The Collecting Of The Tree Leaves. 11.7.22

 This morning, while walking Rufus in town, I encountered some homeowners raking their leaves.  I offered to help, in return for the leaves.  I quickly filled the pickup bed.

The areas that I left covered with last year's leaves did great.  No weeds at all, and only sporadic watering. The leaf mulch lasted until now, but is now thinning quite a bit.  My goal is to keep those areas maintenance free next year too.

The truckload of leaves made a good start.  It's more work than I should be doing, but only once a year.

Some of these areas were too shady fir the perennials I had there, so I removed those to transplant to a sunnier spot.

It needs just a little tidying up, but basically this area is done until this time next year.  I'm really pleased this much is done now.

Fig Tree Starts. 11.7.22

 On Nov 29 last year, I removed this offshoot from my original Hardy Chicago fig tree.

It didn't have much root.  Barely any. 

Still, I wanted a new tree to replace one that was killed by voles, so I planted it, gave it some water, and kept it mulched.  Here is that tree today.

I'm pretty impressed with the resilience of fig trees. This one has the potential to produce a small number of figs next year. Today I renewed the leaf mulch around it.  This tree is settled in for the sinter.

I had also cut a few cuttings, dormant wood about a foot long and half inch diameter. I stuck them into the ground in what was to become a tomato raised bed.  No other care, not even water althpugh the closest emitter was, maybe, 18 inches away.  It did have a cardboard mulch.

Here is one cutting now. I dont think the others grew.

This start could be planted in the ground now, and potentially make some good progress next year.

The Final Potato Harvest. Grow Bag Potatoes. 11.5.22

 I've been procrastinating harvesting the last grow bag.  I think this is Kennebec.  I harvested today.

There were some pluses and minuses here.  On the plus side, none were sprouted, none were chewed up by voles, and they were very easy to harvest.   On harvesting, they were cleaner than in-ground potatoes.

On the minus side, I hoped for a larger crop, and some of these were small.  This was from three plants.

It's possible the soil mix wasn't rich enough.  Nothing else that I grew in this mix was as productive as I hoped, either.  I'm thinking about why, and how to replace it.  One thing I don't see so far is evidence of nematodes or other root destroying creatures.  So far...

Saving Onion and Shallot Varieties For Next Year. 11.5.22

 The onions did not do well this year.  I think the main reason was, I was not able to keep up with weeding and cultivating, and the irrigation lines weren't working well in this bed.  Next year, I'll want a different type of emitter.  Weeds overwhelmed the onion plants, so that finished most of them off.

On clearing the weeds, I did find a few of the Red Wethersfield onions that survived and made bulbs.  Red Wethersfield is an heirloom variety that should come true from seeds, which is why I tried growing it.  Plus, I like red onions.  I don't want giant ones like in the grocery store, just a nice medium size.

Onions are biennial,  This year's bulbs will send up flower shoots next year, to make seeds.  So I replanted some of the Red W bulbs, to make seeds next year.  Also to see if the make a good size bulb.  It's worth a try.  I kept a couple of large ones for the kitchen.  They are a good tasting onion.  Also, I'll keep a couple dry, in the garage, in case the planted ones don't survive the winter.  I planted them in a container that had pepper plants this summer.

I also divided shallots and winter onions from one of the raised beds, in this and in another container.  I cant tell the difference between some.  Some of the shallots also have a rounder, red bulb, and I think some of the winter onions still have stalks, and a narrower, brown skin bulb.

Before planting, I mixed about 1/2 cup of organic bulb fertilizer into the soil mix.  It should be slow release, especially in cold weather.

I planted tulips in the front green container .

I still have some onion family plants to sort out, including potato onions (still in one raised bed that I cleaned up), shallots I grew from seeds this year, and Egyptian Walking Onions.  Some of those will go into containers.  I'm not sure yet. Maybe in the raised bed that is currently occupied by tomatoes, which next year is reserved for onions.

Raised Bed Prep For Next Year. Nemagon Mustard. 11.5.22

 I raked the soil for the three original raised beds, weeded, and scattered Nemagon mustard seeds as a cover crop / green manure / biofumigant,  The mustard should grow to six inches to a foot tall, survive the winter, and reach about two feet by the time I want to use the raised beds in the Spring.  Three weeks before planting the Spring crops, the mustard will be chopped and incorporated into the soil.  

