SD'S GOING OFF TOPIC - GARDEN VENTURES & other pursuits '22

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Other garden ventures....
Such as an EASTER EGG HUNT!

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i ENLISTED A COUPLE OF INDENTURED SERVANTS IN ERECTING THE BAMBOO TRELLIS FOR THE TOMATOES!


2 ROWS OF TOMATOES IN THIS BED- tHE INDETERMINATE TOMATOES will be grown on a single stem, attached to the vertical hangar wires on the overhead bamboo top rail.
The green ribbon is surveyor flagging tape which I will use to attach the vines to the vertical wire - Some people commonly use string/twine and clips to support the tomatoes-
This is my 1st year trying this single stem method- reportedly able to grow tomatoes at a closer spacing as the excess suckers are removed. It should also provide potentially better quality fruit....as the plants energies are directed to only those flowers/fruits on the 1 main stem.

In front of them will be the bush and roma varieties that typically don't need supports and grow relatively stouter- and shorter.

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This is Out of sequence date wise-4-19- but the weather forecast is calling for a low -mid 30 temps overnight- so several hours were spent- brought some plants in, others -like the vegetables we just planted - have been covered with straw, or inverted pots over the larger plants- Our typical last frost date is 4-11- Surprise!
In addition to covering over with a layer of straw, several plants we covered with sheets or lite weight outdoor carpets....
Peppers:


Newly sprouted Chicago Fig


Straw over the planted vegetables....


House plants overwintered inside



Nothing quite like the heat from an air tight wood stove to warm up a space! One of the best decisions we made a decade or two ago was to tear out the corner firplace and install an air tight New Englander wood stove -
The fireplace -was an inefficient way to supply supplemental heat whenone wanted- as the damper had to be left open until the fire was completely out- Thus, convection drew the warm air out of the room up the chimney....
The 'air tight' wood stove is so much more efficient and provides so much more heat than a fire place (does have an air fan to push heat further out into the rooms). While we also have conventional electric heat, the wood stove is a great supplemental add-on in times of power outages, bad weather, and just to make things toasty when the weather outside is not!






Part of the FUN installing the wood stove, was selecting the right fossilized rocks for the walls and hearth veneer-






Actually, the rocks and 'fossils' were made in forms in the driveway-

The various colors were done using different colored concrete dyes in the forms.

The rocks are actually very lightweight- made of portland cement, sand, and vermiculite as the aggregate.

The walls the rocks are mounted onto are metal studs with a cement board overlay covered with metal plaster lath- attached to the studs with screws and washers.

The cured 'rocks' were laid up with conventional mortar spread onto the metal lath .

It provides a non-combustable hearth, and walls ...

[sd]

4-20-2022

RASPBERRY BED

Uncovered the plants this am, and most appear none the worse for wear...survived the overnight cold temps....
Worked on the future Rapberry bed-
To prevent the raspberries from sending runners underground into the blueberry bushes- about 8' away, I decided to install a barrier between the raspberry bed and the blueberries.
I dug a 10" deep trench the length of the rapberry bed and turned it at both corners.
I have some leftover vinyl siding that is 12" high- and it's impervious to weather, wet, and roots- it's durable-, very long lasting .
After all, doesn't everyone have some excess vinyl siding laying around for barrier material?
I set it into the trench and backfilled it with dirt on both sides-
The raspberry bed is slightly raised, with a number of wheelbarrow loads of landscape mix added on top- (compost w/topsoils)
I had purchased several types of raspberry plants earlier this year, that have not yet sprouted- and likely are not viable- but there were plenty of raspberry roots in the ground in that area that I divided and planted in the bed-





A heat gun allows the vinyl siding to be bent to make a corner turn-
The vinyl is overlapped and the lap joints are taped with duct tape to prevent the roots from entering the overlap splice in pieces of the siding.






and, the existing roots and shoots are planted in the bed....

The wire supports for the future raspberries has not yet been installed- A bit later down the road...
The raspberries will ideally send underground runners away from the vinyl siding- and the blueberries





Eventually, the raspberries will require wire supports to contain and hold them vertical- potentially at 2 levels- 2', 5' . Time to spare ....No need to rush into these things-right?

Once I see shoots develop from the root sections I planted, I will fertilize & mulch with some leaf/pine straw .

[sd]

FIG CUTTINGS

Last fall, Shortly after leaf drop I decided to prune the in ground figs -They had grown quite a bit , and pruning was designed to keep the plants relatively short, and branching... I saved a number of the 3' long cuttings , wrapped in some dampened peat moss wrapped in plastic, and stored over the winter in the crawl space- relatively cool, but not below freezing. I pulled the wrapped cuttings out last week, and several had roots developing- I had pruned cuttings from 5 different varieties, and today separated some of the rooted cuttings and cut them down to be approx 18" high; having about 5 nodes on each cutting- I then scarified the bottom 3 nodes to ensure further root development. and wrapped those that had started to root in a pvc roll with a peat/compost mix to support the root development.
What was interesting, is that root development had already started in many of the cuttings without any scarification....
Buds were also developing and some early leafing out was occurring.

Photo of one cutting with multiple segments rooting out :0006.mts video
to be continued-.....



