Ginger Plant Started. 2.20.22

This was a little nub on a fresh ginger from the grocery store. It was about the size of a garbanzo bean. I cut it off, let it dry a day, planted. It took a month to grow. I thought it was dead. Noticed this today.

I'll kerp it under the lights and up-pot as needed. We'll see what happens.

A Fig Tree Start and a Sweet Cherry Replacement. 2.16.22

We picked up a delivery at the big box store. They bring it out to the truck. Outside, they had some fruit trees. I've been wanting to replace a sickly sweet cherry tree, so I bought a new one and planted it. Without a replacement, the healthy sweet cherry wouldn't have a pollinator.

They also had other starts. For the price ($10) I decided it was easier to buy an already well rooted fig start than root another Hardy Chicago. Also a replacement. I bought that and planted it too. Very small, but probably OK.

That was easy. I'm don't want to expand the number of fruit trees now, these are just replacements.

Helleborus. 2.16.22

Helleborus have been blooming for a while.

Cherry Pie. 2.15.22

I bought myself a present, a marble rolling pin. Today I used it to make crust for a cherry pie.

I learned some things. Pretty good, since I started baking pies after I returned from Army service, which would be about 1978. I still have the rolling pin I bought for that, plus my mom's, plus her mom's which is birds eye maple but doesn't roll well any more because the handles are stuck. Nobody needs four rolling pins, but it adds up to about one per decade. The marble pin works very nicely. The heaviness makes it noticably easier on my back, to roll out the crust. I still need to use a pastry cloth on the rolling pin, to keep the crust from sticking. The other thing I learned is that I like flour better as thickener for tart cherry pie, compared to starch (Clear Jel). The flour seems to reduce the acidity a bit.

Not related to the pie, but I learned something else. I also made a pizza, using Roma tomato sauce that I canned last summer. The canning process requires adding lemon juice as a preservative. That makes for too sour tomato sauce for me. What I learned is, if I add about 1/4 tsp baking soda per pint of tomato sauce before spreading it on the pizza crust, it's not nearly as sour and I liked that quite a lot. That's good because then I can can more next year, which means it won't take up freezer space.

Spa Day For Rufus. 2.14.22

Yesterday Rufus had a quick bath in anticipation of today's haircut. Today was his big spa day. Before. Where is my dog? All I see is a big dust bunny!

He's mostly OK as long as I use hair scissors for his face and paws. I wonder if they were too forceful with him at groomers - he always seemed kind of traumatized. Giving haircuts at home, he seems less stressed. I don't worry about a glamour cut, just make him easier to wash and brush, and he can roll around in the grass to his heart's content. There is my dog!

Total time spent isn't much more than the round trips taking him to a groomer then picking him up. Maybe 90 min. Plus I give us both breaks to let the clippers cool down and recharge my own batteries. Nails will have to wait for tomorrow. He got a quick bath after his haircut too, to remove all of those hair clippings and dander. Now he's ready for a walk, and won't overheat.

Planting Sprouted Potatoes. Planting More Snap and Snow Peas. 2.13.22

These were sprouting in the pantry. It's considered best to use USDA inspected potato starts, but those won't come in mail until April. I like an early start for some. We could have eaten these, but I planted them instead. They probably have boxes of these at the store, but I'm still in quarantine for another month.

I usually plant them in a trench about a foot deep. This year I'm going shallower and will mound soil around them as they grow. I think that's less work. I dug about six inches deep, mixed in general purpose organic vegetable fertilizer ("Dr. Earth") and planted the spuds, covering with about 4 inches of soil. That's all for now.

They are about a foot apart. I also planted short rows of Sweet Ann Snap Peas and Oregon Sugar Pod II Snowpeas, in a spot at ground level, where they can ripen longer and make seeds to save, in case the ones in raised beds don't have enough time. I gave these some wood ash / chicken bone ash for fertilizer, and a rhizobium inoculant.

Yellow Flowers Blooming. 9.13.22

Crocus and Dandelions.

The saying is, ""When dandelions are blooming plant beets, lettuce, spinach and carrots"

Planting Snow Pea and Carrot Seeds. 2.12.22

 It's in the high 60s again today.  In early Feb.  Nice, but if the fruit trees bloom and then a hard frost, that could kill them.  Or at least kill the crop.  Well, nothing I can do about that.

Today I planted Oregon Sugar Pod II Snow Peas in the newest raised bed.  Again, as soil conditioner cover crop, possible early snow pea crop, and to build up soil nitrogen.  Also, I inoculated these with Rhizobium, like I did with the snap peas.  Supposedly Oregon Sugar Pod II grows only 30 inches tall and does not need a trellis.

