Chronicles of a city plot, Spokane

[resonanteye]

photos of winter

forgotten strawberry starts next to the roses - both still in leaf, it’s been below freezing for multiple nights

another forgotten friend. I wonder if it is still edible.

the hazelnuts are coming along. they did well here this year. hoping for a thicker hedge as time passes. the oldest are 3 this year

the plum tree. I know I have to make a hard decision about the fork in that trunk, this winter. I might wait until early spring and graft to the stump of whichever I don’t keep.

garlic and poppies never give up.

kale and chard also never give up.

this is not a cold hardy bamboo but it’s up by the foundation of the house. it might live

gooseberry that was 6 inches tall in April, it’s now 4 feet long. they’re the green ones, my favorite

I’ve got suckers from this lilac potted up to give away and might take some scion from it if anyone wanted any. it’s very old; photos of the house from the 60s show this on the side here.

trying to start apricots but I’m not certain how much cold stratification they need, I have to go look at the website and check.

blackberries for spring planting and a mullein someone gave me unironically.

this epiphyte is making pups. a rare indoor plant success for me.

propagating. the test tubes were another “you like plants” gift from a dear friend. water needs changing. dumb cane and fig cuttings in them to see if it works.

the bottles have basil, a coffee plant cutting experiment, and sweet potato slips.

I could probably also tip root a lot of black raspberry if anyone wants those too.

I think I’ll have figs rooted, black raspberry, plum scion and lilac for sure. I’m not certain how to cut back the grape vine for scions but will look up a thread and ask about it. I’ve got himrod that need cutting back. then maybe I can trade with folks for plum varieties, maybe cherry. my partner planted two cherry trees, they say “flowering edible cherry” on the label, nothing else. I’m willing to try to graft to them with whatever might work.

[Richard]

Thank you for the continuing photo chronicle.

[resonanteye]

I feel like I’m making a frustrated diary of confusion in here mostly. the bigger photos of the plot itself feel good though, like keeping record

[Richard]

It is real life gardening.

[resonanteye]

I’ve been unable to do any cleanup until now. nothing. and no care for anything but a few greenhouse plants.

and yet things are alive.

walking onion, bleeding heart and strawberries beginning to appear despite my neglect

ggarlic planted before calamities, and grafts that took last summer.

apricot. we may yet have a hard frost or two so it might be doomed even though it seems to be doing well now

lilacs are absolutely reliable here.

poppies, gooseberry, and prairie sage don’t even need me.

two things. I divided my bulbs in the heat of summer and put the extras under some straw along the “bad” place on the sun side. they are all coming up! I will repeat this bad decision this year. the day lilies in the devil strip are 50/50, which means I succeeded and there will be something besides skeleton rush weed there, this year.

my partner saw I was incapable and so took the time to fill these with rose campion and pine berry. I had started the champion back in like December when I was depressed, he nursed them through and put them in. a sweet gesture for someone who never really gardens at all

the fruiting cactus- the ones that seem to have failed I’ve put all in one place in hopes they’ll pop back. the ones that succeeded are doing incredibly well though.
post one of two

[resonanteye]

the only spare time I spent with my garden had been making sure the greenhouse plants survived. I just now started my veg, I did get some onions started in January, calamity started for me in mid January and got worse until this week. so the greenhouse was all I had time for

experiments. I was so hoping for sappdilla as I love the flavor of these, but nothing yet. the soursop are starting to come up. and I think that pineapple might actually make it.

over wintered peppers are starting to leaf out. I’m very pleased to have 3 of my favorites that have survived.

I’m dreading the fig shuffle this year.
I rooted dozens with grand plans to share. but now I’ll be moving dozens along with my bigger older ones.

the

sugarcane is alive and I’ll be figuring out how to divide and plant some of it out for this year.

one of my olives iis blooming. a nasturtium has taken over the area near the compost pile and I can’t reach any of it, I just finally got some starts going and it’s all in the way. I’ll get to it eventually. my partner started some savoy cabbage for me, I’m going to plant some out this week on my day off and harden the rest off more slowly I think. I may get no cabbage this year despite his attempt to help

there are 4 hazelnuts at this stage of bud, I don’t know what it means but I like it.

the garden plots are a disaster. it’ll be some work to get starts into them. I usually start planting out right now but I’ll be late this year.

the greenhouse is currently full of starts now. I havehave two trays of onion, from dec/Jan. everything else I started the last week or two. it’s again, a disarray. if I have time I’m planting and catching up instead of cleaning and organizing. a struggle year.

