While I'm talking about berries, I have volunteer (caned) tame blackberries that fell outside the row. I will be transplanting them back into the row (bare spots) or giving them away. I was thinking about transplanting/potting (give aways) now, but maybe based on your reasoning for strawberries, I should wait until Spring?
What's Growing in the Garden
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Sorry, just saw your post on berries. I would wait, no advantage to doing them this fall. When you do transplant them, cut the canes back to just a few inches.
Dug potatoes today. Kennebec is the variety. Not bad for 50 ft of row. More than what we'll eat before spring, but would rather throw some away than have to buy them.
Dug potatoes today. Kennebec is the variety. Not bad for 50 ft of row. More than what we'll eat before spring, but would rather throw some away than have to buy them.
My fermented cranberries were a major hit at Thanksgiving. Gave the recipe link to 4 different folks
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My first half gallon is almost done, the second is still bubbling like crazy. Flavor is great on both of them.
I also made a cranberry relish that was simple and delish. One bag of cranberries, 1 Granny Smith apple (minus core & seeds), 1 large orange (all of it, peel, seeds etc) 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup pecans, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, a little salt. put all into blender/processor and process til finely chopped
Don't know if anyone has started a 2024 Garden season thread, so I'll just ask here. Several of you in the past had mentioned the type of POLE beans you like to plant. Memory's not so good. Care to share your suggestions again?
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Plain old Blue Lake pole beans
In my very limited space that is not entirely shady, I've had good luck with Taiwan Yard Long Bean from Baker Creek Seeds. They really can grow up to 36" long. Tasty and no string. Only need 2 or 3 to make a meal! For a fun one - try their Snake Bean. Huge and rather tasty.
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Seychelles is our favorite. Had them in the hoop house ( high tunnel - they went 8 feet to the top of the wire then went sideways) get multiple harvests from them.
I've brought up the subject of pressure canners before and I do understand the two types, Weighted and Gauge. Your desired pressure is maintained on a gauge pressure canner by regulating the heat input. They also have a 15(?) psig poppet valve to relieve pressure above a safe pressure. I believe someone here recommended this type over a Weighted canner.
I'm window shopping and found mostly Weighted pressure canners for sale. In the St. Louis area (altitude) I require an 11 psig pressure. Someone here mentioned I can achieve this pressure by making the weight set at 10 psig rock faster via more heat. My Mom had one like this with the single weight that you rotate for the desired pressure. I'm guessing that's what she did.
The point of this all is the lady in this video says you can't use the gauge reading on a Weighted canner because it's not accurate. See minute 5.0 on the video. It's the second time she says that.
BS?
PS. Can you use a 15 pound weight on a Weighted canner to seal it and then control the pressure to 11 psig as you would on a Gauge canner by regulating the heat?
I'm window shopping and found mostly Weighted pressure canners for sale. In the St. Louis area (altitude) I require an 11 psig pressure. Someone here mentioned I can achieve this pressure by making the weight set at 10 psig rock faster via more heat. My Mom had one like this with the single weight that you rotate for the desired pressure. I'm guessing that's what she did.
The point of this all is the lady in this video says you can't use the gauge reading on a Weighted canner because it's not accurate. See minute 5.0 on the video. It's the second time she says that.
BS?
PS. Can you use a 15 pound weight on a Weighted canner to seal it and then control the pressure to 11 psig as you would on a Gauge canner by regulating the heat?
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Can anyone recommend a Garden/Tree site that I could get some pruning advice from? If it's against the rules to mention other sites, then PM me. I planted last year a couple of small peach trees that I want to prune.
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I know Stark Brothers Nursery has a couple short videos on most fruit tree types. I'd also look for Extension service publications. I know several have pruning guides. Basically, you want an "open center" for peach trees.
On another note, didn't see your questions on the canner until now. I'll comment tonight when I have more time.
On another note, didn't see your questions on the canner until now. I'll comment tonight when I have more time.
You planted them last year and want to prune this year... Are they 6 footers or bigger? Most peaches you go really light on the first few years to assure they root in your soil. Deer, mice, rabbit and moles / voles are the next thing to defend against. Treat like a dwarf apple in many ways. Keep plants short enough for easy picking, spraying and pruning. Stay ahead of the bugs, birds and weather. They have small root systems so make sure the crown is balanced. I prune during the growth season to minimize winter damage.
You should also reach out to your county cooperative, sure they can help. I usually followed the extensions from Purdue, Cornell and Penn State for my fruit trees.
