Register  |   | 
 
Encanto Farms Nursery > Topics > Search > All posts by ValerieEden
 
 


The search returned 20 posts

Only find topics started by ValerieEden
   
Topics  |  Posts
Subject: Has anyone tried waxing top part of the cutting to avoid desiccation? Replies: 42
Posted By: ValerieEden Views: 5,935
 
I was just wondering about this subject this week.

I am also wondering about using coconut oil.  It's a solid, but as soon as the temps reach about 72, it liquifies.   I could see dipping entire scions in coconut oil, just warmed to liquification, and throwing them in a lined garbage pail together, snuggly fitted with a lid.

Coconut oil has antibacterial properties, and coming from a plant, would be more likely to contain beneficial things for plant life....   Just thinking on things here, no scientific experiments to back them up. 

I hope to try this next year. 




Subject: Cold Morning Replies: 66
Posted By: ValerieEden Views: 3,191
 
This one came all at the wrong time.

We had 75 degree weather.   Then, when I knew the colder weather was coming, it was Thanksgiving week.    Instead of being inside preparing for and cleaning up after the celebration, we were out working on the fig trees.

6 giant tumbleweed types.   Each with a cage of field fencing around them.    Then we began filling them with leaves.    I was shocked to discover that after 50 black, lawn and garden sized, bags, I still only had enough to fill 5 of them half way. 

The largest one was going to be impossible.   So we cut off all but four of the most upright and larger trunks down as low as we could.   We then had a smaller cage to fill with leaves about 4 feet up.  Then another cage sat on that for another 4 feet, and filled with leaves as well.    This left about a foot of exposed trunks above the cages.   The whole thing was wrapped in black tarp, tied with rope, and folded over.    I realize now that maybe I'm going to need to open it up after this awful winter surge and air it out.

The rest of the trees we tried to cover the top halves with black plastic above the filled cages.   First we gathered branch tops into garbage bags, then black tarp was thrown over and clipped to the cages.

Mind you, this was done in incredible winds!    Argh!    Why does the wind always come between the warm weather and the time you have to protect from cold?    

Well, I had just finished patting myself on the back.   The tarps held under the wind.  I'd gotten them all covered right before the REALLY bad weather came, and life was good.

Then we got wind from the other direction.   We came home at 1 in the morning to find the tarps all blown off onto the neighbors place, in the middle of an icy and rainy wind storm.

I've given up for this year.  They are exposed half way, meaning my fig crop will once again probably not be much.

None of my scions rooted either.   I tried twice, probably with 150 cuttings.   I do not have a knack for this.

On the bright side.   With that biggest tree, when we cut the branches, I saved them to try again.

Several that had rooted, I buried in some really nice soil in a raised bed.    Then I made lots of cuttings (again) and poked them into the soil in rows in the same place.  The area is on the edge of the woods, with just a bit of protection there from the trees and also from the buildings.  

Then I buried the whole bed thickly in fallen leaves to hopefully keep the soil from freezing.   I hope to see life come from those cuttings in the spring.

I also, as an experiment, buried an entire, 8 foot branch in the garden, horizontally.  I want to see if it might send up sprouts along the wood in the spring.  

And, when we cut the largest tree, I found that the reason it was the widest was because horizontal branches had rooted over the years.    I can see about 5 different rooted areas.   

I'm hoping to dig those out in the spring.   Is that possible to do without killing the tree?

:o)

Valerie
Zone 6b

.

Subject: Tips on repotting from cups Replies: 17
Posted By: ValerieEden Views: 2,292
 
Great info.  Thank you.  

Valerie
Zone 6b

Subject: First year: pots vs. cups Replies: 13
Posted By: ValerieEden Views: 1,110
 
Wonderful thread.   These kinds should be stickied.  Or maybe divide up the forum into sections - general chat, propagation, cultivar choices, recipes, etc.   

Those of us who are new would be overjoyed to find threads like this stickied at the top of the propagation forum.  :o)

Valerie
Zone 6b

Subject: Finding What Media & Methods Work...For Me Replies: 54
Posted By: ValerieEden Views: 4,391
 
Great thread.  Thanks!