Not much to look at yet.

I also planted a row of carrots.

I started clearing an area where I can plant the rest of the pea seeds and let them mature, to save seeds.  There is still plenty of time to plant those, it's only Feb 12 today.

Planting Cold Growing Greens and Root Crops. 2.11.22

Today I planted one of the new raised beds with various greens and root crops, including white radishes, red radishes, "corn salad" which is not corn at all, also called "Mâche" or lamb's lettuce and is a chill weather green, red stem Swiss chard, spinach,  and cilantro and Simpson lettuce from home-saved seeds. Some of these are old so I planted extra (white radishes and Bibb lettuce). This bed will be planted with tomatoes in mid to late May, so they have about 90 days to grow and produce.

The row markers are coppiced pussy willow poles, as with the peas yesterday. Mâche doesn't germinate if it's warmer than mid 60s, and today was 67F. I think there should be enough chill later. It's only early February right now.

Planting Bush Type Snap Pea Seeds. 2.10.22

Peas like chill and can be planted very early. I read "Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades" and the author, Steve Solomon, recommends a late winter crop of peas to condition the soil. He recommends just tilling then in before planting summer vegetables, but I hope for an early crop instead. Portland Nursery says they can be planted in February. Peas have very deep roots, bringing nutrients up from the depths and adding soil structure. If the soil contains Rhizobium bacteria, legumes (peas, bean, clover, alfalfa, among others) pull nitrogen out of the air, leaving it in the plant material when they are dead. That enriches the soil without chemicals or manures. I love snap peas and snow peas, and they are an expensive vegetable, so they are a good crop for me to grow. Plus the tender shhots are tasty too. However, my soil does not contain Rhizobium. I know that because the previous pea crops and bean crop roots did not contain the nodules that are made by the plant to host the bacteria. So I bought some Rhizobium inoculum by mail order, and inoculated the pea seeds with that.

Then I planted the inoculated pea seeds in trenches about two inches deep. The poles are willow, which is as strong and straight as bamboo. I source both in the garden for making stuff.

Then I filled in the trenches, covered with screening to keep birds away, and scattered slug bait to keep emerging seedlings safe from the miniature Brontosaurus of the invertebrate world. Now it's mostly just waiting. There are also more to plant this month.

Moving and Rehabilitating Old Rosemary and Lavender Shrubs. 2.10.22

We had a sort of wildflower small meadow, planted with herbal shrubs as well as annual wildflowers. Meadows need some maintenance or they become weed patches with a handful of the dominant species. This one is about to become garden, so I decided to recover the most healthy looking of the Rosemary and Lavender shrubs. They were scraggly and mostly fallen over, with a lot of dead branches. Over the past few days, I dug up four of the Rosemary shrubs and about the same number of lavendar. I pruned off all of the dead branches, pruned a lot of the longest brances back to growing buds, and slightly tipped them. Then I replanted in the privacy row, where they joined forsythias and where I will plant annual flowers for birds and bees and me. Once cleaned up and replanted vertically, some of the rosemarys look decent.

Some don't look so good.

The lavender is more difficult to photograph. The leaves are short and gray.

Without planning it that way, this border is turning into an herb garden. It also contains lenon balm and catnip, and mint, with more to come. Other than occasional pruning and keeping weeds controlled, these don't need much care at all. They like hot dry conditions in summer, with no fertilizer. Working with both lavender, they leave incredible scent on my hands and clothes.

February Seed Starting. 2.9.22

I started some more seeds today. Some were quite old and may not grow at all. Some more chili peppers. Their raised bed has room for at least a dozen plants. Last year I used all of the Serranos from two plants, so I'm aiming for three. Similar for Jalapeños. The Jalmundo is a hybrid between Jalapeño and bell, which basically is a larger, meatier Jalapeño. I think they are stabilized and not F2 hybrid. I don't know if the old Yellow Banana pepper seeds will grow, then I found some newer ones in the seed box.

I planted a different Eggplant from Baker Creek, then found these really old eggplant seeds and planted them too. With old seeds, I plant about twice as many to make up for expected poor germination. I also planted the entire rest of the packet of NY Early onions. The poor germination for the first attempt was frustrating. Maybe the seed warming mat is too much for them, so I will leave them off it. That's an excellent variety, good flavor, long keeper, open pollinated to I was hoping for a couple I could over-winter to grow a seed crop next year.

