What's in a Name?

Thornless Boysenberry - Berry White

This year looks to be an excellent year for most everything in the garden.  Thornless Boysenberries are no exception.  There are six plants that thrive in the garden to the point of being invasive.  Sprouts need to be plucked as soon as possible throughout the growing season to avoid a bramble jungle.  That ounce of prevention is truly worth a pound of cure.

Enameled Metal Name Plate (Pinterest)

I've postponed for years the idea of attaching name plates to each of the berry supports giving names to my Boysenbabies.  A Frenchy looking metal name plate with enamel coating is what I'm looking for.  White with black pin-striping and black script lettering is my goal.  A local sign shop just up the road from Floyd's Hardware (one of my favorite stores) might be able to set me up with what I need or point me in the right direction.  I'll task Farmer MacGregor with installing them on the support structures.  He's a picky guy.

Boysenberry Support Structures - 2015

Above is an image from 2015 to show the structures better.  Currently, the berries fill the trellis portion.  The name plates will be on the top rail.  Here are some of the names I'm considering:

• Berry White - That's my biggest berry baby.
• Berry Manilow - He's off to the side pretending he's a tomato and will try to surprise us all that he's actually a boysenberry.  (Berry, we know & it's no big deal.  No surprise here.)
• Frankenberry - This guy has run away volunteers.  They're just monstrous.
• Chuck Berry - He's located on the east end where I set up my music when I'm working in the garden.  Chuck rocks!
• Chuck Berris - Right next to Chuck Berry is Chuck Berris.  Whenever a dud piece of music plays, it will get the gong.  (Note:  I need to install a gong next to Chuck Berris.)
• Berry Williams - Since there are six plants, I thought Berry Williams would fit right in.

Some of these names may be obscure to some; but they make sense to me.  And it's my garden.  However, nothing is set in stone yet.  Other names I'm considering:

• Berry Gibb
• Berry Bonds
• Berry Obama (Doubt it.  Making my garden great again!)
• Madame du Berry
• Marion Berry
• Maryanne Trump Berry
• Berry Fitzgerald
• Berry Goldwater
• Berry Williams

If you have a name to be considered, kindly leave your suggestion in the comment section.  Gracias.

Garden Progress During a Drought.

What the heck?!  Blogging sure has dwindled down to a small trickle just like the flow of the good ol' Kern River.  Even though the drought is taking its toll, production in the garden continues.  Here's what's going on:

Dwarf sunflowers track with the sun and are enjoyed by pollinators.  I doubt that I'll harvest and roast the seeds.  These flowers are used to attract pollinators, provide some short shade, and brighten the garden.  Only about half of the seeds planted germinated.  I'll blame it on the source.  Maybe I'll save a head of these seeds to plant later.

Santa Rosa plums were not abundant this summer; but there were more than last summer and so very delicious.  There weren't enough to meet the demands of munching in the garden and jelly.  Munching wins everytime.

Thornless boysenberries  were productive enough to freeze some to enjoy later and fulfill the garden munchies.  Ice cream?  Cobbler?  Delicious.

Blenheim apricots produced just like the berries.  Some in the freezer and some in my belly.  These are my favorite and are evidence that there is a God.  Dang it, they taste just like summer.

Here's a variety of cantaloupes I've never tried before.  The seed package describes the taste as similar to pineapple.  We'll see.  Moon and Stars watermelons are also planted in the garden.  They aren't expected to be harvested until late summer.

 String beans are vigorous where a failed thornless boysenberry once dwelled.  I'm not a fan of green beans; but Farmer MacGregor enjoys them.  Surplus beans will be housed in the freezer for MacGregor and a garden gnome to enjoy during the winter.

Lavender is drawing the the honey bees too.  I've never used it to cook (except for Herbs de Provance); so I might give it a try.  Ice cream?  Creme Brulee?

Granny Smith apples look to be having a banner year.  This little tree that I thought was going to die from scald has made a great comeback.  Since I eat an apple each night, I don't think these will be used for anything other than munching.

Red Flame grapes are coming along; but there are some problems with some bunches and leaves that the local farmers' cooperative extension need to be consulted about.  At least, it's providing great shade and shelter for the scrub jay family nesting on the arbor.

As for the drought, I have very strong opinions that I'll save for another time.


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Afterthought:  I forgot to list the biggest resident in the garden this summer - tomatoes!  Here's the variety, the amount, and where they came from:

Better Boy (6 plants from Floyd's) -  These are planted in a bed that has been solarized to kill root knot nematodes.  4 out of 6 plants are thriving.  As the temperatures have increased, the plants are looking healthier.

