Charlie. 8.13.14 |
Sunday, August 24, 2014
Old Charlie. 8.23.14
Garden Harvest. Bud Grafts. 8.23.14
Garden Harvest 8.23.14 |
But here are the items Ning picked in the kitchen garden, raised beds.
Really nice. We have a bunch of zucchini already. I like the yellow supper squash better.
I did remove polyethylene tape from a few of the 3 weeks old bud grafts. They look pretty good in general. On some, the buds are hard to see, on others the buds are large and plump. A couple might not have taken, but most are promising. Also on the lilac that I budded.
Labels:
bud grafting,
chilis,
peppers,
summer squash,
Tomatoes,
zucchini
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Hollyhocks, Carnations from seeds. Saving Four O'Clock seeds. 8.21.14
Four O'Clock Seeds. 8.21.14 |
Collecting 4:00 Seeds. 8.21.14 |
They are open pollinated. There is a good chance they may not come true from seeds. That's fine with me.
I just lean the seed-containing tips into a labeled envelope and shake. The ripened seeds fall in with no effort at all. In fact, moving the plants, lots of seeds fall off.
I labeled the envelopes with the color of the plant I collected from. Even if they don't come true, If I start them next year that should give me a diversity of types. I can grow separately from red, yellow, white, yellow marble, and orange marble.
This is about 6 weeks for the carnation seedlings. I just sprinkled the seeds on top of the potting soil, scratched them in a little, and kept them watered. I didn't know they would grow so easily. Soon I need to divide them and pot them up either separately or in much smaller bunches.
The Hollyhocks are ficifolia "Happy Lights". I started them about 8 weeks ago. I have other plants in containers, either Fordham Giant or Carnival Mix, that are almost ready to bloom, from seeds started mid June. I mixed the varieties so I don't know which one.
Saving 4:00 Seeds for Next Year. 8.21.14 |
All of these are new to me. It's great trying new plants.
Carnation Seedlings. 8.21.14 |
Hollyhock Seedlings. 8.21.14 |
Fresh Tomatoes. Okra. Pears. 8.21.14
Lemon Boy, Cherokee Purple, SuperSweet 1,000, Sungold, and one I forget. 8.18.14 |
Burgundy Okra. Container Grown. 8.21.14 |
Nice looking plant, too.
Tomatoes are the best ever for me. The seeds were left over from previous years. The Lemon Boy were many years old. Pee-fertilizing gave me the biggest, lushest, more productive tomato plants I've had. I did not spritz them - the shine is their own juice.
Pears. 8.21.14 |
Labels:
Cherokee Purple,
Lemon Boy,
okra,
pear,
Sungold,
Supersweet 1000,
tomato
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Sweet Cherry Bud Grafts. Progress Report. 8.13.14
Sweet Cherry Bud Graft @ 17 days. 8.13.14 |
Sweet Cherry Bud Graft @ 17 days. 8.13.14 |
Thinking about a few more lilacs to graft. And a couple of ornamental flowering cherries. And.....
Buddleia "Blue Chip" 8.13.14
Rose of Sharon 8.13.14
Rose of Sharon Seedling 8.13.14 |
I think it's a striking flower. Much nicer than the parent shrub.
Rose of Sharon Seedling 8.13.14 |
Rose of Sharon seedling parent 8.13.14 |
Sunday, August 10, 2014
Bearded Iris Bed Maintenance. 8.10.14
Bearded Iris Raised Beds. 8.10.14 |
Trying not to over-do TLC for the bearded irises. It's hard for me to just leave them alone, even if I think they might be better off without me puttering around them.
We are at the hottest day of the year, so far. Around 95 F
I crushed eggshells and scattered them one the soil surface. The eggshells provide calcium, which is deficient in my soil. I think they don't raise pH. I am guessing, lower pH might slow some fungal growth, so no more lime. Eggshells might provide a little slow-release nitrogen, and if so that's all they get this time.
Removed more weeds. Removed the last of the multiplier onions, which were a disappointment due to attracting deer or rabbits to eat them.
Bearded Iris Raised Bed. 8.10.14 |
Last week I also sprayed them all with a generous spray of Neem oil, following the manufacturer's recommendations of 2-4 tbsp per gallon. I used 4tbsp per gallon. My hope is that will keep any fungal diseases in check.
Will try not to mess with them more, unless there is a long dry stretch. The Neem can be applied every 2-3 weeks, and it might be helpful to do that.
No more plants between iris clumps, except a few Sempervivum, which tolerate dry, heat, neglect, and do not spread much at all. There is a grape cutting and genetic dwarf peach seedling in one bed, those will come out this fall.
Labels:
bearded iris,
fungi,
historic iris,
neem oil
Bud Grafting Lilac for a Bouquet Lilac Bush. 8.10.14
Bud Grafted Lilac Bush. 7.25.14 |
This bush has stems about 1/2 inch diameter. This is a young bush, that had its first 2 flowers this year. They didn't amount to much, so the grafts could enhance it quite a bit. The bark slipped nicely.
I don't know the names of any of these lilacs. They are white, blue, lilac-color, purple, single, double. The stock is pink-ish.
Checking today, the buds remain plump and green. Same method as everything else.
If they grow, that's great. If not, at least I tried.
I expect, if the grafts take, it will be new growth next year, and potential flowers in Spring 2016. Long way away. But why not try?
Labels:
Bouquet lilac,
bouquet shrub,
bud grafting,
lilac
More from the Kitchen Garden. 8.10.14
Zucchini and Scallop Squash. 8.10.14 |
Tomatoes. 8.10.14 |
Honey. 8.10.14 |
Labels:
honey,
scallop squash,
Sungold,
tomato,
zucchini
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