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Planting Strawberries - 2012

11/25/2012

Bare root strawberry plants from Ison's

Way back in September I placed my annual strawberry plant order with Ison's, and began dreaming of next spring when once again my boys would run outside to pick their fill of plump, juicy strawberries. Last year we really had a bumper crop, with each boy being able to get at least a cup of berries everyday for over a month. I attribute our great success last year to planting a good variety (Sweet Charlie), fertilizing well, mulching, and rigging up drip irrigation. I planted peppers in the strawberry bed in the summer in hopes of protecting them from the brutal summer heat, and being able to carry them through to this year. Unfortunately, the pepper plants shaded out the little strawberries, and only a handful of the original 100+ plants survived the summer.

As Thanksgiving got closer and closer, I became more and more nervous. Where were my plants? When were they going to be delivered. I emailed Ison's, and they said that my order would be delivered the second week of November. The second week of November came, but the strawberry plants didn't. We were going to leave town Wednesday night and be gone all of Thanksgiving weekend, and I hated to think that my boys weren't going to get to pick strawberries because all the plants died in a box on the porch, but what choice did I have? I would just have to hope that they would be alright on the porch until I got home.

Around noon on Wednesday, approximately 5 hours before we had planned to leave, I got a call. It was Dr. Wife. "You got a package from Ison's" she said. Crap! Why couldn't they have arrived a day earlier? I hadn't planned to take and vacation time for Thanksgiving, but this was a horticultural emergency. I raced home as fast as I could, and got busy digging. I dug three trenches one foot apart in each strawberry bed, added some humate and compost, and started setting the strawberry plants out spaced six inches apart. This year I decided to plant 50 Chandler and 50 Sweet Charlie. I've grown both, and know both can be tasty and productive. I would have really liked to have planted the variety Albion, but I couldn't find plants at a reasonable price. Once all 100 plants were in the ground, I generously fertilized the rows with MicroLife 6-2-4, and watered them in well.

Even though we did really well last year, I still learned a few lessons. First of all, while native hardwood mulch might be the best in terms of soil nutrition and fertility, it breaks down fairly quickly in a regularly watered bed. Once it begins to decompose, weeds and grasses can creep into the beds, and will take over if you're not diligent about weeding (which I'm not). I was at the feed mill awhile back picking up something, and saw a big pile straw bales. I decided to buy a few to try as mulch in the strawberry beds. They are 'straw'-berries after all. I figured that while the straw (not hay) would not be as nutritionally beneficial as the native hardwood mulch, but it would probably do a really good job suppressing weeds, and an excellent job at keeping the strawberries off the ground.

I also learned that I had run my drip irrigation lines too long, and as a result the beds weren't being watered evenly. Last year I had run a single 1/4-inch line from the spigot to water all of the porch beds and pots, which I now realize was inadequate. I pulled it up and replaced it with a 1/2-inch line, and installed much shorter drip lines to the strawberry plants, spaced one foot apart. This should ensure that all of the beds get watered evenly and consistently, and may even mean that I'll be able to carry the strawberry plants through until next year.

Hastily prepared strawberry bed.

Strawberry transplant.

Planted 6-inches apart in the row.

Planted and fertilized with MicroLife 6-2-4

Straw mulch for strawberries.

Modified drip irrigation system.

New growth after just a few days.

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T-Budding Citrus

11/18/2012

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Getting ready to propagate!

I have to admit that even though I feel that I have become proficient at cleft grafting and bark inlay grafting, I still feel a sense of trepidation when it comes to t-budding. T-budding is perhaps the most common grafting method used to propagate citrus trees, and according to the Texas A&M Aggie Horticulture website, it usually has a 98% success rate when done properly. The basic technique is pretty simple: You make an incision in the rootstock like an inverted letter T, insert your bud, and wrap it up with parafilm until it heals. Once the bud is healed, you unwrap it, "force" the bud, and the result is a grafted citrus tree.

Part of the reason I am not as practiced in t-budding is that I rarely graft for the purpose of propagating new trees. Usually my goal is to graft another variety onto one of my established trees, so I usually use the cleft or the bark inlay grafting methods. The first grafting technique I learned was the cleft graft, so I'm very comfortable with it. I have used the cleft graft on my apples, pears, plums, peaches, citrus, pomegranates, and figs, so I've had a lot of practice, and on more than just citrus trees. Bark inlay grafting is essentially just like t-budding, but done on a larger scale. With bark inlay grafting you insert a small budstick, not just a single bud. I've also had a lot of practice grafting with the bark inlay method, so I think that with a little t-budding practice, I should be able to become comfortable with it as well (or at least passable).

