We actually got enough rain tonight that you could smell it. The leaves became wet with drops of rain but not enough to put any moisture in the ground. No rain for our entire winter so far and little last year. It doesn't look good. We're going to dig out some groups of day lilies in the backyard and remove some grass by the front side. I wouldn't call it grass, more like the remnant of a lawn long ago. Slowly replacing grass that requires a lot of water for plants that will give food for a lot of water.
In place of the day lilies will be blueberries. I like the look of blueberries anyway, a darkish green leafy shrub that has beautiful blue fruit. You have to fight the birds for them but it will be worth it. Before the blueberries go in the alkaline soil will have to be dug out some and replaced with redwood compost--forest-type compost. Blueberries require acidic soil to fruit well.
I'm going to post pictures and write on how to prune table grapes on our arbor. We have two red seedless, one a flame, a Thompson and Concord. The Concord has a few small seeds, but the flavor, it's like a dessert wine when you bite into one. And It's time now, due to our weather, to prune the grapes for this year's crop. It's done a bit differently than a wine grape and the results are not only fruitful but beautiful.
The canes we'll prune from the grapes will be used for our backyard barbecues this year. The old vines will be dried to smoke meats, fowl and fish. Grape cuttings, in my opinion, are far better for taste in smoking when compared with apple, mesquite, or hickory. Pork ribs get mighty tasty over a low heat and the smoke of grape cuttings.
Also, we'll have to start planting garlic soon to get large bulbs by the beginning of summer. There's enough left over from last year to plant for this year. Good garlic too. And the compost we started a couple of weeks ago, and posted about, is just about finished. I'll take some photos of the end result and begin another batch once the tub is empty. The grapes will need a heavy dose of compost around their roots before new buds appear.
It was amazing how well the lemon tree came back with our homemade compost. Two years ago, we had one scrawny lemon and a very sick Meyer lemon tree. After heavy pruning and then sprayed with a mineral oil/ water solution, once a month to fight pests, plus mulching in good rich compost, gave us seven large, beautifully sweet-sour large lemons and this year, I'm hoping for a lot more fruit to set.
Hope we get some rain real soon. Next post with pics will be on pruning table grapes.
No comments:
Post a Comment