2019 Review

Red Flam Grapes - 2019

The best/most productive crop in the garden for 2019 has been the Red Flame grapes. The quantity & quality have never been better. The vines were allowed to reach out across the garden in an array. Only limited pruning was performed to tidy stray vines. I constructed a very unsophisticated system of support using tall wooden stakes and twine leading the vines from the arbor out across the garden. This provided me with much welcomed summer shade while allowing the vines to soak up the sun and produce loads and loads of grapes. The grapes weren’t grocery store big in size; but they certainly tasted superior. I may continue with my remedial method unless Farmer MacGregor constructs a better more permanent structure.

Thornless boysenberries and Santa Rosa plums also performed well.  Earlier in the year, carrots thrived during the cool rainy season. Disappointments were beets being devoured by insects.  Still don’t know the culprits. They continue to destroy my fall beets. Tomatoes and peppers were also duds.

Two trees were removed:  Blenheim apricot & O’Henry peach. A new Blenheim has replaced O’Henry.  The nursery didn’t have any O’Henry’s in stock; so we hope to snag a bareroot peach this coming season. Farmer MacGregor insists. The Granny Smith apple also needs to be removed. I’m thinking of replacing it with a Royal Crimson cherry that has been developed by Dave Wilson Nursery for the San Joaquin Valley.

A variety of onions and garlic has been planted in the winter garden and look to be enjoying the cooler, wetter weather just like me. Hope you all are enjoying your garden too.

Garden Progress in April

 Here's what's going on in the garden after some nice rain before we head into a scorcher of a week.
Several lavender plants are drawing various pollinators into the garden - hummingbirds, bubble bees, bees, and butterflies.

Lavender

The plum tree is alive.  I thought it had been lost after it bloomed in the fall and produced leaves into the winter.  Those leaves looked awful and sad; but it bloomed this spring and produced some fruit.  Most of that fruit has fallen though.

Santa Rosa Plum

The peach tree got away from my pruning shears last year.  Once the fruit has been harvested in a few months, I'll work on slowly trimming it down to a manageable espalier.

O'Henry Peach

Good ol' Granny Smith looks like it is thriving and will provide plenty of apples at the end of the summer.  This tree had some problems with scalding a few years ago.

Granny Smith Apple
 

The Red Flame grapes were pruned a bit today by Farmer MacGregor.  He took down an unfilled Scrub Jay nest that distressed those nest builders.

Red Flame Grapes

The Warren pear tree never bloomed (AGAIN!) and the Fantasia Nectarine lost all of its fruit.  The Bleinheim apricot has had a few prunings so far this spring.  The fruit has a bit of cosmetic damage from the sun and wind.  Hopefully, it won't do a thing to the flavor.

Bleinheim Apricot

A few peas have started to develop.  I'm surprised since the heat came early.  Maybe I'll get a few to sample.

Wando Peas

Celebrity tomatoes have produced well in the past even though there is a nematode problem.  This year is no exception.  There is hope of homemade salsa.

Celebrity Tomato

Thornless boysenberries were covered with netting today to fight off the pesky birds.  This season may not be as bountiful as last.  If so, I'll blame it on my pruning.

Thornless Boysenberries

Serrano peppers are great stuffed with cream cheese and wrapped with bacon.  They are also my pepper of choice for making salsa.

Serrano Peppers

Most of the irrigation is only twice during the week.  Basins are filled from the hose.  This method may encourage the roots to push deeper into the soil and not dry out as fast.  I may be wrong since so many encourage drip irrigation.  We'll see.

Orchard Update



 The garden orchard isn't big at all.  All the deciduous trees are espalier pruned to shadow the garden fence line.  (The citrus grow on the opposite side of that fence line with the raised beds on the same side as the espalier trees.  All these trees were planted in January 2009 as bare root babies.

Warren Pear

The Warren pear has refused to bloom. This is the 4th year in the garden without so much of a hint of a bud.  The leaves are beautiful, glossy, and green.  In fact, the pear tree is known as the diva of the garden.  It really is a great tree to form an espalier.

