Thursday, August 15, 2013
Planting a WIld Pulm Tree, grown from seed.
This wild plum tree was started from seed last summer. It's now about 4 feet tall. I'm impressed by the rapid growth. I waited until I had a chance to build a deer cage, before planting it.
This may need a pollinator. I have 3 smaller specimens, started at the same time. The plan is to plant at least one nearby.
I read that the leaves are a deer favorite. So it is caged.
I don't know if these will serve as pollinators for my domesticated plums. It's worth a try.
At this size, maybe it will bear in another season or two or three. I would like that.
I like growing from seeds, for the genetic diversity and wondering what I will get. I know they may or may not be good. Since these are selections of wild plums, not hybrids, they may be more predictable compared to domesticated varieties.
This photo is from last year, July 2012. These are the plums. The tree is down the street from me. They are the size of a sweet cherry, but are sweeter, juicier, and have a plum flavor.
After cleaning the seeds, I let them dry for a day. Then cracked the hulls using a vice-grip.
There isn't a lot of info about growing wild plums. I based the hull-cracking method on some web info about other stone fruits. I placed the naked seeds in a plastic bag with a damp paper towel, and refrigerated. After about a month, they started to sprout and I planted them in potting soil.
Others were planted directly outside in potting soil. Those grew more slowly, but they did grow. They grew late summer 2012. Not all of the seeds grew. Maybe half.
This is the seedling late last summer. I left them outside to overwinter. No problem.
This Spring the trees grew rapidly. I potted up as needed, in general purpose organic potting soil. They've been at the Battleground place for about one month.
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Honeybees. Update.
New honeycomb under construction. |
Inside the top bar hive. |
I bought a large knife at a yard sale. That worked nicely for cutting comb from inappropriate bars.
This time I remembered to smoke the bees. I think that did help a lot to keep them calm.
There wasn't as much honey as I expected. Much of the comb looks empty. Much of the rest contains pollen.
Labels:
honey bees,
honeybees,
Kenyan Top Bar Hive,
top bar hive
Irises. Peppers.
Bearded Iris raised beds. |
The bed behind the front bed is gradually being filled with established clumps of bearded irises from the house in Vancouver. Those are modern varieties. It will look nice in the Spring. There is still a row of chili peppers. Those will stay until frost.
Pepper "Hungarian hot wax" |
Labels:
bearded iris,
heritage iris,
historic iris,
Hungarian Hot Wax,
iris,
pepper
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Kitchen Garden
Chinese cucumber |
Chinese cucumber is blooming. Shouldn't be long before we get some cucumbers.
Illinois Everbearing Mulberry. This will be the last of them.. I will savor them. They are so good.
Cherry tomatoes are bearing a few handfulls now.
Cantaloupe is in bloom. Whether we get some remains to be seen.
Mulberry Illinois Everbearing |
Cherry Tomatoes Sungold and SuperSweet 100 |
Cantaloupe "Minnesota" miniature |
Okra Clemson Spineless |
Not pictured, the swiss chard is big and productive.
The pole beans are just beginning to bloom.
Buddleia review
Buddleia "Miss Ruby" |
Buddleia "Peach Cobbler" |
Buddleia "Peach cobbler" |
My goal was to have a fast growing shrub with nectar bearing flowers for insects and hummingbirds. Especially honeybees.
Online photos of buddleia flowers are usually cropped or pruned to show the pretty, but not the ugly. There is a lot of pretty but also a lot of ugly.
As the flowers fade, they turn brown. They brown from the start to the end, over what seems to be a few weeks. That leaves a choice: Deadhead, which removes a lot of 'fresh' flower too, or leave the flower on the plant until it's totally brown, which is not attractive.
These photos show the "pretty", except for the bottom photo that shows the "ugly" too.
I will deadhead them. There should be lots of new flowers following deadheading.
In my garden, the "Cobbler" type buddleias ("Peach Cobbler" and "Blueberry Cobbler") seem to grow much faster and look more weedy, compared to the "Miss" type buddleias (Miss Molly and Miss Ruby). The flowers on the "Miss" buddleias are more compact and richer in color.
Buddleia "Blueberry Cobbler" |
Buddleia "Peach Cobbler" |
Labels:
Blueberry Cobbler,
buddleia,
bumblebee,
Hummingbird,
Miss Molly,
Miss Ruby,
Peach Cobbler
Insect photos
Borage with honeybees. |
Borage with honeybee. |
I don't know the wasps that took over the oregano flowers. They are a small wasp. I think they are wasps.
Buddleia X "Peach cobbler" with bumblebee. |
Oregano flowers with wasps? |
Another Buddleia X "Peach Cobbler" with bumblebee. |
Labels:
Borage,
buddleia,
bumblebee,
honey bees,
honeybee forage,
oregano,
Peach Cobbler,
wasp
Sunday, August 04, 2013
Clark County Fair
Antique equipment |
Beekeepers Association |
Antique saw and antique visitor |
Blacksmiths |
The goats were my favorite |
Judging the goats. |
More goats |
I want some goats. |
In the honey barn. |
There were lots of llamas |
More llamas. |
We're a long way from Peru. |
There's Ning. |
Ning petting a goat. |
Petting another goat. |
Petting a chicken. A strange looking chicken. |
Petting a sheep. |
He's thinking... "How do I get out of here and into Daniel's garden?" |
Veggies. |
More Veggies. |
Saturday, August 03, 2013
Bee Forage. 8/3/2013
Bee Garden |
Agasstache |
OK, except. Fred Meyer had perennials at 3 for price of 2, so I bought 3 6inch pots. Sedum - in bud. Agastache, in bloom. Another Caryopteris. Not in bud or bloom The plant I bought earlier has been blooming steadily and is regularly covered by bees. There is time for this one to bloom and provide forage.
Catnip is blooming. Some bee foraging.
Oregano continues. Lots and lots of foraging bees.
Caryopteris continues. Lots of foraging bees.
Buddleia continues. occasional bumblebees.
Borage just started this week. Frequent honeybees.
Thistle started this week. Frequent honeybees.
Bees are ignoring the Perosvkia, and Melissa, now blooming actively.
Bumblebee on Caryopteris |
Bee on Catnip |
Borage |
Labels:
apiary garden,
bee forage,
honeybee forage,
honeybees
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Kitchen Garden.
Zucchini |
Blueberries |
Blueberries are in full season.
Mulberries are near the end.
Shiro plums are in full season.
We are getting a few figs a week.
Starting to get more Sungold tomatoes.
It's nice.
Labels:
blueberries,
mulberriies,
plums,
Shiro,
Sungold,
tomato,
zucchini
Bee forage. Jul 31.
Melissa in bloom. Lemon Balm. |
Same for this small patch of peppermint. Its away from the hive so they may not have found it.
Spearmint is not yet blooming.
Honeybees continue to concentrate heavily on Caryopteris and oregano. They also frequent Lavender flowers.
And actively forage dandelions, in heavy bloom, and thistle, at its peak.
Bumblebees occasionally feed on the buddleia hybrids. Not heavily. I had better hopes for them.
They seem unaware of wild carrot, blooming heavily.
Mentha in bloom. Peppermint. |
Labels:
bee forage,
bumble bees,
honey,
honeybee forage,
honeybees
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