Photo of cuttings that had roots developing set in pots with a peat/compost mix-also a tsp of bone meal to promote root development-
These will be repotted in individual containers in 1-2 weeks if they succeed in rooting more and leafing out-



The scarified unrooted segments of cuttings wrapped in a roll of plastic with a peat compost mixture over each stem cutting--as each cutting was covered with the rooting compost, the plastic was rolled over the stem, ensuring separation from the next stem section- These cuttings had 4-5 nodes, with 3 nodes scarified to promote rooting and at least 1 node extended above and outside of the plastic to allow a bud to leaf out....These are set out in a shaded but bright spot - to see if the rooting will be successful.

[sd]

4-21- Weather beautiful, blue skies, some sunshine, and warm-70+ by mid afternoon!

Today I tried a few more grafts on the figs, tip layered some more kIWI vines- into containers for my daughter...
Kiwis are just starting to show flower buds- and I gave the plants a couple of teasthingys of bone meal-
Kiwis take a long time to fruit- but I've been more than patient- I lost track of when they were originally planted- I think 7+ years ago, and a few years ago bought another male and female plant to ensure I didn't have a mix up and only had all females-

I had written down the plantings on a folder- but cannot find it now- and unfortunately, I didn't label the plants with the aluminum labels when I put them in- So, now I'm hoping to see differences in the flowers and determine which is female, and which is the male-
I had pruned the vines back hard this winter, they grow so vigorously! I had fertilized in early march with some 10-10-10 -
My expectations are that we get fruit this year- or perhaps I'll make that section a row of grafted figs!

Today I tried 2 different type of grafts - The 1st was a 4 cut graft, where you peel down the 4 cuts on the parent limb -similar to peeling down a banana; but exposing the cambium layer under the bark and pulling it off the wood center-
The exposed wood center on the parent stem is then cut out-
On the scion, the 4 cuts in the bark are similar, but the intent is to leave corner bark and cambium strips which will be overlapped by the strips from the parent plant.

Several critical items are: speed- The exposed cuts can oxidize relatively quickly- making it important that both preparation cuts are mated relatively quickly -.
Both the scion cut and the stem cut should be relatively straight and mate up flat with each other- without air gaps between the 2 .
Ideally, both cambium sides of the scion mate up with the stem's cambium sides. - a "perfect" fit- but more importantly is that at least one side of the cambium layers need to be in alignment. The cambium layer is the thin green line just under the bark- This is the layer that transports the plant's sap and nutrients throughout- At least one side of the scion's cambium layer needs to mate up with one side of the stem cambium- to ensure a bond- The scion will receive it's energy from the mated cambium layers-

Once the scion is fitted to mate up the cambium layers on at least 1 side as perfectly as possible, The splice is wrapped tightly with parafilm - or another product- Twine, fishing line, string, or- as I have discovered- with surveyors plastic flagging tape .
Squeeze the splice together while wrapping and tightening the splicing wrap to pull the 2 layers together.
I found that the surveyors flagging not only has the stretch, but it can be twisted to become string like and can sustain a tighter pull
than the parafilm. Pull the graft together tightly, wrap with multiple rounds the entire length of the splice.

Cover and wrap the entire graft and scion with plastic wrap or the gafting tape to keep moisture in the scion. (saran plastic wrap also would work-) The buds that pop need to be able to break through the plastic wrap.
Cover and protect from direct sunlight - foil, tape, paper etc...

once i learn how to edit and shorten - video 000.13 demonstrates my lack of skill in these procedures.
oN j sACADURA TECHNIQUES- In this video He uses regular electrical tape to wrap the graft, and parafilm tape to seal the upper scion to prevent dehydration. In other videos he uses raffia, string, etc to tie the grafting together. He makes it look quick and easy! I'm a bit of a clutzs - need more practice!
Learning to control the knife is critical to prevent wounding yourself!
I also sterilize the knife and the outer wood with a solution of 1 hydrogen peroxide + 2 parts water-
Grafting is also useful if space is limited, and one wants to develop different varities on a single plant-



Jsacadura YOU TUBE VIDEOS ARE AMONG THE BEST GRAFTING VIDEOS! CONCISE, GOOD PHOTOGRAPHY...


www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjTSi-6l2hQ&t=138s

PHOTOS OF SOME DIFFERENT GRAFTS DEMONSTRATED IN HIS VIDEOS -

SIDE GRAFT



WHIP AND TONGUE:


MODIFIED CLEFT GRAFT - using a smaller scion and a larger rootstock-


BARK GRAFT



tHERE ARE A NUMBER OF OTHER DIFFERENT GRAFTING TECHNIQUES THAT ARE WELL ILLUSTRATED BY HIS OTHER VIDEOS-

GRAFTING IS NOT ONLY FOR FRUIT TREES, BUT CAN ALSO BE USED ON OTHER PLANTS,SHRUBS ETC....



