Acccessible Gardening

I've been reading several books and articles about accessible gardening.  By accessible, I mean for the senior gardener, or someone with decreased energy, strength, coordination, stamina.  I need to consider the strength and stamina issues, especially.  Concepts I've taken to heart, some as I recall from reading, others from concepts of home orchard gardening and my thoughts.

Raised beds.  Easier in every way.  They don't need digging. Weeds don't invade nearly as fast.  Weeds are also easy to remove.  They don't need much cultivation.  For any needed chores, the higher level is easier to work.  Lining the bottom with hardware cloth might help with mole prevention.  Lining the inside with plastic might help them last longer.

Containers.  Similar to raised beds.  They can be moved to better locations when needed.  For overwintering, it's easier to move the container, than to dig up the plants.  They do need more attention for watering.  Wood is better than plastic.  Wood insulates, so less watering is needed.  Line wooden containers with plastic liners so they don't deteriorate as fast.  With holes in the bottom for drainage.

Pruning.  Prune fruit trees back for more compact size.  Keep branching lower.  It's not much effort to prune when the trees are small.  Lower more compact branching means fruit is easier to harvest, and later pruning will also be easier.  Other training is also helpful.  For example, I bend some tall growing branches to lower position, and tie to fencing or post, for more accessible flowers, fruit, and pruning.  After a year in the bent position, the tie can be removed.

Mulch.  The wider area mulched, the less mowing and weeding.  I saved paper food containers - pizza boxes, cereal boxes, cardboard - which I used as a bottom layer, then covered with either straw or grass clippings.  The grass clippings break down faster and provide nutrients in the winter for next Spring.  The straw lasts about one season.  Either is much less effort and cost than bark mulch.  More easily available.   When weeds come up through straw mulch, I can bend them over and bury with more straw.  Much easier than digging them up.  Mulch really does keep the ground softer, so weeds are easier to pull.

Seating.  I keep a place to sit and rest.  I have a bench in the raised bed area.  I need to add something in the little orchard, in the shade. 

Edging.  Keeps weeds away from trees or shrubs or borders.  I don't know if this is better than just mulching.

Tools.  I keep in mind which tools are easier to use.   Some for prying out weeds by the roots, are better than a hoe.  A garden fork is sometimes easier than a hoe or shovel.   String trimmer makes fast work of weeds at edges.  Electric is lighter than gas.  I exercise care not to damage shrub twigs or tree bark.  Hardware cloth, used to make sleeve to protect tree bark from animal chewing, can also protect from the string trimmer.  If the hardware cloth sleeve is very loose, it can be left on the trunk for several years.  By using zip ties to fasten the hardware cloth in a ring, it's easy to put together, and easy to cut and take apart when the time comes.

Geometry.  Still working on this.  Rectangular shapes for tree mulch and raised beds, is much easier than circles.  It's easier to mow a straight line, than a circle.  I may wind up extending the mulch areas so they connect the trees in rows, and I can mow the long rows without backing up to mow between trees within rows.  The vegetable raised beds are already in rank and file arrangement, easy to mow and work between them. 

Plant choices.  I need to avoid some high maintenance choices.  Invasive varieties need to be avoided.  I have a spearmint that should be removed completely - too rampant.   It's difficult to pull out.  Bad choice on my part.  It does smell very good.  I might keep some for tisanes.  It will need edging or limitation by mowing.  Other choice is plant size.  In some cases, buying a larger plant may mean less nurturing in the long run, compared to a larger plant.   Plants that need too much effort for deer / rabbit / vole protection, should not be planted.  Unless I have a good reason, like I love my figs and plums. 

Fall Garden Chores.

No photos today.  Doesn't look like much.

I mowed the little orchard, until rain started.  I used the grass catcher, and collected grass clippings to mulch around the Buddleias and some of the fruit trees.  I try not to use too thick a layer.  Maybe 2 inches thick.  I extended the mulched areas a little.  It will break down quickly in the rainy weather.  It's a start.

Antique botanical sketch of mint.

I wanted to remove the rest of the culinary herbs from the bearded iris beds.  It was a nice idea.  If there was more room, I think it would be a great idea.  But with the small space, the herbs encroach too much on the bearded irises.  The herbs did not go to waste.  I moved them to the mulch rings around the fruit trees.  There the herb flowers will benefit pollinating nectar collecting bees.  And I can use them in the kitchen as needed.  I cut some tall mint.  It will be in the garage drying.  If it dries well, I can use it for mint tea (tisane).

Antique botanical sketch of Thyme

Among the herbs I moved, traditional thyme, French thyme, Lemon thyme; a short variety of Catmint - short but still encroaching on the bearded irises - and violets.  Most of these should provide bee forage.  I'm not sure about the violets.

Antique botanical sketch of violets

Violets are not considered a culinary herb, although some people candy the flowers.   I'm trying them because they are compact, make a mat that is difficult for weeds to penetrate, might be difficult for moles, too.  The roots are shallow, so I think not competing with the fruit trees.  They too were competing with bearded irises.  Not much, but shading the rhizomes.  So I moved them too.

