Plum Seeds

These are the wild plum seeds I opened 2 months ago and placed into the fridge in a moist paper towel, sealed in a plastic ziplock sandwich bag. That was July 8th. So germination is about 3 1/2 months. One looks rotted. The other 2 are slightly moldy but growing. This was one week ago.

Here they are today. I planted them in seed starting soil. No problem from the mold. Seems like wrong time of year to be sprouting. Will grow in window.

Irises.

The 3rd raised bed is completed. Soil is from a pile behind the house. Again, mixing with compost as I filled. Maybe about 20% compost by volume. This time it's for flowers. Saving space for the spring shipment of irises. Plus added a row of Anemone rhizomes at the front. No idea if they will grow. They were like little rocks. Dry and hard.  Could have soaked them first. In this climate, with rain expected for the next 4 months, that seems excessive.  So I did not soak them.  I"m growing the Irises in a grid.  I'm not interested here in them as landscaping.  I like the flowers for themselves. The bed is just under 4 X 8, and the irises are about 7 across and 3 deep.  So a little more than a square foot each.  The smaller growing ones are toward the front.

The three iris rhizomes here with, white leaves are from dried-out shipments / store bought.  No confidence they will grow planting so late.  The far right, back one is Red Zinger, a medium size iris I wanted to try.   The lower right one is a rescue, I saved from bacterial rot this summer.  Diety.  Between them, I planted 2 rows of iris seeds from this summer's hybridization effort.  By planting them in the beds, there is minimal maintenance.

I planted some of the containerized irises. I've been coddling them for months. Four have died from bacterial rot. None of the in-ground irises did. Maybe that means, container method is not so good? The potting soil is not so good?  Mostly I want this bed for heritage irises, but some are modern.  I did not water them in.  I planted a little shallower than they were in containers. They had excellent root growth.  I tried not to disturb the roots.  No use spreading the root out.  Iris roots are deciduous, die off and are replaced as new rhizomes grow.

Trees, leaves, planning for bees. Plant trees in fall. Ginkgo.

That back yard ginkgo. The leaves are yellow now. Beautiful! I say it over and over, but I'm proud I grew that from a seed!

The big maple at the battleground place. So beautiful. Dropping leaves. They will make lots of great compost.

Found this little leaf linden, "Greenspire' at HD. Marked down from sale price of $39.99 to $8.00. Can't beat that price. With plans to start beehives, linden trees are a great choice. I read that linden pollen makes the best honey. This tree had a great root mass. Not too root bound. I did have to prune a few. There is no central leader. It will need corrective pruning for 2 or 3 years. But at that price, who can complain? I cut off a couple of small rubbing branches, that's all. Wait for bloom, prune after that next Spring.

About 8 feet tall once planted. The ground was very easy to dig now. No more summer dry soil. Not too much work. It will be a great source of pollen for the honey bees.

What does it take to make me happy? Leaves for compost is a good start. It's like a christmas present. Leafmas.

Progress Report. Mostly Allium family vegetables.

No pics today. Today I built raised bed #3. Filled about 3/4 with soil/leaf compost mix. The top soil was muddy - not the best way to build a garden bed, but not much choice. I did not tramp it down, kept my feet off, and mixed in about 25% compost, so it should be OK. When it is filled, this bed will contain ornamentals that need fall planting. I noted last weekend that the Chinese chive seeds I planted have germinated, and are 1 inch tall. Not sparse. The germination must be approaching 100%. Issue now is will the seedlings survive winter? I'm betting yes. But I have more seeds to plant in spring, in case they don't. Yellow Potato Onions in the first bed are 100% sprouted. Most are about 4 inches tall. Yellow Potato Onions in the 2nd bed are about 50% sprouted. Egyptian Walking Onions in both beds are 100% sprouted, and about 4 to 6 inches tall. Inchellium Red garlic in the first bed is about 1/3 sprouted. German Porcelain garlic in the 2nd bed is 100% sprouted and about 5 inches tall. Some of the Dutch Shallots in the 2nd bed have sprouted. Three plants so far. So far none of the Safeway Shallots have sprouted. Cilantro seeds are also sprouting in the onion "bucket" planters. Planted at the same time as the onions. Not bad for late October.

Planning the garden for next year.

It's early. Way early. But with little more to harvest, and not much to plant, I'm thinking about next year. My goals for vegetables next year: Productive in a short season, cool summer, that I have in Maritime Pacific NW. Reliable. Vegetable crops that are amenable to saving seeds for future seasons. What I'm thinking about so far: Melon, Minnesota Midget (SeedSavers.org) The melons are quite small - 4 inches. Fine with me, less waste. They'll be like apples or other fruit. "Resistant to fusarium wilt. 60-75 days." That's a short season. The vines are short too, 3 feet long. I can grow under a frost protector for warmth. Will look for other choices in the 60-75 day range. Watermelon, Blacktail Mountain. Also SeedSavers.org. 6 to 12 pound melons. Developed by a northern Idaho gardener, where nights were in the 40s. 65-75 days. Roma bush beans always do well for me. Seedsavers doesn't have them, but Territorial Seeds has them, and they are open pollinated. 59 days. Probably a pole bean. I have old old packets of Chinese pole beans, will try to germinate them. If they don't grow, there are other choices to look for. Red Burgundy Okra. SeedSavers.org. Also fast, 55-60 days. I have not thought about growing okra - it's a warm climate crop - but in raised bed with row cover, planted late, maybe it's worth a try. Along with some chilis. Or Dwarf Green Long Pod at VictorySeeds.com which is a compact plant: 24-30 inches tall, and 52 days. Compact size is good if plants need protection from deer. Maybe I'll get some Pink Banana Squash for an out of the way corner in the sun. Rareseeds.com. Long season, 105 days, but some nostalgia there and maybe they'll ripen in the fall soon enough to have for thanksgiving. Chilis - thinking about cayenne, which always produces for me, and a small hot pepper such as Thai. Hungarian Banana peppers always do well for me too. Tabascos are late - might not be worth the effort. I don't know yet. This one looks good -Hot Portugal, SeedSavers.org. 65-75 days. These from Territorial, Miniature Yellow Bell and Miniature Red Bell, both at 55 days. Tabascos from rareseeds.com 90 days. That one's a long shot for me, but I have grown them before. Row cover / raised bed should help for all of the chili peppers. Hungarian Hot Wax also rareseeds.com. There is also Hungarian Sweet Pepper at VictorySeed.com. 68 days. Not bad, might be better than the baby early bells. I like yellow summer squash. There is Early Prolific Straightneck at VictorySeeds.com 42 days. Same source, Dark Green Zucchini 50 days. Those are my thoughts so far. Subject to complete change. This does not include tomatoes. Probably Supersweet-100, Sungold (hybrid but exceptions can be good), Better Boy, an Italian tomato, and a couple of heirlooms. More research needed there. ANother melon that looks good, from RareSeeds.com: Prescot Fond Blanc Melon. 70 days, but not clear on climate needs.