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

[sd]

Today was our appointment with a firearms instructor- at the TSA.
The fee was $90.00/hour, and it was likely the best $90.00 investment we have spent in recent years.

This is quite a bit off-topic from gardening- but - several weeks ago, we were awakened by an intruder alarm motion detector at 3:30 in the morning that frightened the stars out of us- Fortunately, it was a false alarm, and no one had actually attempted an entry. However, it was a wake up call that pointed out how unprepared we were to adequately defend ourselves in the event of an unlikely and unexpected home intrusion.
While we live in an area with very little crime, one never knows when Random may show up, and find us unprepared- We have a simpli-safe home alarm system that includes smoke detectors- waterleak detectors - and burglar/motion detectors- all to be prepared for an unexpected event - Fire- Water pipe break, - intruder/burglar. -The alarm system is just one aspect of having some insurance. It is monitored 24/7 and the monthly fee is $20.00- and that's cheap when one considers it as another form of one's Home insurance coverage- The simpli-safe alarm system itself was an investment -approx $500-$600 for the components we had selected-

The motion alarm activation - and our confused response at 3:30 am - showed us how unprepared we were to react to such a future event
We elected to expand our home defense with some additional potential defense weapons beyond the pepper sprays and Byrna we have- but neither Lolo nor I have much experience with shooting those weapons- or preparing for the unexpected. The training session was very worthwhile- and -most importantly- the changes made to our preliminary self defense plan was -perhaps- the most important of all. It emphasized a non-confrontational defense- Take defensive positions in the master bedroom, and do not try to walk out into the remainder of the house just because an alarm is going off- The police will be contacted, and do not walk to the front door with a weapon in hand.....Very common sense advice from the instructor that emphasized that we should not put ourselves at more Risk in that situation. Obviously we expect any potential intruder would leave immediately when the alarm is activated-

The training session we had today was very worthwhile- As outlined in the review below, the instruction was excellent, comprehensive, followed by further correction upon actual firing.
What was most informative, was the self defense instruction procedures that focus on taking a defensive stance in the master bedroom, and allowing the police to make a response if not





My 2 reviews were both a positive 5 stars-


"
For a 1st visit, My wife and I were very impressed- From the very able Ashley at the front desk explaining that we had showed up a week early for out private instruction appointment- Very considerate and helpful- great attitude and customer service - We went ahead and decided we would take our brand new guns onto the range -(Purchased in a hurry elsewhere after a 3:30 am motion entry alarm (false) at our home the prior week) That alarm showed us how unprepared we were for the unlikely- but possible event of a home intrusion-
We bought a 38 special hammerless revolver my wife will use as her CC & 12 ga SXP for the home defense .....We were anxious to get some familiarity with the guns so decided to take an hour's worth of range time. Also had a Taurus 380 as her initial CC but the slide action is difficult for her, and it's relatively heavier-and it's been 10+ years since it was fired.
We told the staff it had been years since we had fired a firearm, so we are virtual novices- and they had a range officer- Gregg- give us the range instructions, and then he was particularly helpful advising my wife and myself on the range procedures, and he went much further, advising us on grip, stance, sighting. - He monitored our initial 5 round shooting, then gave some follow up advice on adjustments we could try to make , and the why- and still gave some follow up tweaks during the next rounds- And when I had questions on the use of the pump SXP, he was able to demonstrate the proper way to handle the weapon-
Once we were safely getting the "feel" of the weapons, and handling the weapons properly in the range , he stepped back a bit but continued to monitor us as well as others in the adjacent lanes-
As we consider ourselves "new shooters" , we were both really impressed with his willingness to get us off on the correct steps in following Range safety and handling of the firearms. It was a great 1st time experience, and we look forward to the personal instruction session next Monday with Tom.
6-27-22 Edit- 2nd visit-
Still a solid 5 star review from my wife and myself!
Today we had our scheduled training session with TOM and found him to be a wealth of information and a great patient instructor!
He covered a lot of information that we needed on use of the revolver, the .380, and the 12 ga weapons we brought-, and perhaps equally as important were his comments on my initial plans for our specific Home Defense course of action -should the occaision ever arise- and a future motion detector alarm gets activated by an actual intruder-
We have now modified our "plan" to include his suggestions on how to be positioned more defensively, to not put ourselves unnecessarily in jeaporady ; and -very importantly- how to coordinate properly with the responding police .
OUT on the range, Tom patiently provided instruction from stance, grip, aim, triggerpull, and after a few rounds were shot, made further constructive comments for adjustments- several times following several rounds, for both my wife and myself-as we fired the different weapons-
We both saw significant immediate targeting improvements as we adopted his suggestions, and -with this training an increase in our level of confidence that we can handle these weapons more competently.
We both look forward to spending more time on the range in the future and improving our marksmanship.
I would definitely suggest to those that may be hesitant to handle a firearm, or even novices, the initial firearm instruction by a trained instructor is a great 1st step that is well worth the nominal fee- and , based on our very positive experiences at TSA , I would expect the quality of their instruction would also extend to their other courses available."


