Down To Earth Garden Club

Meeting for the month of May. There will be some new topics up for discussion.

Plants that I have found to be very resistant to being eaten:
Foxgloves
Hellebores
All of the hyssops (Agastache) The golden on is particularly pretty.
Aconite
Catmints (very pretty, long flowering plants in many different sizes) We're trying Walkers Low on the embankment this year. Where the groundhog problem is horrendous.
More later and feel free to add your own.

Some kind of Mutinus or stinkhorn? Too bad I didn't smell it.

Has anyone else tried them? They are a charming semi-shade lover that is blooming right now. Totally deer proof because they are poisonous.
Mine reseeded themselves and most of the dozen or so that I put in pots last fall came through he winter. They seem to be a very tough plant.

I really need a trellis and probably some systematic pruning. They are a bit much for me to handle. I planted them where there is an underground spring and they seem to like the extra water. I fear that they do not get enough sun though. With all of the surrounding trees there are few spots that get a full day of sun.

That's terribe when that stuff happens. I'm always afraid that we are going to have set backs from the Elk or the weather, but you will see fruit.  I can bet you lost the female as the male doesn't fruit it is just there as a pollinater. I do have a website to get more plants if you need it.

As long as they keep comming back you know they like the spot you chose for them. I haven't done a whole lot of research on them as far as the PH of the soil they like and such, but I'm sure you'll do well with them. I have found that a good strong section of chainlink fence makes a great trellis for vine plants like grapes and such. It let's them take right off. It will however make pruning tricky if you're not right on top of it. So even maybe a 4 ft section of chainlink would give you a nice strong section for them to climb if you could get one maybe 6 or 8 ft high. I know tru-value stores carry them and it shouldn't be to hard to put up.

My kiwis had a big set back a few years ago. They were growing up a large maple tree that came down in a high wind bringing the kiwis with it. I haven't seen any blossoms since and I suspect those first ones were from either a male or single female plant as I never got any fruit. I keep hoping. The vines from this particular variety are extremely robust and difficult to handle.

We use mixed mulch that we get for free from local sawmills. It works very well. We also use peatmoss and bloodmeal. I am getting an organic nitrogen compound to try this year that you use in three applications. I hope that it goes well.
As for the kiwis, they can take up to 7 years before you will see any fruit, so patience is key. But 1 male plant can polinate up to 7 plants so put a few more in the ground. If you are seeing flowers HURRAY!! Great sign! Let me know if they are tastey! I can't wait to see if anyone is having success with them!

Come on over and have a look sometime! We are still trying to work with some agencies on some grants or maybe even low interest ag loans to get us moving faster. It's such an exciting project. I just hate the waiting game. I know all our hard work will pay off some day though. I'm just praying that our children will take up our interest and carry on the tradition once we're too old to keep up with it all! LOL

I was wondering if you have considered using sawdust on the blueberries? It has the advantage of being free. I know it uses up nitrogen from the soil as it decomposes but we compensate for that by tossing on some extra nitrogen as it goes down. Or use composted sawdust. It doesn't take long with a big pile. I wouldn't think that blueberries are very heavy feeders as the wild ones grow on the worst possible soil around here.

I have two female and one male kiwis that grow extremely well. One of them bloomed only once but I have never had any fruit. Probably they don't get enough sun. My usual problem.

Paw Paws sound interesting. I actually had some small trees that I grew from seed once but they did not do well in the greenhouse and I didn't think they would survive our winters. Keep us posted on that one.

I don't know if you are originally from this area or not but one of the major problems that we have had with our fruit trees is late frosts and pollination. The frosts frequently get the flowers and heavy rains in the spring can keep the blossoms from being pollinated. At least this is what the old folks tell me is happening. We are however at the foot of a hill so we do tend to be a bit colder that other sections.

Hi Mary Pat,
Welcome to the forum! We are delighted to have you here. This is a new endeavor for us, as well.
Please check your PM's perhaps there are a few of our members you should know if you don't know therm already. Good luck with the farm!