Nuts for Fruits
/8 Comments/in /by Lee A. ReichMy apricot hope for the future. |
disease such as ominous-sounding, and truly debilitating, valsa canker. Trees typically die either quickly or slowly.
My friend Lev with his apricot trees |
My “citrus” plantation. |
restrain myself realizing that the plant might survive but would never become a majestic specimen the tree is meant to be. Citrus? I resign myself to growing some citrus in pots, indoors in winter and outdoors in summer.
Tomato Sowing, and More
/7 Comments/in /by Lee A. ReichTwo great tomatoes: Cherokee Purple & Amish Paste |
uniform red color. Or tomatoes that don’t ripen to perfectly round orbs. I also happen to like dark colored — so-called “black” — varieties. You could almost say that the uglier the tomato (by commercial standards) the better the flavor. Which is not to say that every tomato variety bearing ugly fruits is great-tasting; but it’s a start.
Some of last year’s tomatoes |
cooked and fresh), Rose de Berne, Valencia (orange fruit), and Nepal. Also two cherry tomatoes, Sungold and Gardener’s Delight. The latter was my favorite decades ago and I’m curious now how it compares with the incomparable Sungold.
A lot of seedlings in a little space. |
into a waiting hole I’ve dibbled with my cone shaped “dibbler.” As each seedling is in place I tuck potting soil in around its roots. Without delay, once a tray of seedlings has been pricked out, I spray a gentle but thorough mist of water to moisten the soil and settle the little sprouts into place without knocking them down.
Tales of Kale
/4 Comments/in /by Lee A. ReichSeakale is a salt-tolerant plant native to coastal regions of northern Europe, and it was in those regions that it was first moved into gardens for cultivation as a vegetable. Young shoots need to be blanched (grown in the dark) — by being covered with an upturned clay flowerpot, for example — to make them palatable. The blanched shoots are very tender, so you might never see them in markets. They should make a nice garden or farmden vegetable, though.
growth, longevity, flavor, hardiness, and nutrition. Seakale beet, as it is known in Britain; known as Swiss chard here. I plant chard just as I do kale, except less of it because it is less nutritious than kale (high oxalate concentration limits its availability of calcium), slightly less cold-hardy, and I happen not to like its flavor as much.
Pruning, Not Too Late
/7 Comments/in Pruning/by Lee A. Reich
Kiwi, before pruning |
Kiwi, after pruning |