Edit- following the instruction & guidance at 10 yards, my targeting improved, and was effective @ 20 yds-

[sd]

6-29-22 Almost the End of June! Time flies when you are having fun!!!
In the garden, the yellow squash & zucchini are peaking out- lost 2 due to borers- may replant -
June bugs/japanese beetles have arrived this month - The spectracide traps work well, but are not able to capture all the japanese beetles in the garden-
The Organocide spray seems to have worked well in protecting the Kiwi vines from the beetles- and I think it worked well on some powdery mildew that was affecting the crepe myrtles - However, I also made the mistake of later applying it later in the am, on a sunny hot day to some of the other plants as a preventive spray-and it scorched the cucumber, melon leaves - Should have applied it at the end of the day instead of mid morning -
Potentially could have applied it at a diluted concentration as a test- on just a few plants to test it's effects on different plants- and effectiveness.

While I had sprayed some of the eggs from the stinkbugs found on the underside of the squash leaves, a number of them still hatched- perhaps Neem oil would have been more effective on the eggs....and i sprayed these with NEEM oil



Don't see many of these cicadas as an issue -Out of focus- but this is the husk of the dead one on the plant - Organocide effective?


Tomatoes are doiung well! The large varieties are just beginning to ripen


Yellow/sunshine cherry is producing:


Eggplants are delivering it's 1st fruits:

[sd]

7-8-2022
Been a busy time- A great majority is spent outside attending to the darn KIWIS!
The existing Kiwis grow so fast, and I've tried to keep the bines from getting all intertwined- and wrapped up around each other-
Kiwis are Bines- not Vines- interesting factoid- Vines have offshooting tendrils that reachout and wrap around anything not moving, that provides support to the main plant as it tries to climb higher-
The New Male fuzzy KIWI has climbed to the 7' hgt of the trellis, and is also sending out several fast growing new lower shoots-
The Hardy Kiwis are also growing well- also have reached the 7' hgt, and I'm training those upper shoots to now grow horizontally- We have 2 -3 solid months of growing weather here in NC, and these plants can certainly put on another 6' of growth- as well as fruiting side shoots . I am periodically cautiously fertilizing with Organic fertilizer - and an occaisional dose of a liquid fertilizer. I'm cautious about not over doing it- as too much of a good thing could have a detrimental affect- burning the roots, etc.
I initially shaded these plants as they were installed in the heat of summer, but with the shade and drip irrigation- and some tlc- they are all doing well.
I have recently removed most of the shading material, allowing the plants to receive the majority of the daytime sun available-

Almost daily, I have to unwind the plant's most recent growth from one day to the next, and correctly wind the plant's overnight growth correctly around the string line or the plastic ribbon I am using to Guide the plants growth.- This is not only true of the new Hardy kiwis- I have planted, but also true of the very vigorous fuzzy Kiwis- and new growth requires new ribbons to direct the vines to climb relatively straight-
the 3 Hardy Kiwis have the shade cloth pulled back- The further plant is a dwarf mulberry shrub with some white plastic to shield it from the full force of the 98+ degree weather we can have- (this was set in a raised bed that had a blueberry plant fail.) I'm impressed with the performance of these 3 plants from Edible landscaping - and i've taken some labor pains to shield the plants from being planted in the heat of the summer.



Once the plants reach the 7'trellis height, the leading growth stem is trained along string lines horizontally - where a future wire trellis will be installed to provide the necessary support- The Hardy Kiwi can be grown similarly to grapes- along a single top wire - or on a wire trellis- In this photo, 2 separate stems follow the horizontal yellow string lines- (Use braided Mason line- and do not use the twisted nylon mason line as it unravels easily)




I purchased a dwarf Mulberry plant and put it in this prior blueberry plant's raised bed- (still have 4 blueberry plants remaining-) I found out that we have a very large Mulberry tree adjacent to my property in a wooded section- and some of the fruits were dropping on my entry drive- and they were quite tasty - so when I came across this very healthy dwarf mulberry at our local Lowe's, I decided to spend $14. and give it a try- By using the white plastic for shading, and the regular drip irrigation, it appears to be thriving.



Both Bugs- Japanese beatles, and squash bugs have tried to take control- The yellow squash and zucchini plants gave a period of short harvest- but succumbed to the squash bugs or the borers- It's frustrating to see healthy plants quickly take a turn to wither and die- I tried using the organic insecticide and fungicide Organocide- It appears to work decently in protecting from Japanese beatles eating the daylights out of the leaves, but it is totally ineffective on squash bugs-
I directly sprayed a dozen of the bugs and kept them in a plastic baggie for 2 days, and the bugs were still alive. I wanted to use the organocide, because it is supposed to be safe for bees- and i also tried it on several other plants-

What i have learned is that it did not stop the Pepper leaf spot- and i am going to try to use the Bonide Copper Fungicide- This is a disease that can spread easily, and can also affect the peppers , as well as tomatoes- We've never had this problem before- and it is a serious problem- I've had to pull off the lower older leaves on the peppers, burn the leaves, and then see each older leaf develop the spots.... In a bit of research at the NC Ag .org, several products were recommended- the natural copper was one but they also were recommending another combination product that is not so "healthy" for people- So far, this issue is contained to the bell peppers in the 4 x 12 bed- and is affecting All of them. However, it is not affecting the other separate cayenne and jalapeno peppers grown 20' away in separate containers, nor the tomatoes- 15' away. We may not cure the issue with the copper spray- but potentially will still get some peppers .

