Attack of the Frickin' Vine Borers

So, we may have told you that Scott is using a childrens' swimming pool as a container for his sunchokes (back) and two zucchini plants (front).  This photo was taken the first or second week of April.

These little sunchoke babies resemble weeds.  And that, my friends, is why we opted to place these guys in the backyard away from the judgy HOA eyes.  They are already on my case about leaving the garbage can out over the weekend so we're not taking any chances.

We found it interesting that each zucchini plant (Costata Romanesco) had different leaves.  You can see that this plant below has some deeper lobes (if that's the right term):

And the plant below has more shallow lobing:

They came from the same box of seeds so we're not sure why we got different leaves on each plant.

Here is the swimming pool today.  As you can see, the plant with shallower lobes is ginormous.  The other squash plant was trucking along until a few days ago when the leaves mysteriously started to wilt and fall to one side.  Scott thought it was wind damage at first but I smelled a rat (figuratively).

Here are pictures of some of the leaves:

Yeah, they are pretty sad looking.  Pests 1-Humans 0. Scott thinks it may be a type of vine borer, not bacterial wilt because when he cut into the stem it did not have a gooey ooze (which is characteristic of bacterial wilt).  The leaves were affected one section at a time, rather than all at once.  It appears that there is a big hole in the base of the vine.  So even though it's a little early for vine borers, we think they are the culprit.

I just learned about vine borers but they sound pretty evil...

Frickin' vine borers...

but the blossoms on the healthy plant look great:

So pretty and twirly. I wish they lasted longer. It's nice to get to capture them with the camera.

A couple of our tomatoes died.  We think it was murder.

We have this ant problem in the kitchen (which motivates me to keep the kitchen counter clean). They will leave our kitchen alone for a while and then come back when we're not paying attention.  One day, they found our baby plants on the hutch and decided to make a little nest in the soil roots of the plants.  It took us a few days to realize what was going on, and then we sprayed them immediately.  I suspect that they chewed on the roots of the tomatoes and when we transplanted them last week, they just didn't have it in them to keep on living.

Since I took this picture yesterday, another tomato in the raised bed has fallen victim to this mysterious pest.  We may have to start growing spare tomato babies.

On a lighter note, I transplanted my basil in the raised beds.  They had really healthy looking leaves and roots.  Our soil is rich and rather sandy.  I have never worked in sandy soils before.  Most of my soil experience has been with obstinate rocky clay.  We're hoping that our plants will love the sunny weather projected this next week!

My Fruit Trees and My Strategy for Caring for Fruit Trees at Home

I bought three different kinds of fruit trees: a Lisbon Lemon, a Celeste Fig, and an Anna Apple.  The ideal lemon tree for our climate is the one that is most cold hardy, a Meyer lemon (a hybrid between a lemon and an orange).  However, we couldn't find a decent price for one, so we went with the Lisbon Lemon.  It is still quite cold hardy and should do fine as long as we move it into the garage during our coldest winter days.  This is why we put it in a pot instead of in the ground.  Because of this, we can't let it grow too tall.  I took the central leader that was pointing up and tied it to point downward.  This should stunt its growth and redirect some of the vigor to the other branches.

One advantage to this lemon is that it is known to be very productive and has very wonderful smelling blossoms.  One of the reasons I'm excited about this one is because when I was 10 and we lived in San Diego, we had a huge lemon tree.  Whenever we wanted to make lemonade, I would climb up onto the roof to gather up a bunch of lemons that had fallen on the roof (the size of grapefruits) and they were so sweet you could almost eat them plain.

The Lisbon lemons will probably not be that sweet, but they are supposed to have a very good flavor.  Lemon trees, like other citrus, like to develop what's called a closed canopy.  This means that the leaves on the outward edges of the branches form a dense layer that prevents light from reaching the trunk or inward branches.  Therefore, lemon trees are pruned very little, if at all.  Branches are instead trained to make the tree grow in evenly and attractively.

I chose the Celeste Fig because, of all the varieties that are winter hardy in our area, this was said to be the best tasting.  Although, the fruit are slightly smaller and somewhat less productive than the Brown Turkey Fig.  These trees can get 20 feet tall and 20 feet wide if you let them.  This is much larger than what I want to deal with, so I believe that training the tree to have a vertical central leader and nearly horizontal side branches will allow it to use its space more efficiently than just allowing it to grow into a bush-like shape on its own.

Like all figs, the Celeste Fig is not tolerant at all to heavy, wet soil that does not drain well. Our soil hardly drains at all so I put it in a raised bed filled with a loose mixture of compost, potting soil and earth. The necessity of building raised boxes for drainage looked to double the cost of my first little orchard so I found lumber on sale at Habitat for Humanity. It's not pressure treated and therefore temporary but I can replace it when I have to.  I paid about $10 per box for building supplies and another $10 for garden soil.

I had my heart set on getting a peach tree. Of any fruit, that is the one I have the most fond memories of from my childhood and, to this day, is my absolute favorite fruit.  I knew that I would have to get at least two to cross-pollinate and that our mild winters wouldn't always provide enough chill hours to make it fruit the following season. Undeterred, I went to the nursery to buy a few peach trees and came home with an apple.