Big Beef (1 plant from the Tomato Lady at the Haggin Oaks Farmers Market) - The Tomato Lady needed to reduce her inventory; so a dollar bill won a healthy plant to try out.

Champion (6 plants from Floyd's) - These are living up to their name.  All the plants are growing vigorously with many blossoms and tomatoes (non ripe yet).
 
Gold Currant (1 plant from a bird pooping at the front step) - Several years ago, a co-worker gave me an heirloom plant she started from seed.  The thing would never die; so Farmer MacGregor had to yank it out during the winter.  Each year, it sprouts somewhere in the garden.  The current Gold Currant sprouted last year at the front step and thrived through our mild winter.  It grows a top hedges (see header photo) for about 8 feet and has been producing grape tomatoes the entire time.  It's a keeper.

Super Sweet 100 (1plant from Walmart) - What the heck.  These were out on a rack at the entrance to the dreaded Walmart; so I made the trip a little bit more enjoyable by picking up a tomato plant.  We'll see.

Boysenberries 2015

Thornless Boysenberry

Harvest of the Thornless boysenberries is complete.  Now it's time to get ready for the 2015 season.  Berries develop on the growth from this summer; so the canes that bore fruit in 2014 need to be removed.  I removed the bird netting then Farmer MacGregor got into the overgrown thicket and cut those canes to the ground.  He also removed any canes with thorns. So much for "thornless". Discarded canes should be burned; but the San Joaquin Valley has very limited times when you can burn.  So into the green waste can they go. That leaves canes that started sprouting this year.  From those, we select 5 canes on each of the 6 plants to be tied to the supports.  Think of fingers on your hand fanning out.

2015 Producing Canes

It's not a perfect science, but it helps to keep this part of the garden tidy.  Berries can really get away from you. If you're not careful, your berry patch will look more like a brier patch from Song of the South.  Any other canes that sprout are removed.  This is something that should be done at least once a week here.  We have found something that thrives in this spot of the garden.

2015 Thornless Boysenberry Patch

As these canes grow, they will be tied to the supports until they reach the top.  At that point, they will be pruned to keep at a manageable height.  Laterals will form and those will get tied up too.  Everything should stay within the support frame.  At least, that's the goal.  The berries will continue to be fertilized and irrigated throughout the summer.  Soil amendment is next on the "to do" list.

Now it's time to enjoy the harvest.

Hello. Good Bye.

Some onions are about ready to burst attracting more pollinators to the garden.  Not many butterflies yet; but there are honey bees, bumble bees, and hummingbirds visiting.  More visitors to the garden are expected soon.

This weekend I searched for a grape tomato plant to help fill my mother's need for daily munchable tomatoes.  She can be found cruising the grocery store aisles popping tiny tomatoes before finally checking out and paying for her treat.  We went for a ride to a nursery on the other side of town and found an overpriced, gangly plant that should work.

Johnny's Select Seeds describes this variety:  Bite-size, firm, oval-shaped grape tomatoes. Fruits avg. 10 gm. Plants have medium-short internodes and are manageable without pruning, but staking is recommended. Determinate.  For the metric challenged, 1gm = 0.035274 oz.  I'm still looking for a couple of other varieties of small tomatoes to try.  Determinate would be great; but it's not a requirement.  The search continues.

Sweet Olive Tomato Planted 05/04/14

The lame plant is very spindly and was growing horizontally.  I removed it's lower sets of leaves and planted it deep in nicely amended soil with organic fertilizer.  A bamboo stake and green garden tape helped to convince Sweet Olive that she needs to stand up straight.  Sweet Kern River water was then applied to welcome Sweet Olive into the garden. 

Rio Red Grapefruit

Sadly, this is the last harvest from the grapefruit tree for 2014.  Supplies have lasted from the first of the year until now.  And I usually eat one grapefruit each morning.  Good bye, Rio Red.  See you again in a few months.  

That's pretty good - and delicious.  My daily fruit will now switch to berries - boysenberries, blueberries, and strawberries.

Garden Update

Just a quick notation of Spring progress in the garden.

The Pink Lemonade Sunshine Blue blueberries are developing nicely.  These are in a pot so it's much easier to keep the soil acidic.  Netting to combat those thieving birds needs to be put in place this weekend.

Thornless boysenberries (6 plants) are producing well.  Once the petals have matured a bit more, bird netting will be installed here as well.  It's a lot more difficult than with the blueberries.

O'Henry blossoms have faded giving way to developing peaches.  This summer I will try to correct some pruning neglect from last year.  More on that in a later post.

