Daylily Seedlings. Fruit Tree Bloom Times. Puttering. 4.3.15

Daylily Seedlings Leaving Dormancy.  4.2.16

First Apple Flowers.  Golden Sentinel.  4.3.16

Daylily Seedlings.  During the late winter, I thought the daylily seedlings were dying of some disease or infestation.  The leaves had become pale and turned brown.  I do think there were some spider mites.  I placed them all outside and left them to the weather. 

It turns out they were going dormant.  If there were spider mites, I guess they are gone now.  The top growth is vigorous and sturdy.  The roods are also thick and sturdy for such small seedlings.

This leaves me with some choices.  There are too many plants to grow them all in borders.  I chose about 2 dozen from different crosses, and planted in a bed between orchard trees.

They will still have to survive marauding rabbits and deer.  Nature, random chance, and their final appearances, will determine which ones I ultimately keep and move to more prominent borders.  It may be another year or two before I know. In the ground, they will require minimal care and not take up room on the deck.

Apple Blossoms.  By a clear lead, the first of my apples to bloom are Golden Sentinel and North Pole.  Both are descendants of McIntosh, with other parentage as well.  In the Vancouver yard, which is ahead, Liberty is also blooming.


Pear Blossoms.  Based on this years results, in this yard, all of my varieties of Asian and European pear overlap their bloom times.  It doesn't look like the bloom time tables matter much, because there is significant overlap between the earliest - Maxie, and the latest - Rescue.   Most of my varieties are Asian pears, but there are a few Euro or Euro grafts.  Orcas pear is not yet at blooming age.

Puttering.  I'm still digging the first of 4 new large garden beds that are intended for sunflowers, flint corn, or sorghum grain for chicken feed.  All of those can be planted in May or possibly June, so one row at a time, I may get there.  With 2 acres, there is still room for more, but I don't want it to cross the line between enjoyable work / exercise, and unpleasant chore.

I think there is a lot of fruit set on Methley - first time, other than maybe 3 plums last year.  Probably just age, although it did have pollinizing variety branches bloom, within the tree from T-bud grafts of Shiro and Hollywood that I added in 2014.  Sweet Treat may also have fruit set, which is pretty impressive considering this is only second leaf.  Still tiny and may still fall off, but I look every day and many are still on the tree.  Toka may have lost its fruit.  The next few weeks will say.  Chill and frost, bloom too early.  Although Sweet Treat was earlier.  NoID Asian Plum is also covered with potential fruits.  Again, this tree is a multiple multigraft now, which may weigh into the reason for better bearing.  Or just coming of age.

Now going out to dig a couple more rows.

Fruit Tree Blooming. Pear Graft Progress. Orchard Phenology. 3.31.16

NOID Asian Pear.  3.31.16

Vandalay and Sweetheart Cherries.  3.31.16

 The fruit tree bloom stage now, is sweet cherries and pears.

Full bloom:
NOID Asian Pear - I wonder if this is Nijesseiki?

Maxie Hybrid Pear
Hosui Asian Pear
Mishirasu Asian Pear
Hamese Asian Pear - this one never blooms much.
Shinseiki Asian Pear
Rescue European Pear - just started.

Early full bloom-
Vandalay Sweet Cherry
Sweetheart Sweet Cherry
Ranier Sweet Cherry
Stanley Plum

Vandalay and Sweetheart are described as self pollinizing, which was part of why I planted them.  Even so, it can't hurt for them to bloom together.  Vandalay is slightly ahead of Sweetheart.  There is promise of several bowls of cherries from each tree, for the first time, this year.  This is 4th leaf.

Late Full Bloom
American species plum
Ember hybrid plum
Hanska hybrid plum

Finishing  bloom
NOID Euro Pear, I think Green Gage

 I can't find the grafting date, I think mid February, but here is the progress for the two pollinizers I added to Maxie.  Both are ghrowing.  Both source trees are blooming now, as well as Maxie, so this looks like a good choice.

