mediaOrganic » Perennials

eureka! a positive identification

john — Tue, 12 May 2009 02:16:51 +0000

For the past few years I’ve watched every spring as clumps of small white flowers emerge from clumps of what looks like waxy variegated grass. I don’t know how they found their way onto my property but they seem to thrive in the semi-shade on the north side of my property under the trees and even in the lawn. I liked them so much that I dug up several bunches of the bulbs and transplanted them along a stone wall. They are now in full bloom and look glorious. I’ve always wondered what they were so tonight I finally spent enough time at the computer to make what I think is a postive identification. They are Star of Bethlehem.

From Wikipedia -

Ornithogalum umbellatum (Star-of-Bethlehem, Grass Lily, Nap-at-Noon, Eleven-o’clock Lady), is a perennial bulbous flowering plant of the family Hyacinthaceae. It is native throughout most of southern and central Europe (north to Austria and Belgium), and in northwestern Africa and southwestern Asia. In North America, it has escaped its cultivation as a garden ornamental and can be found in many areas.

grape trellis built

john — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 11:10:23 +0000

A fine weekend plus a little motivation can yield results. I planted a grapevine about 8 years ago but the location wasn’t as sunny as it should have been and the vine grew slowly. I finally pulled it two years ago and have had it in the back of my mind to find a nice sunny south-facing location to give it another go. My blackberry project last weekend turned out so well that I thought I’d replicate it for my grape project. I went again with three 4 x 4 posts buried in concrete with wires strung between them at 1 foot intervals.

I chose a varietal called “Reliance Seedless” which seems to be pretty well respected with a good reputation for hardiness.

My only concern is that the soil in this location is almost pure sand. For the initial planting, I dug my holes to 10″ deep and 20″ across and filled them with a mix of composted leaves, chicken manure and sandy soil. This should be enough for the vines to establish. To keep the vines healthy I’m probably going to have to amend the soil over this entire area.

About “Reiliance”: The Seedless Reliance grape produces pink-fruited seedless grape that tops for flavor and texture. An excellent eating grape that is good for jellies and juices. Stores well. Has medium-sized clusters. Hardy and vigorous growing — a good strong variety. You will enjoy a generous midseason harvest. Dr. James Moore at the University of Arkansas developed and patented this variety.

blackberries planted

john — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 12:18:42 +0000

This is an experiment for me. Last year was my first stab at growing berries. I purchased 10 small canes at Lowes (5 red raspberry, 5 black raspberry). All appeared alive and healthy and I found a spare patch of ground in a out-of-the-way spot to plant them. Unfortunately, over the season 6 of the 10 didn’t make. The four surviving specimens are beginning to leaf out now but they are small.

This year, I once again have the berry bug and I vowed to take a better stab at this. So I first found a better location with more direct sun. Next I selected more mature plants in 10″ pots. I chose thornless blackberries (var Apache). I dug a trench along the length of the trellis and amended the sandy soil with composted leaves and chicken manure. Finally, I built a trellis structure to support the canes that can get to 8 ft. If the berries don’t work out, I can use the trellis for peas or beans.

About “Apache”: Largest of the Arkansas thornless, Apache was the highest yielding of the thornless options in research trials conducted at the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station. Introduced by Dr. John Clark and Dr. James Morris—after 11 years of trait selection, according to Baker—Apache’s flavor is very good, rated between that of Arapaho and Navaho; soluble solids (percent sugar) averages 10.7 percent. This variety is erect and stands up better than most all varieties. No disease problems have been found, and no signs of orange rust have been spotted in any of the plantings. It has excellent quality, and a glossy black conical-shaped fruit.

first asparagus harvested

john — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:52:00 +0000

Last year we built a raised bed and planted 40 Jersey Giant asparagus plants. Over the summer they all came up and we had a beautiful “wall” of 3-4 ft high fronds. This is now the second season for the plants and supposedly we can do a light harvest so I carefully cut about 5 of the stalks to sample. Just like everything else in the garden, fresh asparagus is so much juicier and flavorful than what you get from the store. A gastronomic delight! I can’t wait until next year when we can begin a full harvest.

My one area of concern is the bare patch to the middle right of the bed (see lower photo). Nothing peeking through the ground yet. I think it may be due to the way the sun falls on this bed or that those plants may have been set a little deeper. Given that all the other plants have survived I’m fairly confident that these too will eventually emerge.

About Jersey Giant: First Male hybrid (90%) asparagus variety released by Rutgers University. Widely adaptable with excellent yields over a wide range of regions. High level of resistance to rust. Good resistance to Fusarium root and crown rot for high yield potential. Excellent spear size and color for fresh market (green spear/purple bracts). Very attractive presentation.

transplanted grasses from front bed

john — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:34:58 +0000

When we updated our property four years ago our landscape architect specified about 20 blue fescues for a south-facing area. It was a nice design but the climate and soil conditions proved too harsh for these grasses and they slowly succumbed. At this point about two-thirds of them are dead or near dead so I decided to salvage what few I could and move them to a shadier location on the north side of my house. The next step is to amend the soil with plenty of organic matter in the hope that we can take advantage of this sunny location to grow watermelons. We had enough success with our first batch of melons last year (moon & stars, charleston) to motivate us to have another go at it this year. The only problem we had was cucumber beetles which eventually killed all our melon vines. We’ll need to find a way to keep them off our plants this year.

(photos to follow)

salvia bed completed

john — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:11:44 +0000

Last spring, during a visit to a friend’s house, I had noticed that they had salvia planted in a perennial bed along their driveway and it was covered with bees. I made a mental note that this would be a good plant to tuck into my garden to attract more bees. During the summer months and into the fall I kept noticing that bees are attracted to tall, spiky flowers. I looked in vain for a nice perennial salvia but could only find annual varieties. This month, I found what I was looking for at Lowes.

(photos and variety info to follow)