Asparagus and potatoes

Asparagus
We built a 4' x 8' cedar box for our asparagus patch. I filled the box with Nature's Best Soil from Lane Forest Products mixed with one wheelbarrow load of pumice for additional drainage. First I dug a trench about eight inches deep. Then I spread the crown roots along the trench, mounding the soil up under the crown, and spaced them about 12 inches apart.

I ran three rows in the bed: 3x3 of 'Jersey Supreme' and 3x4 of 'Jersey Knights.' Supreme starts growing a few weeks earlier than Knights, otherwise they are very similar varieties. It will be interesting to see how the two coexist in one box over the years. Finally, I covered the crowns with about two inches on soil. Once the tips start to grow, I will add more soil to the trenches.

Potatoes
I have two large fiberglass boxes (4' x 4') that I used for potatoes last year with marginal success. I didn't add fertilizer to the soil when I planted and probably didn't water enough either, so our harvest wasn't great. I plan to change that this year.

I emptied the soil from both potato boxes. I put the soil of one box into the last empty garden box. Then dug out the soil from the other box and mixed it with two wheelbarrow loads of Nature's Best. I then filled both boxes with about 3 inches of the soil mix.

I planted 5 red potatoes ('Red Thumb' or 'Red Potomac' I can't remember which) in one box and 5 'German Butterball' potatoes in the other and covered both with another couple inches of soil. As the potato plants grow I will continue to add more soil until the boxes are full.

Transplanted more rhody seedlings

Filled in empty and dead spots for all three varieties. Added two more six cell pots.

Carrots, lettuce and broccoli

Planted carrot seeds, radish seeds, lettuce starts, corn salad starts and broccoli starts.

Transplanted Rhody Cuttings and Seedlings

Seedlings from a plant in the yard after two months.

So I previously stated that I didn't think I had time for growing rhodies from seed and hybridizing. Well, I was wrong. I threw some seeds into my empty moss container last January after the ARS Eugene Chapter meeting. They were the first to sprout and its been very fun watching them grow. I may give hybridizing a try after all.

The cuttings didn't fare as well as I'd hoped.

My cuttings from last fall, on the other hand, have been one casualty after another. I did have some small success. One of the R. adenopodum rooted, one of the 'Jingle Bells' may have rooted and all six of 'Yamoto' azaleas rooted! Since 'Yamoto' also roots out in the yard as it spreads, this wasn't a huge success. About half of the cuttings I took at least calloused and a couple looked like they had tried to grow a root. I think I will look into a different rooting hormone for this year and try taking cuttings of the more woody plants (like 'Avalanche') earlier in the year before they get too big.

'Blaney's Blue' and 'Yamoto', guess which took?

 I transplanted the cuttings into a 75% bark mulch and 25% potting soil mix and put them into 4" pots.

Six 'Yamoto' survived and put on new growth.

I think 'Jingle Bells' may have a few roots, but I don't have much hope for it.

R. adenopodum has lots of long stringy roots. I hope it continues to grow since its parent plant took a bad hit this winter in the snow storms.

I made a soil mix similar to the cutting mix for transplanting the seedlings (bark mulch, a bit of sand and potting mix).

The seedlings are easy to pull out of the moss starting mix.

I put the seedlings into two 6-cell packs and groups of 4 in 3 4" pots.

I fertilized everything with Tappin' Roots. They were handing out free samples of it at Greer's when I was there last week. It is incredibly stinky, but doesn't linger, thankfully. I used 1/2 tsp for 1 C warm water and sprayed everything in the box. The box is back up in the bathroom under lights 24/7.

The survivors! I hope they grow on and up.

Planted Hops

This year we're giving hops a try. I don't drink beer, but they look like fun plants to grow and what is more Pacific Northwest than hops?

I bought two 'Nugget' rhizomes from Territorial Seeds. We're using them as an arbor for the entrance to my husband's industrial garden area. I think it'll be a nice way to screen the view from the 50 gallon drums. We had to modify the path back to the compost bin by dividing the old rock lined beds into two planters for the hops.