Graft of Rescue Pear onto Maxie.  ~6 weeks,  3.31.16

Graft of NOID Asian Peare onto Maxie.  ~6 weeks.  3.31.16

A good pomologist would not let the stock bloom below the grafts, but I'm not looking for maximal growth, just some pollinizing blooms.  Also, I really want to try the Maxie pears, and want to give it all the chance I have to bear.  The priority is on the Maxie, not the grafts.

Fig Status Report. 3.31.16

Carini Fig Starting Growth.  3.31.16

Lattarula Fig Starting Growth.  3.31.16

All of the fig trees came through the winter with no damage at all, and all have primordial breba buds swelling.  Even the more tender fig trees, Smith and Champagne, were unfazed.  Thank you El Nino.

I attempted a graft of Petite negri onto the extra Dominic.  I don't know how that will come out.  The scion were refrigerated for a few months due to not wanting them to start growth before I could graft in Spring.

What's Blooming. 3.31.16

I love this time of year. Many flowers are blooming. They show the efforts of fall and winter were worthwhile.

Hyacinths.  3.31.16

Tulips.  3.31.16

Hosui Asian Pear.  3.31.16

Daffodils.  3.31.16

Eggs and Dandelions. 3.31.16

Eggs from our chickens.  Left is after feeding dandelions.  3.31.16

For the past 4 days, I've been digging a big bucket of dandelions every day and feeding them to the chickens.

Maybe it's my imagination, but the yolk on the left looks more deeply colored, compared to the other two.  The one on the left was laid today, the two on the right were laid 3 days ago.  Since the hens are free range, the 2 eggs on the right probably contain some yard weed nutrients, but not as much.  Their yard is mostly grass, almost no weeds due to their feeding and scratching.

The hens like the dandelions and eat a pile down to nothing in an afternoon.  We have enough dandelions for many more buckets of feed.  Feeding dandelion greens may also slightly decrease the cost of feed, depending on whether the greens replace some of the feed grain.  In my yard, they are totally organic, no pesticides or herbicides at all.

Sunroom Orchids. 3.24.16

Here are some of the sunroom orchids. I don't do much to take care of them. Once in a while I repot in some arborist woodchips. Once in a while I give them very dilute tomato fertilizer.  This year I do not have the burden of corporate life, and might give them more attention.

Dendrobium nobile.  3.24.16

Cymbidium.  3.24.16

Dendrobium nobile.  3.24.16

Dendrobium nobile.  3.24.16

Twinkle type oncidium.  3.24.16

More Seeds Planted for Kitchen Garden. Seedlings. 3.24.16

Today I planted tomato seeds.  This year I want to experiment with grafting tomatoes onto performance enhancing rootstocks.  I tried this about 5 years ago, but was sidetracked. 

Several rootstock varieties are available for tomatoes, also grown from seeds.  The improved rootstock gives much more vigorous growth, much better productivity, and confers disease and nematode resistance.

I have some old seeds of Maxifort rootstock.  I don't know how well they will germinate at 5 years old, but the seeds can be expensive so I will give them a try.

This year I bought "Supernatural Hybrid" which is also a performance enhancing rootstock.

Tomato Seeds planted 3.24.16

All of the tomato seeds are from previous years, so they were no cost at all.

I planted seeds for the following:

Both rootstock varieties.

Roma
Jersey Boy Hybrid
Supersweet 100 hybrid
Sungold Hybrid
Sunny Boy Hybrid
Better Boy Hybrid.

It looks like I'm not so enthusiastic about Heritage varieties this year.  I may get some out and try, depending on how this experiment goes.

They are planted in the usual seed starting medium in 6 packs, on a seed warming mat.

Kitchen Garden and Herb Seedlings.  3.24.16

Kitchen Garden Seedlings.  3.24.16

Meanwhile, the seeds from last week have all germinated -

Dill
Edible Chrysanthemum
Thyme
Japanese eggplant
Catnip
Chamomile
Johnny Jump Up

The catnip seeds were about 8 years old so I planted thickly.  I want to attract cats to my yard to eat voles and rabbits.  Catnip is also a good nectar plant for beneficial insects and bees.

I let the original okra seedlings dry out.  Too much trouble to grow such a vigorous plant indoors, so early.  So now starting again.  When they size up, I can plant them in the sunroom until outdoors is more summery.

