The Summer Solstice Brings The Heat
Spend the last few days feeling the heat. Watching plants and trees whither. Only a few but it’s telling about the kind of heat. I’m going back to making sun blocks for the containers. Even thinking of covering some of the concrete with mulch. The hottest 2 month of the year are about to start. Interesting how the major topics are the War and Climate. So many news stories are out about them even trump is taking a back seat. Right now making containers is my focus. I might get the chance to pick up a number of plants cheap from the big box stores. That includes fruit trees and bushes. They have a large selection of sizes of different types. One store has Legacy and Sweetheart bushes I’m hoping for $7 each. For the smaller ones$2 each. The trees I’m hoping for $7 each as well. Something I’d like to mention is partnering with a school to put the trees and bushes. Ten trees and ten bushes. Then what about the smaller ones. Can I get 20 of them at the school as well. That’s a nice size garden. Because these are fruiting bushes they will produce more fruit as berries rather than the few apples per tree I get. That’s the focus I should be looking for. With Russia imploding and taking a good bit of Ukraine with it. There are going to be changes even in this country because of Climate change. New disease for bird, reptile and mammals are cropping up. An most importance is Water. Simple Water to DRINK. The sun’s rays seem stronger, water evaporates faster after each rain. We can’t be throwing water on open ground any more. 80% of that evaporates . Might even be more now. Other countries are coming here to farm so they can do that very thing. They can’t do that in their own countries because Water is too precious. Changes. We’‘ve had the best Life these last few Decades. The best Life of Humanity. But we wasted them and the Piper is playing his tune. It’s a different tune the band is playing and we better learn that step. Anyway the Solstice has come and gone but the next is just 6 months away.
The Barbados Nuts are flowering. Very, very small flowers that produce a large nut. The problem tho is getting them pollinated. There's a small wasp that can do the job but their not common. Hoping that mess of Mulberry fruit wasting in the back will attract a few.
This is that last of the 10 Sweetheart Blueberry bushes I got at the beginning of the month. Nice size for the price. Might get another ten next week.
That picture of the root mass on the left. New growth started in just a week.
Oh, If I only had the space. This is another aspect of a consumer market. SALES! There may be thuirty small Blueberries and Blackberry and Raspberry plants. Another 15 large Blueberry bushes. There maybe 40 apple trees.
You know I look at these pictures I see a benefit for me is also an incredible waste. An this across multi-stores. An the recycled containers and cups I grow them in are one use and discarded. The methane from the decaying thrown out plants. The energy wasted to contain them. The pots and planters all are one time use and discarded. Our whole society is built on one use and discard.
Thing here is what if they have 20 more large Blueberry bushes. Do I not get the smaller ones. No, really. All these different problem popping up from Climate Change to Wars. If time is figuring into this I should get the larger ones while I can. This is about production too after all. That’s thirty Large Blueberries. Add to that twenty fruit trees. Here is one of those God makes you aware moments. God has made for all these different things in my life to come together. The plants, containers, materials and all that’s missing is space. That’s what the school can provide. We need to start producing “local” local. This is a Food Desert I live in. For nearly a 100 miles around. Think of that with poor 5'9" little me. No think of the near million around me.
Picked up 10 more plants for the system. 3 Fig roots.2 White Birds of Paradise, 3 O’Neal Blueberries and 3 Red Roses. This side combination is 5lb insert with a 10lb container. I'm going to use this combo to grow the smaller plants. I figure they can stay in that size for 2yrs.
White Bird of Paradise
The plant above is one of 3 O'Neal Blueberries. Right next to it is one of the Red Roses. Below are one of the 2 Comice pears. I have to remember to think of these with their size root stocks. Now I checked my plant diary and it notes I have the first week in August to still plants on sale before they put them away. Just started thinking about grapes. using the 2gal insert with a 5gal container would work or does work so I should think about getting a set of them..
Ayers Pear
Had a number of flowers but the seeds seems to be getting picked off. Something small and furry is the culprit. I'll bag them tomorrow.
Barbados Nut seeds. Barbados Nuts are another plant bio-fuel everyone is checking out. Big problem tho is it's very poor germination. A few years back I boughr 100 seeds and only 2 germinated. From those two I made 40 cuttings. Problem tho was even the cuttings gave poor seed production. The cuttings from the seed cuttings grew flowers and since that little Wasp seems to be around I had 8 flowers germinated. Six still growing.
Anaerobic
That’s the form of Garden that I do. Stagnant water, low oxygen level. An plenty of bacteria that would eat a plant in an Aerobic system. One of the benifits is that bacteria produced is any plant that’s hardy to your area will live over winter. Come back the following Spring and flower an friut. The roots are constantly stuck in that low oxygen water. The water is just refilled Not spilled on the ground just to evaporate.
Interesting thing about the Barbados nut plant is the cuttings. Once you find what plant gives seeds you just take cuttings from that plant. Another thing I don’t know or do know or it’s just me. The Barbados nut can over Winter for 6 months dry just waiting for Spring. I just toss them into a corner and forget about them, I’m good at forgetting about plants. That’s a picture of the inserts because a large root system isn’t needed. In fact you can grow quiet the tree in a 2gal/5gal combo.
This is another plant being looked at from the same family. Called a Coral tree. Nice looking plant but nothing to pollinate it. Not even that little Wasp.
Hardy Chicago Fig
O'Neil Blueberry I figure 2yrs in the size pot. Even longer if I keep cutting it back.
These are the cutting I took from a Mother plant.
I still keep a hand is growing in dirt mixtures for pratice. The one's growing above is a dirt mixture while the one to the right is growing in the system.
This is one of 8 from the 10 I started with. I think it's doing well.