I'm a bit behind the power curve here trying to keep my blog updated. I plan on trying to get seeds in this week, I had planned to do it earlier, but real life happened. LOL
I want to start with tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and some of the flower seed I ordered including some African marigolds and a very pretty mixed group of nasturtiums. I want to add more this year to my veggie beds. I use both as insect repellents and I just like to look at them periodically when I'm out in the garden. Their so pretty with their bright colors, it's a pleasure to see. I know there's been discussion (?) about using Marigolds as a repellent, some individuals have had no luck with that aspect. I suspect they are using some of the newer hybrids instead of the old fashioned type. They have to SMELL! It's a major "duh"! And nasturtiums are another "smelly" type, I love the variety of colors they come in, their fairly easy to grow and they're good to eat. I normally pick some early in the morning when the dew is still on the flowers, bring them in and wash them down. I strip the blossoms off the stems and add to summer salads. Besides having some to put on my table just to brighten things up a bit. Nasties had a rather "peppery" taste and give a nice spring salad a bit of a difference. They are very good.
Just ordered and got planted a young Black Walnut tree and now I see I should have ordered 2. We already have 2 fully mature bearing black walnuts, but they're getting tired and it shows. Not everyone likes the nuts, but we do. I normally only use a light horticultural oil on the trunks early in the spring to help prevent fungal infections, as Black Walnuts are susceptible to those problems. Pay attention to the trunks early, early in the spring will make a big difference in your ability spot disease problems and deal with it quickly. I knew one of the BWs would need to be replaced this year, but after checking the other one, it's not to make it much longer either, so I'll order another one. They are self pollinators, but they bear much better when you have at least 2 trees.
We have a pecan tree that bears well, well that is if we can beat the squirrels to it. We usually get enough for me to freeze for winter, so I can share. We also have 3 pear trees, 1 Bosc, 2 Shekel varieties. The pears are major ugly to look at, but boy do they taste good. These were suppose to be dwarfs, evidently that's very tall ones! We need a step ladder to harvest the upper branches. Now the crows are getting to be a real problem, spoiling the fruit, so we're going to go with bird netting to help protect the fruit. I'm also going add some pie plates and some strips of a old mylar balloon to some of the tree branches. Birds don't like the sound, nor the noise made by those things. I figure it's worth a try.
I'm going to a Master Gardener seminar at the end of the month and one of the topics is classes on how to do grafting. The "whip" just happens to be another pear!! Woohoo! I've been toying with the idea of buying some Asian pear varieties and graft them to the Bosc. I understand from friends they are great producers and the fruit is very tasty. I can't grow the Bartlett variety (that's the one you normally see in the grocery store) it happens to be highly susceptible to Cedar Apple Rust. There is a piece of property across the road that is still heavily wooded and has more than a few Cedar trees. So I'll stick to the resistant varieties. I've found growing both fruit and nut trees to be both very rewarding and sometimes very frustrating. Because I don't use pesticides or fungicides unless their organic, keeping a home orchard going and fairly disease free really takes some extra planning to make it work. I'm thinking about trying one of the newer varieties of blueberries that can be grown in container. I've picked fresh blueberries when I was going to college in Minnesota and they were delicious. However, the bear we met there thought so too, but that's another story.