At first I thought that apples were out of the question here in the Lowcountry because apple trees need even more chill hours than peaches.  Then I found the Anna Apple which needs as little as 200 chill hours.  It also does not require any cross-pollinators to get a good yield and quality fruit.  Since I will only get to care for the these trees for a maximum of 4 years, most anything I chose would only give me fruit the final year if I'm lucky. When I came across a more mature apple tree at a great price that was already covered in blossoms I knew it was my best bet to get a few seasons of fruit.

Once again, it's in a raised bed to get it out of the swamp that is our yard when it rains.  Like the fig tree, I want to make it as productive as possible in limited space.  There are two factors that affect the development of fruiting buds and vegetative buds.  First, is the flow of sap up the branch which feeds the growing tissue.

Second, the flow of a bud inhibiting hormone called "auxin," that travels from the terminal bud down the branch.

A tree will develop a central vertical trunk because the terminal bud at the top of the tree sends auxin down which inhibits the growth of lower branches as long as it is the highest and the only one pointed vertically. On the left I have trained the central leader downward to dwarf it, as I did with the lemon tree.  If another one of the branches point vertically, it will begin to act like the central trunk.  It will inhibit all of the fruiting buds, it won't produce any side branches, and it will keep growing taller and taller.

Most commercial growers train the branches to grow at about a 45 degree angle so it will balance between the growth of the branch and fruit production on the branch.

If a branch is horizontal, none of the fruiting buds will be inhibited and it can be very fruitful.  The vegetative buds will also be uninhibited and can produce vertical shoots known as water sprouts.  Like the branches, any shoot that grows vertically will be very vigorous and can out-compete the fruiting buds for flow of sap.  This can make the horizontal branch also unfruitful.  Water sprouts anywhere on the tree need to be taken care of or they will use all the tree's energy for growth rather than fruiting. 

I plan to train my main branches to be nearly horizontal and control the water sprouts with a combination of pruning and training them away from growing vertically.  This is similar to the way espaliered branches are cared for.  I know I won't get to keep these trees for long but I hope to have fun learning how to care for them so when I get my dream home I will be ready to put in some great fruit trees.

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The nice thing about growing fruit trees at home is that you can give them more attention than commercial growers can and use pruning and training strategies that would not be practical on a commercial scale. You also get to grow interesting varieties that you cant find in the store. The Anna Apple for example only keeps for about two weeks and bruises easily in shipping. If you don't grow one yourself you'll never get to taste them. 

Below is an excellent video that shares the difference between commercial fruit production and caring for fruit trees at home.  

Front Shrub Bed Makeover

When we moved in, the front shrub bed looked like this:

 People go to garden centers and they find these cute little plants and they mix them, and match them.  They expect them to look pretty much as they are and forget to check the dimensions.  I checked the google maps view of our house.  Two years ago, this enormous sego palm was half the size and fit between two smallish boxwoods.  Now, the sego palm is crowding the bed and it looks ridiculous.  It was also badly damaged by two ice storms this year.

Remember the rule of threes, people!  The former owner seemed to like the idea of ones and twosies. Threes, fives, sevens are the rule when planting.  Try not to plant one plant by his lonesome, unless he is an accent plant.  Twos just look awkward; see the two hollies below:

 Scott spent an entire evening ripping out the sego palm, the two boxwoods and two hollies.  It took him longer because we were trying to salvage the plants for some lucky Craigslist folks who got our discards for free.

We visited the garden center and settled on five Indian Hawthorn shrubs and three 'Purple Pixie' Lorapetalums.  The staggered mass planting of pink flowering shrubs are the hawthorns.  The lorapetalums, used as a border in the front, also bloom pink in early spring.  We have an awkward planting of ranunculus leftover.  It made more sense before we ripped everything out.  These annuals will die in a couple of months and we decided not to disturb them while they bloom.

Scott put a nice fresh layer of mulch on top.  We plan to redo the edging later this year.

Although I don't love the idea of something tall between two windows (I get flashbacks of 50s style design with horribly overgrown junipers between each window.) we decided to leave the trellis and climbing jasmine where they are.  The white blossoms will be beautiful and fragrant before long!

Here is a close up of a lorapetalum:

 

And these gorgeous hawthorne blossoms are my fave:

One of the reasons I chose the hawthorn as my foundation planting is that they are evergreen and have great red and orange fall color.  They may be common in the Southeast but they look hardy and are not common to me.

I kind of freaked out when I realized how bare the design looks.  I keep telling myself it will fill in, it's just gonna take some time.  Most people plant their plants so the design fills in within 1-2 years.  We planted our plants to give them ample room to grow based on their projected dimensions.  This reduces the need for pruning and ensures that our plants will look healthy for years to come.  I can't wait to fill in with a few perennials!

Thank you, Scott, for all of your hard work!  This would not have happened with out you.