The peppers are blooming.  I started them too early.  They look good in the sunroom.  They had spider mites.  I treated with "Dr. Earth" which seems to have done the job.  I am skeptical about such products but I do not want to spray carcinogens around.

Sweet and Chili Pepper plants, started in January  3.24.16

More peppers and other plants.  3.26.15

These peppers probably need larger containers now. There are so many, that will be a project.

What's Blooming. Fruit tree Phenology. 3.21.16

Forsythia.  3.21.16

 I love this time of year.  Buds swelling and opening, bulbs making themselves seen with leaves and flowers, trees and shrubs blooming.

This forsythia was one of the first shrubs I moved to the Battleground place Oct 2012.  Forsythias are tough and can take a lot of trauma and are drought resistant in my yard.  I grew this specimen by rooting a small stick found on the street about a decade ago.

Most of the front bulbs are transplants from the old place as well.  If you have old clumps of bulbs, they can be dug and divided, and have as much or move vigor than newly purchased ones.  Old ones are proven to grow in their current climate and soil, unlike imported ones, and do not bring viruses and other diseases into the yard.

Same Forsythia Oct 2012

Same Forsythia 2009

Mixed bulb and perennial fron flowr border, now at daffodil blooming stage.  3.21.16

Hyacinths and daylily clumps in tree-ring planter.  3.21.16

Hanska plum first flowers.  3.29.16

 The tree ring planters are nice.  They bring the plants up closer to my eyes.  They are easier to keep free of weeds, compared to the ground level soil.  They have a base of chicken wire fencing, so moles and voles do not get into them.  They are probably a bit warmer and therefore a bit earlier, than ground level soil.  I planted the hyancinths much deeper than the daylilies, so their roots should be even deeper and they can coexist.

Fruit tree blossoms -

Finished blooming -
Hollywood plum.
Crimson Spire plum.
Sweet treat interspecific plum (pluerry)

Almost finished blooming -
Methley plum
Unknown Asian plum.
Shiro plum.
 Charlotte peach

 Eldorado peach.

Late-full bloom.
Toka plum

Full bloom.
Most Asian pears - early to mid blooming
  Mishirasu
  Unknown - maybe Nijisseiki
  Hosui
  Shinseiki
  Maxie hybrid

Early opening.
The historic Asian-American hybrids
  Hanska Plum
  Ember plum
  LaCrescent plum
Green European Plum - green gage?  Came with the place, I don't know the variety
Stanley European Plum
Probably Prunus americana grown from seeds - first bloom this year.  Pollinizer for the Asian-American hybrids.
Salish peach - bought as "Q18"

American plum (Prunus americana?) flowers.  3.21.16

American plum (Prunus americana?) flowers.  3.21.16

 The American plums were from this batch of seeds, collected in 2012.  They have a slightly astringent skin, yellow very juicy, sweet, soft interior.  I have two other starts.  They are much smaller, partly due to browsing deer and partly because I chose the most vigorous for the main tree.

Plums used for tree seeds in 2012.

Maxie pear in early to mid bloom.  3.21.16

Swelling buds but not blooming yet -
Sweetheart cherry
Vandalay cherry
Ranier cherry - ahead of the other sweet cherries, but planted bare root this year so may not be representative.
Montmorency tart cherry - behind the sweet cherries.
Pawpaws -
  Sunflower - seems ahead of other two,
  NC-1
  Mango

Swelling  buds, bloom from secondary growth - later
Grapes
Saigo persimmon
Nikita's gift persimmon.

There are some new trees that probably don't count because I planted them this winter.  Their timing may be off because they were bare root and shipped, then planted.  That depends on how the internal timing works in those trees.  New ones -

Nadia interspecific cherry x plum - a few flowers, finishing and a few more buds.

Empress genetic dwarf peach - a few buds, full pink stage.

Mary Jane Peach - reportedly peach leaf curl resistant.  A few buds at full pink.

No apples are blooming yet.  A few are close - Queen Cox, and the columnar varieties North Pole, Scarlet Sentinel, Golden Sentinel.