The trifoliate rootstocks I planted in the tall pots last year have grown very well, although not all have reached grafting size. Rootstocks with the same approximate thickness of a pencil are ideal. Even though it was late October and the rootstocks were a little small, a quick test showed that the bark of the rootstocks was still slipping, so I decided it was time for a little t-budding practice. I decided to try to propagate six trees of three varieties: Pong Koa, Cara Cara Navel Orange, and Ujukitsu. Following Texas A&M's instructions I carefully made the inverted T incisions, trimmed the buds from scionwood, and and carefully slid them in. Working as delicately as possible I wrapped them up with parafilm, and began the long two weeks of waiting to see if the buds would take, or if my surgical skills needed further refinement.

I learned a couple of side lessons during this experiment. First of all, the potting soil I used in the tall pots had compacted significantly, which made it difficult to cut the t-shaped incision at the best location on the rootstock. I have since learned that many growers cut their potting soil with pine bark nuggets or cedar chips to keep the potting mix from compacting, acidify it slightly, and to ensure good drainage. In addition, using 50% nuggets or chips significantly lowers the cost. Second, I learned that old parafilm can become brittle, and I found myself having to unwrap a good bit of the more weathered tape on the outside of the to get to the good stretchy stuff within. I also only had 1-inch wide tape, which was kind of awkward to use on such small rootstocks. I'll order some half-inch budding tape before I try again.

Finally, after two weeks had passed, I carefully unwrapped the grafts. Success! Of my six attempts, four were successful. One of the Pong Koas and one of the Cara Caras didn't make it. I realize that's only a 66% success rate, but considering how small the rootstocks were an the fact that I'm still learning, I'm very pleased. I really should have done it earlier in the year though. Now that the days are shorter and the trifoliate is going dormant, the buds probably won't begin to grow until next spring. That's ok, they'll be safe and warm in the greenhouse until then. I don't have any plans to start propagating trees on a large scale, but its nice to be able to share varieties with friends, and to be able to graft budwood from my experimental seedlings onto trifoliate. I've got 40 more rootstocks to practice with when they start growing again next spring!

1. Trim off the thorns.

2. Make the inverted 'T' incision.

3. Cut the bud from the budwood.

4. Insert the bud.

5. Wrap it up with parafilm.

6. Unwrap after two weeks. Success!

Forcing the bud.

Failed bud.

Tree frog hanging out among the trifoliate.

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Pummelos - Citrus maxima

11/11/2012

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Sarawak and Hirado Buntan Pummelos

When it comes to pummelos, I don't know if I should pronounce it "pummel-o", or "pom-ell-o". Lake Jackson citrus expert John Panzarella says "pummel-o", so I do too. I've seen the word spelled a variety of ways (pummelo, pumelo, pomelo), and I've also seen them referred to as Chinese grapefruit, shaddocks, and pompelmous. I may not know the correct pronunciation, spelling, or origin of those strange aliases, but one thing I do know is that pummelos are delicious! Ever since I first tasted them a few years ago, they have ranked among my favorite fruits. Even though they superficially resemble large grapefruits, they are very different. The peels are very thick, and the flesh is very firm and sweet, and encased in tough, thick membranes. They are much less juicy than other citrus, and they have none of the bitterness one would expect from a grapefruit.

After much waiting, this weekend we picked Hirado Buntan and Sarawak pummelos. Boy #1 was very excited to finally pick the monster citrus we've been watching all year. After picking them, we brought them inside to weigh them on Dr. Wife's kitchen scale. The Sarawak weighed in at 2 lbs, 13.2 oz, Hirado Buntan weighed in at a whopping 3 lbs, 7.8 oz! The Hirado Buntan is a pink-fleshed pummelo, and the Sarawak is a yellow-green-fleshed fruit. After tasting the two, I think that the Hirado Buntan is still a few weeks a way from being at peak ripeness, but the Sarawak was phenomenal! While the Hirado Buntan was only mildly flavored, the Sarawak was bursting with an intense and juicy lime/melon flavor. After tasting it, I couldn't get that tree planted in the ground fast enough. I planted it near the 1,000-gallon rain tank where it should be protected from frosts and get full sun. With any luck I'll have tons of the massive fruit before too long.

I'm not counting out the Hirado Buntan. When Dr. Wife and I first went to John Panzarella's citrus tasting, we had the exact opposite experience. His Hirado Buntans tasted phenomenal, and his Sarawaks were mild and a little watery. This makes me think that the Hirado Buntan just ripens a little later than the Sarawak, which is fine with me, because that means a longer pummelo season. We're also planting a Chandler pummelo this year, and if I can get my hands on the budwood, I'll also be grafting the Mato Buntan and Reinking pummelos onto some other trees.

