What have you done today in the Garden?

I hope your back is better!

 

Thank you it should be soon.

 

Yes Logan. Take care of that back!

 

Still raining.

Haven't started the ark yet. It's difficult to find a good contractor!

Puttered a bit with indoor garden. Removing dead flowers and leaves, and pulling out those pesky oxalis that infest indoor plants.

 

Thank you Daniel and yes i will, just got to rest it.

 

Today I cleared more of the area around the semi-dwarf apple trees. They were originally dwarf, but at 20 years old are tall enough to have their scaffold branches above deer browsing height. So, I'm pulling out all of the fencing. I'm also keeping the less than nine feet tall, so I can reach most of the growth without a ladder.



These could have come from a Dr. Seuss book. I expect they will grow vigorously next year, thanks to all of the pruning.

There is one more to prune in this group, and more fencing to remove. With the fencing gone, maintenance will be many fewer hours per year, and much easier.

 

I did get out and rake more leaves yesterday, and today I was cleaning out some of my flower beds--the dead stuff. It was sunny and chilly both days. A friend stopped by for a visit yesterday, so that was nice too.

 

Fixed the fence in the pastures again . The deer ran thru the electric fence in a few places this am. Ran new wire in added 4 strands per 8 ‘ of 8 sections breeched. It took 4 hours to mange it all and get the electric fence working again. The Dern Dear… at it again. I need to get the lead stags a pair of glasses. …

 

Fried Venison!

 

Today I removed most of the remaining deer fencing from around this bunch of semidwarf and dwarf apple trees. One more good work day should get the rest. The ground needs to be made a bit less lumpy for mowing, and two of the trees need some more pruning, then it's done. Rain is predicted for tomorrow, so maybe in a few days.

This is a good job, because it means permanently less tedious struggle with weeds (because it will be mowable), especially thistles and blackberries. The apple trees will also be a lot easier to manage and nurture. I think it will look a lot nicer, much more tidy and much, much less future work. It's a big area, so I can work less there and concentrate on the areas I enjoy more.

I also started some more hardwood cuttings - a couple of roses and a thornless blackberry. Very easy, just cut a healthy 9 inch long section and stick it into garden soil about six inches deep. They usually root by mid spring that way. That is how I have started roses, fig trees, some plum trees, red currants and forsythias. Also willows.

I also spread some leaf mulch. That area had some weed grasses, so I covered them with cardboard before spreading a thick layer of tree leaves. That will smother the weeds, and the cardboard will compost by the time the leaves compost themselves.

 

Good work Daniel, I've done hard wood cuttings for roses, I always thought that it was for shrub roses that just flower once but I've done it with HTs some grow well and some don't, i think that's why they graft them onto rootstock.

 

Lucky you, Daniel—to be able to work.
Your work is always so interesting to read about.

 

I do have some forsythia cuttings in a bucket of water and leaves. Usually, I do them in spring, but these cuttings (neighbors prefer my forsythias not to be so huge along the road. ) looked too good to burn. I thought it cannot hurt to try rooting them. My forsythias did not bloom this past spring for the first time ever, and there was lots of new growth for them to bloom on. I have lived here since the 1980s, and they have always bloomed before. I have no idea where to plant them in the spring, but I will either share them, or plant them. It might be nice to sell them, but I never have any luck selling anything.

Maybe I can plant them down by my pond. I need to check on my weeping willow down there soon. I hope it is still there. Not much of what I plant down there stays.

 

@Logan, what are "HTs"?

 

speaking of work, I better feed the dogs and me, and get at some work around here.