This photo shows the peppers with the infected lower leaves removed



We may get a few peaches and pears - but there is a fungal infection that can infect these if not sprayed- and looks just like blossom end rot- I've sprayed again with the Organocide-pears and peaches- and hope it will be an effective control- I don't think I want to know what is used for those pristine fruits we can get at the local supermarkets!



The existing fuzzy Kiwis - are growing well- as these kiwi vines push above the trellis, they are eased down and tied horizontally to form cordons- and once they reach the perimeter of the trellis, the leading stem is then pinched to encourage the side laterals that will become next years flowering- and hopefully -fruiting shoots- These vines are spaced too close together, and several are growing so aggressively- I'm training the shoots as they grow above the trellis hgt, and tying them down to the trellis with plastic surveyor ribbon.

One very important point to mention- Notice in the trellis for the Kiwis the center and outer rails were made of pipe- The pipes are now painted white to reflect the sun - as they would get so hot that they would burn -cauterize the plant stems that came in contact with them- The plants also would get burned if they came in direct contact with the black shade cloth.. Even painted white, the pipe rails I used gets very hot to the touch in the midday sun- but not as much as when they were bare metal- Eventually, they will get shaded by the Kiwi when they develop further- I also used some rebar as cross supports- and painted those white as well to reduce the heat gain during the day.




Pear black rot-This is starting to occur on some of the pears-
Will be applying a copper fungicide- spray after I remove any infected pears
This is turning into a growing year that the high humidity certainly promotes fungal growth-
Also, this fungus can overwinter on the tree: Ideally an intial spray of the tree in spring to remove any fungus present would be worth considering- and then a follow up spray for the fruits as they develop-
www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/pear/pear-black-rot-information.htm


Seeing similar issues with the peaches-with a bottom brown rot -
Not all are affected yet- but likely will be if not treated promply!
www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/peach/brown-rot-fungus.htm

[sd]

I also am learning about spraying the plants with products like Organocide- it's always best to spray very early in the day or -even better- to spray in the late evening, allowing the spray to fully dry- Also- I should have test sprayed just a few leaves of each plant to see if the plant would react to it-
Several of the plants I sprayed developed severely scorched leaves in the days following my spraying- particularly those that were in the direct sun.
\A picture of the Canna leaves show how the leaves scorched after spraying, and with the new leaf growth perfectly healthy.
Prior to spraying- very healthyu leaves:


A few days after spraying!


Similarly, I saw squash bugs on this section of the winter /spaghetti squash plants- and I think this damage to this area was from using the spray in the morning-
and was not due to the squash bugs themselves- Later I found out that the squash bugs are not affected by Organocide- But a spray of 7 dust liquid- will kill them- but you have to be careful in using 7 to not get it on the flowers- or on the upper leaf surface as it's toxic to bees- Spraying the underside of the leafs and stem areas are where the squash bugs often congregate, including laying their eggs-





LOLO'S sunflowers -some are 12' tall! Unfortunately, the squirrells climb them to harvest the seeds and typically snap them off-



This is the Issai Hardy Kiwi purchased at Atlantic Gardens from Monrovia- It was expensive for the size- and it was supposed to contain both a female pant as well as a Male plant- Of the 6 or so containers they had, they were only showing female flowers- and it appeared there was a dead stem beside the female plant- that I assumed to once be the Male- The container I took a chance on, appeared to be 2 or 3 growing stems very close together- and so I was hopeful that one would be a surviving Male along with a female- At the time, the plant I purchased did not have any flowers at all- and once planted, it produced only 2 female flowers by one of the stems-
In hindsight, this was not a smart purchase for a number of reasons- but primarily because you want to be able to differentiate the Male from the female-
The branches were all intertwined- and about 3' tall- I patiently unwound the individual branches and separated them- and attached them to separate wire uprights to climb-
The original plant looked like this after planting and separating the bines:
A close up of the multiple stems in the container-:





The plant has grown vigorously, and many of the 3' high vines are now 8'-10' in length- vertically grown up to the 6'+ hgt and then turning out 3-4' horizontally- where i will pinch the end of each leading shoot to promote side shooting along the horizontal overhead portion- These should become the flowering/fruiting spurs -hopefully I see next year- I still have to build a wire canopy to allow these bines to rest on- I am unable to differentiate from what appears to be 3 separate stems coming from the base of the plant- all very close to each other- could all be from one main stem- or indeed 3 separate stems grown too closely to one another-in the original container-