I’m going to do my garden table giveaway again but it’ll be a little more lean than previous years I guess.

[resonanteye]

I believe my himrod grape died over winter; it’s dry and brown as far as I can reach to the base.

the little bit of winter sowing I tried, about a third have some growth. the rest, nothing yet.

[resonanteye]

seeing a little more progress; it’s been real cold at night but up up 60F in the days. we did get good rain this past week

some things going on outside

greenhouse is in full swing, just waiting on the last cold nights to start hardening things off. another week or so

lost label:

no idea what they are but I’ve got a flat full of them

my peppers are doing well, and all the figs.

trying for a small batch of tobacco varieties this year, might plant with the sugarcane on a mound bed where I had the melon patch last year.

florea is my babied favorite

[swincher]

@resonanteye

there are 4 hazelnuts at this stage of bud, I don’t know what it means but I like it.

Those are the female flowers in full flower! They are easy to miss. Looking good.

[resonanteye]

they’re gorgeous! I didn’t know what kind of flower it was- male or female. the other tree has different bits, I’ll try to photograph it tomorrow

[resonanteye]

the yearly mutual aid/free table day.

it’s fun, waves of people through the afternoon so far

there’s been a lot of people bringing, as many as people needing to take. a good year. I planted lo far too many tomatoes, I’m glad people can use em

[resonanteye]

well the tulips are done, the lettuce and spinach and brassicas are sprouting, and it’s a full week until last frost. greenhouse is busting at the seams and I’m breaking my back hardening things off.

the yearly shuffle is long this year. late frosts this week and into next.

[resonanteye]

forgot photos. high hopes for this rhubarb

the shuffle

winter sowing was 50/50 this year.

[resonanteye]

everything is going in. starts. seeds.

unwrapping the tarps/insulation from the greenhouse later this afternoon.

got a big rectangular grow bag thing. think I’ll put the tobacco in it, experimental stuff for me this year. maybe next year it’ll be the potato patch.

[resonanteye]

got the greenhouse untarped today too.

[resonanteye]

up at the crack of dawn looking for a squirrel.

it’s been 40s at night, 60s-70s days, we had good rain twice this week. seeds are in now, there’s only one or two more days of cool nights before it’s over 50 reliably. the soil is 50-60F at night so I laid it all out.

the winecap are starting to peek out. a good sign.

greening up. the squirrel stole and chewed an unripe fig and isn’t the big guy from last year, it’s a smaller squirrel. I’ll have to get the trap ready I think.

some cleanup.

I’ll get front/side property photos today sometime I’m sure. I have a thornless blackberry to put out by the driveway later on.

[resonanteye]

a question directed to @jujubemulberry , who might know- I put in several jujube in the sunniest part of the plot in very early spring from bare root. they have not leafed out yet but are alive (they scratch green). that area is not highly fertilized or composted- just mulched with wood chip and straw for several years. what kind of fertilizer should I feed them as they awaken this year? is there anything I should do, to make sure they survive week in the direct sun and heat?

I lost 3 last year in a similar spot, due I think to lack of water during the hottest month, I will not make that mistake this year as they’re still going to be getting established. but how often and how much to water is another question too.

being high desert makes my place similar to yours in some ways though we don’t get the brutal length of heat and dry season and we do get very cold winter with a lot of snow pack.

[jujubemulberry]

@resonanteye

what kind of fertilizer should I feed them as they awaken this year? is there anything I should do, to make sure they survive week in the direct sun and heat?

fertilizing bare root specimens(on their first year) can be more harmful than beneficial, especially when potted. The roots are compromised with so many open wounds as the nurseries severely chop them up to fit in the box. Regular watering is a must since there aren’t many fine root hairs on most bare roots.

our jujus often get the spartan treatment(watered only when they start getting droopy), and have noticed over the years they are most vulnerable to drought when they start leafing out, which is during the early period when their foliage are still pliable and tender. Makes me think the stomata aren’t developed enough to minimize transpiration.

[jujubemulberry]

forgot to say my estimates, if you manage to establish a jujube tree for 3 yrs in spokane, quite likely you will never have to water them again.

[resonanteye]

they are in ground - I didn’t consider containers for these, I wouldn’t mind a few suckers to put elsewhere on the lot. I’ll try to keep them watered enough this summer so they make it to next season. seeing that you grow them so well is what made me start trying!