Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. 2.11.15

I sent an email to Raintree Nursery.  Wondering about when the order will be sent.  Pawpaw "Mango".  Pluerry "Sweet Treet".  Cranberry bushes.  A genetic dwarf apricot and an olive tree - both for containers.

Plenty of time - but I'm hoping for their arrival soon.

They replied quickly, should be sent by the end of the week.

Nice weather now.

Anticipation.

Winter Puttering. 2.10.14

Borage 6.5.14

 No new photos today.  I puttered as much as my energy allowed.

Cleared up about 50 sq foot area in fig row, that I covered with black plastic last fall, to kill grass.  Now it's apparent the area was used by previous owners to dispose of fireplace ash.  The grass and weeds were thick so apparently not too toxic.  In the center of that area, I have already planted a start of "King" fig.  In the cleared portion, I smoothed with garden rake and scattered borage seeds for bee forage.

Borage grows rampantly.  Big lush, muscular, drought tolerant plants.  The honeybees and bumblebees both love it.  This is a much larger area, compared to last year's few borage plants.

I uncovered the rest of the killed grass.  That area needs some rain for softening, then some more borage seeds.

Between the fig trees in the row, I've laid down plastic to kill grass.  Each section is about 25 square feet.  I want to use each section for bee forage.

Borage with honeybee.  7.5.14

 Based on last year's results, other great bee forage plants include Phacelia "Bee friend", and Dutch clover.  Last year Dutch clover took over much of the yard.  It is not visible now, but I imagine when the warm weather hits, it will do so again.

I have also bought seeds for a patch of Crimson clover, and a patch of Agastache.  It's not a huge increase in the size of the bee forage area, but bigger than last year and with some more experiments.  All organic, no pesticides, no neonicotinoids, no round-up, just nature.

Borage.  7.5.14

I have also increased the amount of Chinese chives - another flower the bees love to forage.  Being perennial, all I need to do is save seeds and sow them.  Any that grow, are in addition to the existing clumps.

Borage with bumblebee.  7.5.14

Dutch Clover with honeybee.  7.5.15

Phacelia tanacetifolia "Beefriend"  6.22.14

 In addition to clearing that area, I planted a mini-dwarf Jonagold apple tree that I grafted last year, using sucker from rootstock of another minidwarf tree and scion from the top.  This is in a perennial, shrub, and herb border.  They are more ornamental than useful, but again, some bee forage, and a few apples should result.

I planted some Egyptian Walking Onions that were lying around sprouting.

Phacelia tanacetifolia "Beefriend"  6.22.14

I provided the last pre-spring nitrogen boost for young trees in the mini-orchard / food forest.  The trees that benefited were:  Two sweet cherries; 2 years old.  One North Star tart cherry.  2 years old.  Newly planted American persimmon, Yates; and 2 year old Nikita's Gift and Saijo persimmons.  The Saijo might be a mistake - near bearing size and I read nitrogen boost can call fruit fall.  All three of the three-year-old pawpaws.  Hollywood plum, 1 year old from cutting.

None of the plums got nitrogen boost, none of the peaches - those grow too rampantly as is, and are bearing size.  Rule of thumb for me - if bearing size, and last year's growth was more than a foot, then the extra nitrogen is probably not needed.  The plums grew more than 2 feet, and the peaches grew 2 to 3 feet, last year.  Ditto for Montmorency cherry.

There was some left over, so all of the fig trees in the fig row, south of the house, got nitrogen boost too.

"Nitrogen boost"  is euphemism for pee-cycling, or Urine Fertilizer.  In this case, I used 1:4 dilution.  One 1 liter, diluted, was watered in around each of  3 trees.

It's an early Spring.  Plum and peach buds are nearly open.  I hope we don't get a hard frost when they are susceptible.   If we do, we do.

Still anxiously awaiting Raintree nursery order and scion from Fedco.  Maybe end of the month.

Winter Gardening. Fig Replacements. 1.23.15

Fig Row with replacement trees planted.  1.23.15



King Fig about to be planted.  1.23.15

This is from yesterday.   My approach, to trying to grow figs in Battleground, is evolving.

The challenges:

Climate.  Freeze damage is more of an issue than in Vancouver.  Almost a non-issue in Vancouver.  I lost top growth of several at the Battleground place, last year.  The unprotected ones of experimental varieties sustained significant freeze damage - an unknown, and exposed growth on LSU Tiger.  Haven't checked Champagne yet.

One problem with the freezing, is that it may limit fertilizing.  If growth is rapid, it may be more susceptible to freezing.  So it may take longer to bear fruit.

