Unseasonable warmth. 1.24.16

Peach buds swelling.  1.24.16

The temperatures have been 40s to 60s here in Southwest Washington State.  Combined effects, I imagine, of El Niño and climate change.

These are buds on the containerized "El Dorado" peach tree.  The in-ground, more standard peach trees also have swelling buds.  

Other trees with evidence of early awakening include the newly planted Maxie pear, and terminal tips of some apples.  The persimmon buds appear to be swelling, but not cracked open.  The pawpaw flower buds look larger but also still closed.  Same with fig buds.  Some lilac buds are open to the point where primordial flower buds can be seen.

Most of the fruit and other trees are in dormancy or have barely begun to break dormancy.  Now it's a waiting process.  If no hard freezes, we should be good.  If there are some hard freezes, nothing I can do about it.

Daylily Seedlings. Looking Sad. 1.24.16

Daylily Seedlings Late Winter.  1.24.16

Daylily Seedlings Mid Winter.  1.24.16

Most of the daylily seedlings look sad now.  The leaves have a loss of chlorophyll.  Some have brown leaves.

I wonder it they are just going dormant, or headed there.  It's either that, or some sort of ailment.

I don't know what drives daylily dormancy - daylength, intensity of sunlight, or temperature.  Some of these changes started while still under lights inside.  Not that cold, and daylength is 14 hours.

It's also possible that they reach a stage then stop, until the next season.

At least one of the brown-leaf plants has a crown of new growth.  Maybe it is dormancy.

It's so unseasonably warm outside, I moved them out doors for some rain and light and moving air.  Maybe they will do better, or die off. 

This is my first try with daylilies from seeds.  I don't know what to expect.

Using Extra Pumpkin and Winter Squash. 1.24.16

Prepared Pumpkin.  1.24.15

We didn't want to waste pumpkin.   Yesterday I prepared one for future use.

Very easy.  Cut pumpkin in half.  Scoop out seeds and their surrounding fibrous material.  The seeds will get roasted later.

Place cut side down on cookie sheet.  Bake in 350 degree oven for one hour.  Let cool onough to handle, then scoop out the soft mash.

For this pumpkin - Rouge vif D'Espampes - which I think is the same as "Cinderella pumpkin" - the pumpkin came out so tender, it did not need to be pureed.  I just stired it up.  When cooled, I measured out 1 cup or 2 cup portions, scooped into vacuum sealer bags, labeled, and sealed up.  These portions are the same size as 1 or 2 cans of canned pumpkin, but much better.  Ning used a batch to make pumpkin bread - excellent!  Winter squash is processed the same way, and for the same recipes - equally delicious.

The bags go into the freezer.  They thaw out fairly quickly if immersed in cold water, or overnight in fridge,

Presprouting Okra Seeds. 1.24.16

Presprouted Okra Seeds.   1.24.16

Presprouted Okra Seeds.  1.24.16

I let these go a day longer than I should have.  These are okra seeds, soaked 24 hours in water, then placed in the moist paper towel on seed warmer.

Okra has an aggressive root.  Grows through the paper towel layers.  Can be difficult to dissect out without damage to the root.

I transferred the seedlings to seedling 6-packs.  If they grow, good.  If not, I can start again.  The second time, I think starting them in 6-packs would be better.

Pepper Seedlings. 1.16.16

Sweet Banana Pepper Seedlings.  1.16.16

 I germination tested these pepper seeds on Jan 5th.   These Sweet Banana Pepper seedlings looked good, so I transferred them today into cells of seed starting medium.

Most of the Red Portugal seeds have germinated, more slowly.

No Tabascos yet.

Sweet Banana pepper Seedlings.  1.16.16

Transplanting a ginkgo tree. 1.14.16

Digging Ginkgo Tree.  1.14.16

I'll add another pic of this tree on the truck, when I get to the other computer with the photos.

This is one of my 18 year old ginkgo trees that I grew from seeds my Dad picked up in Illinois about 19 years ago.  They are a living reminder of him.

The largest is twice this size.  Magestic.  It stays where it is.  Good location, and the dogs have fertilized well over the years.

This is the 2nd largest.  It was in the front yard on a hard clay subsoil, didn't get much TLC.    This week, I dug it out, and moved it to the Battleground place.  My thought is many people don't like ginkgos, and cut them down.  So if it doesn't survive this move, at least I gave it a chance.  I think it will not only survive, but thrive.

I did the usual trench around the tree, then cut under the tree with shovel.  I made the root ball diameter about 4 foot, based on 2 inch diameter trunk.  This was a little less than the canopy diameter.  In the end, the hole was about 2 feet deep, but once I removed the tree, I discovered the roots were only about 18 inches deep, and knocked off some of the heavy but rootless soil.

A few roots needed pruning, but not much.  I am very happy at the size of the root mass that resulted. 

It took several days for me to dig, a little at a time.  Mostly it's been chilly and raining, no freeze and no sun.  Good dormant tree moving weather.  Between digs, I protected the roots with big sheets of heavy plastic bags.

Once under-cut, I worked a tarp under the tree and tied it up to hold in the soil and reduce root injury.  Ning and I slid the tree onto the pickup, up a 2x12 board ramp left over from a house remodel.  I tied the tree every direction, we drove slowly, then at the new location, untied the tree, slid it back down the ramp into the hole for its new home.  Filled around it and watered with 10 gallons of water to settle it in, despite rain.

Transplanted Ginkgo Tree.  1.14.16

As for top damage, there was one tiny broken twig, less than 3 inches long.  That's all.