Attempting to graft a fig scion:

Preparing a Fig graft after viewing Jsacuradura You tube videos-

[sd]

4-22-2022 Spent a good part of the morning transporting leaf mulch from a pile near the driveway and bringing them into the yard and covered the raspberries, grapevines, kiwis.
Mulching with a few inches of leaf/wood mulch helps retain the moisture in the soil, insulates the ground in the winter, and moderates temps in the soil during the summer, helps the soils retain the moisture - The line clearing crew dropped 5 loads of shredded branches for me last year-Free- as they were clearing out the vegetation and tree branches that might fall onto the power lines-Still have about 1 load to top dress those area that the mulch has broken down...
They also topped a 80'tall pine for me that had died the previous year- $100.00- That I was going to have to take down - but was nervous that the top section was potentially unstable. They went up in a bucket truck and topped the tree in 10-15' pieces, and brought it down to about 25' which I then took down the rest of the way...




The Raspberries- just a few tenative green sprouts -can't see them in the mulch- Ideally a month from now, they'll be shoots the entire length of the bed.


Some progress/update photos around the yard....
From early spring when the camelias blossom, the tulip magnolia, the 2 cherry - it's a 1st sign that winter is almost behind us-
Then the fruit trees, Azaelias, blossom, crocus break out, Wisteria vine blossoms, and spring has arrived!
We have an interesting mix of plants accumulated over 25 years......and, as the year progresses, Peony, hibiscus, Rose, and The Crepe Myrtles provide abundant flowering in the summer. Several Mimosa trees also provide interesting summer time blooms-


Mahonia- seeds are getting ripe- will turn a dark blue, and then drop to the ground-


2 Pear trees- One pineapple pear and one Bartlett that grow vigorously- and tall- I've cut them back and tried to develop a shorter and branched out structure- It also tends to over crop- so I'm thinning out the branch shoots, and will thin out the pears -
Pears tend to grow vertically, and shoots sprout out very close together- I'm thinning out the shoots, and pinching them back at about 18" in height to promote branching.....
Both pears have been pruned down and attempted to promote an open center, and side branching- The weight of the pears will often bend a branch horizontally- or even bend it down and cause it to snap. As these shoots are coming out of the horizontal branch structure, - I am removing shoots to space the remaining at 12-18" apart, and pinching the top to encourage branching.
The fruit production will be reduced this year due to my severe pruning- I will prune these new shoots back to within 24" of the main branch this winter, or alternate branches- to get better fruit production by allowing every other shoot to remain @ 4' and thus provide fruit the following season. The in between shoot will be pruned back to within 12" of the branch - and then be allowed to grow fully the following year.



Many fruits - will overcrop - attempt to make too many offspring- for the detriment of the fruit as well as over stressing the plant-
and the fruits need to be thinned out- to ultimately provide a superior crop . On the bartlett pear, i had left several branches almost full height-last year- and those branches are loaded with too many developing pears- that desperately need to be thinned out-


By pruning back the Fig branches to within 12' OR SO OF LAST YEAR'S GROWTH, I control the growth of the Fig keeping it shorter, but
this also restricts the 1st crop of figs- known as the Breba crop- The second fall crop is considered to be a superior crop.
The 2 figs developing on last year's growth are the Breba crop. Bye the way- Figs are ripe when soft to the touch and when they start to droop lower....


While I'm doing this gardening thing- i need to interject... about some of the garden pests that can wreak havoc on one's expectations- Since i've just setout some vegetable transplants in the past week- Most are doing well, but I have lost 2 tomato plants, and have seen large swiss cheese holes in my Bok Choy- That i attribute to slugs- We don't have any japanese beetles this early, so slugs or snails are the likely culprit.
Here is the evidence :and the grapefruit 1/2 is the bait

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Here in North Carolina, you can find what seemed to be a tradional grape vine arbor- with the vines typically overhanging all sides of the arbor- One can walk under the arbor and pick the grapes at their leisure....
However, while the single vine can grow to entirely carpet the entire arbor, as it did on my neighbor's arbor, it results in a lot of green growth at the expense of fruit production.
Grapes are produced on each years new growth only- and not on the older wood- so the typical arbor allowing the vine to grow and contually get so extended results in less fruit, as the plant has to maintain all that green growth.

This vine is at least 30 years old,and likely much older... the original arbor was rebuilt- a decade ago using treated 4 x 4 posts with connecting and spans 10' x 20'. While the arbor style of support was found around homes, the most productive support is a single wire stretched between supports with a main stem where the side branches are pruned back each winter to within 12" of the main vine- developing clusters from where the new growth will occur in the Spring.



I pruned out the majority of all the branches except 5 that had grown from close to the main trunk last year- Those 5 OFFSHOOT vines were 20-30+ FEET LONG, and had very few side branches coming from them - I pruned off the side branches where they occurred at 12" from each vine.
I then brought each vine down one of the 4x4 posts , dug out the earth in a 24" circle 3" deep, circled the still flexible vine in a circle , scarifyiung with my knife sections of it that were to be buried ; and then turned the leading end of the vine back up the 4x4 post to become a new rooted section that could eventually be separated from the mother vine after this season.
As the original vines energies will be directed into these 5 vines, they will grow and extend up onto the top of the arbor.

I will monitor these periodically, and will pinch off the leading tip of the vine once it extends 10' to promote side branching.
If not pinched off, the vine will put forth growth into primarily growing just the tip. Pinching out that tip puts the plant's energies into developing side shoots, that will produce the new grapes...



At each 4x4, a connected vine is pulled down, circled in the ground, and back up the 4x4 post to become it's own self sufficient and rooted vine. The vine was scarified, buried, fertilized, and the area under the arbor was mulched with several inches of fall leafs.