Herbivores.  Despite covering and hardware cloth, Smith was destroyed to ground level and into the roots, by voles.  Unknown was also destroyed to below ground level.  I had left one exposed this winter.

As a result, I decided to give up some experimental varieties, and go back to standards that have known hardiness, from my Vancouver yard.  Last year I grew cuttings from Hardy Chicago and Lattarula, and I continued a cutting from 2 years ago from King.  Those have all done well without any protection at all, from local freezes.

I dug out the remains of Smith and the unknown.  I planted King in a section where I had laid down black plastic to kill grass over the winter.  There is evidence of fireplace disposal or old fire there, with ashes and char.  Those have been leaching for at least the past 4 years, and possibly much longer.  I replaced soil in the top 18 inches, 18 inches around, although it may still be affected.  King is usually very vigorous, and this is a good spot for a larger tree.  I planted Lattarula where Smith was, and Hardy Chicago were the unknown was.  Sal's had no freeze protection and looks fine.   Sal's seems to me the most hardy, and tolerant to neglect, but growth is slower.  Maybe the slow growth is why it is more durable.  Aubique petite has had no freeze protection in prior years, and only winter 2013-14 was it freeze killed, so starting over.  So I did protect that one, and Carini.  Carini should be OK once it is established.

Across the road, I need to check on Brunswick, Champagne, and Atreano.  Brunswick was OK a few weeks ago.

So now, all of the varieties that I grew successfully at the Vancouver place are in-ground at the Battleground place.

The plastic/mess is intended to kill grass.  I just want to mow up one side and down the other.  In those spaces, I want to plant vegetables and/or bee forage, with straw mulch.

This time I applied hardware cloth surrounds and deer fencing cylinders at the outset.  They do need some mulch.

Addendum:  I checked the figs on the acre across the street.  Brunswick looks great.   Minimal freez damage, maybe 5 twigs.  Most of the rest have viable-looking brebas.  Growth last year was only about 6 inches.  Might need some nitrogen.  Then again maybe that's why it did so well.   Champagne hard to say.  Maybe one sprout survived from last year.  Atreano, hard to say.  There was only one sprout from last year.  It looks like it might be alive.  If so, it's one of the larger sprouts from the 2013 freeze damaged fig trees.

American Persimmon. Diospyros virginiana. 1.21.15

Image source:  Plant Illustrations.org 

Diospyros virginiana L.

Catesby, M., The natural history of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands, vol. 2: t. 76 (1754)

Diospyros virginiana L.

Catesby, M., The natural history of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands, vol. 2: t. 76 (1754)

From "Today in History" via the Library of Congress,

On the afternoon of December 16, 1864, Union troops led by General George H. Thomas devastated Confederate forces at Nashville, Tennessee. The battle had begun the day before when Thomas initiated an attack after waiting some two weeks for troop reinforcements and favorable weather.

In November, in an effort to cut off General William T. Sherman's supply line, Confederate General John B. Hood, led the Army of Tennessee out of Alabama and toward Nashville. One of Hood's men remembered the grueling march from Atlanta to Nashville. "After the fall of Atlanta," Confederate veteran Milton Cox told his son John:

we marched northward into Tennessee over frozen ground and how cold it was! Our shoes were worn out and our feet were torn and bleeding…the snow was on the ground and there was no food. Our rations were a few grains of parched corn. When we reached the vicinity of Nashville we were very hungry and we began to search for food. Over in a valley stood a tree which seemed to be loaded with fruit. It was a frost bitten persimmon tree, but as I look back over my whole life, never have I tasted any food which would compare with these persimmons.

19th Century Persimmon tree, Lima Lake, Illinois   Source Univ Chicago.

 Credit line for image:  American Environmental Photographs Collection, [AEP Image Number, e.g., AEP-MIN73], Department of Special Collections, University of Chicago Library.

The image is not dated.  Either late 19th century or eary 20th century.  

American Persimmon is a native American tree, range extending through the old South, northeast to Connecticut, northwest to southern parts if Illinois, and northern Missouri, southwest into NW Texas.

The photo at left is at Lima Lake, Illinois.  I recall my Dad talking about Lima Lake, which was then considered a "swamp", and now would be called a wetland.  The wetland covered an expanse of 10,000 to 12,000 acres near Quincy, IL, the town where my dad spent his life, and where I was born and grew up.   I remember being told that persimmons were bitter, astringent fruits, not suitable for eating.  So never tried one.  I missed out.  A truly ripe persimmon is almost like juicy candy.

Best growth of persimmon was known in the Mississippi river valley, which explains why my Dad was aware of them.

I am interested in some of the native American plants and trees, especially those that might have grown where I grew up.  That is even though I don't live there, and haven't for many years.

