tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827857515189667911.post2765689671948846614..comments2023-08-21T15:49:17.685-07:00Comments on In Lee's Garden Now: A Jump on SpringLee Reichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706667868301897739noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827857515189667911.post-52984624424167013712013-01-18T09:26:21.361-08:002013-01-18T09:26:21.361-08:00True, a seedling tree will take longer to bear tha...True, a seedling tree will take longer to bear than a grafted tree. Plant both and then, perhaps, you'll have something to much on while waiting for the seedling to bear. Plums generally do not take inordinately long to come into bearing.Lee Reichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01706667868301897739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827857515189667911.post-49390660355445526922013-01-18T08:58:12.352-08:002013-01-18T08:58:12.352-08:00Cool!! Thanks for the helpful info - did a quick ...Cool!! Thanks for the helpful info - did a quick skim of SLN's site and will get back to it this weekend. $8 a tree for the P. americana seems like a nice price, although I have to wonder if they're maybe going to be a few years longer before fruiting than trees bought at nurseries/big box stores. (In addition to being optimistic, don't forget impatient!) ;-)<br /><br />Thanks again!<br />JJephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02843262392217281569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827857515189667911.post-35170339146210895242013-01-18T07:47:09.851-08:002013-01-18T07:47:09.851-08:00Fruit growing keeps us eternally optimistic. You m...Fruit growing keeps us eternally optimistic. You might want to try planting some American-type plums, such as Toka, Alderman,and La Crescent. Or, since you're going to be making jam rather than eating them fresh, some truly wild plums, just seedlings of Prunus americana or P. angustifolia. Or maybe you can find some wild plums. Around here, they bear pretty well. Check out http://www.sln.potsdam.ny.us.<br /><br />One problem I and others have found with beach plums is that although they bloom reliably, they are very capricious in fruiting, and no one knows why.Lee Reichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01706667868301897739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827857515189667911.post-61094309744828847282013-01-18T06:58:24.671-08:002013-01-18T06:58:24.671-08:00Both of my grandmothers (out in Kansas) turned me ...Both of my grandmothers (out in Kansas) turned me on to homemade plum jelly when I was a kid. Now I've got three 2-in-1 plum trees from Stark Bros in the back yard, and hopefully I'll get to make some plum jelly of my own this year. I put them in a year and a half ago, and they were LOADED with beautiful blooms last spring, but the blooms were too early due to the wonky weather, and I got zero plums. Hopefully this year will be different.<br /><br />Both grandmothers made their plum jelly from wild plums - I've tried growing beach plums figuring that might be close and because they're supposed to be tough - no luck. Over 4 years neither got bigger than a few feet, and while they'd get a lot of plums, they weren't much bigger than pea-sized, and one plant died off this year. Hopefully the plum trees will have better luck!Jephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02843262392217281569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827857515189667911.post-24689104497814619952013-01-09T06:13:16.905-08:002013-01-09T06:13:16.905-08:00Yes, red currants are beautiful although admittedl...Yes, red currants are beautiful although admittedly not my favorite fruit, especially since I have blueberries and black currants (both of which are among my favorite fruits, although black currants have a very strong taste that not everyone likes fresh) ripening at the same time. I grow red currants for their beauty and for some diversity in my morning cereal. They do make a tasty and beautiful jelly also.Lee Reichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01706667868301897739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827857515189667911.post-80886740541744499242013-01-09T06:00:35.420-08:002013-01-09T06:00:35.420-08:00HA! So based on what I've read/heard you say,...HA! So based on what I've read/heard you say, and Mike McGrath's comments on your advice, I'm guessing that either that's NOT a peach tree, or you didn't thin it out well enough if your cat couldn't get all the way through the tree? ;-)<br /><br />Love your advice and blog. Got Growing Fruit Naturally as a Christmas gift and look forward to doing a better job with the fruit trees, strawberries, raspberries etc in my NE Ohio yard. I'm tempted to try currants because they're so beautiful, but I really don't know if I'd enjoy the flavor, and it's next to impossible to find fresh currants at a market.Jephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02843262392217281569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827857515189667911.post-1613277798230319582012-12-23T06:38:21.094-08:002012-12-23T06:38:21.094-08:00I highly recommend hardy kiwifruits; they are deli...I highly recommend hardy kiwifruits; they are delicious and easy to grow.<br /><br />As far as trimming them: Right from the start, begin training them to one or two trunks, cutting off any other shoots so that all the energy goes into one of those trunks. From there, it depends on what you're going to train the vines on . . . if I may recommend a book that has information on pruning them, my book, of course, THE PRUNING BOOK. Perhaps you're library has it.<br /><br />Yes, that's a white cat in the last photo. Lee Reichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01706667868301897739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827857515189667911.post-30548137426372140242012-12-22T18:24:44.270-08:002012-12-22T18:24:44.270-08:00Hi Lee!
I have 2 questions. I bought 2 hardy kiwi ...Hi Lee!<br />I have 2 questions. I bought 2 hardy kiwi plants last summer (one male, one female, actinidia kolomikta that supposedly makes beautiful frost-pink half leaves). When should I start to trim them? Not at one year, surely? They are quite small (2 feets).<br /><br />My second question... Is that a white cat in the small tree on the right of the last picture? The one where you are shovelling your sowing mix?Dames 3Jardinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06021987523828456519noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827857515189667911.post-49994037372207425112012-12-22T17:49:52.576-08:002012-12-22T17:49:52.576-08:00I have always dreamed of growing hardy kiwi but th...I have always dreamed of growing hardy kiwi but they well-drained soil, yes? And we have heavy clay. One day I will try, maybe making a mound of ideal soil enriched with organic matter to overcome the drainage problem.Kathyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11106962533729909868noreply@blogger.com