Pummelos are one of the ancestral varieties of citrus, from which all other citrus (oranges, grapefruits, etc.) originate, and unlike more modern citrus their seeds are nucellar (i.e. produce hybrids). Not being able to pass up the chance to discover a cool new variety, I planted some seeds from each fruit. I don't know what may have pollinated the fruit, but they could have easily crossed with any of the several different citrus varieties that are growing in my yard. You never know what you might get. I'll let you know in a couple of years.

This Hirado Buntan weighed almost 4 lbs!

Monster-sized citrus

Flesh of the Sarawak

Flesh of the Hirado Buntan

Today The Bell House blog turns 2 years old. Thank you to everyone for reading, for your comments/emails, and your encouragement!

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Citrus Leaf Miners - Fighting Back

11/4/2012

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Leaf Miner Damage

This year the citrus leaf miners have gone from being a nuisance to all-out infestation. All summer I watched as each sprig of new growth was mercilessly attacked by the little jerks. They would attack every leaf, causing them to shrivel, curl, and eventually fall off, leaving barren green twigs that should have been covered in lush green foliage. Once the leaves were gone, they even began to attack green wood. I typically don't spray any of my trees at all, preferring to let the good bugs take care of the bad ones. Unfortunately the natural predator of the leaf miner (a parasitoid wasp) doesn't live in Texas, and until an effective predator is introduced their numbers continue to grow unchecked. After some of my very young seedlings were almost completely defoliated, I decided enough was enough. It was time to fight back.

I think the damage was so bad this year for a couple reasons. First of all we really didn't have a winter this year, so there were no hard freezes to knock their populations down. Secondly, it was very wet year, which resulted in lots of new tender growth. So the leaf miners started the season at full strength, and were then treated to a huge supply of food. Of course, I'm sure I see a lot citrus leaf miners because I have a lot of citrus trees. There are also many many citrus trees planted in our neighborhood that experience regular leaf miner damage. So how should I fight them? Even if I had an effective treatment to wipe them out at my house, my trees would soon be re-colonized by invaders from my neighbors' yards. Clearly, this will be war of attrition.

Local expert Yvonne Gibbs says that she just plucks the affected leaves off of her trees, and that she is able to effective control the leaf miners in her yard that way. I wish I could do the same, but it has become so bad that if I plucked off every damaged leaf, the trees would almost be bare! I was talking with Mary Cummings (owner of RCW nursery) after the miracle fruit tasting we had there, and I asked her how she dealt with leaf miners. Their stock of citrus trees looked fantastic and healthy, and I mistakenly assumed that a nursery would have to use some nasty chemicals to keep the trees free of blemishes and looking good for sale. I was wrong! She told me that RCW uses an organic control method they learned from Randy Lemmon, that they use the same products they're selling at the nursery, and that they had not seen any bad leaf miner problems since they had implemented the program.

Randy Lemmon's program consists of alternating sprays of spinosad and neem oil, both of which are organic, every 7-10 days. Once the infestation is under control, he recommends dropping back to spraying every 10-14 days to prevent re-infestation. Spinosad is easy to find at local nurseries and big box stores in low concentrations (0.5% spinosad), but you can also buy one quart Conserve SC (11% spinosad) online for $150. The only containers of neem oil I could find locally were the little 8-ounce containers that cost $10 ($1.25 per ounce). Lucky for me, Mary special ordered a one gallon container of 100% neem oil for me ($0.75 per ounce), which should last over three years. She said she should also special order Conserve SC, but I decided to stick with the Fertilome spray for now.

So beginning September 1st until October 14th, I sprayed the trees every Sunday night, alternating between spinosad and neem oil. My strategy is to try to knock the leaf miners back a bit before we go into winter, spray all the trees with a good dormant oil in January, and then resume the spinosad/neem spray regimen in the spring in order to drive as many out of my yard as possible. I took care to only spray at dusk so as not to harm the bees, and did my best to really cover the trees well, especially the undersides of the leaves. I found that it took approximately 2 gallons to adequately cover everything, including the trees in the greenhouse. I read that spraying neem oil in hot weather could cause in leaf curling, and even though I sprayed at dusk when it had cooled off a bit, I still noticed some leaves with minor curling. Oh well, I haven't noticed any other ill effects from the spraying thus far, and I'd much rather have some slightly curled leaves than leaves damaged by miners. Other than that the results so far have been very encouraging, and I am very optimistic that with continued diligence, my trees can look as good as Mary's and Yvonne's.

$8 for 8 ounces

$7 for 16 ounces

$21 for 32 ounces

1 gallon of 100% Neem Oil

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Planting Strawberries - 2012

T-Budding Citrus

Pummelos - Citrus maxima

Citrus Leaf Miners - Fighting Back

Clayton Bell

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