Mulberry

This is the second season for this little "Illinois Everbearing" mulberry tree. I pruned it back this winter to develop low scaffold branches, then one branch developed rust so I removed that one too.

Despite that this is only the 2nd season for this tree, the new little branches have the beginnings of mulberries at each new leaf node. That's very cool. I think it will be easy to maintain this tree at a small "Backyard Orchard Culture" size with judicious pruning. It will be fun to eat some mulberries this year.

This tree has interesting leaves. I like that.

If they are good, mulberries will be a great backyard crop. Mulberries are too tender to transport to grocery stores, so the only way to get them is to grow your own. In that way, they are like figs, which can be transported only if picked so early they taste awful and turn people off from figs, or transported dried or newtonized.

Peaches and peach leaf curl.

Bummer. Leaf curl was a mess this year. As noted earlier, I didn't cover them for the winter. This is the result. Damn. I did try Copper dormant spray. I don't think it did any good at all.


I think the tree will survive. This one set a lot of fruit. Today I pruned to one fruit per little branch. New leaves should start filling in now that weather is warmer. If it kills the tree, I won't mind too much - dig it out and see if there is a more resistant variety.

During the 2 years when I stripped of leaves in November, bunbdled the branches, and covered with plastic bags, leaf curl was minimal, almost none. That is the lesson here.

No photo but the peach-plum hybrid, TriLite was no better. The plum genes did not make it resist leaf curl. It is also a mess.

Prevention of aphids and fig spoilage with Tanglefoot

Two major problems can be prevented if I am diligent now. When the figs start to ripen, ants enter the fruits. The originally sterile fig then develops infection with fungus and bacteria that the ant carries. This is the plant version of an STD. The figs spoil. If they don't spoil, the presence of the ants, inside the figs, adds an interesting sensation to the tongue when I bite into the fig. Crunchy, with a slight tang, not entirely bad. But odd.

Cherry trees develop debilitating cherry aphids in the summer, carried onto the leaves by ants. Without the ants, the aphids don't occur. I read that ants farm, using aphids as their "cows".

Both issues are prevented by a ring of Tanglefoot. Tanglefoot is a very very gooey sticky substance that, once applied, doesn't go away. Ants can't crawl across tanglefoot, and don't even try. It repels them. I place a collar of stretchy plastic on the bark first. I cut plastic baggies into strips, then tie around the tree. This makes a collar to appy tanglefoot. Without the collar, the tanglefoot would remain on the bark, and after a year is a sticky mess but has enough debris attached that ants can crawl over it. Each Spring I remove the old collars. Now is time to replace.

This is all that's needed. Strips of plastic, a disposable spoon, knife or fork, and the Tanglefoot. It's impossible to remove Tanglefoot from a nondisposable tool, so I use plastic.

Up close. This is a fig tree.

At a distance. The collar is not unsightly, it can barely be seen.

Aphids also infest apples, pears, and peaches via ant farming practices. They are next. When I do this ground level work then stand up, it makes me dizzy. I can do a half dozen at a time.

Any weeds or grass that can create "bridges" for the ants are pulled.

Fig progress report.

So far the fig trees are looking great this year. Several are loaded with brebas. I can't complain.

King fig. This variety is considered breba-only, so if no brebas, no figs. I've kept it pruned as a bush, branching from ground level. If all of these develop into figs, I'll be very blessed. This tree may be benefiting from the Southern exposure.

Lattarula, also considered breba-predominant. I think this is the most it's ever had at this point. Ditto on the southern exposure comment.

Petite negri, a handful of brebas. It's always produced a few. Not a lot. Can't complain.

This Sal's deserves a permanent spot. I grew it from a cutting. The first year it didn't sprout so I left it in the tomato patch as a stick. The second year it grew, then a rogue chicken at it off. The third year it grew, and I left it in place. The 4th year I moved it into a pot, then forgot it and it dried out. The 5th year I left it out in the hard freeze - it was outside all winter, even in the coldest freeze. Here it is, still alive. It really does deserve a trial of actual horticulture instead of neglect and punishment.

Sal's fig again. Having been so inspired, I gave it a new container, about twice the volume of the prior container. The white color will keep the soil cooler. I also provided a dose of fish emulsion to promote growth. This year it will get the good treatment that it deserves.

I was surprised to discover that this neglected Petite negri fig, which I started a few years ago, was still alive. I was certain that it died in the big freeze, and never bothered to look or water it. I picked up the container to clean it out, and lo and behold there were swelling buds and a couple of leaves. I pulled out the weeds (pansies) and gave it some water, then a little fish emulsion. If I can find some potting soil, I'll pot it up as well.

Some more space to stretch?

Looking at this little cottage for a weekend retreat. There is more room for a mini orchard. I've been daydreaming about which trees to move there, this fig, that cherry, some grapevines I started by accident, the smallest and still moveable ginkgo tree, last of it's breed (the parent tree in Illinois was gone, when I looked last month).... That's even though it might still fall through. I'll try to leave uncounted these unhatched chickens, until they start to hatch. Oh, there are some other mulberry varieties I want to try, and some gage plums....