Tuesday, May 07, 2013

Trees. Progress Report.

Laburnum. The flower clusters may not be as long as in an established tree. Still beautiful. Redmond linden. Also growing nicely. Also no sign of flowers. The leaves are lighter green, and larger, compared with Greenspire. Greenspire linden. All are growing nicely. No sign yet of flower buds. Maybe none the first year. I think all of the trees planted last summer and fall will need water approximately weekly this summer. They are mulched as well.

Canby Plant Fair

Saturday we went to the Canby plant fair. Worth the trip. Many people brought little wagons for their plants. We didn't think to do that. Ning bought some tree peonies and an Enkianthus campanulatus. I bought a grafted tomato, "Hawaiian Pineapple" and some chili pepper plants.

Sunday, May 05, 2013

Pear grafts. Progress report.

Some are growing better than others.

At the moment, all grafts are growing.

Very few incipient pears on the trees. It may take a couple of years for these to bloom. When they do bloom, the grafts should help the pollination issue.  Establihsed hives may also help.

Strawberry Raised bed.

Ning gave me 2 bales of straw. Not my birthday. Great present. With temps in 80s the plants will grow rapidly. The soil will dry out rapidly, too. A good straw mulch will help.

Beekeeping. Progress Report.

Minor maintenance on beehive. Check top bars, make sure there is room for expansion of hive. Remove the empty sugar feeders. Near the hives, a row of wild white-flowered trees. I don't know what they are. Mild musky fragrance. There were bumblebees as well as a few honeybees on these flowers.