When planted, weed block, drip irrigation, and mulched- partially shaded from the afternoon sun by the cloth on the fence that also retains the raised bed soils. Some organic fertilizer- Dr Earth from Lowes, plus an occaisional foliar spray with some liquid Shultz- and a periodic dose of a dilute liquid fertilizer solution - with a higher phosphorous number- to promote root development- and used the transplant solution in the beginning as well-
Those efforts have paid off with a very healthy plant growing quite well- somewhat exceeding my expectations!
The future issue will be the difficulty in keeping the separate growing stems - apart - and pruning for fruits- as I am doing on the other end of the yard with the other 3 Hardy Kiwis from edible landscaping-
The bines vertically, with some attached to the wire and the new vertical shoots attached to the surveyors ribbon to the overhead string lines.


and going horizontal on strings tied between the Kiwi rails and to the vertical supprts for the watermelon and cantelopes:


This persimmon has been several months in the ground, and is just finally starting to put on some new growth- Purchased at the local farmer's market-

Again, I shaded this , lightly fertilized periodically with the transplant solution to help establish better root growth as the #1 priority-
Drip irrigation, mulch, raised bed mix with the plant soils somewhat elevated .

Across from this persimmon, is one recently planted that was a new graft from edible landscaping- Both persimmons are grafted onto the more hardy American persimmon rootstock- but also these are both dwarf varieties-


Back in the spring-late March at a local Lowe's , they had a few cuttings they were selling of the Chicago Hardy Fig- reportedly able to withstand some colder temps- and so I thought I would add it to the fig collection- It had just started to bud out, I put it into a pot and kept it indoors, and it leafed out-This was April 8, I brought it out to get a bit of sun on the couple of leaves that the twigs had developed-


3 months later, it looks like this- and actually has a couple of figs developing!

[sd]

7-13-2022

Summer is moving on, and I find my daily routine is to get up, grab a cup of coffee and take the dogs out for a walk in the yard-
Monarch caterpillars are feeding on the dill and carrot stems- Green and yellow, we'll let them forage -

We had received a huge amount of rain over the prior days- 7" + - over just 2 days after weeks of hit and miss small showers-
Pulled up the last squash plant and decided not to replant this year- although there likely would be time for a 2nd harvest-
The spaghetti squash is surviving- so far , and the eggplant is doing just fine, and the LOLO has made ratatoulle (sp?) with the squash/eggplant- and tomatoes- and freezing some for the months ahead. I just gave almost everything a dose of Dr Earth's organic fertilizer today 4-6-3



Still dealing with the pepper leaf spot-on the bell peppers. and applied another dose of copper fungicide today following the recent rains-
Fortunatelyt, the jalapeno in one container and the cayenne in another show some mild leaf spotting but the plants are overall healthy - nor the tomatoes (fortunately)


I had largely ignored the strawberries in the A frame planter- and saw some clumps of grasses growing from the upper planter- The plants produce a few strawvberries, but are really trying to put out runners- and today I weeded out the A frame from some form of vigorous grass that really gets deep roots- Thge strawberries put out a lot of runners- some as long as 4' with a new plant trying to develop every 16" or so-






While standing in the middle of the A frame and sorting out the hanging strawberry runners, I had a visitor come up - He wasn't shy at all- I think he is the culprit that has been munching on some of the ground level Roma tomatoes- I pulled off a couple of ripe red strawberries and set them down in front of him- and he sniffed and then ate- both- I also set some small ripe cherry tomatoes down, but he turned and started to walk away- and walked north across the sweet potatoes until he came to the chain link fence- he walked along next to the fence- with the woods on the other side-
I picked him up, walked around to the gate and set him down outside of the fence and he headed straight into the woods-
No idea how long he/she may have been locked in our fenced in garden - but he had a meal before continuing his journey-
Still a bit of red on his jaw from the strawberries...


Applied the systemic Bayer fertilizer several weeks ago to the Hibiscus that were being devoured by japanes beetles I think I had also had sprayed the plants at that time I think-with the organocide as an immediate protection- However, I'm very impressed with the net results- largely due to the Bayer product - Note cannot use on vegetables or consumables- just for use on ornamentals- It's a combination of fertilizer and systemic insecticide that the plant takes up internally- and it certainly appears to have worked well! I think it lasts inside the plant for 6 weeks before needing to be repeated-
Before- the leaves were being devoured-

The newest growth has a few small holes in the leaves, but these are very minor compared to what the plant had sustained in the past-
Not only do we have healthy leaf growth, flowers and multiple flower buds are developing




Bees on the Basil and the bee balm




Looking forward to use this father's day gift to plant this mid summer's herbs and perhaps some perrenials-


between the strawberries, I had planted some onion sets- 2 onions between each strawberry- I had actually forgotten I had done so- and the onion tops had pretty much died down- While not a huge harvest, and viewing youtube, to get really large onions requires starting from seed, partially exposing the bulbs etc. This is a 3 month old yield - and the tops died during the prior 95 degree + heat despite 2x daily irrigation....