My husband then dug out two holes, about 3' x 3' and about 10" deep. We back filled those with a blend of native clay, compost, sand and potting soil. We then added about 12" of 50% potting soil and 50% barnyard compost.

We planted the rhizomes 4" deep into the top layer, growth buds pointing up and gently spread the few roots out below.

Now we need to build the support structure so the vines have somewhere to go once things warm up. We plan to string a wire between the two giant sequoias that define that area of yard. We'll attach strong twine from the wire down to the hop plants. Seems pretty easy, we'll see how it plays out in real life.

Fertilized Rhododendrons

Today I fertilized most of the rhododendrons in the yard. I looked for ones that obviously needed some help: 'Pink Snowflakes,' 'Shamrock,' and 'Jingle Bells.' I also hit anything I planted in the last couple years (that were still alive, ha ha). Then I put some on the plants that looked most stressed by the freezing temperatures of last December.

I used fertilizer from Greer's Gardens (20-12-8-8) and applied 1 Tbsp for plants under 24" and 2 Tbsp  for those about 3' in height. For the taller guys I put on 4-6 Tbsp. According to the directions I should hit all the plants again once in summer and at the beginning of fall. I'm writing it on my calendar to remind myself.

'Pink Snowflakes' budding after a rough winter!

Hybridizing and Starting Rhododendrons from Seed

Tonight I went to the monthly meeting for the Eugene Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society (ARS). The speaker was our own Jack Olson. He's been hybridizing rhodies for several years and tonight he talked about his methods and provided us with seeds and planting medium to start our own baby rhodies.

Hybridizing
To be honest, I don't think I have the time to pick up this hobby, but I may give it a go next spring just to see what happens. If anything, it may be an interesting experiment for boy #1.

Big Picture when choosing parents:
1. What is your goal? Plant size, foliage, truss, fragrance, hardiness, flower types and color, etc.
2. Use good parents. Some of Jack's favorites are: Award, Marinus Koster, Nancy Evans, Clementine Lemaire, Countess of Anthlone, Countess of Derby, Cotton Candy, Cranberry Swirl, Genghis Khan, Grace Seabrook, Gwen Bell, Jim Drewry, Lems Stormcloud, Lems Tangerine, Lems Cameo, Point Defiance, Margaret Mack, Marley Hedges, One Thousand Butterflies, Sunspray, Pink Petticoats, Viennese Waltz, Naselle. Unfortunately I don't have any of these.

How to Hybridize:
1. Choose parents. Collect pollen from one parent (gather anthers). Its best to do this on a warm day.
2. Remove petals from mom plant before flower opens.
3. Wipe anther over pistol and ovaries. Cover with small piece of aluminum foil. Label branch. Wait.
4. Pick seedpod in October.
5. Put seedpod in paper envelope and label.
6. Put envelope in warm, dry spot until pods open or ripen.
7. Plant seeds Nov-Dec.

Starting Rhododendrons from Seed
1. Gather moss. Shred moss. Microwave 1 minute. When ready to plant wet thoroughly.
2. Put moss in clear plastic container. Sprinkle with seeds. Label container.
3. Place under constant (24hr) grow light.
4. Every two days open container to freshen air and spray with water.
5. Seeds should germinate in about 2 weeks. Spray for fungus if needed.
6. When plants are 1-2 inches tall, pull out and plant in flats about 1" apart. Fill flats with bark mulch and perlite. About 50 plants can fill a flat.
7. Keep under lights (24hr/day) until seedlings are a few inches taller.
8. Transplant seedlings to nursery beds, spaced about a foot apart.

I came home with two little trays of seeds both are open pollinated hybrids. They are Cream Glory x Opened and Forever Yours x Opened. I also grabbed an extra container of moss to try something out of the yard with boy #1.