Subject: First try with scions - mold? Replies: 13
Posted By: ValerieEden Views: 1,383
 
Thanks for the tips.  They are very helpful.

I am covering them already.  The purpose of rooting new ones is so that I can try other, hopefully more sheltered, locations on my property.  Places that will not require such extensive labors to protect the trees in winter.

Thank you for the links as well.  I will check them out. :o)

Valerie
Zone 6b

Subject: First try with scions - mold? Replies: 13
Posted By: ValerieEden Views: 1,383
 
Thanks Nas,

I had no idea!  :o)

I did a search an found several sites talking about this difference.  Here's the first paragraph from Wikipedia:

Sphagnum is a genus of between 151 and 350 species of mosses commonly called peat moss, due to its prevalence in peat bogs and mires. A distinction is made between sphagnum moss, the live moss growing on top of a peat bog on one hand, and sphagnum peat moss (North American usage) or sphagnum peat (British usage) on the other, the latter being the decaying matter underneath.[1] Bogs are dependent on precipitation as their main source of nutrients, thus making them a favourable habitat for sphagnum as it can retain water and air quite well. Members of this genus can hold large quantities of water inside their cells; some species can hold up to 20 times their dry weight in water, which is why peat moss is commonly sold as a soil conditioner. The empty cells help retain water in drier conditions. In wetter conditions, the spaces contain air and help the moss float for photosynthetic purposes. Sphagnum and the peat formed from it do not decay readily because of the phenolic compounds embedded in the moss's cell walls. An additional reason is that the bogs in which Sphagnum grows are submerged, deoxygenated, and favor slower anaerobic decay rather than aerobic microbial action. Peat moss can also acidify its surroundings by taking up cations such as calcium and magnesium and releasing hydrogen ions.

Valerie
Zone 6b

Subject: First try with scions - mold? Replies: 13
Posted By: ValerieEden Views: 1,383
 
Pit and Nas,

Thanks very much for your help.   Lacking more time, I aired out the cuttings this morning, and the mold seems to have decreased a lot.  I will pursue washing them tomorrow.

I will be buying a lot of peat moss for blueberry plantings, so I will be sure to sock some away for rootings.  Great idea!  And I like the double cup idea as well.   I'd decided to go with clear cups for my greenhouse projects, but I just got to wondering today if light might be harmful to the roots.   Sleeving them in an opaque cup is just the solution.  :o)

Snagle,  I'm rooting them now because in years past my figs have all died back to the roots, so there is nothing living to take cuttings from in the spring.   I will do it again when the figs begin to grow again, but I'm hoping to get a jump on the year.  If it doesn't work out, I've lost nothing, but gained some experience.

As for what I'll do with them -   I am hoping to put them in soil when they have roots, and keep them as houseplants until they can be put safely outside, hardened off, and planted in a more sheltered location than the parent fig trees have.

Valerie
Zone 6b

Subject: First try with scions - mold? Replies: 13
Posted By: ValerieEden Views: 1,383
 
First time with using the paper towel in a clear bag method.   I've seen nothing happening in there so far.

It's been maybe a couple of weeks.   The temperature in the house varies from 67 to 75 degrees, they are on the kitchen counter out of direct sunlight. 

I wonder if the paper towels have too much moisture?  The inside of the bag always has condensation, but I wasn't worried about it until I noticed just now that the scions developed a light white fibrous mold all over the exterior.

Have I ruined them?   Should I do anything?

Valerie
zone 6b

Subject: Winter Garden Replies: 20
Posted By: ValerieEden Views: 1,348
 
Hey, do you have a link for the article about the MN lady?  I'd love to read it.

Subject: Does anybody use a hoop house? Replies: 33
Posted By: ValerieEden Views: 3,502
 
I'm actually in the process of building a hoop house right now.   It's 16 by 45 feet long.  More like a passive greenhouse.  I really appreciate the link you gave, because I'm up to the point of building the ends, and those are the best photos of the process I've seen so far.  Thanks!