This week I added a number of tip-air layers.pot layers- .. I had taken some semi-hard cuttings a few weeks back and set them in a propogation bed- in a sandy type of rooting medium- they all have dropped their leaves- but potentially a few may yet survive- I also opened several of the older Kiwi air layers and found 1 that was not doing anything- while a 2nd appeared to be starting to show some initial rooting starting- I decided i would try to root some new growth from this year's green growth- and set a number of air layers in both a few pots (tip layer) and a few plastic bag wraps- on both fuzzy kiwis, Hardy Kiwis and even a mulberry dwarf that is growing prolifically .

The "Fun" is this is all experimental- I have finally taken to writing on index cards the relevant rooting medium, length or age of the stem, and the products applied- for example - did I use Clonex rooting hormone? On my most recent attempts, I have done so- For tip layer rooting- where the air layer is taken on a stem that is attached to a growing plant, I have used a different variation periodically- some Miracle grow plus peat plus perlite and also the solution has been dampened with a rooting solution designed to promote root development

not as scientific as i would like- but it's part of trying different approaches and seeing what works

[sd]

7-15-2022

Today's Harvest- a 1st Canteloupe- fresh off the vine and tasty!


More on the way as well as baby watermelons-and spaghetti squash will all be coming in over the next weeks-
The Eggplant is coming on strong- I just refertilized with the organic Dr. Earth fertilizer- and ideally they will continue to produce well-
So, Ratatoulle, and the extras going into the freezer- As well as good on the grill with a slice of cheese-Eggplant parmisan....
Tomatoes coming on strong- The recent excess rains have seen the tomatoes want to split open particularly the cherry variety.
Found this critter on the top of the cherry tomatoes this am- Small Tomato/Tobacco horn worm- had eaten the top leaves on 2 branches-
Notice the white saddlebags he's carrying- That's the egg sacks from a parasitic wasp that will hatch and eat the tomato worm- So i did not kill this guy, put him in a plastic bag with a couple of tomato branches - and will allow the wasp larvae to consume him- and then release them back into the garden to find other future hosts.



As i put him in the bag with some tomato branches, I noticed that one of the wasp larvae was out of the egg and was on the horn worm -
Very small, and not visible in the photo of the tobacco worm inside this plastic bag .



Got to harvest those ripe cherry tomatoes before a heavy rain followed by a hot day!



Did get a few dozen onions this week , planted as sets between the strawberry plants- Will try onions from seed later this year-


Simply a personal observation -as i listen to the Friday night "News"
With this week's release of the d**ning video demonstrating the total lack of demonstrable police reaction for over an hour in the Uvalde school shooting is a brutal reality of how defenseless "we" are from a potential Random and fortunately a very rare event- -it always happens to somebody else....Unless it happens to you
The police unfortunately arrive too late -"AFTER" the event- has already occurred.

We certainly do not ever expect to be in an unexpected threatening situation- Nor do we expect to be in a critical automobile accident- In the event of an auto accident, we have some insurance coverage that we pay for in advance of the event- hoping we will never need it. We also have homeowner's insurance- and hope we never need it- and in flood zones- you better have flood insurance- even if you don't expect you will need it-
Insurance is generally financial protection against an unplanned event that we all pay for- There is even Life insurance in the event of a death-
Self insurance in the event of an unanticipated occurrence is simply prudent-
For example- storing enough provisions in the event of a recession is prudent insurance....
Preparing for an unexpected occurrence is prudent insurance.

[sd]

7-20-2022
This eUROPEAN YOUTUBE video - with english translation- thought I'd link it in here
after 5-1/2 minutes in gives some different examples of how to train -and importantly- how to prune Kiwis for fruit production-
Several different methods - from the commercial wire set up- and at 9 minutes a residential set up for an archway or pergola- or growing on a wall, arbor-
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9651xRu1PrI

Edit-add- JSACADURA Kiwi grafting video: Various grafting techniques illustrated-
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AdGgJjVJvk


I'm also renovating my existing fuzzy Kiwis with this pruning method in mind- I'll have too many cordon shoots on my trellis this year, but will see how many are able to develop the fruiting side shoots off the cordons.

I'm air layering a lot of the lower Kiwi shoots on very young green wood that is just developing in the past month-
Some of the New shoots that just started this year have already reached 8'-10' in length- and - My attempt to air layer on some of last year's hardened wood has not seen good root development- and it has been since April-

I'm also air layering a number of figs, as well as some of the ornamental plants in the yard- Hydrangea, Euonymous, Acuba,
Ideally, this fall I will replant these ornamentals along the entry drive - along with some of the many Nandina plants I have potted from sprouted seeds in the mulch this spring-

Unwinding Kiwi vines on an almost daily basis! and making a walk through the grape vines with a spray bottle of liquid 7 to hit the individual japanese beetles- The beetle traps are productive- but daily I find a few beetles seeming to prefer the grapevines
Instead of a widespread spray, I am only targeting the individual beetles-and the single leaf they are on...

