This year is the first for our cherries, and they are awfully small. Some of our apple trees, and peach trees seem to be suffering, but we have not figured out what their problem is yet.
They may just be too close to the walnut tree, have a pest that we haven’t been able to see, deficient in nutrients, but we did use a fertilizer that is specifically for fruit trees. Hubby is still researching it.
We did figure out what was happening to our Goji berries and bush cherries. After hubby told me it happened again, I went out to look, came back and told hubby it was two-legged varmits-most likely some teenage boys that walk through the neighborhood sometimes.
The plant had obviously been cut with a knife.
Not much you can do , unless you can catch the kids,, keep watering and such,, the kids, like squirrels, will eventually move on If your lucky, I hate folks that feed them peanuts.
TRY Alfalfa pellets,, a local old timer talk show host gardener swears by ‘em, natural source for nutrients, just work ‘em in and water normally.
Both squash plants died, murdered by moths/borers. War plan completed to prevent that again. Have Hydrofarm tomato barrel with attached trellis coming and have Zucchini seed coming. This is for fall garden to transplant plants in early September. Ordered more netting - will wrap net over Zucchini to hopefully keep out moths. The barrel will be on the deck, not on the ground in garden. If this doesn't work, I'll only plant Butternut Squash from now on (in containers, not in ground) since it has hard limbs, not hollow for those freaking borers to be in and murder the plant.
Sweet potatoes in 10 gallon fabric container with potting soil mix look better than anything out there. They look just fine even though the Texas sun is beating down out there. I'm up to 94/95/96 temp. here.
This was a real learning week and I'm not through with this project. It all started with Sunflowers and oil and seed, but it went to potatoes yesterday and today went to Egypt Walking Onions. I'll just write about the final decisions and not how I got there.
Operation Sunflower Oil - Seeds
I'll get Sunflowers that grow two feet tall (I'll look up the name if someone wants it) with black seeds as black seeds have more oil than others but even black seeds have moderate, higher, and highest amount of oil depending on the strain. The seeds of the two feet tall ones have higher oil. Black seeds are also smaller than striped seeds. The seeds you buy to eat are the striped ones. I have a thought up way to crush the seeds, heat the seeds to release the oil but I don't yet have a press to press the oil out of the mass. Not going to spend $100+ for a press. I'll find a way.
Operation Sunflower - Potatoes
I'll get Jerusalem Artichokes (also known as Sunchokes) - darn, I did not know those came from Sunflower plants. Those Sunflowers are called vegetable plants, not flower plants or they are listed both places. That's because you eat the roots. I'm trying to find the “Fuseau” strain as they don't have bumps but look more like a potato and one root can weigh up to four pounds. The plant can grow to ten feet. Each plant can have ten tubers under the soil. They can be eaten raw and taste like Water Chestnuts except they are sweet. They have a substance that controls the amount of sugar released into the body so that's good for diabetes. If they are stored for awhile, they act like a regular potato in the body so that would mean more sugar released at one time just like regular potatoes dump sugar in.
They are perennial so if you plant a few extra the first time (don't dig out the tubers from a few), the left in flower part of the extras will die but those extras will add more tubers until the next time they grow, and you've got more plants to come up forever. Just one 4 pound tuber will feed a number of people. I saw a picture of a four pound one split down the middle like a big regular white potato, with a stick of butter in the middle melting. You use the tuber the same way you use a potato - just substitute the tuber for the regular potato.
I haven't found the “Fuseau” strain roots in this country yet. If I was in England I would have no trouble finding them. They are all over the internet. I only started looking this afternoon for the Fuseau strain so I'm not giving up finding them here. This strain has a smooth skin and looks like a regular potato. The other strains of the Jerusalem ones, are much smaller and knotty and sort of glued together. They would have to be cut apart and peeled, then they would look like regular new potatoes. I'll go to that if I have to, but I'll keep looking for them here.
Oh, yes, these tuber, either the long or knotty ones, will take over the garden if you don't keep them thinned. Some people put metal down in the ground to prevent the tubers from leaving that area. Some plant them in another plot away from the regular garden so they won't infiltrate the regular garden.
Those Jerusalem Sunflower tubers are everlasting food. You just dig up what you want and leave the rest and they are fine - go back for more when you want them. You will always have food, either raw or cooked.
I found a place in Texas that has the knotty kind and saw they had Egypt Walking Onions. What the hell was that? Well, it's onions that travel and you will always have onions. You might plant the first one somewhere other than the garden because it's always traveling and multiplying. If you are interested in everlasting onions, let me know and I'll post the link. A number of pictures of the onion are there to show how it travels and what the onions look like in all phases.
These war plans will come together as the months count down and it's time to plant for a fall garden and prepare for the spring one. This present period of time has been military procurement for this garden war - getting the proper tools so the operation will succeed.
Onward into the fray -
Mr. Sg once developed a motion-sensor sprinkler device. It would be even more fun if you rigged it w/green food coloring or indelible ink to dye the varmints!