Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Main crop- Vancouver figs begin


These are the first of the main crop figs from my 'found' Vancouver variety fig. The first wasnt as sweet as the breba - due to cooler / shorter days? Ate too soon?
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Monday, September 11, 2006

Project: Sempervivum roof from recycled materials.


This short wall at the house entrance had the unfortunate habit of channeling water into the basement.

I collected recycled wood from the garage, mainly 2 X 6 's and some plywood, and constructed the box in this photo. The bottom slopes away from the house. The liner is recycled black rubber pond liner. I still need to construct a drain system so that any water that collects will be directed away from the house.
The box will be filled with coarse broken rocks and slate, perlite, and potting soil. Sempervivums and sedums will be planted as a living roof. These plants tolerate dry conditions, poor rocky soil, heat, and cold. I've been sticking starts between rocks in a recycled concrete wall, and they grow well there.

Sempervivum has a long tradition as a roofing plant. It is very durable. The name means "I always live" and refers to the plant's durability. They are originally from the Mediterranian and Himalayas. Romans grew it at their entrances to show their prosperity, and in Northwestern Europe, it was grown on roofs to deter lightning and fire.

Sempervivum is used today in projects for creating "green roofs" in urban settings and for home projects. It will be fun to see how this project turns out. My main concern is the northern exposure, but I already have a number of these plants in north facing locations and they seem to do fine. Posted by Picasa

Saturday, September 09, 2006

Just for Show. Worked from home today.


Rose of Sharon (Althea or Hibiscus syriacus) has been grown since Biblical times; there is mention in the Songs of Solomon. This shrub is tolerant of dry conditions, so I rarely water it. It blooms from mid summer to fall. There are self-sown seedling near the original shrub - will they have similar blossoms? If there is room for them, we'll know in a year or two.


Lilium Speciosum rubrum, nonhybrid oriental lilies. Nice fragrance, bloom later than all of the other lilies in the garden. These too seem fairly dry tolerant, now that they are established.

I worked via computer hookup from home, so no bike ride but no drive either. That seems like a fairly earth-friendly way to work, I suppose. Posted by Picasa

Friday, September 08, 2006

Friends. Summer cold.

Fortunately off work (although on call as backup).

Nasty cold today, cough, headache, congestion.

Kitty doesnt mind the dogs when she is closer to their height. At ground level they can be like overly frisky elephants (compared to her size) so she is less likely to put up with them. Posted by Picasa

Thursday, September 07, 2006

Thursday. Tomatoes in Window. Bike miles this week.

Every day, a few more fresh tomatoes.






This year's favorites....

For large, 'meaty' tomatoes:

1. Lemonboy for production, earliness, and flavor. Kind of tropical fruity. Given all of it's qualities together, this is the #1 tomato for this year and last year.
2. Cherokee purple for flavor. Kind of smokey/salty. This tomato was neither purple, or as its other name suggests, black - it was more of a burgandy / brown. Wonderful, rich flavor. Not very productive (although not in the sunniest spot, so it may not have been a fair test).
3. Yellow Brandywine for flavor, although not very productive.

3. Betterboy for pruduction and traditional tomato flavor (not as productive as lemonboy which was #1 in number and size of fruits).
4. The remaining large tomato, Tomande, was more productive in numbers, than Cherokee or Betterboy, but really not much for juiciness (some fruits were almost hollow) and consistenct of good flavor.

For Cherry Tomatoes:

1. Sweet 100. Best flavor for cherries and second best production.
2. Distant second for flavor, Sungold - heavily hyped, very productive, the the flavor was a distant second.
3. Probably not worth repeating, Sweet Baby Girl and Sugar Snack. More compact plants, but flavor also a distant second from Sweet100 and not nearly as productive.
4. For persistence, the volunteer Golden Nuggets which were not planted in that location since three years ago, but came up from volunteer last year and this year (and ranks just behind Sweet 100 in flavor).

Bike miles 66 but I may be underestimating. Next Monday I need to drive, due to meetings in Portland, so will doublecheck the miles. Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Computer room companionship

Is it the cool floor? Or proximity to this humble blogger? Either way, it's nice to have them here. One room away, they have soft beds but they choose the spot shown, at my feet.