Grafting Progress Report. 3.21.16

First bud break on grafted ginkgo tree.  3.21.16

 This is one of the ginkgo trees that I grafted 2.2.16.  At this stage, growth doesn't prove the graft took, but it does show it's alive.  Considering about 7 weeks have passed from the graft, I'm thinking they have taken.  More new growth, especially vigorous, will make me more confident.

I don't have a pic, camera battery died, but the pear grafts from about the same time, also look good, with larger bud growth.

In addition to the apple grafts from Fedco last week, I added more today.  These came from this weekend's Home Orchard Society scion exchange yesterday.  From those, I grafted -

Red Airlie apple, which is sold in stores with the trademarked name "Hidden Rose".  Inside of the ripe apples is pink.  According to reviews, these apples are slower to brown after slicing.  Flavor is considered good.  Late ripening.

King David, apple.  I looked for this one via Fedco, they didn't have any this time around.  Thought to be a hybrid of Jonathan and an unknown, possibly Arkansas Black or Winesap, 1893, apple looks more like Arkansas Black.  Very resistant to fireblight. 

Dolgo Crabapple, because crab apples are considered good pollinizers for other apples.

Hawkeye, considered the original Red Delicious, before Red Delicious underwent multiple generations of sports giving us the famous beautiful, cardboard tasting apple.  Hawkeye is said to be the true "Delicious".

These are all the apples varieties my little trees can handle for now.  If some turn out to be duds, I can prune them out and let others take over.  The multigrafts should all be self pollinating, and each branch should give at least a couple of pies, or a few bowls of apples, which is all I want from each variety.  For me, it's like a collection, I see something interesting and add it.  The cost is minimal - $5 for scion at Fedco, or free at the scion exchange.

The new scion from this year, assuming they take, will need 2 or 3 years to produce fruit for a taste.

I also grafted the following, yesterday and today:

Onto the Stanley European plum, a plum labeled as "Red Washington European Plum".  I grafted that one as a polllinizer for better or more fruit production on Stanley.  If it's a good plum, that will be good too.  I don't have more info on this plum.

Male Hayward Kiwi - to pollinize the no-name kiwi that has been growing for 3 years in my arbor.  I didn't want to buy an additional plant, not knowing if it would help.  Kiwi turns out to be very soft wood, hollow with a pith.  The wood was also delicate, fell apart easily.  I needed several tries, and in the end it was not clean.  The kiwi sap is syrupy.  It might take.

I grafted three grafts of Petite Negri Fig from home, onto the extra Dominick fig tree at Battleground, to see if I can get a good start of this fig without growing from cutting.  Fig wood is also soft, and fragile, with a central pith.  These might or might not take.   I had stored the scion, well wrapped, in the refrigerator to keep it dormant until the understock started growing.  The figs are all producing buds now.

Flowers on Ember Plum.  3.21.16

I did a whip and tongue from Toka.   That was also stored in the refrigerator, well wrapped.  I used one of the Hollywood Plum own-root starts as understock.  I want a spare Toka.  It's a delicious plum, a vigorous pollinizer, but the existing tree appeared to have some canker last year.

This leaves a male scion for the hardy kiwi, and a persimmon scion, "Chocolate" to add to either Saijo or Nikita's Gift.  From my readings, persimmons are difficult, and take best if the under stock is already growinbg actively.  That will need to wait a few weeks in the refrigerator.

Native Plum Seedling in Bloom, 4 years old.  3.21.16

From grafts done last year, Ember and Hanska plums are now blooming.  They are later, compared to the Asian plums.  One Ember plum is a free standing tree, grafted March 2015 onto Hollywood rootstock.  The seedling plum, taken from what I think are native American species plum tree, is just beginning to bloom for the first time.  This tree is 4 years old.  It has been raining a lot, so I don't know if they will pollinize even if compatible.

Fava Bean Progress Report. 3.21.16

Fava seedlings about 6 weeks after planting.  3.21.16

These are the favas I started 2.13.16   They are looking succulent and vigorous.

The seeds I planted one week later also look good, about 1/2 are above ground.  Raining too much to weed or hoe, maybe better during the next few days.