The vines are just starting to put out new growth , and will be guided to climb back up the 4 x4 post- and then trained to follow the overhead supports for easy pruning in the spring. In the following season next year, that vine will become it's own main stem and provide the fruit.

[sd]

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4-23-22
Saturday-I have lost more tomato plants overnight! Possibly rabbits- but I found 1 plant cut off at the ground level-that was a cut worm I think-
I pulled the straw away around each plant and gave each stem a dose of 7 dust at the base of the plants- and, if it's rabbits- I took plastic sandwich bags with 4 moth balls in each bag near one corner and a number of small holes in the bag- and hung them next to each
plant ....- Then we went up to the Bynum greenhouse stand and bought some replacement tomato plants- and as a spur of the moment got a 6 pack ($3.00) of canteloupe and small watermelons--and red OKRA- and 1 more 6 pack of Red Bell peppers. And a neat looking AGAVE plant-

I really pruned out the 2 pear trees today, and eliminated and thinned out a lot of the fruit on several limbs.
I also cut the top of each new stem that are now about 18" tall- to cause the stem to start additional side branching-
At the base of the tree, it had sent up 2 sucker shoots last year, that I scarified, dropped a plastic pot over, filled with a compost mix, and pinched out the top- They are developing very quickly!
Before i pruned:

After:



At one of the pears, I saw indications of a mole trying to reestablish a tunnel in an area I had filled in with dirt just earlier in the week from relocating the blueberries- The mole is in the mulch area under the pear, and as I dug out the disturbed area, found the tunnel going back under the mulch- I cannot use poison baits under the fruit trees- so a trap- or a gasser is the way to go...
The ground recently filled in with dirt shows signs of being 'pushed up'


As I dig out the pushed up area, I find the tunnel section heading back under the tree.




Hmmm- apparently did not record the section where i put the fused gasser in the hole and lit it-

Well, it's 9 pm- Time to see what the slug traps have caught!








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[sd]

The beer bait slug traps proved effective-overnight.
Under the one Hosta that slugs had started to eat, No new holes were seen- but the beer trap under the hosta- a shallow 2" deep cheese container filled with beer, and the lid taped to make a nice wide ramp for slugs to access, lured about 10 small slugs over night.
This was the most productive trap- Several others held fewer slugs-

We are also using grapefruit 1/2s filled with beer- that in the past have drawn slugs away from the plants-

It's a shame to waste a perfectly good beer in a slug trap, so I'm using the cheapest beer I can find- Genesee- and I'll keep my Yuengling
lager for myself. Last year on Youtube I found a video that works well using 2 plastic Solo Cups...but that holds an entire can of beer- what a waste!

The trap doesn't need to be as deep as a Solo cup, holding 12 ozs - so we're trying the 9 0z cups sold at a local Walmart--About $5.00 for a pack of 50 cups- enough to make 25 traps.


2 cups per trap- One cup fits inside the other cup-
Using a drill and a 1/8 - 1/4" drill bit- drill holes inside the bottom of the cup that will fit into the 1st cup.
Don't do this on your dining room table ! and not too much pressure- allow the drill to cut- or the plastic will break if you push down too hard.


Now, dig a hole next to the plant there is signs of slug damage, insert the 2 cups into the hold just 1/4"-1/2" above the dirt level, and fill with your choice of beer -or other liquid attractant... (Shown here on my dining room table for clarity LOL!) The cup with the holes is the upper cup- and the bottom cup- Eureka!holds the beer!


Once you've inserted the 2 cups, then fill with the beer . After the fizz settles, top off- If the beer was cold, you still have 3-4 oz left in the can that should not go to waste! HMMM...Now i know why I like setting the traps as night is falling...

Cover with a piece of cardboard slightly bent up to allow the slugs to crawl under, and to keep rain out of the beer cups.
Hold the cardboard in place with some dirt on the outside edges- or rocks to keep the wind from blowing off.
Yes, the cardboard should be viewed as an umbrella- and not a lid - to allow the slugs to crawl to their evening swim- and they don't swim well....



Setting the beer trap next to the parsley 4-24- Last night I eliminated about 6 slugs with scissors- Will check this plant tonight, and see how many slugs may be drawn to the beer trap before they dine on the Parsley plant...


OH! I Forgot to explain WHY you drill holes in the 2nd cup!
It is so you can lift out the upper cup with the holes in it, and the beer drains back into the bottom cup-
You can then dump out the slugs collected in the upper cup-
And then simply set the upper cup back into the bottom cup, and allow the cup to settle down lower as the beer/liquid comes up through the holes and the upper cup sinks back into place- Top off the beer as needed..
Keep the cover in place, as slugs will look for shade/protection in the daytime-

After all that adventure ....There are some products that are worth considering-

DIATOMACEOUS EARTH- This is a type of earth that is comprised of sharp edges that deter crawling insects from even reaching your plant-
If cut worms are working on my tomatoes, this is a go-to- to try! Cut worms are not going to be attracted to my beer traps like slugs are...!


Another Slug and Snail option is this garden safe product- I haven't tried it yet- but will around plants seeing signs of slugs dining on their leaves...