[sd]

-As i am pruning some plants to inhibit stem growth , I have been told this is a necessary step to promote some side growth-
For example with the Kiwi vines, they are vigorous main stem growers- Apical dominance is the chemical flow within the plant that promotes the leading stem growth and inhibits side growth-
By pruning the leading growth, those hormones are forced to back down lower in the stem , reulting in side shoot buds getting the hormones needed to push out new growth...


"APICAL DOMINANCE"

iT IS THE tendency of the main stem to dominate elongating it's main stem growth.
Within the article are numerous links to some of the chemical terms.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apical_dominance

Today i made a new batch of rooting medium- as an experiment- I took equal parts of peatmoss and perlite - mixed together- and then I watered the solution with a water mixture containing transplant solution
I actually used 1/2 of the recommended dose to dilute the transplant solution. This ideally will promote root development faster than just using the inert ingredients of peat and perlite, yet the solution will be dilute enough to not 'burn' the starting roots-

I also gave a dilute dose to all of the new transplanted KIwis, Hardy and the Male Fuzzy; 2 Persimmons, as well as the recently repotted nandina seedlings- m-any appear to be growing -

7-23-22 At a visit to the Home Depot in Fuquay, they still had a few 6 packs of sweet potato slips - I bought 4 packs - 24 plants- and will plant
6 in one of the 8' containers the yellow squash were growing in- and the remainder will plant in the mulched bed that I now have spaghetti squash growing in.
The spaghetti squash are likely close to peaking out- growing in what i intended to be my raspberry bed- The raspberry roots I had tossed in there failed to gain a hold- I have 4 different raspberry varieties growing in the A frame- with the intent to plant in their final location this fall.

[sd]

7-24-2022 Another seasonally hot and humid day here in NC- low 90's -
Although it's likely a bit late, I picked up another (4) -6 packs of sweet potatores- putting in my 1st 6 plants just 2 weeks ago- $4.88/6 plants
Found these few remaining rooted slips at Home depot-in Fuquay ....None available at my local HD -

Since I've never grown sweet potatoes before, I've had to watch a number of youtube videos - and the prolific harvests that some people get prompted me to get additional plants- with 3 months to go before November- that should provide adequate time for the plants to develop a decent harvest- and if we have a mild November ...... Some yields of large numerous sweet potatoes- appears to come from rich nutritious soils and adequate moisture/ rainfall- And- while sweet potatoes are just an occaisional staple in our diet, they are healthier than regular Irish potatoes, more nutritious, store well if cured properly, and ideally will be relatively pest free .

One of the videos I had watched -had the farmer pulling slips from the potato, and trimming off that tag end that had the mother potato portion attached- to prevent the spread of disease. I started trimming off the orange root sections in the 1st few seedlinglings I saw when I pulled the plant out of the 6 pack-
but then I realized- these are the new future sweet potatoes already forming! DUH!
Here's a photo of the root ball and the several 'new' sweet potatoes already forming on these rooted slips in the small individual squares in the 6 pack-
Totally amazing ! How aggressive is this plant's growth to already be developing it's future tubers inside the initial 6 pack !



OK, so , I have a 10' long container-available.... it's actually 1/2 of a decorative metal column surround - about 24" in diameter.Recycled from a school project renovation 15 years ago- Will last forever- aluminum ...... I had grown my squash and zucchini in it earlier this year- and as they have expired,
it is now available -
I loosened the soils, applied some Osmocote slow release fertilizer, then Dr Earth's organic vegetable fertilizer, and then a dose of bone meal for additional root development- I set the plants about 12" apart, and because the leaf growth is supposed to also root easily, I covered the upper stems as well, leaving the leafs exposed....

[sd]

Doing some more reading on Kiwis and Apical dominance- Lots of articles on research done in New Zealand over past decades-
Google search brings up lots of articles -
Getting good pollination is critical- and some growers have bee hives in their orchards, and also some supplement with artificial pollination with collected male pollen in a sprayer when female flowers open-
Kiwis have numerous seeds, and it appears that each seed is developed by individual "tubes' that are pollinated within the flower !
More information than I need, but the AG science that has gone into this major crop is impressive-
Research on Pollination: rather technical report
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01140671.2020.1861032?src=recsys
Winter chilling Temperature/bud break: again too technical ...
watermark.silverchair.com/800411.pdf?

Apical dominance is the tendency for the leading growth on a branch or a stem to use the plants hormone resources to put that leading growth as the plant's priority-and this process also produces other hormones (Auxin ?) that delay alternative buds opening or lower stems from opening and growing-
My interpretation of tipping,pinching:
"tipping" means pinching off the leading apical growth - This disrupts the hormone/chemical balance favoring mostly the tip growth, and allows those hormones to go back into lower areas of the stem, and favoring bud break of other leaf buds that are located lower on the stem but did not have the build up of the hormones while they were diverted to favor the sleading stem growth.