I also planted in-ground, a 2-gallon size Lavatera.  I've gave it TLC all summer.  I have to plan for decreased energy, meaning fewer plants that need extra care.  With my illness, fatigue is a growing challenge.  It will have the rest of fall, winter and spring to establish roots before leaves and new branches grow.

I also did some minor shaping pruning for several fruit trees.  For the most part, that meant cutting the tips from branches, so they will branch out lower and more compact.  Peaches, Plums, Tart Cherries, Apricot seedling. 

Not much left for winterizing the orchard.  Much less work than last year.  I have a plum tree to move from Vancouver.  A jujube will need to move to the bee garden, to make room.  Late winter, add one peach and one jujube.  Get some compost to mulch the trees that I haven't so far.  That's about it.

Overwintering Pelargonium, Citrus, Brugmansia, Zantedeschia, Opuntia

Time to overwinter containerized plants, or give up on them.

Pelargoniums (zonal geraniums)  are still green and blooming, but some neighborhoods have already experienced frost.  I moved mine into the attached, frost-free but unheated garage.  For most of the winter I don't do anything to them.  I might add a little water late winter.  I think these are just 2 years old.

Braziliopuntia braziliensis, from Wikimedia commons

I have a Opuntia neoargentina also known as Brasioliopuntia braziliensis, which is frost tender.  I've managed to keep it alive for 20 years, by bringing it inside or keeping cuttings.  I think the current plant is about 6 years old.  It will be in a bright cool room at the battleground place.  Last year I kept it in the basement without watering.  It didn't thrive, but it did survive.  I want to repot it into a larger container and would like to see it bloom next year.  Photo from wikimedia commons.  Mine is not nearly that big.

I have an unnamed Zantedeschia that I've grown in containers for 25 years.  I bring it inside for the winter.  It bloomed this year, but not much.  Needs re-potting in fresh growth medium.  It's in the garage now.

The Brugmansias are kept in the garage overwinter.  I try to let them, and the other plants, sit outside in a rain-free location for a few weeks before bringing inside, to start dormancy.  That way they don't grow weak useless growth while in storage.

I also brought Epiphyllum oxypetallum to Battleground to keep in sunny cool room.  I also kept that in the basement last year without water.  It wasn't that healthy looking, but bloomed twice.

The Meyer lemon, Kumquat, and unnamed 15-year-old seed-grown citrus are in cool sunny bedroom window.

That's about all of the overwintering I can handle.  If it doesn't freeze tonight, I have an aloe to bring in. 

Mushrooms

 This is the season for mushrooms in the Battleground yard.  I don't know the varieties.

Having read about the importance of mycorrhizal fungi, I welcome the appearance of these organisms.  Mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of vast networks of underground fungus - mycelium.  A number of works express alarm at practices that result in killing off mycorrhizae.  Fertilizers, herbicides, and tilling are the main culprits.

These fungi are considered beneficial.  They interact with plant roots to bring water and nutrients into the plants.  There is also a disease-resistance benefit.  Mycorhizae help build soil structure.  They are part of the soil ecosystem balance.

 I have added mycorrhizal inoculant to garden beds and plantings of trees and shrubs.  Given the prevalence of local mushrooms, that might not be necessary.

I think all of these originate with the local soil.  There were smaller mushrooms in one iris raised bed.  Those could either be of local origin, or via the inoculant. 

Lycoris squamigera and Lycoris radiata

Lycoris squamigera (Wikimedia commons)

Lycoris squamigera bulbs

 I think this is the 4th time I've tried to start Lycoris plants.  Prior attempts were not successful.  In some cases, there were leaves for the first one or 2 years, then nothing.  Never a flower.

Old House Gardens had them on close out sale, so I ordered a few of the traditional "Surprise Lily" Lycoris squamigera, and a few of the red Lycoris radiata.

I don't know why I couldn't get them to grow.  Prior instructions may have been incorrect.  In the past, instructions stated bury the bulbs like daffodil bulbs.  These instructions, and some I've seen on the web, state plant them up to their shoulders.

I would like to grow these.  Especially the L. squamigera, which grew easily in my home town, when I was a boy.  My great aunts gave us starts of them, my grandfather had them, and my dad had them.  They multiplied, and they just dug them up, divided them, and planted them in their lawns.

According to the instructions, both varieties resent being moved and may require at least 2 years to bloom.  That's OK with me, if I can just get them to grow.

This time I will try containers.  Sometimes I have luck in containers for plants that don't do well for me in the ground.  Plus, this being so late in the year, they might benefit from being moved inside if a hard freeze is expected.  That should not be a problem for L. squamigera, which grew fine in Illinois, but they have not had time to establish yet.

Lycoris radiata (Wikimedia commons)

Lycoris radiata bulbs

 The flower pictures are edited from WIkimedia commons.

The L. radiata have already out out significant growth.  Planting up to the shoulders, the leaves are above soil surface.  There is no bright sunshine now, so I don't think they will sunburn. 

Planted in containers, Nov 1 2013

Lycoris squamigera istructions

Lycoris radiata instructions

I added mycorhizal inoculant to both sets of bulbs.  I don't know if it will help.  Maybe.