The mustard plants and leaves release substances that kill harmful nematodes, fungus diseases, and bacterial diseases.   Until then, the deep roots (up to 5 feet deep) bring nutrients from deep in the soil, the leaves sequester nitrogen, and the leafy plants inhibit weed growth.

I think the mustard cover crop will reduce the need to collect as many tree leaves to enrich the soil, as well as help keep the beds free of diseases and harmful soil life.  

I decided to remove any onion family plants, to simplify the rotation.  Next year these beds will contain tomato plants and beans, and the following year any can have onions or garlic again.

The middle bed needs repair.  I can do that in the Spring.

Saving Seeds for Green Bean Bush Beans. 11.5.22

 This year I was able to collect maturing bean pods from the bush beans.  I have not saved the seeds in the past, because my late planting results in the pods not maturing.  This was a hotter hear, so some of them did mature.

I let them dry inside until the pods were crunchy.

Now the drying bean seeds shell out quite easily.

I shelled the seeds.  My estimate is I need roughly 80 seeds for an early crop, and 80 for a late crop.  I think I got that many.  There are also some later ones, still drying.

Here are the seeds so far.

They need to be kept in a paper or cloth package, so they continue to dry out.

I'm not certain of the variety.  Probably either Blue Lake or Contender.  I grew both, but can't tell them apart.

Preying Mantis. 10.29.22

 I found this little creature while working on the garden bed.  This makes me happy, knowing that my garden has a rich web of life, feeding me, the plants, the creatures, and the soil. 

Preparing Next Year's Tomato Bed. Marigold Treatment. 10.29.22

 This raised bed had the following succession.  Last year, onions.  This year, garlic, then bush beans.  I planted a row of French Marigolds at the end, which grew vigorously.

Marigolds contain a substance that is toxic to some harmful herbivorous soil creatures.  So, I thpughtbit might be useful to treat the soil with a marigold "green manure".

First, I cut off all of the beans and weeds.

I removed those.  I thought about mixing them with the soil, but it seemed like more effort than I could handle.  So the bean tops and weeds went to the compost heap.  Then I roughly chopped the marigold plants, and spread them over the soil.

Then I used the shovel to turn over the soil, mixing in the marigold choppings.

This bed was the only one not to get a treatment of biochar last winter.  Supposedly, biochar will help keep the soil healthy and  nutritious.  So I spread the remaining biochar onto the soil.

I also found a bag of chicken bone / woodstove ashes, in the garden shed.  So I spread those too.

Then I used the hand tiller to roughly mix it all together.

Now it's ready for the rain, and settling in, and the next couple of weeks of coffee grounds.  Then I'll cover with a layer of leaves, and it can rest until May.

Apple Graft Results. 10.27.22

 These are grafts I did in March or April.  

Mutsu on Geneva 222 rootstock.  I had left the rootstock dry out last year, and it still survived.  Whatever I had grafted on it did not.  So this Spring, I repotted it, cut off the top, and grafted it with Mutsu scion.  The graft union is kind of ugly, both because I didn't use a fresh razor blade to make the cuts, and because the scion and rootstock sizes were very mismatched.  Doesn't matter.  In a few years, it will be difficult to locate the graft union, as the trunk enlarges and they meld together.  I might replant this one into a container bed this winter.

 

Freedom Apple, on Redlove Odysso espalier. Odysso might be a dud. Still no ripe apples to taste. I decided to make the top two tiers into Freedom, a disease resistant old variety. Again, ugly graft and this was a cleft graft because I couldn't get a good whip and tongue.  Plus a size mismatch, again.  Didn't matter.    It healed great, and growth was phenomenal.

This will need some winter work, to make the tiers horizontal.  That is not a big deal.

Finally, Blue Pearmain on Redlove  Era.  Same graft issues, took great and the graft union healed completely over. I think this one actually was a whip and tongue, which makes a cleaner and faster healing graft union.