Developing fruiting shoots- The Kiwi main branches- I'm allowing them to extend approxm 4' in both directions from the center line of the trellis, and then pinching the end growth- at this point , many of these shoots are new growth of 8-10' and a few of the more vigorous are putting forth lateral shoots that I will pinch when they get approx 10" in length- so they do not become the Apical grower- and the rest of the stem will see more buds opening and lateral shoots developing- These will become my fruiting spurs for next year-

[sd]

AIR LAYERING SUCCESS ! - CELESTE FIG-
The branch was scarified early in the Spring, and using a plastic 1 qt juice container that I split to wrap around the stem, then taped back closed and filled with a rooting medium- the bottom of the juice bottle - seen slid up the stem of the plant- I had left about 1" of the sides, split the bottom and with snips cut out a center hole to wrap around the stem . Then, I wrapped the container with white paper wrap to keep the sun out-
Based on the reaction of the plant once removed from the parent branch, I could have been more prepared....




This plant was rooted as an air layer using an ocean spray 1 qt plastic bottle to hold the potting mix-
I believe I selected a branch that was growing out too far towards the garden walkway and elected to air layer it instead of simply pruning it-
This container's moisture level was relatively dry, due to the developed roots feeding the plant. Although I would periodically add some water to the container- with the upper plant growth that developed, Once the roots were developing, more moisture in the container would have been beneficial-and my periodically adding a bit of moisture through the cap opening could have been more substantial.

This plant started to show shock just several hours after being separated from the parent's stem -and repotted- watered thoroughly- but it was clearly still very reliant on the parent stem for it's strength- I decided I would trim off a substantial amount of it's leaves to reduce the demand on the new root system.
Pics of before and After the "haircut"- soaking in a pan of water...




What could I have done differently to prepare the plant for separation from the parent? I found the plant with the rooting container laying on the ground, with a partial break in the main stem, but still feeding that branch. The rooting media in the container was fairly dry- I could have repositioned the container leaving it attached to the branch, and thoroughly watered the container and allowed it to absorb water for 24 hours-

I will reassess the condition of the newly transplanted plant tomorrow- and keep it out of direct sun for a week or so and give it a solution of the transplant solution as well.....
This is a lesson to me that I need to be more mindful to check the other rooting media containers- particularly if they have developing roots- and ensure they do have adequate moisture on a continual basis-

I have a number of other cuttings/prunings that I took from the figs in the early spring, some I tossed a dozen or so into a single pot to see if they would root- set them in a shaded spot out of the sun- The cuttings were scarified, but I did not use rooting hormone- nor take any preventative steps to keep the cuttings alive- They could have been wrapped with cling wrap, the top cut sealed with wax or glue, and the cuttings could have been enclosed in a plastic enclosure to keep humidity in- With none of that being done- 5 of the 12 cuttings have leafed out and developed roots-
The plant roots were intertwined in the pot, and so I tried to be cautious in separating them out-





Potted these newly rooted Celeste cuttings in individual gallon containers-I used a compost mix in the majority of the pot, but around the stem and the roots I covered with the 50% peat & perlite to try to promote additional rooting strength- On several of the stems that had roots only near the base of the cutting, I scarified along some of the higher nodes and covered with compost- In the top , I applied a 2" layer of potting mix with it's slow release fertilizer- I will also soak these plants in transplant solution to give the roots a kick start- and -because they have been growing in the shade, will continue to keep them protected from direct sunlight for at least a week and see how they gradually adjust ...

And, a last note- Label and date your transplants- While i have used survey ribbon with magic marker as a temporary tag, these aluminum labels are permanent, (I have some on grape vines for 20 years and still ledgible), they are inexpensive, and perfect for those of us that do not have a photographic memory!
www.amazon.com/Coolrunner-Plant-Labels-Aluminum-Wires/dp/B07KRS56G4?th=1

[sd]

lUNCH- FROM THE Garden- Spaghetti squash with roasted cherry tomatoes w/olive oil and garlic-parmesan cheese
Toasted garlic bread with parmesan cheese, & fresh parsley
Sicilian HOT Italian sausage!
Glass of Merlot



For Dessert- : looking forward to more Okidata FIGs ripening - a very Large yellow/green Fig with a sweet honey like flavor.....
Harvested this guy today! Many more on the branches that will progressively ripen in the weeks/months ahead!
Typically, you will not find fresh figs for sale, because the fig cannot be picked early when it is hard and shipped and transported to a store-
The fig will not ripen further once it has been picked- So, you have to time picking the fig as it starts to soften and then it 'droops' on the branch.
And get it ahead of the ants, birds.....and squirrels ....

