Pruning and Cleaning up the Carnivorous Sarracenias. 4.8.22

The Sarracenias were looking  bedraggled.  According to the experts, they should be pruned by now.  Flower buds were starting to emerge so I was careful.

One before picture.  What a mess.  They were sitting in their basins at the edge of the vegetable garden.

After.  There are lots of flower buds.  I want to create a better place for them.  This is easy to access for filling the basins with rainwater.

Lots of flower buds.  One plant had a big slug among the leaves, and some slug damage to a few flower buds.  I mover her (or him) elsewhere and added slug bait.

It was interesting to see, these were teeming with spiders.  Since spiders are also carnivores, it was kind of a double whammy for any insect that happened to visit.  This one didn't have the most spiders but it was the one I remembered to video.

Asian Pears Are Blooming. 4.8.22

 The Asian pears are full of blossoms.  I wondered if last year's pruning was too extreme.  I don't think so. If each cluster gives a pear (after thinning) thats enough for a few batches of canned pears.  Almost done eating the ones I canned last year.

It's interesting that one tree has red-ish new foliage and the other is bring green.  I had multigrafted both trees.  Apparently, somehow the grafts matched the original trees.  I forget the varieties now.

Planting Four O'clock Seeds and a Couple of Tomato and Eggplants. 4.6.22

 I had some brilliant yellow Four O'Clock seeds that I collected two years ago from a plant growing in the front yard.  It cones up each year, grows, blooms beautifully, never needs watering, and deer don't touch it.

I also have a packet of mixed colors of Four O'Clock seeds.  They will go into a different location.

The "Extreme Dwarf" tomato should extend the season longer.  I planted the first bunch of those a month ago.  Very container friendly, prolific and tasty, but small - about the size of a heritage sauce tomato.

I found the eggplant seed packet so decided to start those too.

Here is that "Four O'Clock in 2020.  I don't have a definite lineage, but I've been saving seeds and growing them for roughly 20 years, so these are probably descended from the first ones I grew back then.  The first photo was from 2014.

Then from 2020

Planting Potatoes, Container Method. 4.6.22

 I found these red potatoes in a cabinet, too sprouted and wrinkly for good potato salad.  I decided to plant them in one of the fabric containers.  They might be ready by mig June, and then bush beans can go into that container.

Many years ago I used the container method and it was so-so.  This time I'll give the, more room and fertilizer.

They are covered with a few inches of soil.  As they grow, more soil is added until they reach the top.  They should be watered and fertilized until the stems start to dry.  I figure, if each potato makes five good potatoes, that will me thirty, which is no small potatoes LOL.  Unless they actually are small potatoes.

Baby Ducks. 4.6.22

Ning's baby ducks.  After watching them a few days, he thinks two might be males.   I don't know how to tell the difference except time will tell.