I guess I need to make some decisions about the Redlove trees.  I may overgraft some of the lower tiers with something more productive.

Covering Peach Tree To Prevent Peach Leaf Curl Disease. 10.27.22

 I finally got the genetic dwarf peach trees covered. 

I don't know if I did it on time.  Covering to prevent rain from getting into the buds, prevents peach leaf curl disease.  I has already rained a few inches.  However, one year I dug up a peach tree and pitted it this late, and kept it sheltered.  It did fine.  I also wrapped the branches in garbage bags one year in Novembet.  I think that worked too.  I'm not sure.

Overwintering Hot Pepper Plants. Method #2.

 I don't know if this will work.  These didn't ripen all of their peppers, so I wanted to move them into the sunroom to finish ripening.  It's similar to the other method, but less pruning.

This is a nice Thai pepper plant.  I dug it up and hosed off the roots.  No pruning, this time,

Then I potted it in good potting soil and watered it in.

Then I let it drain.  Previously, I gave the same treatment to some Tabasco pepper plants, a Serrano pepper plant, and another Thai pepper plant.  Here the are in the Sunroom.

Now I'll treat them like houseplants.  I don't know if they will survive, or not.  The Tabasco and Serrano were already sad looking.  I don't think their soil was good.

Overwintering Hot Pepper Plants. 10.27.22

 Hor pepper plants can be overwintered.  Last year, I overwintered a Jalmundo (jumbo Jalapeño) plant.  To  do that, dig up the plant.  This one is a Cayenne pepper that has been harvested.

Now hose off all of the soil.  That removes insects and other harmful creatures.

Now prune the roots and top to a more compact shape.  The top pruning can be pretty radical.  I pruned to about 1/2" above nice looking nodes.  Each node can produce several branches when it starts growing again.

Now plant the pruned hot pepper plant in a clean container with good quality potting soil.   Water it in.  Let it drain.  Now store in bright,  cool, frost-free room.

Here it is with two friends, a Jalapeño and a Banana pepper plant.  Also a dendrobium orchid.

These will be allowed to dry out, with only slight moistening until late winter.  Now they are in the garage.  I will move them to a cool room, before it's too cold.

Another Frog. 10.27.22

These little frogs are all over the place.  Frogs eat insects.  So I'm happy they are here.

Cosmos. 10.20.22

 The cosmos finally bloomed.  It's nice having such perky flowers, this time of year.

Planting Garlic. 10.20.22

 Each year, I set aside enough if the garlic harvest to plant the crop for the following year.  Each bulb usually has six to ten cloves, which makes a row in my garden.  This year, I planted four rows of Music garlic (hardneck) and four rows of Lorz (softneck)  garlic.  Supposedly, softneck will keep longer although last year the hardneck Music kept nearly a year.

Music.  These have huge cloves.

Lorz.  Cloves are nice size but not gigantic, and there are more of them.

This is how deep I plant them, about 3 or 4 inches deep.

All planted.

Wildfire Warnings. 10.17.22

 I'm temporarily away from the homestead due to wildfire warnings.  We are a few miles from the evacuation zones, but it is smoky.  I'm a couple of miles northeast of Battle Ground, which is in the Northeast corner of the map.  The map is from the county website.

I always keep a Go-Bag although the contents are a bit old now.  Last night I spent an hour chasing one of the hens, who didn't want to go back to the hen house.

Over the years, we removed flammable shrubs and trees from areas adjacent to the house.  The mulch next to the house is lava rock gravel.  The big propane tank is gone.  The neighbors' towering Leyland cypress are the main risk.   Right now it's wait and see.

Completed Star Quilt. 10.17.22

 Yesterday I finished the star quilt.  It's very warm and white heavy.  I'm not sure when I started it.  I think June, last year.

Some of the individual star blocks up close.

The backing is also made from thrifted cotton men's shirts.

Im happy with the result.  It's better up close than in photos.  I think my next quilt will be full of bright colors, as a contrast to the muted colors I've been using lately.

The original pattern was published in a UK quilting magazine, Today's Quilter and was designed bt Lynne Goldsworthy.

Tree Frog. 10.15.22

 I see a lot of these around here.