Granny Smith Apple

Old Granny Smith was thought to be a gonner due to sun scald.  Using tree wrap saved it and now the tree is producing nice fruit.  This spring, there is an abundance of blossoms - the most in it's short life.  This is the last tree to bloom in spring and the last fruit to ripen at the end of summer.

O'Henry Peach
 

O'Henry had a bad case of sun scald like the apple tree.  The tree wrap did a great job.  Last summer I concentrated on developing a nice canopy to naturally shade the limbs.  This year, wrap will be applied to any tree that needs it.  And, this peach tree is blooming like made so there is hope for a good crop of fruit.

Fantasia Nectarine

Last year, the nectarine had to be replaced.  Same variety - better production.  The previous tree had rare blooms and when it was removed there were no roots.  None.  This fantasia has about 15 blooms this spring; but something is nibbling on them.  Ants?

Santa Rosa Plum

Fruit is already forming on the plum tree.  There are an estimated 5 billion blossoms on the tree this spring.  That's a very rough estimate.  I'm hopeful to be able to make plum jelly this summer.  Santa Rosa was the 1st to bloom; but it's not the mightiest producer.  No sir.

Blenheim Apricot

Even though the apricot had to undergo some major surgery recently, that did not stop the fruit production.  This tree is the 2nd to bloom but is surging ahead as far as production is concerned. Dried apricots are my favorites.  I'm hopeful.

Granny (Maria Ann Sherwood) Smith

The Granny Smith Apple tree is enjoying a healthy year of growth.  Just like the O'Henry Peach, the exposed trunk was wrapped for protection from sunburn/sun scald.  The immature trunk was cracking and blistering until shade or cover was provided.  This method of protection is giving much better results than using the Tommy Bahama umbrellas - although in 2011, Farmer MacGregor constructed a sun screen using shade cloth and fence posts.  The wrap is much easier. The tree is getting the amount of sun needed while the wrap is providing protection.

Granny Smith Apple - January 1, 2010

Also like the peach tree, the apple tree was only producing leaves at the ends of the limbs - similar to pom poms.  It has produced apples all along since it was planted in 2009.  Apples are plumping up (see 1st image above) and should be ready sometime in October-November according to the Dave Wilson tag that was attached to the sapling.

Granny Smith Apple - July 29. 2012

Today, the tree continues to bloom and produce more leaves to shade the limbs and branches.  Pruning the apple tree is rare.  The spurs which produce the fruit season after season form on wood at least 1 year old.  Since this is an immature tree, spur growth is welcome.

Granny Smith Trivia:
The cultivar originated in Eastwood, New South Wales, Australia (now a suburb of Sydney) in 1868 from a chance seedling propagated by Kentish-born Maria Ann Smith (nee Sherwood 1799-1870), from whom comes the name.  Widely propagated in New Zealand, it was introduced to the United Kingdom around 1935 and the United States in 1972 by Grady Auvil.  The advent of the Granny Smith Apple is celebrated annually in Eastwood with the Granny Smith Festival. - so says Wikipedia.


Good Ol' Maria Ann Sherwood Smith - Granny Smith

Miss Congeniality–Granny Smith

Good Ol’ Granny Smith takes 4th place in the fruit blossom competition in the garden.  This year look pretty good for the apple tree.  There are dozens of blossoms on the young tree now.  Hopefully enough will develop into apples to enjoy later in the summer.Locally, the honey bee population is supposed to be on the rise.  I’m doing my part.  Hope they get busy in the garden.

Make It Work!

Project Runway meets Maybelline’s Garden.  Tasteful scarecrow attire this season is all natural cotton fabric in pink tones.  Pink is complimentary to every complexion.  Since my scarecrow doesn’t have a complexion, the palette is lost.  Don’t forget accessories.  Using scare tape in two tones of silver and red metallic give just the right amount of “bling”.