Ha!  I just saved the page and discovered I'd already saved it before and forgotten about it.   This getting old stuff is not helpful.  :oP

SatalliteHead, I'm going to be doing something similar to protect my 6 fig bushes when it gets just a bit cooler.  It's been fairly warm, so just before it begins to hit in the mid 20's I think I get them covered up.

I have also just seen instructions for building a 13 by 100 foot hoop house, for less than 300 dollars.   I'm considering doing this as time permits as well. 





Subject: Propagation and Covering for Winter Replies: 11
Posted By: ValerieEden Views: 1,267
 
I keep trying to mulch and cover these figs, but the weather feels like May.  LOL   Sunny and 72 degrees.  

I know what's going to happen.  I am going to wake up, check the weather, and find out that I have exactly 59 minutes to completely cover 6 bushes before a sleeting arctic blast arrives.  

I love zone 6b.  It's schizophrenic. 

I'm going to need more straw though.  I hoped a 1/2 bale loosely dropped into the branches would be enough, but it's more like 1 and 1/2 bales.     These fig trees are more like 5 to 7 foot tumbleweeds with about 50 branches each.   I keep wondering about trimming down to only a few main trunks, but seems like I did that the first couple of years but it did not help with fruit production since it dies back every year beyond a certain height.   I think multiple trunks will give me a better shot at more fruit.  


Subject: How to deal with fig tree Replies: 5
Posted By: ValerieEden Views: 854
 
I am one of the least experienced people on this forum, but I'll jump in since I'm here.  :o)

NC has a big variety in climate, from the coast to the mountains, so you need to be more specific.  When you say close to the water, do you mean the ocean, or a lake?

On the southern coast, where freezes are mild and less common, it would likely do very well out of doors with little worry.   In the mountains, where some friends of mine spend a lot of time with family, they've got snow from October through May, and a fig tree there would need a lot of protection from the winter. 

What zone is the tree in?   http://www.garden.org/zipzone/index.php?img=seusa

Subject: Winter Garden Replies: 20
Posted By: ValerieEden Views: 1,348
 
I grew up listening to my dad talk about the great depression and it's always made me err on the side of caution when it comes to planning for the future - even though everyone who knows me will tell you I'm one of the most cheerful and happy people you would ever meet.    So they are not, gladly, mutually exclusive. 

Letsee... you are in Georgia, so even a little warmer climate than here.   There are not too many root cellars in this area.   Oh - I was looking into different ideas for that and I ran across old cargo containers. 

You know, you can purchase used cargo containers for a couple of thousand dollars.  People are doing INCREDIBLE things with them, including root cellars, and homes as well.   They come in several different sizes.   They are built to stack, fully loaded, so the structures are really sturdy.  




Subject: Winter Garden Replies: 20
Posted By: ValerieEden Views: 1,348
 
Yes, I've thought many times about a root cellar.   I don't know that it would be especially beneficial yet, as I have not been producing many root crops or long-term storage crops.   We only just got in our first fruit trees last spring.   I will be likely pursuing building one in the next few years.   It won't be fun digging through red clay and rock, but like you, I'm a "where there's a will there's a way" kind of person.

I grew up on a farm/ranch where we raised most of our own food; veggies, fruit, dairy, beef, pork, eggs, chickens....   Learning to raise animals and garden here was almost like having to learn all over again.  Very different climate and conditions, prove to give many different problems.  I've lost many crops and animals due to the learning curve.    I was a bit discouraged by the soil, like you. 

I have an Excalibur dehydrator.   It ran pretty much non-stop last year.    It's hard to get excited about dried berries and such, though.   Good for muffins, but the smoothies leave something to be desired.  LOL  

It's a great journey.  I am continually grateful for the gift of the land God has given me.  But we are very busy and very tired.  

I agree.    Life may get very difficult in our lifetimes.   I want to get past this learning curve as quickly as possible.   Then I can not only provide for myself and those around me, but I can hopefully be of help to others who will have to learn suddenly. 




