frozenoak
Yamadori
This was an odd year in our vegetable garden. I treated the soil as usual with compost, gypsum, and other modifiers. Then I planted the rows as the plan called for but we had a few surprises. First, my beans, carrots, and lettuce never came in. It was the first time in this yard with all three of them so I wasn't too heart broke over it.
As the new plants never came in I never got around to hoeing those rows. It was an interesting experiment. I got 13 tomato plants of various species and 9 unidentified plants. Because I was reasonably sure the 9 plants were not vegetables but did want to know what they were I carefully dug them out of the garden and transplanted them into pots. Here we are some 6 months later and with the help of my local nursery I have 7 more or less identified saplings.
The first few were easy to identify. Those are 2 Mangoes and 1 Avocado. I was able to make that determination based on the seeds they were growing from. I had 2 each of 2 other plants that I had to take down to the nursery. It was an interesting study in plant identification that ended up with a small crowd of 5 specialists trying to identify my plants. The final verdict was that I most likely had 2 ash and 2 coral trees and was told to bring them back when they had flowers.
I am not even new to bonsai yet. I was fascinated by it several years ago but I was in the Marine Corps and the threat of constant travel kept my enthusiasm in check. Watching these saplings grow along side the 2 coffee plants I have been able to germinate and maintain I have begun to play with the idea that Maybe I could start practicing Bonsai.
I am going to have a lot of questions. I'll do quite a bit of research on my own but this is a new hobby and I'm way out of my depth right now. I know that if any of these trees are viable for Bonsai it'll be years before they'll be ready but I've watched paint dry and grass grow before.
I do a lot of hiking around my house. I live almost smack dab in the middle between the ocean and the Cleavland National Forest. It is mostly Chaparral around me mixed with dry creek beds and grass covered hills. My hike tomorrow morning will have a new focus. I'll be on the lookout for a tempting Coast Live Oak, Canyon Live Oak, or Coast Scrub Oak (or maybe just an acorn or two). Oaks have always been my favorite trees.
As the new plants never came in I never got around to hoeing those rows. It was an interesting experiment. I got 13 tomato plants of various species and 9 unidentified plants. Because I was reasonably sure the 9 plants were not vegetables but did want to know what they were I carefully dug them out of the garden and transplanted them into pots. Here we are some 6 months later and with the help of my local nursery I have 7 more or less identified saplings.
The first few were easy to identify. Those are 2 Mangoes and 1 Avocado. I was able to make that determination based on the seeds they were growing from. I had 2 each of 2 other plants that I had to take down to the nursery. It was an interesting study in plant identification that ended up with a small crowd of 5 specialists trying to identify my plants. The final verdict was that I most likely had 2 ash and 2 coral trees and was told to bring them back when they had flowers.
I am not even new to bonsai yet. I was fascinated by it several years ago but I was in the Marine Corps and the threat of constant travel kept my enthusiasm in check. Watching these saplings grow along side the 2 coffee plants I have been able to germinate and maintain I have begun to play with the idea that Maybe I could start practicing Bonsai.
I am going to have a lot of questions. I'll do quite a bit of research on my own but this is a new hobby and I'm way out of my depth right now. I know that if any of these trees are viable for Bonsai it'll be years before they'll be ready but I've watched paint dry and grass grow before.
I do a lot of hiking around my house. I live almost smack dab in the middle between the ocean and the Cleavland National Forest. It is mostly Chaparral around me mixed with dry creek beds and grass covered hills. My hike tomorrow morning will have a new focus. I'll be on the lookout for a tempting Coast Live Oak, Canyon Live Oak, or Coast Scrub Oak (or maybe just an acorn or two). Oaks have always been my favorite trees.
Next time we have our Orange County Study Group you should join us - we often meet up in Lake Forest...
