I've never done this before. I read that if you want a latent bud to grow, you should cut a notch through the bark above the bud. The top of the tree sends auxin hormone to buds that keep them from growing. Cutting the notch interrups the flow of auxin, allowing growth. At least, that's what the books say.
I want this Akane apple tree to have lower branches, so I can lower the top. So I did an experiment and notched about these two buds. We will see.
I was reading that for miniature trees, one year old whips should be cut back to knee height -about 2 feet. That way, they will branch near the ground, forming a bush. It's a difficult cut to make for a baby tree, but if that's what's needed, then it should be done. So I did. All of them.
It seems like just about perfect time for grafting apples. We are probably done with hard frosts, the understocks have not started blooming yet but budes are starting to swell in some.varieties. Now three of the espaliers have grafts for new tops - so now the Zestar will have top tiers of Rubinette, Calypso will have top ties of Otterson, and Honeycrisp will have top tiers of Gala. I chose Gala because it's a good variety that I know I like, Rubinette is a great variety, very delicious, that's grows well for me but isn't available in stores, and Otterson is supposedly the darkest red apple grown - possibly smaller and less vigorous than others, so it seemed like a nice top for Calypso, which I suspect will also be less vigorous.
I also grafted Duchess of Oldenberg onto Milo GIbson. I might want to discontinue the Milo if the apples are no more special than last year, in which case I will have a new top of it from the graft of Duchess.
Lastly, I had a graft of a red flesh apple on Geneva 222 rootstock last year, but I don't want it. So I top grafted that one with Opalescent, a historic apple that I like and have a small graft of on a multigraft tree, but it isn't getting much of a chance. I'm not sure where this tree will go if it does well, but there are choices.
I also started putting on some new labels, that have the probable harvest dates.
Here are most of the grafts so far. All except the Otterson are whip and tongue. The Otterson was too small so I did a cleft graft for that one.
Today I planted out the rest of the onion seedlings. I started these seedlings in January. Onions will survive a little frost or chilly weather. Planting them out now will get them established before the warm weather starts. My seed starting book gives a date of March 20th so we are almost there. It has been very nice outside, in the 60s today. Lows in 40s.
I needed some extra space, so some went into an area that I was not planning to plant this year. But that's OK. That brick circle also contains some rescued garlic, a rescued sprouted onion (for potential seeds), and other alliums. A kind of hodge podge.
I planted a row of the onion seedlings in what has turned out to the the onion / shallot / rescued garlic raised bed. This year I can compare Spanish onions with NY Hybrid and with onion sets that I planted in January?. The main reason to hope the Spanish onions are good, is that they are non hybrid and I can use them to save seeds.
This is the garlic raised bed. Most of those on the left were ones that I saved last year. They look mush larger and sturdier than the ones on the right, which had sprouted on the old rows or raised bed. I think those are German or Spanish Garlic. Not bad, but the Music Garlic has larger cloves and I think they have more flavor. Hard to see here, but there is a row of garlic bulbils for next year, growing nicely. A second row is less vigorous. I don't know why.
There is a big rhubarb plant a the front of the house. For all I know, it's 20 or 30 years old. I think it would be happier if I divide it and fill in that area with new soil, so it isn't so crowded. Plus, it's not necessarily the best location for a rhubarb plant. I wanted the divisions in a new location, so they will be harvestible in a year or two. This is the reddest, sweetest rhubarb I have had, and I don't know the name.
When I dug what I thought was one division, it fell apart into two. So I planted them separately. They seem to have pretty good roots. I planted them in one of the apple mini orchards, where I think they will get enough light. If they are in the way or don't thrive, I can move them this fall.