There is a group called NAFEX - North American Fruit Explorers, that has a bunch of extremely knowledgeable guys about fruit. Might be someone in your area that could help out. Or if you want to try something different - keeping the trees smaller then you might try some alternative pruning techniques in a book titled - Grow A Little Fruit Tree by Ann Ralph.
I planted them last March/April but I didn't do any pruning at time of planting. They are only 5' tall. Should I wait until next year?
Thanks everyone!
What USDA zone are you in? Pruning now, in winter, will stimulate new growth in the spring, but is not recommended for peaches for various reasons. Early Spring (before sap rising) is usually recommended, however some recommend right after harvest. Peaches and the like often flower and fruit on second year wood so what branches sprout, it'll be a year, possibly 2 years before they bear. You definitely want to get rid of the damaged, diseased branches and the upright (water) sprouts and crossing branches - opening up the interior of the tree and with an eye to building a strong structure to support the crop. It's not unusual to prune maybe 40% off a peach tree each year. Right now, you want to concentrate on getting the strong structural framework -spreading and open, not upright and tight If you wait till summer, you might be able to keep the trees shorter and wider (no need for ladders to harvest) and possibly encourage more fruiting spurs. Instructions are in that little tree book
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I'm due East of St. Louis. I had to look it up. It's either 7a or 6b. I'm a little dense. So do NOT prune before Spring?
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On the pressure canner:
I was probably one of those recommending one with a gauge. That is primarily because the weighted one I bought years ago did not have a gauge and there weren't any handy YouTube videos to demonstrate how much a weight should shimmy. I just never completely trusted it. If I were to get a weighted one now, I'd definitely get one that also had a gauge.
As to using a 15 psi weight while canning at 11 psi using the gauge, sounds like good reasoning to me. I wouldn't have a problem doing that.
I was probably one of those recommending one with a gauge. That is primarily because the weighted one I bought years ago did not have a gauge and there weren't any handy YouTube videos to demonstrate how much a weight should shimmy. I just never completely trusted it. If I were to get a weighted one now, I'd definitely get one that also had a gauge.
As to using a 15 psi weight while canning at 11 psi using the gauge, sounds like good reasoning to me. I wouldn't have a problem doing that.
Well, like just about everything else - you talk to 100 experts and you get 100 different best ways. But the theory is thus - and may not happen in your area. Late frosts after prolonged warm spells are killers for peach blooms and young fruit. I gave up growing peaches around here just for that reason. Perhaps 3 years out of 10 would I get a crop because of late frosts after warm spells. Peaches like most fruits, have a chill requirement - meaning, they require so many days of cold weather to be able to produce a crop. Some varieties of peaches require more days, some require fewer chill days. If it is warm and their chill requirement is met, they will start the blooming process. Pruning is thought to especially trigger the blooming process. Theoretically, pruning in the dead of winter, would stimulate bloom development at the first warming spell, and the blooms will get killed at the next frost. Many small growers will wait until what is called "pink bud" stage - the bloom buds are just starting to swell and show some color - but still a few days until opening. Now, you talk to another grower, expecially big ones, and they have successfully pruned all during winter. There is no 100% correct right answer, just ones that should be better.
Training - don't want a central trunk, but an open "V" shape or vase shape with maybe 3 to 5 well-spaced main branches forming the vase. These branches should be roughly at a 45-degree angle to the trunk. You do not want a central leader, you want to leave the center open for sunlight and air so trim off the inward growing branches and any suckers or water sprouts that are growing upright. First trim off any dead, dying, diseased branches, then evaluate the remaining branches. I'd then cut off the inward growing and upright branches along with any water sprouts. Crossing branches that touch or grow from one side of the tree to the other should be eliminated. Even little branches that are growing inward should be pruned - little branches grow into big branches. Then finish off with trimming any sprouts from the lower trunk or rootstock. You want all the plant's energy going into the branches you have left above. When you cut off a branch - cut it just above an outward facing bud.
That will produce a peach tree that is not too large. But you can do things to keep a tree smaller - summer pruning. After you harvest the fruit, prune off your main branches by 1/3 or 1/2. Cut just above an outward facing bud. This will reduce yields from that tree, but will be much easier to harvest, and you can plant trees closer together, and might get more fruit in the same amount of space. With two trees, spaced well apart, I'd probably not worry about the size of the tree, unless you want to pick the fruit while standing on the ground. But if you want to grow a number of trees intensively, there are some interesting ways to do that - even espaliering.