Tag: fruit tree

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Down to one apple

I noticed a bump on one of the two remaining baby apples. The apple in question fell right off so I guess it was a goner anyways.
A top view of the wee beastie after I coaxed it out with a piece of grass. I believe it’s a fly maggot but it seems too big from what I read of the common apple fly maggot (Rhagoletis sp).
“Nooooo don’t turn me over”
“Where’s my apple???”
“Hmph.”. Back upright for a full length portrait with its prey.

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Pics from earlier today

Arkansas yucca seedling is surviving!
Blooming (above) and done blooming (below) dwarf pomegranate.
The pie/sour cherries before I got around to picking them.
Sleepy supervisor.
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Suddenly

I glanced at the cherry tree today and suddenly they were ripe.  Five cherries weighing 15 g.  I’ll taste them after dinner and see if they are edible raw, being pie cherries.
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Sunshine!!!

Okay I lied this picture is from when it was still cloudy. But the rest are sunny pictures. Anyways, the Hedeoma is getting larger.
You can see sun and shadows! I’m capturing strawberry runners to get more plants for elsewhere in yard.
A very small William’s pride apple!!
Garlic about to bloom (front) and in bloom (back, blurry, purplish).
Salvia greggii is doing beautifully!!
A lone zucchini bush considers flowering. Last year we had one plant but in a shadier spot and the flowers never “took” and eventually all the leaves got a nasty gray mildew or fungus or something. Hopefully it likes the sun better.

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Another night, another earwig

I put petroleum jelly around the bases of the four test plants. I took pictures of two. I also covered the Brunswick cabbage again with a jar since it got eaten a lot last night when uncovered.

You can see the messy petroleum jelly right near dirt, at base of ground cherry stem. I took care to make sure no other parts of the plant were touching the ground.
Here’s the poblano. Its seed leaves (cotelydons) were touching the ground so I put the petroleum jelly above them.
While I was finishing up the other two plants in the earwig battle zone (raised bed 7), I noticed the newly planted William’s pride apple has flower buds. Wow! It might even get pollinated as the neighbors have a crabapple tree in bloom…
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Seeds and apple tree on a drizzling morning

Paula came over and we planted many things, as well as doing some trimming and raking.

The semi-dwarf Arkansas Black Apple arrived.
We planted it and pruned it to ensure it will have lower main branches for ease of picking fruit. The hose there burst in the freeze (I didn’t drain it) so we’re using the break to water it.
We trimmed up the garlic (this picture), as well as Salvia greggii and mealy blue sage.
The potato experiment results say don’t plant potatoes when there’s about to be a major freeze. There was a lot of rot and slime.
We put the leftover seed potatoes in that I had saved from two weeks ago.
Four varieties of cabbage for Paula’s fermentation needs and Wes’ occasional soup needs. As soon as they sprout, the best seedlings will get covered with a jar to protect from bunnies. They seem to be tasty for bunnies. We also planted assorted other cool weather things (greens and carrots).
Better than nothing, Briar says, but why don’t we do something fun instead?
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The survival report

Well, on the way out to walk the dog, I started lifting up some tubs and towels to let things have sun and see what survived. I’ll go out again later and see about the kohlrabi and one cabbage as the chef wants them for dinner. Any feedback on whether to trim back the damaged perennials (irises, garlic, rosemary) would be appreciated!

The saffron leaves seem intact.
Strawberries with the saffron seem okay too! These were all under a towel and a tub.
The cilantro was under a tub. It died. The leaves of cilantro in the cactus planter also died, but there appeared to be some live bright green at the base. We’ll see if it grows back.
This native plant rosette (I think Gaillardia?) seems fine and i didn’t cover it or its neighbors at all. It had more snow on it during the coldest cold.
The oregano in the herb bed by the plant window looks a little worse for the wear. It had two plastic tubs over it. Some leaves look damaged but some seem maybe okay.
Both the front and backyard faucets and pipes seem to have survived!!! That’s a relief. I opened both slightly for a few minutes, just in case to clear any bits of ice out, but it was all liquid coming out that I could see or hear. Whew!
Front yard strawberries seem overall okay on the northwest side. These had towels and tubs in the center, and just towels around the planter base.
Even the un-toweled leaves seem okay so far.
Other parts of the bed had an aluminum trash can lid and leaves over them. I’m feeling pretty optimistic.
The irises by the mailbox got frozen. Anybody know if I should trim them back or just let them regrow on their own?
Most of the rosemary is now a very dead looking brown-green, but at the base of at least one there is still life (the brighter green branches) so I hope they can all grow back. Presumably insulation from snow helped the base.
Like the irises, the garlic is very unhappy. I hope they too will grow back from their roots.