Made the 10 minute rounds @ 9 pm....Dispatched One very large slug drinking at the beer cooler at the Hosta- and a few other small slugs- a couple drinking at the Parsley, but also a few up in it- Will check the body count tomorrow....After all, the beer is definitely stale by now....

[sd]

4-26-22-
Yesterday's fishing trip was a superb day on the lake! We go during the week as the weekends are going to be getting crowded with Jet Skis and wake boards.... The fishing was slow , using live minnows and caught a few small crappie, and a couple of catfish- Threw them all back ....Next time out, will get some photos-
Garden ventures- 4-25 topped off the evaporated beer traps, a few slugs were taking a swim ....
Slugs can range in size, and a large slug can eat a considerable amount in one night-
This 4"+ guy was crossing the walkway , and i found a similarly sized one bellying up at the beer bait under the Hosta....




Cooling off tonight with a passing thunderstorm- The fresh rain should see fresh critters making their rounds-
Ideally, getting traps set out this early in the growing season will greatly reduce their numbers....

It doesn't take long for a few of these to put a hurt on the garden!

[sd]

5-4-2022
The Slug population really likes the Bok Choy-did it a fair amount of consuming, but the beer traps may be winning the battle-
with a quick evening - after dark- pass with the scissors finding fewer active crawlers...

Still working in the YARD & GARDEN, AND ONLY A glance at the markets now and then....
Haven't kept up with this garden blog, but things are doing relatively well- Except for my attempts at grafts-
Although it's early yet, I had several scions leaf out, but they didn't get enough energy from the parent plant-
Only 1 graft is presently looking promising....with a couple of leaf shoots appearing...



The honeysuckle smells so good, but it's trying to get across into the yard-and over onto the figs along the fence line-



The Clematis is a 20+ year resident in the garden: Kiwi vines are growing profusely in the row behind it...some flower buds- not yet open-



Despite the early warm up, we received some late frosts- but actually appear to have just a a few peaches, nectarines, and a couple of plums- ( - 1 tree each) that may have survived the dip in the weather- Unfortunately, these require an active spraying campaign or the early borer is inside as the fruit develops-
I'm trying to use a BEE SAFE - product from Organicide - will see if it works- or was applied too late....

I've thinned out the cluster of peaches -now about the size of a golf ball....


This is an ornamental peach, with leaves almost maroon in color- It is a dwarf variety- and when I bought it years ago, I didn't realize it was sold for it's ornamental appearance, and not the overproduction of peaches- I'll thin these out to 1 peach every 6-8" but don't know if these will be decent as an edible fruit-


We've had a series of some really warm days -mid 80's- , instead of a gradual rise into summer- Some of the new plants simply went into shock - and i've started to shade the new transplants -and the peppers -They were grown in a greenhouse- in ideal conditions- and I didn't take the time to harden them off by giving them just gradual exposure to the full sun over a week or so before planting-

I'm using weed block as the shade cloth-as a temporary aide in allowing the plants to adjust and harden off-

Potatoes in the one variety have taken off! I will add another bag on top of the 2 that are presently in place- and add soil, straw,soil,straw ,and some fertilizer- to see how many potatoes i can get from a multi-layer approach....



We'll trty to grow some squash and small melons upright this year - Not certain how that will work out- the squash may work well on a single support-
For the melons, I'll use wire concrete mesh -

[sd]

5-5-2022

Brutal day for the markets- and a good day to focus on the yard/garden!
The one potato variety has grown well above the top of the 2nd bag- while the other variety is slowly following it's growth-
After watching a number of you tube videos on growing potatoes, I decided i would try to use these large and inexpensive plastic Ikea bags as a way to grow potatoes in a container- ideal
Just for fun, we selected 2 packages of different variety seed potatoes-(5 seed potatoes each) ;allowed them to develop chits covered from most bright light- and planted them in these bags using a layer of compost/landscape mix, straw, another layer of compost/landscape, more straw - and tried to acidify the planting to get a lower PH that potatoes need. Using both a soil acidifier that takes many months to be be converted- and recognizing that slow transition, have applied a periodic watering of 1 TBSP white vinegar/gallon of water to lower the ph levels...
Using Eposma fertilizer for acid loving plants-


As seen in the prior post, the one potato variety is quickly growing and outside of the top of the 2 levels of the ikea bags-
Potatoes grow as offshoots from the stem of the plant, and need to be kept in the dark- sunlight restricted- or they turn green and potentially toxic!

As these Plants have grown so quickly in just a 1 month since planting, I am adding a 3rd bag to the variety on the right, and will bury the green growth with a mix of compost/straw/compost/straw/ acidic fertilizer and vinegar solution....It seems this whole PH thing can be important for some varieties of plants -more so than others- so I think getting the ph levels down is important -and the periodic vinegar solution may be the right short term additive. Both the Blueberries- and the peppers are showing some Chlorosis- yellowing of the leaves with the veins a darker green- meaning the plant is lacking the ability to absorb iron- While there may be plenty of iron available in the soil or the ferilizer, if the PH is too high- the plant is unable to process the iron it needs.

