Wildflower meadow. 5.20.16

Some photos from Ning's wildflower meadows. California poppies and Lupines continue to dominate, but now there are also lots of Sweet Williams.

Fig Progress Report. 5.20.16

Brunswick Fig Breba Crop.  5.20.16

Fig brebas are getting big.  Brebas are figs that grow from buds on last summer's stems, and ripen during this summer.  Figs that grow on this year's stems are called Main Crop, and ripen in the fall.

Some fig trees are mainly breba producers, some are mainly main crop, some are both.

The Battleground fig trees are 3 to 5 years old, except for Brunswick which I moved there 4 years ago, and was 10 years old at the time.

Brunswick rarely has brebas, and is one of the sweetest figs, so the handful this year is great.

Brunswick goes by other names - Dalmation, Madonna, Castle Kennedy, Magnolia, Kennedy, Clémentine.  Ancient varieties often go by many names, because they have been taken from place to place, and people who forgot the original name gave them new names.  Later, they are found to be the same variety, but many people then know them by other names.   Brunswick's place in the Pacific NW is tenuous - there are other fig trees that bear more figs, are more reliable, and that have most before the fall rainy season, which makes the last figs on this tree moldy. But when it bears, the figs are so amazingly sweet, juicy, and "fig flavored".

Brunswick Fig Tree, moved Dec 2012

Carini Fig Breba Crop.  5.20.16

White Marseilles / Lattarula Fig Breba Crop.  5.20.16

I moved this tree to Battleground as an experiment.  I didn't know if it would survive.  Now, after more than 3 years, it has increased a little in size, and growing many new shoots from the base.  I will let the largest of those shoots grow, since they seem more vigorous than the top.

LSU Tiger Fig Tree.  5.20.16

Other fig trees with brebas this year:

Big breba crop:

Lattarula - also called White Marseilles and Italian honey Fig.  Both the big original tree and the smaller tree grown from cutting and planted at Battleground, are covered with figs.   This is an old variety - Thomas Jefferson was enthusiastic about White Marseilles fig.

 King - also called "Desert King" - only the one at the old place.  The cutting at Battleground is slow to establish.  I expect it to need a few more years.  Once established, this tree grows huge for a fruit tree.  The tree at the old place is covered with breba figs.


 Carini - a NOID from a Fig Forum member.   Really should have a place in the Pacific NW.  Generous sized figs, reddish coloration, sweet, vigorous, and bears a lot at a young age.  Probably comparable to Lattarula, which is one of the best.

Fig trees with only a few brebas -

Petite negri - worth it for the fall figs.  Usually has a few brebas.

Hardy Chicago - rarely has brebas but is among the first of the Main Crop summer figs.  The few brebas it has, usually fall off.

No brebas at all:

Sal's fig - usually has a main crop, but the tree is not thriving at all, much smaller than any of the other, similar range in size as Petite negri but the figs are not as good.  Very hardy even in our coldest winter, but I am thinking about replacing it with Celeste, when that cutting reaches a bigger size, maybe Spring 2017.

LSU Tiger - Modern fig tree from Louisiana, very big juicy figs, bears well, very vigorous, but not brebas this year.  Hardiness here not known, last winter was so mild it wasn't a good test.

Smith Fig - an old Louisiana variety.  May not be hardy here.  I planted outside last summer, survived the mild winter.  No figs yet this year.  Not fertilizing because I want the growth to be tough for next winter.

Champagne Fig - a modern Louisiana variety.  The figs are nice, sprightly yellow figs, small.  I don't know the hardiness here and no brebas this year.  Not fertilizing, as for Smith.

Dominick's Fig - a heritage variety from a fig forum member in the Eastern seaboard.  I have two, one might become the rootstock for Petite negri.  Haven't tasted from this tree yet.

Atreano - this might have had some if not for deer.  I did not protect it well.   Considered good for Pacific NW.

Other than a NOID - I'm thinking was labeled as "Sicilian white" but the label is lost so not sure, very young with 2 brebas on it's skinny stem, and Celeste - grew from cutting too late last year to get much growth, still in container for this year - I think that's all of my fig trees.