Subject: Winter Garden Replies: 20
Posted By: ValerieEden Views: 1,348
 
John, that's my goal; to raise as much of our own food as possible.  I've got Elliot's book.   He's one of my favorite gardeners, ever since I first saw him on "Gardening Naturally" some 15 years ago.

My young son and I would love to implement his ideas.  The task of building rolling greenhouses on my sloping and uneven land are too challenging for me.   I'm trying to get to where I can implement his ideas in other ways. 

I've got to get my greenhouse going.  It's been on the back burner for years, and I'm simply not going to wait any longer.    I do a lot of juicing, or at least I would, if it were not so expensive.   The veggies and fruits cost me 5 dollars a day.   If I could grow a head of romaine and a head of celery a day, I'd save 20 dollars a week, right there.

I have a lot of fruits going on here.   Many of them I'm starting over on, as some personal things in my life interfered with the goals, but the thing that's hard about them is freezer space.    Canning all that fruit means you end up with a lot of sugar in cooked fruit.  

I actually spent many hours researching building a human powered walk-in freezer. 

Go ahead, laugh.  LOL   Everyone else does.  :oP    But if somehow you could create a system that, with an hour of pedaling, which most of us could use anyway, or by hitching up one of my useless horses to for a couple of hours a day, you could keep foods frozen --- I be overjoyed.

Anyhow, I appreciated your self-sufficiency ideas on here.    I'm glad I don't have trouble with deer.   There are plenty around here, but they steer clear of my land, probably due to the neighbor's hound dog puppy mill.   The smell of dog is quite prevalent to deer, I'm sure.    My son and I have a large garden, but are able to keep it completely open and easily accessible. 

We have only hand tools, and poor, red clay soil.   Our first garden here - very difficult.  It took a half hour to dig and build one squash hill.   One neighbor took pity on us and tilled a garden plot at the bottom of the hill with some better soil.   For a while we were depending on trying to find people who could help us til if they found the time, but it was hard waiting on others, and last year the neighbor lost his tiller access.

So we nearly killed ourselves double digging 14 raised beds, each 40 by 4 feet.   By the time we were finished, we were too tired to garden much, but the beds were built, and now we are investing in straw for continuous mulch.   I hope that the soil with eventually improve as we continue to mulch through the years.

But I am pursuing winter gardening now.   I'm thinking greenhouse with covered beds inside for winter crops, as well as using it to get started on our own seedlings for the garden.

And I'm sure this post is too long.   Sorry.  LOL

Valerie

Subject: Propagation and Covering for Winter Replies: 11
Posted By: ValerieEden Views: 1,267
 
Sir Lamps,

Thanks!  Yes, your advice fits exactly to what I find in this area.  I have a southern exposure on my house, but not really protected well.  Every once in a while strange things occur to me ~~ like erecting a 90 degree brick wall, V-ed open facing south, and planting several figs in it.  LOL

Shaded in summer, boy would that bake in the sun! 

You guys have given me some great ideas for the UC Davis scion wood order.   Thanks!

Subject: About 5 More Months Replies: 15
Posted By: ValerieEden Views: 916
 
I know the Accuweather long range forecast for those of you up north was for a harder winter.   I feel for you.    According to them, we are to have a milder winter this year, down in the southerly areas.   

I'm making the most of it that I can, as well.    I'm simply pretending that it's summer, and getting outside to work.   :oP   Keeps me sane.

My goal is to try to accomplish one outdoor chore per day, so we don't get slammed again this spring.   One of the main projects is to build a greenhouse, having it ready to go at least by early seeding time.   But I would really love to get it done sooner, so I can raise some winter veggies and store plants somewhere else than on my floor.   I probably need to go up on the hill and find some lumber that will make end walls.   But this morning I've got to finish transplanting a bunch of gooseberry bushes.

Rain sprang up in the forecast last night after I came in.   That came out of nowhere!

Subject: Propagation and Covering for Winter Replies: 11
Posted By: ValerieEden Views: 1,267
 
Thank you so much, everyone.

