Slice pieces of apple from the core.  Less than 1 inch thick will cook faster than thicker pieces.  I pour the water and lemon juice into the slow cooker, then as I slice apples, throw the apple slices into the lemon water.

When the cooker is fairly full, about 8 or 10 apples, depending on size and how much is lost from bruises or insect damage, sprinkle on the cinnamon and salt, stir to coat the slices with lemon water.  Cook on "High" setting for 3 or 4 hours, until apples are soft.  Use potato masher to mash the apple sauce.  This is very easy.  Pour into quart jar and allow to cool.  Better after refrigerating. 

I also portioned some into ziplock freezer bags, and froze for use later.

 By using fresh apples, no sugar added, and slow cooking, the flavor comes out excellent.

Sweet Corn. 9.27.18

These are from the last batch of sweet corn, planted in June.  Trinity.  I'm surprised to be eating fresh sweet corn from the kitchen garden in late Sept.  I think of it as a summer crop.  There are a few more ears to go.  Trinity is my favorite variety, it tolerates the cooler Spring here and produces until now.   Delicious bicolor sweet corn.

Daffodil Planting. 9.27.18

Bi-Mart had inexpensive packages of daffodils.  I planted these in rows.

I'm less enthusiastic about daffodils in the front borders.  They are messy far longer than they look nice.  Still, they start growing so early, they give me hope for Spring.  Then the flowers are so cheerful.

So this time, they are in rows at the ends of the vegetable garden.  I can still appreciate them.  When the dry off, I can dig them up and store to plant elsewhere, or leave them in place. 

Squash Harvest. 9.25.18

I harvested the squashes.  This is plenty for us.  The largest is "Pink Banana Squash" which I love for the flavor and amount produced.  The small pumpkins are "Winter Luxury Pumpkin".  The butternut squashes turned out small.  In my garden, they don't do as well.  The others were volunteers, likely crosses of summer squash or zucchini, with pumpkins.

Fig Jam. 9.20.18

 Despite the challenges of yellow jackets, and then ants, I harvested a bowl of figs yesterday.  For ants, I usually wrap a 6 inch section of trunk with plastic wrap, then apply Tanglefoot over it to prevent them from climbing.  But had not done that until last week.  Their numbers are greatly reduced now, and there are figs without ants to harvest.

I usually dry extra figs for later use in breads or hot cereal, but this time wanted to make jam.  I make freezer jam, because I have not learned canning.  I also think that canning cooks longer, and I don't know the effect of that on the nutrition.

However, there is cooking with this jam before freezing.  That breaks down the structure of the figs so they mix better with the pectin solution.

I used Sure-Jell, the one for less or no sugar.  The fig recipe still called for what seemed to me like a lot of sugar.  I followed the recipe because it cautions that using less sugar can result in the pectin not jelling.

It's pretty easy.  I used about 4 1/2 cups of figs.  Washed, cut into half, then used food processor to cut them into a chunky mixture.  I didn't puree, because I like chunks of figs in the jam.  That yielded 2 1/2 cups, which is what the recipe called for.

Then placed into sauce pan.  Mixed pectin with water as the recipe in the box described, added the sugar and lemon juice, and brought to a rolling boil while stirring.  Then portioned into  pint size jars, let cool, and froze. 

This actually jelled almost too well.  I might have been able to use less sugar.

The recipe was:

2 1/2 cups chopped figs.
1 cup water.
1 pkg pectin

 1/4 cup lemon juice (3 small lemons)
3 1/2 cups sugar.

I  mixed the pectin with 1 cup cold water to disperse, and heated in microwave for a minute.  Stirred, then stirred into the pan of figs. Added the sugar, then lemon juice.  Brought to rolling boil, frequently stirring.  Then immediately ladle into clean pint jars, apply lids, then let cool before freezing.  The lid is not tightened until it is frozen.

The appearance is nice, reddish jelly.  It was very good stirred into yogurt.

I think next, I'll try the Pomona pectin, which I read does not require sugar, or as much.

Echinacea From Seeds. 9.17.18

Echinacea Seedlings.  9.17.18

This is the row of Echinacea seedlings.  Not hybrids - these are the wild type, native "Purple Coneflower".  I planted them mid summer, about July 15 (so 2 months ago) in full sun, in a historically hot summer.  I watered the row every day.  Most of the summer planted flowers did not grow, but these came through.  They are all sizes.  Maybe that reflects the diversity of seeds that are from a wild type, as opposed to a cultivar.  I think they will bloom nicely next year.  Deer resistant, drought resistant, nice flowers, pollinators like them, and growing from seeds is not too hard, if one is patient.

A Little Optimism. 9.17.18

Planting things in late summer or fall, takes a little optimism.  It means, maybe I'll be around next year to appreciate the results, and the world will still be here, and there will not be any disasters to blow it all to smithereens.  It means I'm willing to take some little effort, to make next Spring, and beyond, a little nicer.

So today I bought a hybrid Echinacea - this one is "Aloha", and is interesting because of the yellow color.  I'm becoming more enthusiastic about Echinacea because, so far, deer and rabbits don't seem to eat them, slugs seem to leave them alone, and they don't mind the hot dry summer.  I read they would not like wet winters, but so far mine have survived that.

The irises were sold as rebloomers for the Pacific Northwest.  We'll see.  The varieties are "I'm Back", "Come Again", and "Corn husker".  Reblooming irises generally bloom during the rainy season, in my yard, so the flowers look like wet sopping tissue paper, not worth it.  We'll see what happens with these.  Again, there is some optimism, because in previous years, I had problems with bacterial and fungal rot for bearded irises.  This year, the survivors looked good, so I'm trying again.  They are my favorite May flower.

In that box are 2 garlic heads, sold in the store as "Heritage California Softneck" garlic.  I will plant it next month, along with cloved from heads that I grew this year, and an order from Territorial Seeds for other types.  These will be fenced in, because deer and/or rabbits eat them all off in my yard.   I tried fencing covers for individual rows, but as soon as the leaves grew through the fencing, they were eaten off.  Again, it takes some optimism - planting garlic in the fall, means a harvest the following July.

There are some daffodils in there too.  I planted them in a row, like a kitchen garden crop. 

Paw Paw Progress Report. 9.17.18

Paw Paw "NC-1".  9.17.18

Most of the paw paw fruits made it through the hot dry summer without problems.  Some that were exposed to full sun, have blackened areas where the sun was brightest - something to think about next year, if they set fruit again.

This was a very hot dry summer.  My ability to keep things watered, was overwhelmed.  But I did manage to water each paw paw tree with about 10 gallons of water, once weekly, using the "5-gallon bucket with 1/4 inch holes in bottom" method.  They are also mulched with tree leaves from last fall.

I'm guessing they will ripen in October.  No way to know, this being their first year to set fruits for me.  The "NC-1" might be bigger, because that was the only fruit on the tree.  The "Sunflower" set about 2 dozen fruits.  Those are smaller, compared to the one on "NC-1".

Paw Paw "Sunflower".  9.17.18

The apple, there for comparison, is a Rubinette.  This happens to be an average size apple.