Winter Solstice

Photo from wikipedia here. Photo of Stonehenge in 1877.

This posting is a week late, but I wanted to acknowledge the Solstice. For ancient peoples, as the days became shorter and shorter, the sun dimmer, the weather colder and chillier, and life in general gloomier, the solstice represented an end to the decline, and the beginning of seasonal rebirth.

In modern times, we are more removed from nature. We have the advantages of technology and modern civilization. We artifically brighten our days, and work hours that the ancients could not imagine. Even though we aren't being overrun by Vikings and Romans, and even though we have vaccines and medicines, the short days, dimmer sunlight, gloom and discomfort of winter affects us. At least, it affect me.

When I acknowledge the solstice, I acknowledge that it's the start of a new year. Better than New Year's day, better than religious holidays, Solstice is the moment when the planet and sun are seen to continue their cycle and influence our lives.

I'm glad for the start of a new Year, following solstice. Time to think about how I'll live it.

Book Review #2. "Backyard Fruits and Berries"

After giving a barely lukewarm review of another book (click on label "Book Reviews", I wanted to choose a book that I felt more positive about. Here is one. Others are expected to follow.

Again, this book covers the subject of the title. Backyard Fruits and Berries, by Miranda Smith. I bought it locally, but it was not at the bookstore when I looked last week. Available on Amazon.com here.

This is a well packaged book with lots of drawings and photos - a benefit for me. The initial chapters discuss placement of fruit trees, preparation of the site before planting, digging the hole, and planting the trees. The illustration on page 35 is in line with my understanding of how trees should be planted, and shows the concept well. There are chapters on tree care, including mulching, pruning, training. Some of the illustrated techniques are appropriate for the Backyard Orchardist, such as fan-shape, cordon, and espalier, but no discussion of the Backyard Orchard Culture method, including summer pruning, close planting, and maintaining small size. That concept (click on labels for Backyard Orchard Culture, and Dave Wilson Nurseries) is probably just too new for wide publication in books. I mention it here because I expect it to be central to home fruit growers in the future.

There is also a section on grafting. This is great! Also, propagating by cuttings. Any book that empowers the backyard gardener to grow their own, choosing varieties based on their neighbor's or family's experiences, is welcomed. For the avid home orchardist, to share their favorite varieties, and to try new ones by grafting or cuttings, even if they don't know the variety's name, is very welcome.

The sections on disease and insect control are rich with photos, and organically-inclined. Also a plus. I don't like reading about insects and disease damage, because it makes me wonder how we get any fruit at all - but we do, and it's great to see the organic approach.

Fruit specific sections include the usuals, and some unusuals, including apples, apricots, cherries, citrus, figs, pears, plums, and many types of vines and berries.
It includes Asian pears, which I think are an "up and coming fruit" for the home gardener. The plum varieties include European and Asian as well. Sour and sweet cherries are discussed separately - a sensible division given that there are some cultural differences.

The one drawback is already mentioned - Some day we'll need a book which emphasizes summer pruning, multi-tree-in-one-hole methods, and overall philosophy of Backyard Orchard Culture also here. This would include experiences outside of the area where this concept originated, because what works in California may not work, or may require other nuances, elsewhere.

I couldn't find a section on multigraft trees. Many books discourage multigraft, because one variety often overpowers the others. However, the small home orchard is based partly on more involved management, including pruning, and the multigraft may be the best, least expensive, and most reasonable way to have multiple varieties and polinator trees, in a small space. That oversight is minor.

I give "Backyard Fruits and Berries" an "A". It is one of my favorites.

Book Review: "The Fruit Expert"

I like reading books about gardening methods. The different books all have their pros and cons. Looking at the local bookstores, the garden sections seems to be getting smaller, so it's useful to have a bibliography of useful books. Amazon isn't the same as browsing through a book, it's difficult to tell what you might get.

