Hardy Kiwi in the 2019 garden! ~ It takes two to Tango!!

I am looking forward to trying out Hardy Kiwi!

You will need at least one female and one male plant in order to produce fruit. Only the female will produce fruit but the male will lend a nice ornamental touch to your garden. It can take a couple of years to get fruit production depending on the age of the plants you've purchased.

The variety I purchased for my garden is Actinidia, Anna (female) and Meader (male), which according to my local nursery, are hardy in our zone. I did find differing opinions on the hardiness zones for the variety I've purchased, one says zone 6-9 the other zone 4-9.

Description 1: Tasty grape-sized 1" kiwi fruits. Inside the unfuzzy skin, the fruit is emerald green with small black seeds. Fruit ripens on the female vine: male vine is a lovely ornamental climbing vine. Hardy kiwi are actually sweeter than regular kiwi fruits. Ripens in fall. Zones: 6-9. One plant Hardy Green Male Meader and one plant Hardy Green Female Anna.

Description 2: They can be grown in different types of soils; however, the soil must be well drained
They are hardy in zones 4-9, surviving temperatures down to 25 degrees F below zero temperatures! Kiwi plants are attractive growers that require a sunny location, preferably with wind protection. The vines take very little maintenance-just pruning and support to hold about 100 lbs. of fruit for a mature plant. Plant 10 to 20 ft. apart. They are very pretty when used to cover a wall or fence or used in landscape design. The fruit is very high in Vitamin C and its use in recipes is endless. They ripen in mid to late September. Female plant: Actinidia arguta 'Anna' (Ananasnaya). An outstandingly reliable bearer of relatively large fruit. Male Plant: Actinidia arguta 'Meader'. Use as a pollinator for female

Surprise visitor! A Towhee in the garden!

We have only sited a towhee in our garden one other time in all the years we have lived here. What a pleasant surprise!

When we tried to identify whether it was a Rufus or Spotted Towhee, we ran into some problems, they look very much alike!! We will leave it up to you to decide.

The official description of the Rufus:

Towhees are an extremely widespread bird species and can be found all over the continental United States and Canada. The Rufous-Sided Towhee is a common variety in Oregon and can be easily spotted by its tri-coloring of black on the head and upper body (dark brown on females), rust-colored wings and a white chest and belly. Both males and females have bright red eyes. This is a foraging species and will often be heard before it is seen as it will kick and dig vigorously in underbrush. Their preferred foods are seeds, insects and fruits. They will occasionally appear in back yards to snap up grain that has fallen from bird feeders meant for other species. The name “towhee” was given to the bird by an 18th century naturalist who felt that the word imitated the bird’s ascending call.

The picture isn't great, but will give you some idea of the guy who is visiting our garden.

Hand tool kit ~ there are lots of handy tools out there!

It's a good time for me to take stock of the tools on hand and their maintenance, before they are needed. Tools with wooden handles could use a bit of sanding and some linseed oil. Shovels, pruners, saws could use some sharpening and oil to prevent rust.

Also a good time to make that wish list for the upcoming gardening season! Shop around at the 2nd hand stores and estate sales for some good tools at a low cost. You might find some treasures out there!

What tools are right for you? All hand tools, electric, gas, battery? It depends on your needs and situation.

Pole saw
Bow saw
Pruning saw
Lopper pruner
Hand pruner
Hoe
Leaf rake
Garden rake
Shovels
Spade
Garden fork

Rototiller
Chainsaw
Lawnmower

Files for sharpening blades
Oil - the right ones for each power tool
Oil - for hand tool blades and wooden handles

Extension cords - check them for wear, every year.
Ladders

Assorted screwdrivers and wrenches

Check your hoses, watering wands, spray nozzles, watering cans and other watering tools too!

This list could get huge!!  Guess this would be a good place to stop and make my own list of things to get done and tools to replace before the next gardening season begins.

What's eating the Paw Paw Trees!

Well something is enjoying my little Paw Paw trees and I'm not happy about it! The leaves must be tasty to some bug! I'll need to protect them from now on, with some organic spray and maybe even netting. Want to give them a fair chance of surviving here, outside of their usual growing range.

When I bought the two, little trees they were (literally) just sticks with a couple of roots! They are now about a foot tall and have been transplanted into 1 gallon pots. With the exception of the munched on leaves, they are both doing very well! Looking forward to spring 2019, to see how they make it through another cold winter.

Upon further investigation, it seems that it might be Japanese Beetle. However, there is good news too! After doing a bit of research this is what I've found:  Pawpaw plants produce natural compounds in their leaf, bark, and twig tissue that has high anti-pesticidal properties. Because of this natural defense, and because pests that are attracted to the plant rarely do significant damage, treating pawpaw pests is generally unnecessary.

Minty Fresh!

The mints are all in bloom and the fragrance is amazing. Not overpowering mind you, just a soft hint of something in the air as you sit near the blooms. The insects are loving all the blooms! The bees, bumble bees, mason bees and I think cutter bees are all there along with a myriad of other nectar loving insects.

The thought of mint honey tickles my taste buds...

All of the mints should have been harvested weeks ago, but I cannot bring myself to do so, knowing that the blooms will feed so many little insects. Every day more and more bees are showing up and at a time when there are very few bees they are a welcome sight.

The little fig tree that could!

What a difference a year makes!! The little Chicago fig tree with just three shoots (by the end of the summer) that only grew about a foot tall last summer is absolutely huge by comparison!

Chicago Fig ~ June 18, 2017

We have raised bed gardens and set the Fig tree, pot and all, down into the deep soil to protect it from the winter temperatures.  Now, we are just waiting to see if we ever get any blooms and fruit!!

May need to repot it before this coming winter; it will be wintering back in the raised bed along with the Paw Paw trees and the Goji berry bush.

Chicago Fig ~ August 8, 2018

A bit of this and a bit of that ~ Tasty tidbits from the garden

We were supposed to be traveling all summer but our plans were changed for various reasons.

Considering everything that didn't happen in the garden this year, it's pleasing to see and enjoy what is happening. 

The bush beans have produced enough for a nice side dish and another little picking will be ready in a few days, the yard long beans are still climbing the trellis and there are a few little blooms coming on.

The Oregon Sugar Pod peas have produced two nice pickings with a third coming on in spite of the temperatures reaching the triple digits. In fact there is new growth coming on at the bottom of many plants and there could be more peas for the pot in our future! 

The radishes bolted right away, however the bees are enjoying the blooms, the Swiss Chard is also bolting but it's still quite tasty.

The beets and carrots are vying for room as a rogue squash is taking over the raised beds! Oh, and a huge potato plant that grew from the purple potatoes that were planted last year and didn't produce any potatoes... well I guess they did but we didn't find them!

The garlic is ready to harvest if we get out early enough to dig before the heat hits again as it is supposed to hit over 100 degrees F again tomorrow.

All in all, just enough veggies for the two of us to enjoy fresh from the garden to the table. What more can one ask for from the unkempt garden? It's perfect for us this year.

Blue Lake Bush Beans and Oregon Sugar Pod Peas growing in containers