Red Portugal Chili Pepper. 5.31.14

 The first chili peppers from my seedlings.  This is Red Portugal.   I'm happy with the result.  The container is kept on the deck now in full sun.

Red Portugal Chili Pepper.  5.31.14

Rootcrops. Snowpeas. Kitchen Garden. 5.26.14

This is the standard Turnip variety.  And some Cincinnati Red radishes, and some White Icicle radishes.   

That's the season end for root crops.

After cleaning up the root crop bed, I planted some of the squash seedlings and bush cucumbers.

Then harvested snowpeas, and cleaned up the strawberry bed.

Snowpeas and 3 strawberries.

Cloudroom. 5.26.14

Cloudroom.  Almost done.  5.26.14

This is marketed as a "sunroom" but here in the maritime NW, the term "Rainroom" is more appropriate.  "Cloudroom" sounds better.  Not quite done - the tiles are just sitting there to be installed.  It's wonderful sitting here in the rain, listening to the rain fall on the glass, and the birds singing.  As I am now.

Cloudroom.  Almost done.  5.26.14

The plan is to extend the front border a little.  That's the reason for plastic covering some of the grass.  Removing sod is too hard.  The plastic takes longer, but will leave nice moist soil without grass or weeds, in 2 months.

Puttering. 5.25.14

Ning's wildflower meadow.  5.25.14

Redmond Linden growth.  5.25.14

 Puttering.

The first of Ning's wildflower meadow gardens is blooming with the first of its flowers.  Pretty nice.  There are a few bees - bumblebees and honeybees - harvesting nectar.

Redmond American Linden is growing nicely.  I gave it some organic nitrogen this winter.  I tried not to overdo it.  There are flower buds on this, but not on the Greenspire European Lindens, even though they are much bigger.  The Redmond Linden has much bigger leaves, compared to the Greenspire Lindens.  The flowers, for honey, were why I planted these.

Deer have not eaten any of the lindens.  I have protected the bark from rabbits and gnawing rodents, using hardware cloth.

Redmond Linden.  5.25.14

Sourwood new growth.  5.25.14

Sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum) has taken off and growing. I wondered.  The lower branches died during the hard freeze.  During Spring rainy season, the new growth developed what looks like the fireblight that appears on pears.  Now it's coming out of it and growing nicely.  Sourwood is not native here, and there aren't a lot of them.  So it's an experiment.

Tamara rose, grown from cutting.  Moved to Battleground in 2012.  Eaten by deer, and now surrounded by some sort of yellow flowering weed.  It's actually doing well.

Most of the top-killed fig trees are coming up from the roots.  I'm debating whether to give them some organic nitrogen.  I don't want them to grow to vigorously, and be winter killed next year.  I would like some decent growth.

I planted 2 new palms.  The first, Trachycarpus fortunei (Windmill palm), is a species I've had in my front yard in Vancouver for 15 years.  It's pretty hardy.  The label states hardy to 20 to 10F.  Last winter the tree in my yard survived 8F.    The second, Chamaerops humilis (European fan palm), is labeled as hardy to 6 degrees.  "Extremely slow grower".  This palm is more a bush, than a tree, with clusters of palms.  I read deer and rabbits don't eat them.  Battleground is a bit less gentle climate, compared to Vancouver.  If they don't survive, that's OK.  If they do survive, that's even better.  They will also provide something green to look at when the grass turns brown, and in the winter.

Sourwood new growth and some leaf damage.  5.25.14

I planted the Zucchini and Yellow Summer Squash, and Scallop Squash, seedlings that I grew from seeds a couple of weeks ago.  There are some additional seedlings still to plant.

I mulched around the new apple trees, using newspaper and food package cardboard as the bottom layer - to kill grass - then covering with grass mowings deep enough that you can't see the bottom layer.  I cut fencing to complete the deer cages, but it started raining so I did not fasten in place. 

Smith fig regenerating from roots.  5.25.15

Trachycarpus fortunei planted 5.25.14 

Chamaerops humilis planted 5.25.14

Tamara rose amid irises and weeds

Sunroom nearing completion.  5.25.14

Update. Fruit trees. 5.24.14

Q-1-8 Peach

Jonared apple

 Some of the fruit trees, especially ones planted this winter.

Q-1-8 peach growing nicely. Deer didn't eat it.  No leaf curl.  I expected that - most likely stored inside as a bare root tree, and rains in late winter didn't inoculate it with leaf curl.  My speculation.

Jonared apple.  Growing nicely.  Today I mulched.  Tomorrow I should install a wider deer cage.  The new shoots have almost reached the openings in this cage.

3-graft dwarf apple.  Growing nicely.  Not as fast as Jonared.  I spread the branches for a wide base.

Sugar Cane Jujube.  I thought this was dead.  No sign of life, no buds, until last week.  Now growing  Li Jujube.  Also looked dead, now growing fast.  Jujubes seem to make a late start.

3-graft dwarf apple

Jujube Sugar Cane new growth.

Jujube Li new growth