So here's a review of one that I use from time to time. "The Fruit Expert" by Dr. D.G. Hessayon

Availability: This book is currently available at Amazon.com. I don't know current availability at bookstores.

Copyright: 2004

This book is written for the British gardener / home orchardist, although I found many sections useful for my own, Pacific NW garden. It is organized by the fruit type, and includes a forward on planting and an afterward on fruits that can be purchased from the store.

The planting method appears to match with other resources, although the author recommends a planting mix of soil+peat+bone meal. I think that current literature recommends not amending the soil, or not amending it much, because over-rich and over-loose planting mixture can lead to a 'flowerpot-effect', keeping the roots inside the hole and leading to a swampy soggy pocket in the hole. I have never seen that happen either, but now I only add minimal amendment to my planting mix.

Fruit varieties: The author discusses most of the major fruit types, including apple, apricot, cherries, pears, figs, plums, peaches, berries, and soft fruits or berries. The varieties won't generally be appropriate to the American gardener. The pruning section is "OK" but does not discuss summer pruning or backyard orchard culture, which I think is essential for the backyard gardener. The fig section was discouraging, probably due to limited usefullness in the UK. There is nothing on Asian Plums or Asian Pears. I don't know if these grow in the UK. The disease section contains many useful photos. This is not a book for the organically minded.

Overall grade: "C". Interesting for a book that is labeled "The world's best selling book on fruit". The photos are nice to look at. The planting method does not appear up to date. The pruning methods are not up to date or the best for the backyard gardener. The varieties are not useful to the American gardener.

I didn't realize until now, how poor this book is. I actually get it out and read it now and then, but there are better resources for either the novice or the expert.

Orchid report

This is the Oncidium that I repotted in the fall, thinking I was about to kill it either from bad timing or neglect. After initially potting in sphagnum, I read that sphagnum leads to rot, so I repotted it again in bark-based medium. Then left it to grow in an East exposure window. The newest pseudobulb is now the biggest, the new leaves are the greenest, and the start of a flower spike has begun to peek out at the first leaf. Cool or what! It's now in my home office, south window. With Northwest winters, even the southern exposure shouldn't be too much in Dec/Jan.

Backbulb start, taken from above Oncidium. Started in sphagnum, then potted into bark 2 weeks ago. Appears to be growing nicely. I think that sphagnum is OK for backbulb starts, since they need more moisture and there is thought to be antifungal/antibacterial property to sphagnum. Even if it takes a year or two to bloom, it is very cool to have started it myself!


One of the new oncidiums developed a pseudobulb infection, so is in quarantine. The good news is that I had decided I didn't like that one anyway/

Garden Log, Dec. 25 2009

Now we are past the solstice, so the days will start to lengthen. Even so, the coldest days are ahead of us. Today is bright and sunny, frost on the ground, so a new banner is added showing the frost on the candytuft.


View of my home office, from outside. It's great having a green place, with flowers blooming, and where I can look out to the birds in the feeder.

The Rhode Island Reds ('Rhodies') are laying an egg each day. So are the Australorps, which are too shy to photograph, and the Leghorn. We've been giving away a lot of eggs. They are one of the few things from the garden now, so it's great to have a reminder that the yard can still be productive in the Winter.

The Leghorn, having a "private moment" laying her daily egg.

A "Street chicken" during the trip to China in October. I don't know why, I just thought it was fun to take a photo.




The frosted Candytuft. Low, low maintenance- haven't done a thing with it in 6 years.

Helleborus starting to push up flower buds. It's the small things that tell me life continues, and give hope for Spring.

I didn't know if the Lycoris radiata would even survive. Here are the small, striped strap-like leaves. The hard freeze didn't seem to hurt them at all. This is the first time growing this bulb, so I still don't know what to expect. They look rugged, there, still green and standing up in the frozen leaf mulch.

The pond pump is broken, so the top froze over. You can see the koi and comets swimming around under the ice.