The green growth looks prolofic- But is it producing potatoes in the lower bags? I will look to start fertilizing now with a fertilizer balanced for "blooms"- meaning the nitrogen # should be lower than the phosphorous number - so a 10-15-10 delivers increased potency for the "fruit" production- or the root production- - The plant growth appears to be vigorous- and so I'm adding a 3rd bag to the present -and covering the majority of the green growth- adding a higher layer for additional potatoes to form...... At some point, this green growth will wither and die back - and after a week or two following the dieback, the potatoes that remain should be harvested.....
Since growing potatoes is a new trial for me, I don't know when I should expect the green growth to die back- I would think it would be this fall?

We'll see- anyway, I had to lassoo the potato green growth to allow me to drop the 3rd bag over the growth and tuck it into the 2nd bag-
Used the McGyver technique of applying copius amounts of duct tape to hold the 2 bags in place-
Ultimately, I realized the bags were falling forward, and i had to add a support stake to prevent the top bag from toppling over,,,,,



This is Fun stuff!

i.imgur.com/oeL9BUt.jpeg[/img

And- I'm dating myself using the McGyver duct tape approach- but it still works!



Got to find the humor when it's available!

And the followup -add alternating layers of straw and layers of compost covering the majority of the green leafy growth- + fertilizer, + acidifier/vinegar...
The variety on the left needs to catch up ! If i go to all of this trouble to supply the habitat, I expect production in return!


Got lopsided , so I had to add a support stake to keep the elevated 3rd bag from tipping forward- a stake driver is the ideal instrument to use to drive a stake - beats trying to use a sledge hammer ....

[sd]

5-6-2022
KIWIS
following up-
The Kiwis are just starting to Open up their flowers; The goal is to identify that I have both male and female varieties- between the 7 different plants .
When planted initially, I had purchased both a male and female- The variety Meader seems to be familiar- Had written down what the plantings were originally, but don't know where that list has gone off to- should have used the aluminum labels- Lasts for decades....

I think the 1 variety on the far end is the ASSAI-self fertile different from the Actinidia genus.



Doing a Google search on the differences between the male plant flowers and the female plant flowers-
Images below from Google-


Male kIWI- POLLEN IS ON THE ANTHERS:


So fAR, ALL i CAN FIND IS FEMALE FLOWERS IN THE KIWIS!
Several plants have not yet shown any flowers. Perhaps one of them is a male- just late to the dance!
Of course, these kiwis were originally purchased on the cheap years ago from a local Lowes instead of using a greenhouse retailer-
I had bought bought both a male and several females initially -if memory serves me correctly - and a few years later added another labeled male and female-
concerned i hadn't seen any fruit set....

The one plant I have that i think is the ASSAI- Hardy Kiwi- has a few flower clusters that all appear to be all female flowers.



To possibly assist in helping the plants produce more flowers, I fertilized each of those plants with 5 gallons of miracle gro- bulb producing fertilizer - 15-30-15- and also did foliar spraying of the leaves with a diluted solution-

Found this growing guide @ Stark brothers-for different plants-

www.starkbros.com/growing-guide

After reading about KIWIS-
Soil PH 5.5-7.0 Do not overwater - don't plant DIRECTLY in soils that are heavy clay or that don't drain well (use a raised bed if base soil is Clay) -
Susceptible to Crown/root rot if soils are waterlogged
1 non fruiting male pollinator vine required -per 6 female vines- (Harem!)
The Hardy Kiwi- ASSAI- is supposed to not need a male pollinator-

of my 7 kiwi vines---several are not producing any flowers -yet- [possibly one of them is the Meader Male I thought i had bought years ago?

Decided we'd make a run to the Raleigh Farmers market-
While there were a lot of nursery sellers, no one had any Kiwis for Sale- and the one retailer that normally has Kiwis said he had none this year....
Loads of produce and lots of variation in the types of trees,plants,flowers.... The lolo picked up some plants for mother's day-
On the way home, we went by Atlantic Gardens-Nursery that has a wide selection of trees/plants - and they had just a half dozen Kiwi plants for sale from Monrovia-
The vines were about 3' high- and relatively pricey - $75.00- but it said it contained both a female self fertile vine as well as having a male vine growing together in the container to enhance production. "Kiwi Magic Hardy KIWI Combination
There were a number of flowers on the plant i purchased- I pointed out at the checkout that these all appeared to be female flowers as best i could tell-and no sign of male flowers- But they had little awareness about the Kiwi-or the flowering differences-
When we got home, I more closely inspected the plant and it's vining multi -stems, and realized that the plant i had purchased- was all coming from a single stem- and the remaining bit of a 4" withered dead stub also in the container was the advertized male plant -which clearly had expired-
I returned that plant for a refund-which was gladly provided- and I elected to reexamine the other plants- 5 of the 6 plants all appeared to have only the female stem alive- and a separate 2nd stem- was dried and withered-clearly dead, The fate of the male species...The last plant I examined had good growth, no flowers yet, and the multi stem growth was tight so that i could not distinguish whether there was only 1 plant- or possibly the 2 -male and female- alive as advertized.
I asked what the warranty period was when I checked out this 2nd plant and was told -6 months-

Once home, I went to the Monrovia site and printed out the details of the combination plant I have purchased-
Supposed to be 1 Actinidia Arguta (Male) and 1 Actinidia Arguta "Issai" (female) .
I believe the ISSAI is supposed to be self fertile, but with the male plant mixed in, it will provide better pollination.
This variety is supposed to be more similar to grapes- sweeter and smooth skinned vs the typical fuzzy KIWI found in stores.