Pitangandiego - I wonder if it was your photo tutorial I saw.  If so, thank you very much for putting that online.

No, I wasn't going to put them in the ground.  At this point I was going to use the paper towel/baggy method, then put them in vermiculite when rooted.   I was hoping to have some viable transplants by spring.

Ottowan - that's where I was at concerning the tarp.   Thanks for putting in your two cents on it as well.  The straw sounds like a good thing, then.

I'm no expert figgy person, but the ones I've had from these two types have been very sweet and delicious, except for at the end of the season when they have no chance of ripening properly.    I've never tried other figs though, so have little to compare them to.   They seem almost too sweet and yummy to be fruit - almost like candy.  :o)

I think my Brown Turkey are more prone to fruiting, but the Celeste seem to grow a bit more.  

ejp3 - thank you so much for the offer of cuttings.   I will do so.  :o)  Even more cold hardy and better tasting?   That's hard to beat!

snaggle - Thanks for such a friendly hello.  :o)  I'm in zone 6b.  The figs leaves are turning yellow and dropping off at this time.  We can get winter snow anywhere from October to May - you never quite know when it will hit, or if you will get any.   But I'm hoping the Accuweather long range forecast for a mild winter is a sure thing, so I can get a lot of propagation time in.  We are still working hard out in the gardens and small fruits area on this first day of November, it's sunny and sleeveless weather, but heading only into the 40's later this week. 




Subject: Propagation and Covering for Winter Replies: 11
Posted By: ValerieEden Views: 1,267
 
What a treat to find a bunch of people besides me who love figs.   One of my favorite fruits.  Nothing beats being surrounded by the heady fragrance of fig leaves while eating fresh figs off the tree till you just can't fit any more.

I have about 6 acres that I've been working on making self sufficient (off and on as I was able) for 10 years.   To that end, about 8 years ago I planted 6 fig trees, 3 Brown Turkey and 3 Celeste.

I'm in east TN, right near the base of the mountains, and most years I do not get a fig crop.  The trees must regrow from the base or lowest foot of wood and, of course, the season ends before the second crop ripens.

The first couple of years I wrapped the trees in field fencing, stuffed with straw, and a tarp laid over the top.   I got some figs then, but I've not done much with them since, and paid the price for it.

I wish I had time to spend on my favorite things, but really, food production is all about survival for us, so I have to find quick and effective (and cheap) ways to do things here.

My parents have a fig tree that actually is a TREE rather than a bush.   It is planted in town, against the southern side of the their brick home, in a yard with a southern slope and other trees all around.   Fairly well protected.

I would like to take cuttings from my fig bushes and try to find a more protected location on my land so that getting figs would not be so time consuming in the covering-them-for-winter category.   But I'm not very skilled at propagation yet.

I failed at cuttings from them a few months ago.   I cut several branches, stripped the leaves, chilled them in the refridgerator for a week, attempting to meet chilling requirements I found online, then cut them into 5 inch pieces and sticking them into moist potting soil.   I can see several things that probably went wrong according to what I have read here this morning.

I was blown away by the very generous and thorough photo essay on propagating by scions that I found here using Google search.    The only question I was left with, was EXACTLY when to cut scions. 

May I take them just as soon as the leaves drop off - right before I cover the bushes for winter?   Or must I wait until February, and have to uncover the bushes in mid-winter and recover them?

The other things mulling around in my head - I have just bought some black tarp to cover them with.   As I stood there trying to choose between white or black, the black won because I felt the black would help to keep the branches and roots warmer, giving them more chance for survival.  Or should I have chosen white?   My plan was to throw the cover over the bushes (all about 6 - 8 feet high, and 6 - 8 feet in diameter), and weight the tarp down with boards or rocks.  I can't decide whether to try to pull the branches together, or leave them as is.   And I don't know if I should use straw inside.

If I want the heat from the ground to fill the tarp, I would not want straw being an insulating barrier, would I?     Or do the branches have enough heat in them that insulating them separately with straw would be more effective? 

Thank you for reading, and I appreciate all your thoughts on the matter.  :o)