Cherry Pie. 7.16.22

 The pie cherries ripened.  There were almost no sweet cherries this year, and fewer pie cherries.  Still, there were enough pie cherries to make filling for three pies.

I used the outdoor stove this time.  It worked perfectly.  I think it needed less gas to heat compared to inside cooking, because it was a hot afternoon.  Also, baking it didn't heat up the kitchen.

I like glass pie plates.  I think they make a great crust.  You can also look to make sure the crust browned properly.

This time I used Clear Jel starch instead of flour.   The filling is more clear, and redder.p instead of pink.

I made two batches of pie filling and froze them.  They will keep a year in the freezer.  It's much easier and faster to make a pie from a frozen filling, instead of fresh.  I think the flavor is the same.

More Container-Grown Potatoes. Planting Bush Beans. 7.16.22

 This is the second batch of container-grown red potatoes. 

Compared to the same starts, grown in the ground, the container grown potatoes had nicer, finer skin, no scabbiness, were a bit oblong instead of round.  The flavor is the same.   Size is similar.  I think the container grown made for more potatoes, much easier harvest.  Photo:  grown in ground, on the top.  Container grown, on the bottom.

I have other varieties that I can do the same comparison.   We'll see how those turn out. 

Meanwhile, I thought the soil mix in those containers was too water retentive.  The bottoms were soggy.  I found an unused partial bag of cactus soil and another of perlite, and mixed those into to soil in the bags.  That should improve drainage.  Then I planted bush bean seeds in the modified soil mix.

This is the variety "Blue Lake".  I grew them last year, good bean with good yield.

With beans, peas, corn, a cover is needed so birds so up all of the seeds and eat them.

Pollinating Squashes. 7.23.22

Squashes are one of my favorites.  They are bee pollinated, and it seems like there are few bees this year.  Especially honeybees.  I hand pollinate anyway. 

Here is the big squash patch, with Burgess Buttercup, Saffron Summer Squash, and Costata Romanesco Summer Squash (zucchini).  That last one is monstrous in size.

I want at least one of each to be pure, so that I can save seeds for next year and have them predictable.  I seek male and female flowers about to open, and cover them with organza gift bags.  Then tomorrow I can use the males to pollinate the same variety females.  That way, I don't have to worry about the few bees that are there, cross pollinating different varieties.

The squash plants are interesting.  Fordham Zucchini and Galeux d'Eysines so far have made only male flowers, and Burgess Buttercup and Dakota Dessert Squash made only females until today.  The Costata and Saffron made both, but initially Saffron made only female flowers.  So just for eating, I cross pollinated Saffron squash with Costata pollen (They are the same species), which worked fine.  Later in the summer, I want to save seeds from those too, so will isolate those flowers in a month or so.

There actually are some native pollinating insects, as seen on these cilantro flowers.

Here are the other squashes, among fruit trees and other plants.

Today's Harvest, Raspberries, Spuds, and Summer Squash. 7.13.22

 I really like it when the summer squashes start bearing.  I planted less this year so I won't be overwhelmed.

The potatoes were from sprouted grocery potatoes I planted late winter in a fabric container.  Not a massive harvest, three pounds and a few ounces from one container.  Still, not bad.

Star Quilt Progress. 7.13.22

 So far I surprised myself with the first four star blocks.

As with two other quilts, these are made from fabric from second hand men's 100% cotton shirts.  Some features are fabric left over from previous quilts.  Those were fabrics I especially liked.  I have to be creative in their use because only small amounts remain.

These took longer because of the white backgrounds.  I have a crinkly white fabric that I used, to add texture.  However, it's so thin I was concerned the batting would show through.  So I used spray basting to bond them to a heavier white fabric.  The spray basting will wash away when the final quilt is laundered, leaving the two layers much softer but with the nice crinkly look on the surface.

Now comes a bit of a dilemma.   Each fabric is in a limited amount.  I have to vary it so I make the best use of each.  The shapes are irregular, so it's difficult for me to decide how far each piece will go.  I thought I might alternate these with the darker blue, with lighter blue stars.  Here is a comparison.  The light blue one isn't sewn together yet, so it is larger.

I don't think I like the lighter color for the star.  The other fabrics - the grey and the background - are in short supply, but I think I have enough of the dark blue for at least the next four (out of thirteen total) blocks, and who knows, maybe all thirteen.  The grew and white parts will have to be more diverse, which I think will add variety.

I will play with it and see what happens.

Apple Grafting Results So Far. 7.9.22

 This year I only did three grafts.  That was in March.  The scion was from Maine, varieties that are historic or disease resistant.