Granny Smith apples are coming along beautifully.  I don't thin out the fruit.  Nature will drop the weak ones in most all cases.

Celebrity tomatoes (6) all have multiple blossoms and are thriving amongst the onions.  I suspect that when the heat turns up this week (95 by Wednesday), these plants will be going bonkers.  In the meantime, I'm loving this cool, overcast Saturday.

I picked up a little lavender plant that needs to be potted. It's already developed buds.  No doubt it will enjoy the heat next week and be in full bloom.

That's a quick peek at what's going on in the garden.

Kitchen Scale

Infestation on Boysenberry Canes

What us this junk?  AND what is that black bug with a green dot on its back?  The infestation looks like blisters on the spent canes of the thorneless boysenberries.  I suspect scale because this can be scraped off easily with my fingernail.

Ants seem to be involved.  I see them scurrying up and down the canes.  However, ants are everywhere in the garden.  They herd pests all over the place.

I'm not too worried about this because these canes will be pruned out soon in preparation for next season's berry producing canes that will be tied up to the supports.  But, if this is something I need to be concerned about I would like to know what I'm dealing with.

Kitchen Remodel:

Here is a view into the kitchen as destruction began.  It's not a fair image of what the kitchen looked like; but it will do.  The cabinets are original to the 1968 house.  The double oven (Dacor) no longer works. The Kitchen Aid refrigerator replaces the garage GE refrigerator (1986).  The Viking cook top is looking for a new home.  The blue tape on the floor marks the estimated location of the expanded counter.  The old kitchen table is where a wall of cabinets will be hung.  They will look spectacular!  The only upper cabinets in the kitchen will be on this wall.  They will have glass fronts.  The counter for this piece is mahogany.

Today, the 2 X 4s are exposed allowing for new copper pipes and electrical. The old light fixtures are gone and are being replaced with pot lights.  The fixture above the window will stay. Cabinets, counter, appliances, and flooring are all gone.  The new cabinets will be Shaker style in creamy white.  Every cabinet and draw will have pull-outs making my ability to access items so much easier.  The corner cabinet has a cool doo dad that will be featured later on.  The counter top is soapstone.  The appliances are all stainless steel.  The flooring will be a continuation of the stone flooring in the rest of the house.  Ajax can be seen laying on the stone in the 1st image.

A stainless steel Frigidaire is in use and will be housed in an area where the doorway will be walled in.  A Frigidaire side-by-side was chosen because of the accessibility for me and it gets the job done.  We have spent money on expensive appliances and breakdown just as quickly (if not quicker) than basic appliances.  The trashcan is blocking the use of the doorway because plumbing and electrical gadgets are dangling down.  Ajax casually waking through could cause a disaster.  The pantry is currently housing the shop vac, step ladder, and broom.

Hope you enjoy being a looky lou as much as me.

Boy Oh Boy! Boysenberries in the Kitchen

Thornless Boysenberries

It's hot.  No one wants to be outside.  So, what do you do?  Crack out the frozen boysenberries.  They're great by themselves.  But they're really great blended with some vanilla ice cream.  Further inspired, I cranked up the oven (Really smart on a hot day.), and made a cobbler.  Yet another great use of berries and vanilla ice cream.

Cranking up the oven is as simple as it sounds.  I need to go out to the breakers and flip on some power to these 2 pricey Dacor ovens that sporatically work.  Come back inside and see if the oven will stay on long enough to heat up.  It did.  I proceeded to  assemble the cobbler.  Amazingly, the oven stayed on to completion of the golden brown crust with boysenberry juices bubbling through.  Unbelievable success.  I really didn't expect the oven to work at all.  I have been using the BBQ, crockpot, and stovetop to prepare meals.

The kitchen is on the verge of being demolished.  The 1969 kitchen designed by a man that never had to work in a home kitchen will be brought up to speed.  I hope to chronicle the metamorphosis here with before, during, and after images along with notes on suggestions of what to do and what to avoid.  The garden will be mostly on auto pilot with chores done in the evenings as needed.


If anyone has suggestions of things that MUST be included in a kitchen, I would appreciate an email or comment to consider your suggestions.  Anything.  Now the plan is for stainless steel appliances, Shaker cabinets with pull out features.  No hanging cabinets.  Built in china cabinet.  Soapstone counters. Stone floors.  Pot lights.  My inspiration is FUNCTIONAL.  Everything must be easy to clean and keep clean.  Extra little frills are not going to make the cut.  Oh, and overpriced fluff will get the ax too.

So, by mid July the kitchen should be complete and thoroughly enjoyed. Fingers crossed.