The scarecrows were put to work this evening due to the fact that birds had pecked a peach off the tree and knocked down 4 apples.  They do a great job.  Ajax thought 2 strangers were in the garden and barked his disapproval.  Nevertheless.  He couldn’t deny that they were smarty dressed.

Fierce!

Fruit Trees

Most all the fruit trees are producing great this year.  They are 3 years old and trained espalier to keep them manageable, tidy, and productive.  Organic fertilizer is applied about every 4 - 6 weeks.  Irrigation occurs as needed.  I use a moisture meter to determine when to soak the basins.  Pruning/pinching happens as needed and it’s been needed quite a bit lately.  So far, the trees have been pruned 3 – 4 times this spring.  The goal is to encourage a dense canopy over the open branches to avoid any sun scald to the fruit, trunk, or branches.  The wire cable seen in some images is used to train the espalier.  When the branches mature, it will be removed.

Plum - Santa Rosa

Plum – Santa Rosa:  This is the western most tree and maybe the hardiest.  The fruit is really developing nicely with the weaker ones thinning out naturally.  Thank goodness.  Thinning is taxing to me psychologically. Seeing the smaller, weaker plums take a dive for Darwinism helps me out.  Thanks weaklings.

Peach – O’Henry

Peach – O’Henry:  Pinching the tender new growth of the peach tree is a snap and can be do simply using my fingernails.  By pinching the tips, new growth is forced elsewhere helping to form a thicker shade canopy.  The peach isn’t the most vigorous tree but the fruit is really good.

Apple – Granny Smith

Apple – Granny Smith:  Not many fruit was produced in 2010 on this tree.  2011 looks to be way more successful.  These should be ready to harvest in August.  Old Granny had sun scald troubles.  Umbrellas will be used to shade any trees that are showing signs of being sensitive to the sun.  The umbrellas will go up nonetheless to comfort a whiney gardener with swamp pants.

Pear – Warren:  Sadly, I didn’t snap off a picture of Warren.  There are no fruit but the foliage is looking great.  Pears are some of the easiest trees to espalier train.

Nectarine – Fantasia

Nectarine – Fantasia:  Poor thing.  This is the 1st year any fruit has formed.  Sadly encouraging.  This tree suffered major sun scald.  I thought it would need to be replaced this past winter.  But it seems to be producing.  The goal is to encourage more leaves and make it stronger. 

Apricot – Blenheim

Apricot – Blenheim:  One of my favorites.  “Who put the ape in apricot?”  Name the movie.  This is really exciting to have a healthy apricot tree.  Blenheim sits at the eastern most point on the line of espaliers.  It is as vigorous as the plum.  New growth is regularly pruned/pinched.  Only recently has it begun to shed weaker fruits.  There are still plenty of beautiful, healthy apricots that should be ready in a few more weeks.

Another application of fertilizer is due in the next few weeks.  The trees were last fertilized during the 2nd weekend in April.  Heck.  This weekend seems like a fine time to feed these hungry babies.

Ah Fruit. Fresh Summer Fruit.

 

Look at what’s developing on the other side of the garden fence!

The apricots have never made it this far in development.  Sure.  There have been blossoms and even some fruit; but the March winds have blown through in the past knocking the fruit down from the immature limbs.  2011 looks to be a bountiful year.  There are many more growing under the shelter of the thick leaf canopy.  In fact, when the trees get fertilized on Saturday, this tree will undergo a very light pruning.

Blenheim Apricot

Precisely one gajillion olive-like plums dangle in the shade of the many new leaves.  Honestly.  There are so many plums this year there is simply no way this young tree can carry them to maturity.  It is shedding some of the weaker fruit; but I may have to help nature lighten the load to allow for larger plums to develop and avoid broken limbs.

Santa Rosa Plum

Twenty-four sweet peaches are currently getting fatter; but hope is slim that they will all make it.  The one pictured here looks like it’s emerging from a nest or has a jester’s hat or is wearing a hula skirt.