This is my first ever attempt at growing Florence Fennel. I don't expect deer to eat it. The collards seeds were eight years old so I planted them very thickly. I found yet another packet of carnation seeds in the flower seed box. The ones from 2014 didn't germinate. Maybe these will. The "Jig saw" chili peppers look quite ornamental but the first batch didn't germinate at all. I am trying again. And I am starting some sweetpeas. If the grow, they can go outside almost immediately. I think. I've never grown them before. I'm using an overnight soak although some writers state it isn't needed.

Forsythia Cuttings. 2.8.22

 No roots yet, but I don't expect them for a couple of months.  Meanwhile, all of the flowers have opened.

Cymbidium Orchid Flowers. 2.8.22

 Only three flowers, but they are very nice.  Last year I didn't treat it nicely. What will it do if I actually take care of it?

Geraniums in Winter. 2.8.22

 These are the multicolor leaf heirloom variety that I brought out of dormancy.

The main plant has grown a lot of new leaves.  It does not receive supplemental light , so the leaves are mostly just green with yellow borders.

These are the cuttings in water.    They are under LEDs, so the leaves are more colorful.

One of the cuttings has grown roots.  Soon I'll plant it in potting soil.

Pruning Grapes and Kiwis. 2.8.23

 All but one of the grapes are pruned

Most look like this.  They still need a couple more years to develop.  This one is a red seedless, Einsetl

This one is Buffalo, the Pacific NW answer to Concord.  I added a bamboo bar to the trellis, pruned quite a lot, an tied to the trellis.

Finally, there is this Red Blake's Kiwi.  I don't know if it will bear like this.  Most set-ups seem to be for industrial level production.  I only want a bowl full.  This variety is not supposed to need a male.  So far it's never bloomed.  Who knows?

Seedlings So Far. 2.8.22

 At one month, the onion and shallot seedlings are looking nice.  They usually look like this at one month, so all is OK so far.

Red Wethersfield Onion

Ambition Shallot

Heshiko Japanese Bunching Onion.

All of the other onion and shallot seedlings look about the same.

 Carnations, Jalapeños, Serranos, Rudbeckias

Thyme, Carnations, Kale, Rudbeckias

Planting a New Genetic Dwarf Apple Tree. 2.4.22

 Dwarf apple trees are usually created by grafting a "normal" apple scion onto a dwarfing rootstock.  There is a history of doing that going back at least a century.  Genetic dwarf varieties do not need a dwarfing rootstock.  They have a mutated gene, such that the length of stem is significantly shortened.  This is called "brachytic dwarfism".  This is not genetic engineering, it's just a mutation that is passed down through generations of breeding.  Brachytic dwarf tree scion can be grafted onto much more vigorous rootstock, so they are more deeply rooted and need less, if any, support.  The disadvantage is, you can's grow your favorite variety as a brachytic dwarf.

I saw One Green World nursery was offering a brachytic dwarf apple variety called "Apple Babe".  I don't know if it will be good, but the general idea might be nice in my minidwarf apple orchard.  The brachytic dwarf tree should max out at about six to eight feet tall, smaller with pruning.  It's more likely to have excellent leaf cover, similar to brachytic dwarf peaches.

I ordered one as a Christmas present to myself.  It came today.  Merry Christmas!

 I thought this was a very nice specimen.  The roots look good.  The stem is sturdy and has lots of buds.  I'll probably prune the top back by a foot.  Kind of hate doing that, but I want it to branch out low on the trunk.

Sewing a Garden Tool Holster. 2.2.22

 Happy 2/2/22!  But it's not Tuesday!

Today I made a holster for garden tools.  The fabric came from the scrap bag.  It was formerly the top part of some trousers.  Normally I throw that away, but saved for this little project.  I ripped out the seams (how unseemly!), removed the belt loops, opened it up, cut the pieces, ironed flat, sewed back together.   I sewed on the button before sewing the strap to the holster.

Then I sewed the holster to a pair of garden pants, so it won't get lost.  

This holster is good because now I won't poke hokes in pockets, lose the pruners or scissors - which I do a lot - and it doesn't require a belt.

If I like this, I can make a couple more for other garden pants.  

Seedlings. More Red Wethersfield Onions, Echinacea. 2.1.22

That second planting of Red Wethersfield onion seedlings germinated nicely.  Looks like there will be all I can plant.  Echinacea germinated sporadically without stratification.  I only want about a dozen plants, so I'm happy with that.  There are more stratifying in the fridge.  I can plant those March 1.

Red Wethersfield Onion Seedlings.  I hope they are good onions.  

 Echinacea seedlings.

 Also the micro-mini tomato seeds germinated.  Micro Tom and Red Robin.

I'm still hopeful there will be Tabascos and Thai peppers.   The current Tabasco pepper seedlings are really puny, and one tiny Thai seedling has emerged.  The second batch needs more time.