Where there is vigorous top growth, I have been snapping off the terminal leaf, leaving 5 or 6 leaves per shoot.  Tipping the shoot is thought to stimulate earlier and/or better production of main crop figs, and that is also my experience.  I am not doing that for the smaller Battleground fig trees, because I want them to get in as much good growth this year as possible.   I did tip the strongest growth on Brunswick, Lattarula, and LSU Tiger.

Grafting apples and Asian Pears. Progress Report. 5.20.16

North Pole Apple Graft ~  3 months.  5.20.16

 Of the apple and pear grafts that I added to existing trees, 100% took and are growing rapidly.  There was one small graft that I added to a small rootsstock, the jury is still out on that.  That was a bark graft, all the rest were whip-and-tongue.

I won't add all, since they look about the same. 

From my own tree - North Pole added to a Golden Sentinel.  This was added to the top, because I want a tree with columnar shape.  The understock bloomed then wilted, and the leaves exhibited very stunted growth.  However, now it appears to be recovering.  The rootstock was from a tree that was cut down, and grew suckers.  I don't know the type, probably a dwarf.

Apple scion from Fedco - all grew well, even the smaller ones.  Those were Goldrush, Sweet 16, Milo Gibson, Newtown Pippin, and Baldwin.

Arlie Red Flesh Apple Graft ~ 2 months.  5.20.16

Goldrush Apple Graft ~ 2 months.  5.20.16

Apple scion from HOS scion exchange - Arlie Red Flesh, Hawkeye, and Dolgo crab.

The grafts I added to Maxie pear have also taken and grown well.

I'm starting to remove the scion wrap.  I like to get 6 inches or a foot of growth, so the wrap has done has done its job and is not not restrictive.  It might come off on its own, and on other occasions has done so.

Apple Whip and Tongue Graft at about 2 months.  5.20.16

 This was probably my last year with more than a couple of grafts.  Assuming these grow OK, it's all I want or need.  Since my Honeycrisp tree died - voles? - I may add one or graft from my little minidwarf Honeycrisp onto something bigger.

Apple Whip & Tongue graft at ~ 16 months.  5.20.16

Grafts added to Maxie Pear tree ~ 3 months.  5.20.16

Grafting Progress Report. Plums, kiwis, figs, ginkgo, persimmons. 5.21.16

Male fuzzy kiwi on fuzzy kiwi female.  Graft at ~ 2 months.  5.20.16

Chocolate persimmon on Saijo.  Graft about 6 weeks.  5.20.16

 First graft follow up today for the less typical  - for me - grafts.  All were whip-and-tongue.

The kiwi grafts were quite delicate.  The scion wood is hollow with a pithy center.  It oozes a slimy sap that reminds me of the fruit juice itself.  I have two kiwis, one is the big fuzzy type, and one is the grape-size hardy type.  From my reading, both will probably need a male pollinizer, something some of the nurseries don't tell you.  The scion were from the Home Orchard Society propagation / scion fair.

The fuzzy kiwi graft is looking good.  The growth appears to be past the stage of obtaining nutrients and must have a vascular connection now to the understock.  I usually unwrap scion at about 6 inches or 1 foot of growth, so leaving the graft wrapped.

The hardy kiwi is further behind.  I had trouble determining which end is up and wondered if I got it upside down.  If so, I expect it to rejecct the graft.  Just a little growth so far.

I stored persimmon and kiwi scion in the refrigerator until the understock plants were well leafed out.  I understand that works better for these, less easy, plants for grafting.  Less easy compared to apples and pears, anyway.  I cut the Chocolate Persimmon stick into two scions.  After grafting - all of these are whip-and-tongue - I wrapped the scions completely in grafting tape and overwrapped in parafilm, then covered with aluminum foil to protect from the sun.  After about 2 weeks, I removed the foil on a clouded rainy day.  One graft looks dead and one looks like it's starting to grow.  I cut the lower growth from the stem today, to reduce nutrient competition.