Garden yield today: a big bowl of tomatoes, various sizes and colors, about 3 pounds. Sefveral large bunches of grapes. A handful of raspberries. Enough garlic chives to serve as the vegetable filling for Chinese dumplings.Posted by Picasa

Monday, September 04, 2006

Labor Day. Getting ready for tomorrow's bike commute.



So far not called in. This could change wiwthout a moment's notice.

Getting ready to bike to work tomorrow. Nobody needs to worry about "getting ready to drive to work tomorrow" but that's not true for bike commuting. The following are needed for me (if it's not actively raining - then there's more):

1. A clean change of clothes. If I forget something, I'm out of luck. I keep a pair of shoes at work, so I dont have to carry those too. CLothese are packed in rain-resistant bags, and carried in a side pack. If I happen to drive to work, I take some clothes to leave there, but that is happening less often now.
2. Sometimes, shower supplies like a towel & soap (although I leave them there so I dont need to take them every day).
3. Food. There are no 'healthy' places to eat near where I work. Really, zero, it's all fast food. And no time to go there even if there were. Lately, this entails salad greens, a few tomatoes, some bread, peanut butter, and some yogurt. For tomatoes & salad a non-mashable container is needed. A small rubbermaid box does the job.
4. The key card needs to be accessible so I don't have to stop and un-bungie everything to get into the building. Keys need to be the last thing packed, so I dont wonder while I'm riding if I forgot them. Can't get into the desk without keys.
5. Any home-work goes into a water- and dirt-proof package.
6. On the off-chance that I'll be paged, the pager needs to be on my clothing in a location where it won't fall off, and can hopefully be heard. So, the cell phone also needs to be out of the "bungied" rubbermaid box, and on my person, too. And in a safe location that wont fall off.
7. Now that it's darker in the am, the diode lights need to be in working order. So, the batteries need to be charged. These render me fully visible on the road (one bike commuter told me that someone thought he was a christmas tree on wheels. The better to be seen by motorists).
8. Bike gear set out. The best sweat band is a folded bandana - machine washable, no elastic to wear out, cheap. Currently, wool socks and hiker sandals; these will be exchanged for something more water-resistant soon. Bike shorts and a T-shirt.
9. Coffee pre-measured and water ready to turn non coffee maker on first rising, to saave a few minutes.
10. Check tires & lights before going to bed.

If it wasnt for the 'earth-friendly' and 'veggie' thing, it would be easier, but that isn't 'me'.

I can't believe that I do all of this. Actually, it doesnt take that long - maybe 15 minutes. It's remembering everything that was difficult, and once in the routine, not a big deal.

Still, it's worth it and the rewards are many - exercise that leaves me feeling good, doing something that I feel good about, observing the neighborhoods that I ride through, and feeling a bit like the 'road warrier' that I like to think I am. Sometimes. Sort of.

Oh - the photo. This is a brugmansia. These are in the nightshade family (like tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplants). Faintly fragrant. Amazing to look at in person, they look tropical and lush, and vaguely sinister. Apparently they can be overwintered by letting them dry out and leaving them in the basement with a rare addition of water when very dry, same as fig trees, fuscias, and geraniums. We will find out, this winter.

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Late Summer Cleanup. Vitals.

Since I'm on call this weekend and could potentially have to return to work, the day was spent puttering and doing late summer cleanup. Some painting was done, some weeds pulled, some deadheading.


This is the ginkgo seedling that I planted to replace the dying monkey puzzle. The seed was planted 6 or 7 years ago in a Chicago apartment, and transported to Vancouver 5 years ago. The original plan was to create a large bonzai-type tree. However, the need for attention (primarily the need not to miss watering) makes it safer to plant in the ground, so here it is.



Irises were dug and replanted. Dividing and replanting is needed about every 3 to 5 years. I already gave away a number of starts. Now was time to cut out the old rhizomes and replant. Irises are said to like lime, so several handfulls of crushed eggshells were mixed into soil.