Now I get to enjoy another of my Dad's ginkgo trees for a little more of my life, even after we sell the Vancouver house.  I will nurture it, mulch, feed, water, and hover around it.

The 3rd ginkgo tree is already at the Battleground place, having moved it the first summer - now, more than 3 years ago.  It was the slowest, and least nurtured of the 3 until moving it.  For the past 2 years, I gave it good boosts or organic nitrogen, thick mulch, and water during seasons.  With that treatment, growth has been tremendous.

I've planted some big containerized nursery trees.  This is the biggest tree that I have transplanted by digging it up myself.

Lilacs are moved. 1.13.15

Freshly transplanted lilac bush, me, and a helper.   1.14.15

The last of the big lilacs is moved.  This was a 2 month project.  If I was young and healthy, it would be a 1 week project, but I'll take what I can get.

In the photo, the lilac doesn't look that big.  Each was a heavy load.  Fortunately I have help.

Divisions broke off from each of the last two, one with quite a bit of root mass and the other with one main root and only part of that.  So now, if they survive and grow, I have 4 bushes where I started with two.

Accidental Lilac Division with minimal root.  1.4.15

I hope they survive.  I took a large root mass with each.  All but the last two, have a thick layer of mulch.  They will get mulch over the next week.

Moving very large lilac bushes. 1.11.15

 Moving the last of the big lilac bushes.  I think we planted these in about 2004.  They are much bigger than me.  I can't reach the tops of the branches.

It's a luxury to move established shrubs from the old house to the Battleground place.  I would not, but I suspect new owners would cut most of them down.

This is the usual method, dig a trench in a large circle around the bush.  Use pruners for larger roots that extend beyond that, for a cleaner cut.   Undercut the bush, using a shovel.  Gradually sever the bush from the underlying soil, using the shovel.

We had a hedge of 8 mature Lilac bushes against the curb.  For the most part, this area will be lawn again.  The house shows up better for potential buyers, and they won't be intimidated by potential maintenance.

 We have also been moving 15 year old rose bushes, same idea.  They are less difficult, not as big, deep rooted, or heavy.

I'm leaving one lilac in a corner.  We already moved 5 of them last month.  That leaves these two.  These were the largest.

I did prune a few large stems to make up for lost roots.  According to horticulturist Linda Chalker-Scott, "It’s important to realize that roots respond to pruning in much the same way as the crown: pruning induces new growth. Roots that are pruned at transplant time, especially those that are excessively long or misshapen, will respond by generating new, flexible roots that help them establish in the landscape."  Since some of the lilac roots were wide ranging and needed to be cut, I did so using a sharp pruners.    Chalker-Scott also states, "There is no need to top-prune landscape plants if post-transplant irrigation is available...The only time transplanted materials should be pruned is to remove broken, dead, or diseased branches, or to make structural corrections to young trees."  It's hard to break that habit.  In the case of these lilacs, some branches will killed last year in the drought.  They also needed some shaping.  Old habits are hard to break.  I have plans to move a 10 foot tall ginkgo tree.  I will not prune the top of that tree.

It is interesting to observe the root ball.  The roots did not extend deeper than about 18 inches.  They did extend horizontally, but it seemed that the thickest mass of roots as within 2 feet of the bush.  Good thing.  The soil is heavy.

I hope we have not killed these nice shrubs.  If we did, at least we tried to move them, and they would likely have been cut down in their original locations.  If they survive, they will be a nice, mature hedge the first year, and may bloom the first or second years.

Seeds at 10 days. Germination Testing. 1.11.15

Sweet Banana Pepper Seeds at 10 days, not 5.  1.11.15

Red Portugal Pepper Seeds, 10 days, not 5.  1.11.15

Of the peppers, the Sweet Banana Peppers are germinating the best.  Red Portugal are beginning to grow.  Tabasco, no growth at all.  Age of seeds is on original post.

The Titan sunflower seeds all germinated at 5 days.  The Mammoth sunflower seeds rotted.

Titan Sunflower Seeds, 5 days

Grape Cuttings. 1.10.15

 Today I took some grape cuttings.

These are from 14-year-old grape vines at the old place.   They are too big to move to the new place.

I like the "Price" and "Interlaken"  varieties.  The others are OK, but I like these the best.  I want to grow them with TLC to either bearing size for next year, or close to it.

This starts with the cuttings.  In the past I have just stuck grape prunings into the soil in the garden, and they grew.   However, those are slow and take a few years to reach bearing size.  The first year, only a few inches of growth.

With some TLC, I may get a few feet of growth.

To start - cut prunings.  About 1 foot to 1i8 inches.   Stout strong first-year stems.  If possible, nodes a few inches apart, as many nodes as possible.

At least 2 nodes, better if 3 or 4.  Cut bottom end, flat, about 1 inch from node.  Cut top end, at angle, about 1 inch from top.

I used Dip-and-grow.  I don't know that it's necessary.  I've grown grape cuttings without it. Also, the container is old, maybe several years.  But I used some anyway.

Then LABELED, inserted into potting soil with lowest nodes about 3 or 4 or 5 inches down.   Leaving them outside on the deck, north of house so they don't get sun and overheat.

The late Lon Rombaugh was far, far more experienced than I am.  His method is more detailed, probably more successful and better.  My method is amateur but works for me.  The main difference is he puts more effort into callousing the root end, by warming them.  If I have a chance, I may do that in a couple of months, with fresh cuttings, as a back-up plan.