Garden Update
Jun. 16th, 2007 09:54 amTime for “quarterly” garden evaluations! I don’t have much Hope for the Polish Hardneck Garlic. While it takes a couple of seasons for a Garlic to adapt to your area, the poor Germination and size of bulbs at Harvest don’t augur well. The Creole Ajo Rojo had better Germination but didn’t size well. It’ll probably Adapt though….
The article in ‘Florida Gardener’ about Winter Squash got me to try a couple of Heirloom moschata cultivars; a Japanese(“Chiriman’) and a French(‘Sucrine du Berrie’). Both are Growing well but ‘SDB’ is producing 3:1 over ‘C’. Part of the reason(IMO) is that ‘Chiriman’ is a “buttercup” which forms these creases at the blossom edge, which make great homes for bugs. So far only one “pumpkin” is in great shape. The others have required me to use Insecticide…which means that next yr ‘C’ will NOT be replanted(unless it’s REALLY TASTY;>).
The Blackberries are finally doing “Blockbusters”, while the Blueberries are not, mainly because of their Sunlight being blocked by Crape Myrtles. Need the shade more than the Blueberries though. The Guava planted outside died to the roots but is back up. I think we can Write off it’s production for another decade, until the zone shifts up one. With the production of Maypops, I really need to plant a Passionfruit cultivar. A decade ago they’d be killed every third yr, now it’s pretty safe. Sadly, the Apple and the Quince were sans blossoms this Spring. This has happened too many times thanks to our Warming climate(at least locally). The nice thing is that the Hardier Citrus like Meyer Lemons, Kumquats and Satsumas no longer need Protection most Winters. The Pomegranate, Pink Lemon and Akebias Bloomed but none “took”. Oh, well. The “funky” thing is that some of the Sweet Potatoes that missed Harvesting Survived ands have sprouted. I’ve been trying to get my hands on some Japanese Sweet Potato cultivars but the few American companies that carry them don’t ship outside of California….
Troth,
Pat
The article in ‘Florida Gardener’ about Winter Squash got me to try a couple of Heirloom moschata cultivars; a Japanese(“Chiriman’) and a French(‘Sucrine du Berrie’). Both are Growing well but ‘SDB’ is producing 3:1 over ‘C’. Part of the reason(IMO) is that ‘Chiriman’ is a “buttercup” which forms these creases at the blossom edge, which make great homes for bugs. So far only one “pumpkin” is in great shape. The others have required me to use Insecticide…which means that next yr ‘C’ will NOT be replanted(unless it’s REALLY TASTY;>).
The Blackberries are finally doing “Blockbusters”, while the Blueberries are not, mainly because of their Sunlight being blocked by Crape Myrtles. Need the shade more than the Blueberries though. The Guava planted outside died to the roots but is back up. I think we can Write off it’s production for another decade, until the zone shifts up one. With the production of Maypops, I really need to plant a Passionfruit cultivar. A decade ago they’d be killed every third yr, now it’s pretty safe. Sadly, the Apple and the Quince were sans blossoms this Spring. This has happened too many times thanks to our Warming climate(at least locally). The nice thing is that the Hardier Citrus like Meyer Lemons, Kumquats and Satsumas no longer need Protection most Winters. The Pomegranate, Pink Lemon and Akebias Bloomed but none “took”. Oh, well. The “funky” thing is that some of the Sweet Potatoes that missed Harvesting Survived ands have sprouted. I’ve been trying to get my hands on some Japanese Sweet Potato cultivars but the few American companies that carry them don’t ship outside of California….
Troth,
Pat