Forsythia Cutting Update. 7.8.2021

Now all of the forsythia cuttings are in full sun in my kitchen garden. Except one, still growing small roots in jar of water. I gave them some 1/4 strength miracle gro as a boost. Some are making vigorous new shoots. I'll plant them in their final row this fall. Even though they will need two more growing seasons for a good privacy impact, forsythia grows vigorously and thick, is low maintenance, has a beautiful blooming season, and these were free. There was a little nibbling of new growth by satanic deer, but I think they wont bother mature plants too much because because I have other forsythia bushes in deer susceptible areas and they don't browse those at all. The cuttings that I started in water were definitely much less trouble, more reliable, and much more vigorous, compared to the ones I started in plant starting medium.

Early Buds for Main Crop Figs. 7.6.2021

They say it takes about 100 days from bud to ripe fig. That depends on variety, weather, and other conditions. For the most part, it's just wait and see now. This is "Smith" fig.

Volunteer Yellow Cherry Tomato 3rd Generation. 7.6.2021

These are from seeds that I saved from a volunteer that grew last year. It is at least F3 generation from the original hybrid, which I suspect is Sungold but could be something else, like Supersweet 1000 or a bee hybrid of the two. These are the second plant to ripen, after Sugar Rush. I expect them to be less sweet than Sungold, but still a palatible early cherry tomato. Fully ripen in a few days.

Isolating Squash Blossoms. 7.6.2021

Several of the winter squashes are blooming, mostly male flowers. I want to collect seeds and have them true to type, so I isolated the first female Pink Banana Squash blossom to avoid bee pollination with other cultivars. I didn't isolate any males yet, but should tonight. Before

After

Some people tape them shut. That might be better. I have been manually pollinating the zucchinis, which are pretty widely separated so should be true to type. Tomorrow am, I'll manually pollinate this one too.

Knee High by the 4th of July. Sweetcorn. 7.5.2021

My dad used to say the sweetcorn should be knee high by the 4th of July. That was easier back in corn growing country, in Illinois. Here in the Maritime Pacific NW it's more of a surprise. This yearm Spring was early and warm, and we had that hot spell. This variety is "Trinity", an SE+ typecthat stays sweeter, is earlier, and the seeds are a bit more tolerant of cooler soils. It is also less tall, and the ears are a bit smaller that later varieties. I planted earlier in May than In most years, because it was so warm.