Hardy kiwi male on Ken's Red hardy kiwi.  Graft about 2 months.  5.20.16

My Dad's male ginkgo on seedling.  5.20.16

 The ginkgo scions looked good for a little while, then seemed to die back.  This one has started a little growth again.  I cut back the major growth on the understock, but leaft a few leaves at each point.  I don't know if it will grow and take over.  Intent is to keep enough understock growth to keep it alive, and if the scion is viable maybe it will take over later this year or next year.

The figs were from my old Petite negri fig tree in Vancouver.  I did 3 whip-and-tongue grafts onto the extra Dominic fig tree, which has several stems coming from soil level.  These were scion that I had refrigerated for a few months, well wrapped.  Like kiwi, the scion has a soft pith and is very fragile.  Petite negri establishes slowly from cuttings - for me - and the first tree I started from this variety died 2 winters ago.  No harm trying a more vigorous rootstock.   Of the 3 grafts, one appears to be leaving dormancy.  For cuttings, this is still much to small bud growth to say if roots have started, so same for graft take.  However, these have been at ambient temperature for a couple of months, and I think if they are not deriving nutrients from the understock, they will not swell at all.  We'll see.

The Red Washington (European) Plum - I guess, a NOID - scions looked near dead, but both have taken and grown.  These were also from the Home Orchard Society scion fair.  I added them for the pollination effect,  but in case they are good plums, I should prune back more of the Stanley Plum branches to allow them to grow larger.

I don't have a good macro lens and some of these are small, so some are a bit blurry.

Not pictured, one of the ornamental cherries that I grafted onto wild - likely sweet - cherry rootstock did not take, but the other did.  The other two ginkgos look like they did not take.

Red "Washington Plum" on Stanley.  About 2 months.  5.20.16

Petite negri fig graft at about 2 months.  5.20.16

Blackberry clearing and remediation project. 5.10.16

Before clearing blackberries.  5.10.16

Here is the status of my Himalayan blackberry removal project.   Moving into summer, I doubt I will do much work on removing more, too hot and sunny.   I started last winter, not intending to go far with this.  

However, after seeing the results, my intent is to clear all of the brambles from this part of our property.  Originally, blackberry thickets covered about 1/4 acre of this 1 acre parcel.  I have cleared, maybe 2/3 of the brambles now.

Before and after removing blackberries.  5.10.16

After removing an area of blackberries.  5.10.16

 I wear leather gloves, and use bypass pruning shears to shop approximately 2 feet at a time.  Often I grab multiple stems at a time and cut through them.  I make piles of the cut brambles, like little haystacks in the cleared area.

Gradually, the land is cleared.  Cut blackberry stems are like dry sponge.   The seem to degrade fairly fast, easier than tree stems.  I made some very large piles in an out of the way location, so they will compost themselves.  The compost will be added to garden beds.  Composting may take a year.

Six months after removing blackberries.  5.10.16

For the area that I cleared last winter, I scattered grass seed.  The grass established during late winter and spring.  Mowing the grass is also killing off the blackberry stems that re-grow, and will eventually kill it off entirely.  No chemicals.  Some sprouts are so vigorous, they are as soft as asparagus spears, and I just wear gloves and snap those off.  It will take about 2 solid days of work, to clear the area in the photo, labeled "Before Removal".

The photos are separate parts of the cleared and uncleared areas.  I did not think to take actual before photos.  The cleared area was actually worse than what I have not done yet - brambles were 25 feet into the trees, and the depth of the thicket was greater.

The hawthorne trees in this area are unstable, weak and falling.  They  look nice when cleaned up a bit, but I don't think they will last very long.  We've planted cyprus to protect the soil, which a bit beyond this area slopes into a ravine and creek, and for privacy.  Cyprus grow rapidly and thick, so the intent is to shade out any remaining blackberries - this photo faces south, with the forested area north of the cyprus trees.  They are a hybrid cypress which does not make seeds so is not invasive.

There may be some cool mornings this summer when I can clear more.  I'll hold up seeding more grass until then, when rains will help it establish.  Meanwhile, ripe blackberries will be much easier to harvest adjacent to sections that I have already cleared.