I tried that this spring/summer, tons of urea, and two of them are dying and the third one is the Susquehanna above, which has barely reached the size it was at the end of the season last year (you can see the dead stems sticking out on top from the winter dieback).
Really sorry to hear that!
If you want high quality seedlings - let me know. I have several 2-3 year olds
I should add that I asked the neighbor to stop using herbicide on that fenceline and offered to come over any dig out any blackberries that grow along her side instead. So hopefully that was the issue and itāll continue to recover.
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Itās so disappointing when people use herbicide so cavalierly. It is completely unnecessary in a small city yard.
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I do agree 100%, but Iād be lying if I didnāt admit thinking about it when removing blackberries before. So many thorns, such deep roots, every little bit grows back.
But I have never used any herbicide in my yard and canāt think of a circumstance where Iād do so.
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lol
I canāt argue with that logic!
I generally donāt use herbicide anymore, but the suburban lot my mother lives on had a volunteer cherry that in a few years was maybe 8" in diameter and over 20 feet tall and at the fence line between neighbors house. Roots were growing above the soil and I think it was sending up some suckers.
With inspiration from this forum I chopped it near the ground and painted the cut with herbicide. Otherwise I was afraid those sucker might have been an absolute nightmare. Iām glad I nipped that in the bud so to speak.
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I would love to hear more about your research, especially if there are any particular books you like. The research on plants is really cool. I love history and also am a book collector. I am also in western Oregon
Gosh, there are so many great books about plants, ethnobotany, psychedelics, or even just nature in general.
Peter Wohlleben. Sy Montgomery, Barry Lopez, Helen Macdonald, Edward Abbey, Terrence McKenna, Ralph Metzner, Jeremy Narby, Michael Pollan, Paul Stamets, etcā¦
the list is seemingly endless. You could choose a book from any of the writers I listed and youāll learn so much.
Sy Montgomery is probably my favorite naturalist writer. She focuses on animals, but definitely weaves her narrative around the interconnection of all life forms, including plants. Spell or the Tiger and Soul of an Octopus are two of my favorites.
Of course, Edward Abbeyās famous memoir Desert Solitaire is phenomenal.
For writings about psychedelics and shamanism you have to be careful. There are quite a few charlatans, making all sorts of baseless claims. Metzner is particularly sound and stays fairly well grounded by objective science. McKenna on the other hand? Not so much. He can be rather flighty and fantastical with some of his claims. But there are definitely passages of great value and the stories about his times in South America are wild. If you want less whimsical lessons about mushrooms look for books by Stamets.
There are also many great books about the plants and climate of the North American west coast. Thereās a fabulous book I read about 20 years ago that very succinctly breaks down the different variations of the Mediterranean Climate from Baja to British Columbia. For the life of me I canāt remember the authorās name or even the title. I got it at the library in Petaluma and it really opened my eyes.
For anyone who missed the fig & misc. fruit tasting, one of the organizers put together a video of the event. I share it not to show you what you missed, but rather to help you find motivation to make it to a future tasting. 
It was a great day for mingling with fellow enthusiasts, not just for sampling a diversity of fruits.
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That looks great. Iāll need to get myself up there for one of those!
edit: How many members did you identify there? I see my buddy Chris Homanics. Who brought the avocado?
I want to know which figs got no supplemental heat or special microclimate. My main crop figs seem a few warm days from ripening right when the weather turned. Things were later this year than last.
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Did the wasps just disappear for everyone just yesterday 
or did my neighbors spray 
ā¦
Wasps have definitely been moving slow lately, but I donāt think theyāve 100% wrapped up their season yet.
They disappeared overnight for meā¦ i went outside every day to pick raspberries and have seem them just hanging out until yesterday
The giant Violette de Bordeaux fig stick that Stan gave me during the fig tasting 
I couldnāt put it back in the box so I had to pot it up 
it barely fit in my rooting tub
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Who do we need to contact to volunteer space for the next fig tasting/meetup?
Iāve been talking to David from Restoring Eden in Seatac and have talked briefly to Troy as well.
They may be interested in hosting the next meetup next year.
Thereās a Whatsapp group were fig tastings (& general chat) gets coordinated. So far they have only been meeting at locations belonging to group members, but who knows whatāll happen in the futureā¦
Finally Iām getting a lot of pawpaws. Almost more than I can eat.
Danaes creekside was done a week ago. It is the earliest variety I know of.
Shenandoah and Prince Caspian are starting to ripen. I have not tasted Caspian yet.
Shenandoah is the larger fruit in first plate.
@Vincent_8B - this is from your tree.
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Do they really taste like mangos?
No, they taste like pawpaws. Texture is like avocado, no fiber like mango. Or tartness.
Similar to cherimoya. But less seedy.
They are becoming one of my favorite fruits!
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