 O’Henry Peach

Here the apples are a bit less mature than the other fruit; but there certainly are a load.  Last summer we didn’t harvest early enough and the fruit was a bit pithy.  August is the month to harvest these this year.

Granny Smith Apple

The nectarine looks like it may develop its first fruit this season.  No picture here because I didn’t want to jinx it.  Sun scald has taken its toll on the nectarine, peach, and apple trees.  Beach umbrellas will be erected soon to help protect them from the intense sun.  Typically, these trees wouldn’t be so sensitive to the sun but since they are being grown espalier they are opened up to much more sun.  These three trees really need to bush out to create more of their own shade like the apricot and plum.

courtesy Pickard China

Charlotte Moss designed this china pattern, Espalier.  This American made china would be great for a garden lunch including items harvested from this garden.  For now, a sandwich wrapped in a paper towel will do just fine.

 

PS…The title of this blog is from an advertising campaign in the late 1970s for California Fruit.

Apple Support

All the espalier fruit trees that are going to bloom this spring have bloomed.  The final tree, Granny Smith, opened up today.  Some of the petals have a little damage on them.  I suppose imperfections are to be expected whenever a gardener doesn’t use dangerous pesticides.  The dormant trees are only treated with a copper spray along with pyrethrum.  I’ll need to keep an eye on old Granny.  She also is a little sensitive to the sun. 

Most of the espalier line of fruit trees will be shaded from the intense summer sun to avoid any further sun scald.  It’s because the trees are opened up and have more exposure to the sun that scald damage occurs.  Two of the trees, apricot and plum, have no problem with the sun.  These two trees produce many more leaves to provide shade to the limbs than the other trees.  Peach, nectarine, pear, and apple produce leaves more at the end of their limbs; while the apricot and plum have leaves shooting out everywhere all summer long.

All the trees have been dormant sprayed, fertilized, mulched, and had fresh support ties to start them off the right way for the next growing season.

 

Other activity today:

Planted -

• Lettuce – Planted in the salad bed where tomatoes will rule in a short time.
• Tom Thumb – (50–70 days) Tennis ball sized butter head Limestone Bibb type lettuce.  Terrior Seeds / Underwood Gardens lists this as a variety from the 1830s and suggest that it would be a good choice to grow in pots, window boxes, and under trees.  I planted this in my salad bed to replace the spent lettuce that can’t take the warm spring weather.  No tree or shade in sight.
• Saint Anne’s Slow-bolting - (58 days) A short romaine type that is a good candidate to be used as a cut and come again lettuce.  I have high hopes this variety will take me to the end of spring when there is no hope whatever of growing lettuce until fall.
• Carrot – Also planted in the salad bed that will soon hold all the summer tomatoes.
• Red-Cored Chantenay - (60-75 days) Large bodied, deep red-orange to center.  Refined shape with wide shoulders great for bunching.
• Sunflower – Something is mowing down the seeds I planted a few weeks ago.  I’m planting around the salad bed to see if location matters.
• Teddy Bear – Giant six inch puffballs of sunny golden-yellow flowers.  These dwarf plants should grow 2’ – 3’.  Perfect.

There was a very light rain this afternoon with clouds for most of the day.  The temperature probably didn’t even make it to 70°.

This Bud’s For You

With the moist winter we’ve been experiencing and the warmer, longer days, the buds in the garden are bursting or on the verge.  Today there was light rain in the San Joaquin Valley and a dusting of snow in Tehachapi.  It was a nice surprise to top off an afternoon drive up the hill.  Before the drive, we went to the citrus tasting at White Forest Nursery.  The only thing I bought was a couple packets of Teddy Bear Sunflower seeds. 

Here is the promise of spring:

 

 Strawberry

 Dandelion

Lilac (lobelia in background)

 Chrysanthemum

Santa Rosa Plum

O’Henry Peach

Granny Smith Apple

Warren Pear

Fantasia Nectarine

  Blenheim Apricot

Lantana – Purple

Oxalis

Lantana – Yellow

  Begonia

Azalea - George L. Taber

Lemon – Variegated Pink