The strawberry bed was cleaned up and thinned. Some plants were moved to the border of the tomato bed. I read that the leaves should be removed in July and cleaning done then, so I'm about 1 1/2 months late - but if they don't make it, it's not a big loss. Looks bare now but I suspect that they will fill in. They were too closely planted, and it was hard to locate strawberries. I may thin them some more.

Vitals today: 205.5# (lowest this year) BP=136/88 HR=68 Posted by Picasa

Saturday, September 02, 2006

"Volunteers" and today's putteriing



This is probably 'golden nugget' tomato, an open polinated Oregon variety which I grew for three years. It popped up in the rose bed. I didnt notice until I saw the yellow tomato.



This is probably 'gambo' pepper, an heirloom variety that I grew last year. It popped up in a flower pot along with some Italian Parsley; not much room left for the Euphorbia that was planted in the pot.



This is a morning glory that I grew last year. It looks very nice sprialling around the cleome. It's excessively exuberant - and there are others around the yard.

I remember the concept of 'volunteer' plants from growing up in Quincy. The volunteer is a seedling that sprouted, without human intervention, from seeds that fell or were otherwise distributed (such as seeds spread by birds, or a fruit pit abandoned after eating the fruit, or seeds that survived composting kitched scraps). Around the yard are volunteer Rose of Sharon, and semi-volunteer rose bushes (from discarded prunings that somehow survived and sprouted). These represent the tenacity of life, growing without effort from me or any other grower (such as commercial outfits). As such, they are treasures.

Unless they turn into weeds (like ivy, but that's another story).

Today's puttering:
1. I planted a seedling ginkgo, to replace the slowly dying Monkey Puzzle tree. Who knows whether there is something wrong with that yard location (in which case I might have doomed the ginkgo). I hope it's not Sudden Oak Death - but as slow as this tree has been dying (over three years), it's not sudden.
2. Cleaned up the strawberries. Removed old leaves. Pulled out crowded strawberries, and planted at the edge of the tomato bed and blueberry border.
3. Deadheaded roses.
4. Mowed the brown but weedy lawn. Maybe this will be the year to try an eco-lawn?
5. I think I'm going to pick some grapes now. Posted by Picasa

Friday, September 01, 2006

2 miniature and one columnar apples.



Jonagold. Last year this tree had fire blight and was "appleless". This is the first year to produce some fruit. Almost ripe.



Liberty. This tree was free of blight last year. The apples were bland. Will try eating them sooner this year, maybe there will be more flavor.



North pole. Also bland last year. Does anyone know when to pick the apples?

Today I pruned the sole non-fruiting apple tree (a golden delicious). This tree had a severe case of blight last year, and survived but no flowers this Spring.

Summer pruning keeps the trees compact. There are various methods. In some methods, the branches are cut back to a couple of nodes (Lorette pruning) in mid and late summer (more than one pruning). Since these trees are still young and small, I did not trim back so severely. I did cut back about 3/4 of new growth on the golden delicious. About one month ago, I similarly pruned several dwarf Cherry Trees.

Here is a good article about maintaining a backyard orchard. The key features are:

1. Plant a diversity of fruit trees for a succession of fruit over many months.
2. Choose dwarf varieties.
3. Plant them close together.
4. Keep them pruned to control size and optimize production on the small tree.
5. Don't be intimidated by pruning. Some shapes, such as espalier, can further increase the amount of fruit in a small space.

I would also add,
1. Also grow small fruiting plants (such as strawberries) and fruiting shrubs (such as blueberries and raspberries) which can be very productive in a small space. Fruiting vines, such a grapes, can produce in areas (such as an arbor on the side of a house or over a deck, that might otherwise not allow for plant growth.
2. Try container methods, which expand the climate limits by allowing for storage of dormant plants indoors, and which can be moved to different locations depending on yard needs and plant size.
3. Mix in other plants to improve pest control. I think that some herbs, such as chamomile, mints, chives, garlic chives, lavender, and others, attract small insects that help control pests.
4. Changing to a minimalis attitude about the lawn can reduce the nitrogen and water used in the garden. Decreasing nitrogen use can improve fruit production (by decreasing rampant growth favoring leaves over fruit). Im not sure about the effects of decreasing watering on fruit production, but at least one reference startes that an overwatered lawn also reducesfruit production.
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