Split Leaf Philodendron Like Swallows to Capistrano

Seems like the split leaf philodendron bloom is a bit early this year; but maybe not.  It seems to have opened in years past between now and sometime in June.  My mental note is to watch for this around Memorial Day.



Split Leaf Philodendron - 2013

This year, there are two buds/pods. I'm not sure temperature has anything to do with the process. It's been pleasantly cool/warm lately. I'm certain my fellow San Joaquin Valley gardeners are enjoying this refreshing weather before the bondage of summer forces us to do most of our outside work around sunrise and sunset.  The scent of this unusual bloom along with jasmine and the asparagus fern blooms make the shady side of the house full of potent perfume.  Very sweet stuff.  It's on the same side of the house as my BBQ.  The sweet perfume mixed with burning mesquite signals the fact that summer is here.

Garden Update:

• Boysenberry harvest is winding down with a final take of about 6 gallons of berries.  Pretty good for young canes.
• Plums are ripening.  Birds have started to  help themselves.  Netting was thrown over the tree this week.
• Apricots will be the next tree to ripen and will need netting to protect the bounty from the birds.

Berry Update

Everbearing Strawberries

The strawberries are the 1st to have bird netting draped over them.  I don't know the variety of these everbearing berries.  I didn't pick up bear root and the 6-pack didn't have a detailed label.  Nonetheless, berries in hanging baskets enable me to get my hands in the dirt until I'm able to bend down.

Pink Lemonade Sunshine Blue Blueberries

I've never grown blueberries before. These are in a pot so they can be moved about the garden if we need to find a perfect location.  So far, so good.  The pink blossoms fade to white then the bulging berries shed the petals as they change from grey-green to blue.

Thornless Boysenberries

The six thornless boysenberry plants are bursting with blossoms that began to break on March 26.  I'm hopeful that I will run out of freezer space and will need to jar up some berry perserves soon.

Boysenberry Clean Up

This year five bare root thorn less boysenberries were planted in a keen bed that Farmer MacGregor constructed.  To make the bed symmetrical, a sixth plant that was in a pot was placed with the others.  Every plant produced berries...some more than others but berries there were.  Netting had to be draped over the canes to keep the birds away.  The netting worked beautifully and was reused for the apricots then the peaches.  Once during the summer, the canes that produced berries were cut down to the ground and removed. Four or five new canes were tied to the support.  These canes will produce next year.  The plants were left for the summer to grow stronger to support the bumper 2013 crop.  Regular irrigation and infrequent fertilization was the only maintenance...apparently.

Fall clean up has begun.  Farmer MacGregor is deep into painting chores.  Seeds for the winter garden have been sown and thinned.  Wisteria has been cleaned up.  The final fruit tree pruning for the year is done with minimal pruning to follow.  The boysenberry jungle has been left until the weather became bearable and that day was today.  Here are some before and after shots of the three plants on the west side of the berry bed:



Before

After

A good number of the canes on the ground had started to form roots.  Waiting much longer to clean this up would have made the job more difficult.  If you plan on planting bare root berry canes this winter, make sure you have enough room and plan to keep them in control - unless you would like a berry jungle.  Consider a raised bed for control of shoots and less bending.

Lazy Daddy

Busy in the garden before the heat wave rolls in this weekend.  Looks like garden time will be reserved for very early morning and late evening as temperatures scream into the 100s.

Farmer MacGregor really got busy.

• Leveled the garden fence that was sagging in spots.  It happens to all of us.
• Painted the garden fence and gate.  No surprise here.  Farmer paints religiously.
• Washed the entire outside of the house - windows included.  Everything sparkles.
• Edged and mowed the yards.  Better to do before the heat hits hard.
• Gets up extra early on the weekdays to make sure all the irrigation is done before 7am.  Excellent.
• Rigged a gizmo up so one of the spider plants can hang in the shade of the Chinese Elm tree.  Just don't bash your head into it when you mow.  Ouch!
• Got all the grocery shopping done so I can BBQ on Fathers' Day.  Thanks?
• Installed new rollers on the sliding glass door.  An oversite on my part omitted this stupendous task.  Old man MacGregor pointed out this flaw.
• Removed the double pane for cleaning.  Now I can open the clean door with just a push of my pinky finger.
• MacGregor, if you're reading this, prepare to go shooting early on Fathers' Day.  The ammunition has been purchased.  BBQ when you return.  Happy Fathers' Day even though you're not MY father.  It's better than an Hawaiian shirt right?

Good to get it done and enjoy the most wonderful invention ever...air conditioning.

