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Post by richardw on Dec 2, 2016 12:12:59 GMT -5
As to the Californian thistle, I think the Canadians are too polite to mention it at all, eh? yes ..well, its a rather prickly subject |
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Post by richardw on Dec 2, 2016 12:32:26 GMT -5
I haven't paid attention to why my greengage is so productive (since maybe six years), but I have several other plums nearby, Japanese types, so who knows? My purple gage is very productive, though rather later; there are other plums near it, prunes, mostly, as well. Unlike copse who's 200km away from me its been so dry here for two years now, but a standard winter the water table can get as high as a spade depth below ground, so stone fruit dont do well at all, greengage plums are borderline, while all the other plums seem to be doing a lot better its the mid flowering spring frosts that knock out 100% of some trees flowers, but i do have one Satsuma Japanese plum that flowers over a month period, so that one tends to produce fruit. |
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Post by richardw on Dec 2, 2016 12:40:37 GMT -5
I don't feel so bad about my orchard now. With the wet Spring, it's extremely lush grass/dock wise. I gave it a going over with banvine in the hope I can clear out the dock, and some of the californian thistle is looking as effected as the dock, although that's not on the target list. Next time I get a few days when the grass dries enough, I might try and do a trial and see if it consistently works on the thistle and skip the roundup. Look at it to the fact they we dont need to waste time mowing, we can walk though all that high ground cover bare footed with out the worry of snakes and spiders. |
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Post by copse on Dec 2, 2016 13:57:58 GMT -5
I grafted my greengage to the coe's golden drop in the hope it would result in better flowering there, but I should really graft it onto my most vigourous Hawera as well. Would be interesting to see the difference, in how the scion handles being on both. 10 years?  You've got more patience than me. |
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Post by diane on Dec 3, 2016 0:12:24 GMT -5
We call the wretched stuff Canada Thistle, even though it is an immigrant from Eurasia. It's the only thistle with male and female flowers
on different plants, but with its deep creeping roots, it doesn't need seeds to conquer the world.
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Post by steev on Dec 3, 2016 0:33:17 GMT -5
Like Communism, it only needs the lack of attention of the complacent; sorry, too "Cold War" a straight line to pass up.
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Post by richardw on Jan 11, 2017 15:00:37 GMT -5
A few summer garden photos i chair up troughs suffering the winter blues. Crystal bean in the left bed and Kentucky wonder in the two other beds, all for seed production  Unlike Australia we are allowed to grow Tobacco, though you cant sell or distribute it. A mate who smokes has a small garden that he prefers to grow food in, so i said he could grow it here, saves him a few bucks.  Trying my hand at growing beans up sunflowers and Squash together, may work better in single rows but in my one metre wide beds it gets to dark underneath so ive pulled leaves off, this has helped a bit, Squash is still not over the moon with where ive placed it though.  |
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Post by steev on Jan 11, 2017 20:21:55 GMT -5
I thought sunflowers were somewhat allelotrophic.
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Post by richardw on Jan 11, 2017 23:05:16 GMT -5
Ya lost me with that word steev, even Mr Google couldn't come to the party on that one.
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Post by steev on Jan 12, 2017 1:33:02 GMT -5
I must have mis-spoken; what I meant is the habit of some plants to exude compounds which inhibit the growth of other plants. Black walnut is an example. Should it have been "allopathic"?
What can I say? I'm neither a botanist nor very focused. Obviously you found your perplexity manageable; a good heads up; thanks.
Wasn't it you who mocked me once, years ago? Very well done, as I recall. If we aren't having fun, what's the point?
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Post by raymondo on Jan 12, 2017 3:03:49 GMT -5
A combo of the two - allelopathic ... I've tried it. The beans seem to do ok so whatever the sunflowers exude doesn't seem to bother the beans. Love the pics richardw. |
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Post by richardw on Jan 12, 2017 3:38:19 GMT -5
Nothing better than a good chuckle hey steev... even if it was at your expense.
I think its more to do with water or lack of it as sunflowers are pretty thirsty buggers, the beans are doing ok, certainly wouldn't say they are thriving though
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Post by walt on Jan 12, 2017 12:44:48 GMT -5
I know the perennial sunlower, H. maximilliani, is allelopathic.
We did an experiment at the Land Institute about 35 years ago. We wanted to test the yield reduction due to weeds. We planted a about 12 rows and weeded 6 and didn't weed 6. Weeds came up and the rows we didn't weed were soon a tangled mess of weeds. The experiment was so ugly we concidered destroying it so visitors, potential donors, wouldn't think we were just too lazy to weed.
Then over just a few days, when the sunflowers and weeds were almost knee high, the weeds suddenly died. Then the experiment was the first place we'd show visitors. We'd brag that the sunflower we were trying to domesticate didn't need either cultivation or herbicides.
And at harvest the yield hadn't been hurt.
Allelopathy doesn't keep all plants down though. Walnut trees can kill tomatoes, but daylilies and many other things thrive under them. Same with sunflowers. A few species of weeds aren't harmed at all. If we'd tried the same experiment elsewhere, the results might have been totally different.
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Post by richardw on Jan 12, 2017 13:23:50 GMT -5
Interesting, i know fat hen doesn't do well under sunflower where deadly nightshade would thrive, if i let em, i'm hard on weeds.
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Post by prairiegardens on Jan 12, 2017 16:44:47 GMT -5
Don't know the difference between Canada and Scotch thistle, but either one you can peel and eat the stems. The ultimate revenge for trespass..
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You've got more patience than me.
