A few pictures of the late summer garden

The Turkeys are growing up.



Pumpkin Perfection



The Girls



Hanna and her brood enjoying their breakfast of eggs, comfrey and yogurt



Luxury Pie Pumpkins and Trombone squash



The Volunteer Pumpkins on the roof

Gloria's query - my answer

Now is the time to think about fruit trees you might want to add to your garden. Order now, plant in January or February.


Kazi,

I'm finally placing my order from Bay Laurel for a few bare root trees to plant this winter. I'm only adding 4 this winter. I'm looking at the "low chill varieties" section of their web site. Can you give me some feedback on varieties based on your experience?

Apple---I've heard Anna does well here. What do you grow & like?

Plum---Tempted by "Mariposa" for obvious reasons. Do you have a favorite?

Peach---?

Nectarine---?

I'm going to throw in a Kiwi for good measure too. And lots of different blueberries to try in containers.

Thanks in advance!

G


ok Gloria here are my ideas

As far as apples- Anna needs a pollinator so you would have to get 2 kinds. I love my Fuji best of my 3 apples -which seems kind of average but it does well. Next time I plant I will refer to Kevin Hauser's great site (below) and his list of the best SoCal apples- I've heard him speak and he's inspiring. In my notes from his class Rubinette was his favorite, along with Hawaii. The top 10 of that day included Dorsett, Williams Pride, Gala, Stump, Anna, Fuji, Wealthy, Winesap, Arkansas Black and Wickson Crab. He is a believer in ignoring chill hours when it comes to apples and he has tried literally hundreds of varieties in his Riverside garden.

http://www.kuffelcreek.com/growingapples.htm

Peach is easy- Red Baron on Nemaguard rootstock (NOT Citation) . Stunning tree- great fruit- my favorite SoCal peach so far.

Mariposa sounds great. I love red fleshed plums in general. I would like to plant Mariposa, but haven't tried it. Plums are good on Citation rootstock. Mariposa sounds like a good choice. I have Santa Rosa, Late Santa Rosa, Flavor King Pluot and Elephant Heart. The Elephant Heart and the Flavor King are not very low chill and their fruit set is inconsistent from year to year but they are also my favorites.


As for the nectarines. I am not a fan of the new super sweet low acid ones. I like my fruit with an evident sweet/acid balance, otherwise I find it insipid. I have tried about 4 nectarines over the years and not been happy with any of them. Meanwhile, I managed to steer my friends correctly. I have 3 friends with the old SoCal standby Panamint and I have enjoyed the fruit and the preserves from their trees- on Nemaguard. That will be my next nectarine.


If you want some more opinions go here:

http://www.davewilson.com/br40/br40_taste_files/taste_index.html

Dave Wilson is the wholesale grower that grows most of the trees that Bay Laurel sells and I believe they are the sole distributers for Zaiger genetics- the hybridizers that brought us pluots and many other new fruits. Dave Wilson's taste test results are always informative. A lot of the winners fall into the low acid catagory, but even though that's not my thing, it's fun to look at the results.

fun....I love looking at the Bay Laurel site

http://www.baylaurelnursery.com/

best, Kazi

Chicks

The wily and ever determined Hanna, my English Game Hen, marched out from under the turkey barn 2 days ago with 5 chicks. She was hiding under there for almost a month without me knowing! I gave my last rooster away a few weeks ago, so clearly she managed to get a little action right before he left. He was an Auracana and beautiful. If the chicks make it they should be beautiful too. They were so tiny that they squeezed through 1" chicken wire! Updates to follow.........

What I Built on my Summer Vacation

The New Mexico Solar Crop Dryer






It's not fair for me to say I built it. The great and wonderful Dmitri, along with my brother Wenzel spent 2 long mornings and a few more odd hours with me in the garage to construct this beauty. I had bought all the materials and only had to run to the hardware store 3 or 4 times.... We worked from an old set of plans I got off the web. The plans were typed on a typewriter and illustrated with small sketches, and were"almost" complete. Dmitri's experienced eye and liberal dose of modifications were much appreciated. The plans said it would cost me about $60 to build. This was definitely not the case.

The dryer is sitting in my back yard, drying out in the sun. After the wood dries I will finish the outside with either Watco or Walnut oil- both food safe oils that will harden. It is a "dual system" dehydrator with both direct and indirect heat from the sun. At the toe of the boot shape air enters and is heated passing over and under the flat black piece of corrugated metal. The heated air rises through the screen trays and exits through a screened opening on the top of the back. There is a hinged flap on the top vent that can be adjusted to control the air flow/temperature.

God I hope this thing works well. I tried one tray of tomatoes a few days ago that was very successful. Now I have to do my homework and try a variety of things from the garden as they ripen. It's taller than me, and I'm 6'2", so It doesn't lack for space. The trays are 46 inches wide.