Garden Update:

• Tomatoes are ripening.  Harvesting Celebrity and Gold Current.  The Gold Currents are all volunteers that grow vigorously in zone 8-9.  They grow so well that I need to dig some out because they are growing too big.
• Boysenberries are done.  Bird netting was removed.  Next - tie up new canes and prune out the old.
• Netting moved to the apricot tree.  It really burns me up when a bird pecks at one piece of fruit then moves on to another.  Can't they at least finish the piece of fruit they started with before moving on?  Honestly.
• Carrots are booming and need to be pulled.  Carrot cakes?
• French Marigolds are thriving with the heat.  During the evening garden inspection, seed heads are pulled and the seeds are scattered wherever the ground is bare.  Take THAT nematodes.
• Zucchini is the king of the garden now.  Black Beauty is a bush variety and grows well here.  The plants stay neat and dark green.  Squash are harvested when they are small to enjoy tender, tasty babies.
• Kentucky Wonder Green Beans are kinda puny.  Very disappointed that they have not gone wild with the heat.  Even used a soil inoculant with hopes of a bountiful crop.  I'm unimpressed.
• Nasturtiums (Dwarf Cherry Rose) were planted on May 28 and have not germinated yet OR if they have something ate them down to the nub.  Puzzling.
• Sadly, another fruit on the Split Leaf Philodendron has aborted.  Only one fruit remains on the plant.

Stay in from the heat and avoid swamp pants.  Time to do indoor housework.

Gotta Dance!

Thornless Boysenberries

It's boysenberry time in the garden.  I'm noting this to alert myself that as each Memorial Day nears, the boysenberries will be ready to harvest.  There are 6 plants total.  One of those is a bit older than the rest; so production is anticipated to increase through the years.

Not as many make it into the kitchen as are picked.  The picking crew (me) needs to remain energized and samples continuously.  The birds in the surrounding yards seem to squawk a bit more when I'm using my thumbs and brain to weave my way through the netting to the sweet, tasty treats.  So far, there has been no evidence of bird damage. *Insert sound of loud knocking on wood.*

Who can blame the birds for squawking?

Photo via iPad while listening to Fred Astaire's Steppin Out With My Baby.

Because we should all dance in the garden.  Try and keep up...



I would be lucky to look like this...

 

Perhaps the birds are commenting on my dancing skills with their squawks.

Garden Update

A quick post for a garden update using pictures (mostly) with few words:

Sweet Peas

Sweet Peas continue to bloom but seed production is increasing.  I've been taking bouquets to work for sometime now.  Sweet Pea bouquets will soon be replaced with Lavender bouquets.


Crookneck Squash

Crookneck Squash is trying produce despite some chewing varmint.  I'll need to make a midnight investigation to determine the culprit.


Black Beauty Zucchini

Zucchini was planted on April 29 along with radishes and parsley. Seeds germinated a couple of days later.  I must now start my search for some unsuspecting neighbor or work associate to flood with gifts of abundant squash.

Thornless Boysenberry

Boysenberries are starting to ripen.  Bird netting has been installed to shoo away pesky birds that mistake the garden as their own personal fly-in diner.  Scare tape works on most birds but hungry birds and those building nests laugh at the fluttering tape.  Perhaps scare tape works like a neon sign to those birds saying, "Let's Eat" or "Vacancy".  There are 3 known Mourning Dove nests directly adjacent to scare tape.  Phooey.

Beets

Sadly, the beets are about finished.  I have no idea what variety I've grown.  Whenever there was a bare spot, I would find a pack of seeds and plant.  There's a complete mix growing; but they are starting to bolt.  Supplies and the local Farmers' Market have dwindled too.  Thankfully, I have a nice big jar of pickled beets in the refrigerator to carry me through until I find a source for the summer.

Carrots

Some spent carrots were removed over Cinco de Mayo weekend and replaced with hills of green beans and marigolds.  There are still carrots producing well in the former "Salad Bed".  Once they have finished, they may be replaced with more onions.  You can never have too many onions.

White Lisbon Onions

White Lisbon and Spanish Utah onions were planted on April 16.  White Lisbons are used as bunching onions and the Spanish Utah will be used for storage.  However, all onion varieties are used as green onions as they are thinned.

Granny Smith Apple

Most all the fruit trees have fruit - plum, peach, apple, apricot, grapefruit, orange, mandarin, lemon.  They are all fertilized regularly and get pruned as needed.  Those growing espalier require more attention than the citrus.

Strawberries

I've lost track of the varieties of strawberries in the garden.   Sweet Pinky was one variety and I can't find the name of the other.  Nonetheless, the strawberries are popping and the birds know it.

Note:  I still cannot post using Live Writer and am relying on Blogger (mostly).