Seedy Sunday 6

And a rant for Salad Bowl Sunday

Yes, I know it’s also “Super Bowl Sunday” but I gotta be honest here, I prefer to spend my energy on Salad Bowl Sunday ;). And cookies. The dough of which is in the fridge chilling so that I can make cutouts with them in a while. While they chill, I have been working a bit with my hands in dirt. I planted the new bare root Honeycrisp tree that is a replacement for one the neighbor’s cows broke. I put this one in the front orchard, as I had a space where a bareroot nectarine never came to life so there was a hole in my trees anyway.

Now I have a bit of a rant about bareroot trees these days. It used to be that when you purchased a bare root tree, they actually came with, you know, actual roots. And they always thrived for me. It seems that has changed in the last few years. Now, even the fancy more expensive mail order sources come with NO ROOTS. Literally, they are just a sturdy stick that used to have roots, and they seem to have CUT THEM ALL OFF. Now, if there is an actual scientific reason for this that I am not understanding, let me know. It used to be, you dug a nice big hole to spread out these nice sturdy roots all around so that the tree would grow them out strait, and not strangle itself as it grows. Now, all you get is a sturdy stick that needs a foot wide hole, if that. I didn’t mind digging the bigger holes and spreading out roots. So why? Why the change? I have a much higher fail rate with trees now that they do it this way. It doesn’t matter if I am buying a 10 dollar tree or a 40 dollar bare root, they are coming WITH NO ROOTS. Not only do they die before coming out of dormancy more often now, but they HAVE to be staked. I never really had to stake the trees before as they had enough roots spread out to keep them in place. I know I cannot be the only one who is a bit peeved about this, can I? Anyone else notice this happening? I have planted many trees in my life, probably more then most people do. And this is just nuts.

Ok, rant OVER. I promise. Onto the seedy stuff. I replanted a few seeds today as I have mentioned before they did not come up due to the type of soil I used. I don’t consider it a fail, just an inconvenience and a learning experience. After all, nobody learns anything if they are perfect. And I transplanted a couple things.

Transplanted to gallon pots 2/7/21 (forgive my using bullets so much in my lists….I just find it the neatest function hahaha)

• Shishito Peppers- these are doing great, I’ve pinched them a couple times to promote a more bushy habit and to pinch off young flower buds as I don’t want the energy going to peppers yet.

Transplanted into a 4″ pot 2/7/21

• Lemon seedling- One of the vapiary seeds from a lemon in the fridge. One made it, the rest just molded away…but hey, one is better then none!

Planted but put into cold damp stratification 2/7/21:

• Erngium planum- Sea Holly “Steel Blue” (remove from cold 2-3 weeks)
• Verbena bonariensis- Brazilian Vervain (Remove from cold in 4-6 weeks)

Replanted, failed seeds from last month 2/7/21:

• Celery
  • Chinese Pink G
  • Utah 52-70 Improved G
• Radicchio- Early Treviso (FAILED AGAIN) tossed seed
• Chicory- Witloof Di Bruxelles (FAILED AGAIN) tossed seed
• Parsley- Dwarf Extra Curled — Only a couple came up so trying again for more. I want to make some parsley wine this year. G

Planted by seed 2/7/21:

• Shasta Daisy
  • Crazy Daisy G
  • Dwarf Silver Princess (FAILED)
• Stock- Giant Imperial Blend G
• Herb Dandelion (Now I have a billion dandelions here on my 6 acres, BUT I want to see if there is a big difference between the cultivated kinds and the wild one here) G
• Wild Garlic- I don’t know much about this, only that it was a small packet sent to me labeled only as wild garlic. I may regret planting it if it is anything like society garlic so I will let it grow in a pot for a while and decide what to do with it.
• True Potato Seed, Russet- Yes, a lot of folks are surprised that there are actual seeds for potatoes, as opposed to “seed potatoes”. I haven’t been lucky enough for my potatoes to actually set fruits, although they bloom a lot. It is my understanding that there is a certain bumble bee that does the job. I have tons of bumble bees, but sadly, perhaps I do not have THAT particular bumble bee. In any case, these seeds were given to me through a trade. G
• Alyssum Compacta– Because who doesn’t like flowers? G
• Goji Berries (red) G

Sorry no pictures of them under the microscope yet, quite busy today so that will will have to come later, perhaps in the afternoon if I have a few minutes. Enjoy the picture of my filbert flowers instead.