[sd]

Busy days - Fishing at the Lake earlier this week was slow- and the water temp was too warm- 88 degrees - We did hook a couple of fish- and one good fighter that dove down and got my line snagged up- eventually had to break the line....
But we may pause fishing during the heat in August -

Lots to attend to in the yard and garden- Darn Moles making a return from where ever they've been seemingly dormant- following a period of recent daily rains-
My guess is that the rains bring the worms closer to the the surface, the Moles make longer runs in tunnels in order to capture earthworms, grubs that become active and perhaps fall into the tunnel - OK, I'm likely giving the moles too much credit-
I have 5 methods I try to reduce the mole population--
After using a weed eater to take the grass off the top of the tunnel, it becomes obvious where the tunnel meanders-

Pitchfork: I use the pitchfork to thrust down into the tunnel in case the mole is in there-intending to impale it. and progressively work from one end back to where i think the mole initiated from-

Gassers- Amdro makes gassers designed to be ignited and that put out a poisonous gas in the tunnel...
A Spring loaded impale trap- is designed to set a trigger plate on top of the tunnel- a section of the raised tunnel is pushed back down flat, and the mechanism is pushed down so the trigger plate rests right on top of the flattened tunnel section- The mechanism is spring loaded, and when the mole tries to push up the flattened section of the tunnel, the trigger plate is raised and the spring loaded impalement prongs drop on both sides of the plate- guaranteed to impale an actilve mole. I haven't caught a single mole yet in this trap....

Cinch traps- These have been somewhat effective for me- These come as 2 spring loaded traps - a section of the tunnel is interrupted and dug up- and one trap is slid into one side of the tunnel, and the other trap is slid into the other side of the tunnel- to capture the mole whether it is coming or going...The traps are covered over so the mole doesn't see daylight - I baited the traps with some blood meal thinking the smell of blood would be a draw....When the mole tries to squeeze through the tunnel, it pushes aside a trigger and the spring loaded trap closes on him.

Poison baits several different types- but i think these eventually work- I have made a small hole down into an active tunnel and filled the hole with the baits- and covered the baited hole with a brick to prevent the dogs from getting interested- If the bait has been eaten, I refill the hole-and check again a few days later- and if eaten , will add more until the pellets are no longer eaten- assume the mole(s) to have ingested the poison and have died.

GASSERS I think these can be effective if installed close to the mole's burrow- which may be deeper than the tunnel runs-
Made by Amdro, and sold in a 6 pack for under $8.00 at Walmart- These look like large firecrackers with a fuse... The tunnel is opened, the gasser is partially slid into the tunnel, the fuse is lit with a match and ignited, and the gasser can be pushed further into the tunnel or covered over with the excavated dirt- the fuse ignites the cartridge which pushes out it's gas into the tunnel- and if mole is close enough, it will be asphixiated by the chemicals-
The poison baits are fine in the lawn area- but cannot be used under the fruit trees or in the garden area. The mechanical traps or gassers are better suited in those locations.

[sd]

7-28-22
DA***RN Moles!!!

In this photo of the pitchfork, the white flags in the yard outline a single mole tunnel that had appeared 2 days earlier- Not only did I use a gasser on where i anticipated the burrow was located-, I used the pitchfork on every inch of the raised tunnel trying to impale the critter-After piercing the entire length of the tunnel, I went back and stomped the tunnel area flat with the heel of my foot-


When I woke this am, That Mole had worked overnight and went back and pushed 80% of the tunnel back up!!!!
I had clearly missed him with the gasser and the pitchfork-So here's the new game plan....
The tunnel area is presently flattened, and i need to figure out from where the mole is traveling out of it's deeper den- I'm concerned it may be under one of the Hardy Kiwi planting- because the tunnel had turned to run between 2 of the kiwi plantings.
I will go out with a flashlight after dark this evening, and see if any of the tunnel area is being restored- I will mark the extent of the new area with a flag marker- and potentially may insert a gasser as well, if not the pitchfork-
Last year, I only found 1 mole actively digging during the middle of the day....and it was easy to dig him out -
I haven't seen any new activity in the tunnels closer to the house where i set multiple gassers and the cinch traps, spring loaded trap, and poison pellets.

Did some air layers today on the Hardy Kiwi vines on some secondary shoots that the plants are putting out-
For a rooting medium, I am using 1 part peat moss, 1 part perlite, and the mix was wetted with the transplant solution -designed to promote rooting...
Several of these secondary vines are 5' long- I have all of the primary shoots already up to trellis height-
In this example, I'm reusing an older orange juice container-that i used to air layer some fig shoots- with the bottom cut out and the bottle inverted....
I fed the vine up through the bottle- and taped the bottle to one of the metal supports. I used duct tape to seal the bottom cap opening where the stem entered, and then I filled the bottle with the perlite/peat mix- I did not scarify or use rooting hormone on this specific container, but i did on some others i did after using plastic sandwich bags... With this particular vine, I had the "cap" already made- the bottom of the plastic bottle with a hole
drilled through it, dropped it over the vine and capped the media filled bottle . A final wrap of aluminum foil was applied to protect from solar gain, and a label was attached... Date- media mix used- type of vine- etc.
My concern is that these vines are young, but perhaps they will root similarly as grapes do- My air layer is on growth that is only about a month old- so the concern is that the vine may potentially rot versus root.... semi-hardened growth is perhaps better for rooting.....

[sd]

7-31-2022
Garden Harvest to celebrate the youngest twig on the family tree! Hazel is 2!!!