Tabs!

I finally added informational tabs to the blog. They are located just beneath the title near the top of the blog.  One is a brief page about the evolution of the property and is called "Evolution of .09 Acres". The other tab is more detailed and discusses "What's Growing".  Also a few pictures for good measure.  Check out these new features and enjoy.

Espalier Fig or Stepover?

I've been attempting to espalier a Celeste fig against the corner of my shed since last summer.  It's a young plant so I've had some success with the flexible new growth, but I've got a long way to go.  The following picture shows the tree in mid-summer 2010.

Fig in early stages of espalier training.

When I first planted it I thought "Okay, I'm going for an espalier." Most of you probably know it's a bit more time-consuming than that.  My first mistake was not building a strong framework to guide the plant's growth.  I got lazy and simply dug a few metal supports into the ground and tied down the growing limbs with string.  I know most plants want to grow upward, but I was still surprised when the young limbs were strong enough to pull my supports out of the ground.

Note that the lowest limbs are generally horizontal to the ground.  I say "generally" because the nice lush leaves hide alot of my mistakes. The top 2/3 of the plant grew last summer.  Talk about some serious growth.

I finally wised up this past weekend and built an appropriate "ground level" support/frame for the lowest limbs.  I drove 2-foot cedar stakes into the ground and used a plastic coated metal pole for the horizontal guide section.  I used plastic ribbon to firmly secure the pole to the posts. I then pulled down the wayward growth and secured it tightly (but with enough slack/space to allow for growth without strangling the limbs) to the horizontal pole.

Cedar stakes and horizontal pole to train lowest limbs.

I didn't build a massive structure because I'm still deciding whether or not I want to have a multi-tiered espalier or opt for a stepover.  A stepover is essentially a 1-tier espalier close to the ground.  I'm thinking that I'll probably go with a stepover because individual fig limbs can grow multiple feet in a season.  All new growth starting close to the ground will have plenty of vertical space for full growth. It also means I'll prune the central leader back to the level of the horizontal limbs.  And the greedy ants will likely thank me for creating orderly tightropes that lead to tasty figs in late summer.  Sybil knows that it's a race between human and ant when fig harvest begins!

If I opt for a stepover, I will cut the central growth you see at the corner of the shed.

If you think I'm crazy for considering cutting off such lush growth, you need to check out the following pictures of stepover figs in Japan. They get multiple feet of growth per growing limb each season and the farmers heavily cut back each limb every winter, leaving a unique appearance.

Vertical summer growth from a stepover fig tree trained horizontally.  You can also see small figs in this picture.

Lush stepovers in active growth.

Stepover figs in the fall after leaf drop.  Note the massive limbs that grew during the main growing season.

Here is a set of heavily pruned stepovers.  They don't necessarily look pretty, but they are extremely productive in a relatively small growing space.

What do you guys think of this?  Does anybody have experience with espaliered fruit trees?  Do you have any pictures, links, or suggestions to share?  Let me know, I'd love to hear from you.

Laying Down the Law(n)

I know I've said it before, but I'm done with mowing.  No more.  Finis.  With that in mind, I have been making a concerted effort over the past few weeks to kill the grass and weeds in my backyard.  I don't want to use chemicals, out of the question.  I don't want to dig and till and pull, too much effort.  Smothering is the name of the game, or at least it's what I'm attempting to do with wheat straw, cardboard, and mulch.

Layers of wheat straw, cardboard, more straw, and a few inches of mulch on top of grass and weeds.

It rained all day Saturday.  Rained hard.  Most sane people were inside staying warm and dry.  I'm not sane.  I moved 4 cubic yards of mulch from the city compost facility in 1 yard loads, then shoveled it into a wheelbarrow and carted it into my backyard.  I couldn't think of a better way to spend 7 hours on a Saturday.  Like I said, I'm not sane.  Sanity doesn't run in the family.  I remember watching my 75-year-old grandfather climb a tree with one arm while holding a chainsaw with his other arm.  I also remember my dad mowing the lawn at night after a long day at work.  I figured moving mulch in the rain wasn't out of the ordinary.

For a few weeks my strategy involved spreading wheat straw all over the portions of grass I wanted to smother.  I followed that up with layers of thick cardboard.  I made sure to  provide significant overlap from piece to piece to avoid gaps in the coverage.  Then I added another layer of straw and finally a thick 3-4" layer of fresh mulch.

My dog, the ever loyal sentinel, inquisitively patrolling his new turf.

I did not have enough cardboard or mulch to complete the whole process, but I finished approximately 70% of the yard.  I deliberately avoided putting down mulch in the areas between raised beds.  I intend to join those sections of beds to create a longer growing area.  Yes, I'll lose the convenience of being able to walk between the individual beds, but I'll gain the extra planting space and I'll just have to take a few more steps to reach the other side of the beds.  Essentially, I'll have 2 very long beds instead of smaller ones.  It's a small yard so every inch of growing space is at a premium.

Un-mulched area between two raised beds.  The top left bed contains kale and the lower right bed contains carrots.

I plan on using the same type of untreated 2x8's to enclose the un-mulched sections for planting.  I'll likely plant the new spaces with tomatoes since I planted the majority of beds with tomatoes last summer.  This will provide me with some additional rotation space and will prevent the buildup of pests and diseases in last year's locations.  

Overall shot of newly mulched area of yard.  Pomegranate tree branches in right foreground.

I'm gambling on the idea that layer upon layer of mulch will smother the grass and weeds. The concept is also quite similar to lasagna gardening.  I have no doubt that grass and other things will conspire against me and grow, but I'm hoping for the best.  In the photo above, I still need to mulch the area between the covered beds and white fence, the area in the back right adjacent to the shed, and the area behind and to the left of where I was standing when I took this photo.  I will post more about my plans for the area near the white fence at a later date this winter or early spring.  Think fig trees...