The first was the disease resistant variety "Freedom".  Freedom was released by the New York Ag Experiment Station in Geneva, in 1958.  It is multiple disease resistant.

Here is how the graft looks now.  It has healed nicely.  The leaves had an aphid infestation and are sad looking, but I think that is over.

Today I pruned a lot of new growth on the lower tree, including any new growth occurring below the graft.  I also pruned the graft to make it make branches for the espalier arms.

This was the graft when I did it.  I'm using Freedom for the top two tiers of a four-tier espalier.  The lower two are the red flesh RedLove Odysso. (TM)  It was a difficult graft.  The wood was very hard, my knife was dull, and I wasn't doing well at the time.  Still, apple trees are resilient, I had it wrapped tightly, and it took.

The second on was a graft of the ancient, historic variety "Blue Pearmain", on another red flesh espalier "RedLove Era" (TM).  I don't think Era is turning out that well, but the Blue Pearmain might give me something to look forward to.  Again, the intent is top two tiers will be "Blue Pearmain", bottom two will be the red flesh variety.

That graft was similar to the first, except I was able to do a Whip and Tongue graft this time, which I like better.  This one took too.  I also pruned this one to force branching and remove some competing growth from the understock.

The last one was the variety "Mutsu".  I had a rootstock that had survived a lot of neglect and mistreatment, and I used that.  The rootstock was the variety "Geneva 222", a highly dwarfing type.  So far, it's still in a plant container.  The scion was tiny and flimsy.  I was only able to match up the cambium on one side.

Here is the Mutsu now.  Only the side with matching cambium has healed so far.  But, if that side healed, it's promising that so will the other side later.  This tree will need a lot of TLC.  For one thing, it needs to go on the drip line, for consistent watering.

The bad side

The good side

A Zucchini and a Saffron Summer Squash. 7.9.22

 The first Costata romanesca Zucchini, and the first Saffron Summer Squash, but today.

Pawpaws, Persimmons, Plums, Peaches. 7.9.22

 Those little pawpaws continue to swell.

The persimmons are beginning to swell, too.

Lots of plums this year.

Genetic Dwarf Peach, Garden Gold

"Figcam". 7.9.22

 Not a live cam, just photo updates.

Desert King.

Lattarula.  Not only are the early summer ("Breba") figs continuing to grow, but buds are growing for the fall ("Main Crop") figs.  I counted about 50 figs on this tree.

Yes those sneaky, evil, mean, ravenous yellow jackets have been sending out scouts.   Back at the nest, the platoon is asking ("Where are Bob, and Steve, and Fernando?  They've been gone to two days").  Maybe I should put out more traps.  I don't like killing things, but yellow jackets are vicious and not only have stung me but also Rufus.  And they occupy and destroy every fig on the tree, if not trapped first.

Petite aubique.  Or as I call Monsieur Heartbreak" because he promises the most tasty, delicious figs, then they all too often ripen too late and become moldy during fall rains.  Will Monsieur Heartbreak break my heart again this year? 

Chestnut Trees Blooming. 7.9.22

 I planted these about six years ago.  From a distance, only the male flowers are visible.  They have a musty scent.

Here the female flowers are visible in closeup.

What's Blooming? 7.9.22

 Lots blooming now.

European Lindens.  I planted these in 2013.  Highly fragrant!    Honeybees love the flowers, but no honeybees around.  :-(

Buddleia.  Highly fragrant!

The first Gallardia.  I started these as seeds during the winter.

More Sweetpeas.  Highly fragrant!

More lavender!  The leaves are highly fragrant.  Im not certain about the flowers.

Four O'Clocks Beginning To Bloom. 7.8.22

 They don't look like much yet, but are covered with flower buds.  Not bad for seeds I started in early Spring.  There are red, pink, and yellow ones.  I think they will be covered with flowers in a couple of weeks.

First Potatoes. Envol, in Container Planter. 7.8.22

 These are the first potatoes of the year.  The variety is "Envol", a very early variety.   I grew these in the container planter that I built last winter.  The plant leaves were starting to dry out and turn yellow, so I don't think these were going to grow larger or more potatoes.  

I think this was not super productive - 8 pounds from two 25 gal containers - but not bad.  They were super easy to dig out, very clean, no shovel injuries to potatoes.  Overall, I'm happy with thus result.

Squashes Are Blooming! 7.4.22

 The Costata romanesca zucchini, and Saffron summer squash are blooming.  One of the zucchinis had male flowers, so I used those to pollinate all of the female flowers.

The Burgess Buttercup squashes have female but not male flowers.  They are not the same species as zucchinis, so I didn't try.