con'td
Other than having some blackened leaves on the ends of the new growth- I assume to have been caused by too hot a sun too early in the year; I removed those dead leaves, and found some initial flower buds showing-but none yet opened-
I soaked the plant- in a 5 gallon bucket for an hour with the transplant solution mixed in -
The plant is held upright by being supported with rubber ties around the 3 wooden stakes in the container-
I will plant in a sunny location next to the row of the existing kiwi vines, where I already have the chain link fence and support wires; and plan to mix in a good amount of organic compost, peat, and potentially some sand in the mix to facilitate good drainage-

I will unwind the individual vines presently wrapped around each other , and attach them to some vertical supports that will extend to the vertical wires- and will look forward to identifying the male vine vs the female-
I will also try to promote more blooms by fertiling with a bloom booster fertilizer- versus a high nitrogen fertilizer...









ediblelandscaping.com/
HARDY KIWI CARE GUIDE
ediblelandscaping.com/careguide/Kiwi/

Kiwi
Care Guide
Kiwi Care Guide


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What Can't Kiwi Fruit Do?
In what is believed to be one of the first papers published from China on Kiwi, Liang Boo adds exciting new possibilities for this famous fruit. The fragrant flower is rich in nectar and also provides a good base for the production of perfume.

The leaves contain starch protein, vitamin C and various other nutrients and make good pig feed. On using kiwi fruit for herbal medicines, he says it has proved effective in reducing fever, improving urination, dispersing exbavastated blood, stimulates blood circulation, steeping up milk excreting in nursing mothers, and relieving inflammation.

In some places, nursing mothers drink the liquid from the boiled root, plus a sweetener to promote lactation. And sufferers from boils, contusions or sprains are often given mashed root for external application.

The roots can be processed into an insecticide which is especially effective in killing such insects as rape and tea caterpillars, rice borers, aphids, cabbage worms and paddy rollers.

The stalk of the kiwi is rich in glue, which is obtained simply by soaking it in water. The glue is used in construction materials, road pavings, and a protective covering for walls. The glue is also an important ingredient in the manufacture of wax paper and Xuan paper, a high - quality paper used in traditional painting and calligraphy.

Hardy Kiwi
Hardy Kiwi is a new fruit. They are delightful to eat, sweet, with an unmistakable kiwi flavor. The plants are vigorous, hardy and not prone to disease and insect imbalance. They are dual purpose for landscape and nutrition, and the fruits keep well is storage. The vines are long lived. The Actinidia arguta at Dumbarton Oaks in Georgetown, Washington D.C.. were planted in 1920. The female vine fruits annually.

The fruits are not only used fresh, they can be dried, made into a sherbert and prepared in a variety of other ways. The hardy arguta fruit is smoothed skinned and green. It can be eaten whole. It's sugar content is very high. Test at the Virginia Research Station averaged 17.7 Brix. Tests of the store bought kiwis (A. deliciosa) averaged 13.2 brix.. To judge how sweet 17.7 brix is , grapes to be dried for raisins should have a reading of 18 brix. The fruits are about the size of a small plum. When eating the fruit, the seeds are almost undetectable.

The arguta prefer somewhat moist and rich soil. Under suitable conditions they grow rapidly, fruit abundantly and bear early in life. Arguta's will tolerate infertile soils, but will not tolerate flooding of soils of poor drainage. Once established they are very tough and adaptable. I have seen established vines in Rochester New Hampshire, Geneva New York, Washington D.C. and Virginia Beach Virginia. We have plants producing as far south as Miami. Argutas are excellent for covering walls, trellises, arbors, pergolas, tall stumps and the like. They can be grown over chicken coops and on chicken yard fences. They grow well in sun or shade.

Members of the genus Actinidia are natives of Eastern Asia. While several species are found in Japan, Manchuria and Korea. In the wild the vine intertwines through trees or grows in tangled masses in the open. They can reach a height of 40'.

Hardy Kiwis are alternate leafed. Their leaves in size and shape resemble the leaves of an apple tree. Flowers open in late May on new shoots grown from the previous season's spur growth. Spurs are short branches with close internodes of less than two inches as compared to the main vine which has 3" to 5" internodes. The flowers are small and white with a lily of the valley fragrance. Individual plants are dioecious (male and female flowers are produced on separate plants). The West's realization of this plant comes rather late. Where it naturalizes people have used it for many years. Distribution outside of its native habitat began around 1847. In the 1900's collections were secured in England, France, the U.S. & new Zealand.

Kiwi Hardy Male Flower
Hardy Male Kiwi BloomsKiwi Hardy Female Flower
Female Blooms on Hardy Kiwi
Kiwi Fuzzy Female Flower
Female Fuzzy Kiwi Flower


Pollination
Since kiwi fruit is a dioecious plant, that is, it produces male and female flowers on separate vines, both a male and female vine are required for fruit production. For best pollination 1 male for every 5 females. Size of a fruit depends, not only on good growing conditions and pruning, but also on the number of seeds that have been fertilized. Kiwi fruit vines should be considered tender and drought - sensitive until they are well established. Hardy Kiwi are heavy producers. As much as 150 lbs of fruit can be obtained from one female plant.