Those plants and trees seem somewhat taken for granted.  There are few native American fruit trees - pawpaw, some plums,  and a few others.  Persimmon is also one, known to native Americans, eaten by them, and described in early European colonial works.

Natural range of American Persimmon, Diospyros virginiana.  Source:  JSTOR.org

Source for map image:  JSTOR

Other names for persimmon included  "simmon, possumwood, and Florida persimmon,".  I only knew them as persimmons.

As for growth of American persimmon, they are difficult to transplant at a large size, due to taproot.  Because of that difficulty, some nurseries offer trees at small size, and grow them in specialized tall, narrow, open bottom tree containers.  That is how the persimmon tree came to me from Burnt Ridge Nursery.

From US Silvaculture manual, "Approximately 50 percent of the total radial growth is complete in 70 to 90 days, and 90 percent complete in 100 to 109 days after growth starts in the spring (6). Persimmon responds well to fertilizer."  Based on that info, it seems to me that small persimmon trees should be given nitrogen fertilizer early in Spring or late Winter.  In my yard, that means pee-cycling then.  My tree is just a small sapling.  Other references state not to fertilize, but I think that fertilizing sapling trees might give them a boost, then stop when they are bigger.  The issue with excess nitrogen is it can cause fruit drop.  Fruit drop is not a concern until the trees reach bearing size.

 Also according to the silvaculture manual, trees take a long time to bear, may start in 10 years.  However, seedling trees of most tree species need to go through a maturation process, that is already accomplished in the scion of grafted cultivars.  Because of grafting, the maturation process is skipped, so they may bear - guessing - in 3 to 5 years.  I think the main challenge is getting them large enough, fairly quickly.  The manual also states, "Common persimmon grows in a tremendous range of conditions from very dry, sterile, sandy woodlands to river bottoms to rocky hillsides and moist or very dry locations. It thrives on almost any type of soil but is most frequently found growing on soils of the orders Alfisols, Ultisols, Entisols, and Inceptisols".  I don't know what those soil types mean, but have copied them for future reference.

Image source plantgenera.org

Maritime Pacific NW climate is quite different from the provenance of American persimmons.  I think there are still a lot of unknowns.  However, others have grown them here, and they are available at local mail order nurseries such as Burnt Ridge, Raintree, and One Green World.  The difference in climate is not more than, say, the difference for kaki persimmons, or figs, or peaches, apples, pears, from their origins.

Also from the manual, best growth  "is in areas that receive an average of 1220 mm (48 in) of precipitation annually, about 460 mm (18 in) of which normally occurs during the growing season. Over the range of persimmon, the average maximum temperatures are 35° C (95° F) in the summer and -12° C (10° F) in the winter."    The climate here has a dry summer, most rain being in fall / winter / spring.  Both summer and winter are milder than midwest.   The climate here could be more suitable, or less, or no significant difference, compared to native provenance.

My goal is get the tree off to a good start.  Provide mulch, water well the first couple of summers, provide adequate nitrogen the first couple of years at the right time, and see if we can get a good burst of growth so I have a taste in my lifetime.

The variety that I purchased is reported as not requiring a male pollinator.  If, some time, I find some scion for male persimmon, I may graft them onto either this tree or Saijo, or Nikita's Gift, to produce viable seeds.  That is not a priority for me.

According to One Green World Nursery, "American Persimmon can be grown in all but the coldest regions of the U.S. American Persimmon fruit is ready to eat when it is soft like a tomato... American Persimmon trees are easy to keep at 10-12 ft. in height with pruning."

 The variety I planted is Yates, which is apparently also  called Juhl.  As I recall, this variety originates in Indiana, is larger than most others, and has a darker orange color. 

Digging an Oriental Poppy to Re-Plant. 1.19.15

Oriental Poppy before digging.  1.19.15

Oriental Poppy.  Large hole.  1.19.15

 I dug this oriental poppy to move to the Battleground place.  It's about 13 years old, from seed.  It has been moved once before.

I dug around it like I would a tree, slice vertically into the ground.  Then dig around those slices, in a circle, removing the soil.  Then slice under it, and lift the clump out of the soil.

All came up as one piece.  I think I got the vast majority of roots.  It should survive, and possibly bloom, this year.

I placed the clump into a very large flowerpot.  I am without car today and tomorrow, then can take it to Battleground.

My grandfather liked growing Oriental Poppies.  So I have them partly to remember him.

I also dug up a large clump of daffodils.  Same method.  If careful, they move without a problem, and there is nice bloom the first Spring, as if they were in the new location for years.  More of those to follow.   Transferring as much as I can, little bit by little bit, to the Battleground place.

I think I got almost all of the roots.  1.19.15