Ranunculus

I wanted ranunculus flowers in my bridal bouquet, but I got married in July.  Unfortunately, ranunculus flowers bloom in the spring and wilt in the heat, so this was not the flower for my Utah wedding.  Ranuculus is a beautiful alternative to roses and is infinitely easier to grow.  They are known to be frost hardy cool-season perennials that like mild winters and cool, long springs.  

My husband thinks these flowers are perennials in SC, but I think they are annuals.  First, because we bought them in the annuals section of Hyam's, second because we have insanely long, hot summers here.  I am about 75% sure they will wilt in the heat and die completely.  If, however, their tubers survive, I will be completely and utterly delighted.

They have been blooming continuously since we planted them Valentine's Day weekend.

The pink ranunculus, above, has wavier petals than the flowers I have seen grown for the floral industry, below:

Image credit: blog.bloomsbythebox.com

I love the tight, prolific petals of these flowers.  If I had ranunculus in a bouquet, I would rather have these than the type of petals in my garden's ranunculus.  However, both are beautiful and I have loved having these in my front yard.  

We also have red and orange plants.  They didn't photograph as well but they look beautiful in person.

Ranunculus typically come in white, red, pink, and orange.  This is such a unique and beautiful flower I was tickled pink when my husband found some for me!

I also love this Cannon lens that allows me to capture clear pictures up close!

Veggie Babies

On March 7th we had our 3rd annual planting party indoors.  We planted many of the seeds given to us by Scott's parents, as a housewarming gift, from Johnny's Seeds.  Pretty much everything was selected for taste, and not especially disease resistance.  The zucchini squash 'Costata Romanesco' is supposed to be half as productive and taste twice as good.  Since we usually have too many zucchinis, we're good with that.  Our strategy with the tomatoes is that we will keep them in the raised beds until they are too diseased to produce anything. They are 'Paisano' and 'San Marzano'.  We also have leeks and shallots from Johnny's Seeds.

We had some leftover 'Jelly Bean' cherry tomatoes from last year, Anaheim peppers and Serrano peppers.

  

The oregano seeds are from Johnny's; the basil is leftover from 2012.  Have you ever seen oregano seeds?  They are so small they look like dust!  They can't be planted and covered with soil.  They must be left on top of the soil to sprout.

All of the babies were put in peat pots (a Jiffy tray from Walmart - $5) and covered with a clear lid.  I'd really recommend investing in a heating mat for germination.  Our peppers, tomatoes and basil sprout in half the time and we get a better germination rate when we use it.  You have to read the directions on the packet because some plants, like parsley and oregano, prefer to be left to germinate at room temperature.

Some of them germinated at the end of the second day, and before we knew it, we had some babies with true leaves.  

True leaves are foliage leaves, unlike the first set of leaves that emerge from the seed.  When the true leaves emerge, it's time to fertilize your tomatoes. The following pictures were taken on March 19th, 12 days after planting.

Here are some nasturtiums.  They really didn't do well in Colorado.  They hated the alkaline soil.  I'm hoping I will have better luck with them here in our SC acidic soils.

And here is a closeup of a baby tomato plant.  It is saying, "Gimmee some nitrogen!"

We started a little late with our warm season crops.  The locals tell us this is the coldest winter they've experienced in years, so we're not too worried about our late start.  It's just starting to warm up.  Yesterday's high was 74 degrees and the night low was 44 degrees.

Welcome to Our Garden Blog!

We are happy you've stopped by in our corner of the blogosphere! Scott and I love to garden, and we are excited to share our adventures with you.  When we were dating, we discovered our mutual love for all things plant related.  We made sure that our first apartment had a grand gardening space.  We now live in Charleston, South Carolina, known by the locals as the 'Lowcountry'.  We are embarking on our first attempt at Southern gardening.

Below are some highlights of our first ever winter cool season garden.  We planted in late October, after Scott built our two raised planter boxes.  Everything vegetable you see was grown from seed.

Our little broccolis are quite healthy looking.  This is our first time growing broccoli.

Kale is so hardy and didn't need to be covered during the cold days.

The cabbage looks so beautiful and we are looking forward to a bountiful harvest.

The lettuce has been more problematic.  We had several days of stormy winter weather where the night temperatures dipped below freezing.  Our lettuce didn't appreciate this and has grown much slower than the other plants.

From left to right is Scott, cilantro, rosemary and chamomile.  The cilantro is bigger and more beautiful than we could ever have imagined.    Scott used to say that cilantro wasn't worth growing because it is so cheap to buy.  He has since rescinded that statement.  We have loved walking outside and breaking off a stalk for an omelet, tacos and salsa.  It has grown well all winter and even forgave us for not covering it up during the ice storm last month.

The rosemary is alive and well.  I haven't cooked with it yet.  They grow like shrubs here so I need to find another home for it.  The chamomile has quadrupled in size since last October.  I'm excited to see it bloom this year.

And then there's the sunchokes.  I will let Scott tell you all about these, as I have no doubt it will be the biggest and most fun thing he grows this season.  Here he is digging the tubers up so as to find another home for them.  (They have been evicted by yours truly.)

And that is pretty much the extent of our veggie gardening, for now.  We're gearing up for the warm season and will be starting some seeds later this week.