Growing Instructions
When planting space the plants at least 10ft apart. Plant the vines 10-20ft apart in the row, depending on trellis type & cultivation technique(ie.tractor etc.) Rows are commonly shallow cultivated or mulched. The nutritional requirements of A. arguta have not been well researched, but general recommendations have evolved. Fertilizer should be minimal or none at all at planting. Keep grass & seeds away and do not let the plants dry out the first year.. On established plants apply fertilizer twice per year with approximately twice as much applied before new growth as is applied after fruit set in June. Increase the rate of 1/2 lb. on newly planted vines to three lbs per plant by the 3rd year. These larger amounts should be well distributed over the entire root system to prevent root injury. A. arguta has few pests. Arguta roots are fleshy and can be injured by nematodes. Fuzzy Kiwis are best planted in rows north to south to prevent sun damage on the trunk of the vine. Winter damage like this can injure the plant so that it has to resprout from the roots.

Build trellises before or soon after planting to accommodate the rapid growth of plants. These can be similar to grape trellises but must be strong., Posts should be 4" to 6" diameter to support plant and fruit weights and 8ft to 9ft long. A post should be set 2ft to 3ft deep to prevent winds from tipping the row over. Run 8 to 12 gauge wire, at 6ft high. The wire allows vines to grow with easy access to fruits hanging from the underside. Be sure the trellis is sturdy. A common failure is the construction of inadequate trellises for supporting the weight of heavy fruit crops. A "T" trellis can be made from this system, which provides more area for the vine.

Train the 1st years growth to go up a stake. Side shoots can be pinched terminally so only 1 or 2 vigorous stems reach the 6ft mark. These stems will be trunks in a few years. Train later growth along the wires to form permanent arms. Branching extends outward from these arms and supports spurs from which flowers and fruits develop. The vigorous A.arguta (Hardy Kiwi) requires special pruning practices, which includes both summer and winter pruning (but mostly summer). For summer pruning, rub off basal suckers and strong vertical growth when they are only a few inches long,.(You'll know the strong vertical growth - it clips along @ 2 ft per day). Waiting until unwanted shoots are several feet long before removing them results in unnecessary weakening of the plant. After a framework is established all the new growth coming from the arms can be pinched easily. The general rule of thumb is - pinch new 8" growth back to 4". That 4" will elongate again in a few weeks, pinch it back to 4" so in all there is 4" of growth from the first pinching and 4" from the second etc... this is how spurs are made. The objective of winter pruning is to balance fruit production with vegetative growth. Preferred limbs for removal are the three year old fruiting branches (those which have finished their third year of fruiting), damaged wood and the tortuously twining current years growth. Shorten the remaining current year's limbs from the permanent arms sufficiently so that when laden with fruit they will not touch the ground. Branches with short internodes (spurs). These will bear flowers and fruit and should not be removed. Kiwi fruits reach mature size by mid-summer, but they require the remaining season to develop their mature texture and flavor. Determine full maturity by picking a fruit, allowing it to soften for a few days and tasting it for favorable flavor. When suitably sweet and flavorful, pick all fruits and refrigerate them until a few days before they are needed. Removal from refrigeration initiates softening and the development of the kiwi's final sweetness and flavor. Kiwi may also be picked off the vine when they become soft for fresh eating. In favorable weather, the unpicked fruits will dry on the vine. Once permanent cordons are established, a kiwi vine must be pruned throughout its lifetime in order to maintain it's form, contain its size, and most importantly, maximize its fruit production By pruning to provide a constant turnover of fruiting laterals, this training system can be maintained and productive for 60 years or more. Male kiwi vines can be trained and pruned in the same manner as female vines.

Kiwi Hardy Vines
Mature Hardy Kiwi VinesKiwi Hardy Brick Wall
Hardy Kiwi growing up a brick wall


Crown & Root Rot on Kiwis
Phytophthora crown and root rot causes the kiwi plant to develop poorly and can cause the plant to die. Infected plants have small chlorotic (yellow) leaves: the terminal growth may die back, or be stunted. The first signs of root stress is when young tender ends of new growth-wilt; blacken. Infected plants will suddenly collapse during hot weather. Decayed tissue is found at the soil line. The infection can be observed at the soil line by removing or peeling the tissues away from the trunk or primary roots. Newly infected areas will have brown streaks. Older infections will be entirely brown and extend high up the trunk and far down into the primary roots. Healthy tissue will have cream or white colored tissue and sometimes the green band or ring of the cambium layer is seen. Phytophthora fungi require water saturated soil to infect a plant. Some species of Phytophthora prefer warm soil in the fall and spring to spread. Other Phytophthora prefer cold water. Some seek feeder roots, others go to large roots and move up the trunk.

These conditions are most prevalent in heavy soils with poor drainage above impervious layers that are just below the surface and low areas in the field where surface and underground water collects. Frequently crown and root rot will occur where the irrigation emitter continually releases water near the base of the plant. So, never plant in wet soil locations.

[sd]

5-9-2022
Will prep an area in the garden for the Hardy KIWI vine..
looks like we'll take out the recent prior lows! Downtrend continuing.....