There is something about it's odd shape and the elegant and simple way it works that I find very appealing. I think it needs a name.

Oregon Berry Orgy

My annual flurry of Jan making in Eugene , Oregon was satisfying, even though after all these years I still have trouble getting some jams to set up. Some of those I will redo to firm them up and some I will leave loose and use as syrup.

This year I made:
Benton Strawberry
Raspberry
Black Cherry with Honey and Mint
Sylvanberry
Loganberry (my favorite)
Blackberry
Black Cap Raspberry
Boysenberry
Marionberry
Cherry with Honey and Filberts
Blueberry and Pinot Noir
Black Currant
and, of course, Brandied Cherries

The one berry I couldn’t find and will miss was the Tayberry, which is a cross between the Loganberry and the Black Raspberry. As much as I love all berries it is the ones in the middle of the Raspberry to Blackberry lineup that really make me swoon. The Tayberry, Loganberry and Boysenberry. Each one of these berries has such a unique flavor.

I hit the big farmers market in Eugene as soon as possible after arriving and am most anxious to see if I have arrived in time for Morels. Some years I have been able to get pounds, which I make into duxelles and freeze for the winter. That would be AFTER consuming a sauté pan full of whole morels. I prefer not to let anyone know I’m doing this, but sometimes I am forced to share. This year I was only able to get the last of one vendor’s supply- half a pound at most- which I went home and devoured. I was glad to see a new mushroom vendor coming with 5 or 6 varieties each week . I think my favorite of his was the Maitake.

Here is a photo of my front porch the last day in Eugene. Berry flats on the right, berry boxes in the middle and cases of jam and syrup on the left.

My 2009 Summer Garden List

When you see the list below you will know why I have been too busy to blog. Summer is sailing into sight and the tomatoes and turkeys have started their growth spurt. Drip lines mended, 3 new auto lines added, Cactus repotted(after the shelf and all the pots fell on my arm- a very strange looking injury), flowers, herbs and veggies planted, cages installed on peppers, eggplants and tomatoes, sunflowers tied up, 2 truckloads of mulch spread, compost turned, brush ground up, 2 trees removed, 3 trees got a haircut so I could walk under them and on and on. I am creaky and sore and stiff and my soul is nourished by my hours outside. Here is my 2009 list:

Tomatoes:
Here are the ones I plant every year:
Early girl, Green Zebra, Persimmon, Sungold, Garden Peach, White Queen

Others:
Heinz, Super Fantastic, Copia, Bella Rosa, Mammoth German , Giant Belgium, Black from Tula, Black Brandywine, Golden Queen, Orange Fleshed Purple Smudge (whether it’s good or not, just writing it on my list is satisfaction enough), Victor, Momotoro, 2 unknown Cherry Tomatoes , Prudens Purple is not doing well- we’ll see

And the 6–pack from OSH:
Early Girl, Better Boy, Beefmaster, Celebrity, Cherry Red, and Roma

Hot Peppers:,
Mucho Nacho Jalapeno (come on, who named that one?), Serrano, Habanero, Kung Pao (my best drying pepper), Chile de Arbol, Cherry Big Bomb, Yellow Tabasco, Thai Hot, Hot Santa Fe Grande, Tunisian Baklouti

Peppers, less hot and sweet:,
Shishito, Mariachi, Red Knight, Ancho, Aji Dulce, Purple, Yellow, Brown, and Red Bell peppers

Eggplant:
Little Fingers, Fairy tale, Turkish Orange, Yellow Egg, Nadia

Beans:
Painted lady Runner beans, Giant Cascade, Blue Lake, Yard Long Liana, Lima, Asparagus Pea, Renee’s Purple, Yellow and Green Snap Bean Combo

Summer Squash:
Costata Romanesca, Lebanese White Bush Marrow, Ronde de Nice, Pattisons Jaune et Verte Scallop

Winter Squash and Pumpkins:
Seminole Pumpkin, Musqee de Provence Pumpkin, King of mammoth Pumpkin, Marina di Chioggia, Naguri Kabocha, Australian Butter, Zuchinno Rampicante, Butterbush, Luxury Pie Pumpkin and 1 unknown and very vigorous pumpkin that is already up to the garage roof.

Melons:
Charentais, Verona Watermelon, Golden Nugget Watermelon, Old Original(green flesh)

Corn:
Hickory King Dent, Floriani Red Flint

Cucumbers:
Armenian, Arkansas Little Leaf Pickling, Boston Pickling, Emir(Persian), Homemade Pickles

Misc.:
Rainbow Sweet Potatoes (varieties unknown), Jicama, Jerusalem Artichoke, Cardoon, Red Roselle(Jamaica)

Now, looking at the size of this list, I can only agree with my friends. I am totally insane.