More figs were pruned today.

"Vancouver" found variety. As noted before, possibly Brunswick/Magnolia/Dalmation. Pruned to spurs of 1-2 buds of last year's growth. These may actually be spurs of the 2nd part of last years growth, that responded to pinching by branching. In most cases, I removed 6 inches to one foot of growth. I could not help but leave a couple of embryo figs, despite thinking that the breba crop did not amount to much. Live and learn. I'm aiming for a 'bowl' shaped tree with an open center.

Lattarula/White Marseilles etc. this is also pruned to spurs, more or less. The aim here is for a more "fan-like" arrangement since this tree is near the house.

All of the fig trees got a couple of big handfulls of crushed eggshells for calcium, scattered on the ground.

Pruning Grapes

Here is the arbor before pruning. I read that it's necessary to remove 90% of the previous year's growth. These vines are Interlaken, Canadice, and Venus.

After. For the most part, all 3 vines were pruned to spurs. In most cases, to 2 or 3 buds per spur. That meant that more than 90% of last year's growth was removed. I keep debating, am I leaving too much? Am I removing too much? Since this year the vines were amost too crowded, I should not leave more now than I did last year.

Similarly for this Price grape. There were only a few bunches of grapes this year. I don't know if I am using the right method. Plus, the squirrels (furry little Satans with paws) chewed off most of the flower buds along the top, which is where most of ther flower buds were.


After. Most of the remaining vine is pruned to spurs. There is one cane left along the top as well. I couldnt decide which method was better. Maybe I'll pay more attention this time.

Plus, I need to add a chicken-wire top, or something, to thwart the furry little beasties in their develish missions.

More Unknown Soldiers

More unknown soldiers. On the reverse, the caption "Ft. Benj Harrison 9-24-10. Getting ready for inspection. Frank." Postmarked 9/27/1910

This is about actual size as displayed on the blog. Clicking on the photo enlarges it. The preserved detail on these old photos can be impressive.

How many of these men went to their deaths in unknown battles?

Planning and seed orders

Tonight I browsed the "Totally Tomatoes" website and placed orders for the seed varieties that are listed below.

Tomatoes
They didn't do so great in 07. Too cool and rainy. Maybe I didn't give them enough of an early boost with warmth and plant food (fish emulsion). Maybe I'll try the 'wall-o-water' again. It helped in 06, but at one point I thought they were getting steamed, and it was complicated making sure that I had them open on sunny days. Here is a photo, including the 'wall-o-water's, from 4/16/06. Spring really does happen, I just need to remind myself of that sometimes.

Better Boy Hybrid Tomato - 75 days- This has been one of the reliable ones.
Black Krim Tomato - 69 days - Tried Black from Tula and Cherokee Black in 2007, good tasting, not so productive.
Lemon Boy Hybrid Tomato - 72 days - My all time favorite, have to keep trying.
Ponderosa Red Tomato - 80 days - Childhood favorite. Who am I kidding? I doubt that this will perform in the Pacific Northwest. Still, all it takes is one tomato.
Super Sweet 100 Hybrid Tomato - 65 days - Ning's favorite and the best growing cherry in this yard.

Peppers
This year I'll try some peppers again. They don't usually produce until late summer or fall. Maybe try the 'wall-o-water' method.
Bulgarian Carrot Chile Pepper - 65-68 days - Never tried before.
Cayenne Long Red Slim Pepper - 75 days - This does 'ok' in my yard, 2 years running. But only a few peppers resulted.
Hot Portugal Pepper - Early ripening at 65 days. Worth a try.

Squash
Sunny Delight Hybrid Squash - Some variety to keep things 'fresh'

I did check out some other web sites, but none had the "Lemon Boy" tomato seeds. I suppose that I could have tried 1- or 2-year-old seeds, but didn't want to take the chance on these favorites.

I may also dig out old seeds and see if I can grow some varieties that I grew before. Viability-wise, they should be OK. I suspect that I can locate some old seeds from past years, and would like to try again.

Other Garden Chores today

1. Emptied the 9 month old compost container. Filled it with the summer cleanings, which are mostly from the chicken coop. Not that compost bin is ready for winter chicken coop cleanings.

2. The compost was layered on the chinese chives which have been growing in a 1/2 whiskey barrel for 2 years.

3. More was layered on a rhubarb plant in the front yard, and on some Chinese chives in the ground in the front yard. As these become more established, I am hoping that they are more vigorous and need less care than the containerized plants.

4. Pruned Tree Peony. The buds are swelling, so it was easy to see where to prune.

5. Chopped garden bed cleanings. Most were gladiolus and crocosimia stalks. These went onto borders without further processing. The Tomato plants went into the bottom of the compost bin that will be blessed with chicken coop materials through the winter.