Around the Yard #9: Still Here. Busy With Life..

oh my!! a successful year, I’d say.

I was all ready for my harvest of apples again this year but I hardly got any apples. Very disappointing.
So I’ll have to buy a bushel of apples and make up some apple juice for the year and some pie filling.

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Hadn’t tried making apple juice yet. I’m not a big fan, but will gladly devour a quart of apple sauce myself in a day.

Think we’ll try making some apple butter and see how that goes. Just need to spice it up, slap it in a crock pot and cook it into oblivion. ;)

Oh well.. Later on.. I’ve got a boston butt in my electric smoker outside going for super. Figured I’d use the electric smoker for it to keep the temps stable.. Besides, I got to a late start with it so I’ll be lucky if it’s done by 7.. :P

Hmmm.. Making myself hungry..

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

haha you’re making me hungry as well.
I don’t like apple juice OR apple sauce… bluck… but Rick likes it so I put the apple juice in small pop bottles (the mini-size) and it’s great for single serving lunches.
This year, with the few apples that I got, I made a few bottles of apple juice with apple pie spices in it. Rick says it is like drinking a piece of apple pie – he loves apple pie!
I tried it—it sure did taste a lot better than plain old apple juice!

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Gourdeous array around the strawberry box. One our favorites is figs with almond praline ice cream.

-- DougPhoto

I’ve got an almond tree on order for next March.. Will have to try that.. ;)

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

You really have been busy Scott.New table,gourds and produce all picked and ripening , a new garden and all that canning to boot.Wow.Way to go.

-- Bon,Hastings,Ont.....zone 5a....Always room for one more

What a transformation in your garden Scott. All looking great. Figs … I don’t think we can grown them in this area …. interesting indeed. What a fun time of year when the canning, pickle making etc. kicks in. However, we all know what follows. Best wishes.

-- blooz 5b - You can bury a lot of troubles digging in the dirt. ~author unkown

Hmm.. What follows is me getting the garden plot ready for next year.

I’m going to be mowing it down once frost hits and will till it under, working in my compost and soil amendments (pine fines), then I’m going to soak it down and layer clear plastic over the whole 30×50’ plot.

I’ll be leaving the plastic on for 4 months to allow total solarization of the soil, down to around 14” deep.

I figure a couple seasons of doing that, and I won’t have to worry about grass or weeds much at all.

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

blooz, I doubt it, but you may be able to grow some in a large pot and just bring it in to over winter.

Zone starts off at 7, which we’re in zone 6. The worst that happens with ours is that it has some die back to the ground, but it always comes back out without issue.

We can’t grow them into trees here at all. They grow into a shrub just fine.

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

I had a Paradiso fig tree until last year, when I ran out of room to bringing it in. I gave it to a friend. Unfortunately, it didn’t make it. However I used to get two crops of figs from it, here in zone 5 Canada. I always had to take it down to the cold cellar for its winter nap though.

What kind of fig do you have Scott?

-- jroot

See the other post.. ;)

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

Got it. Thanks, Scott.

-- jroot

So much great gardening work for you this year Scott … much improvement and it has been fun watching all the transformation. And all your beautiful daylilies!!!!! Fall is definitely on it’s way … as I’m having to get rid of a few of my baskets and my Stella’s are looking a bit worse for wear; time to cut them back. Been a good summer though, don’t ya think!!!!

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

Sure has been, Gram..

I’ve got some daylilies I got for free that I need to get in the ground so they don’t dry out. Hoping to get those in tomorrow.

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

Know what colors you ended up with?? You have a GREAT selection of daylilies … just a little envious … hahaha!!!

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

I don’t have a clue.. They were some unknowns he had in one of the beds where some trees were located. He had a tree mover come in (digs a 6 foot wide by 6 foot deep hole as it lifts the tree out) and needed to move them.

He also offered 2 or 3 beds of seedlings that he didn’t want for $100 if I dug them. Be about 10k daylilies..

I don’t have that much time on my hands though to prep a large bed over here and do all the digging and transport, else we would have.

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

Well be a nice surprise come spring, to see what color they are.

Wow that was quite an offer … but totally understand the lack of time. Sounds like you are making a good gardening “connection/friend” with this guy.

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

Sure will..

I’m trying to figure out how to best set up a trade list on Dave’s Garden. Only good way to do it is to know where everything is though.

I’m going to print off index sized pictures of all the daylilies I’d taken pictures of this year, try to locate their name, and then next year use those “flash cards” to ID which ones are blooming and note their location in a bed layout sheet.

Sure was a great offer. Really wish we’d been able to but eesh. It’d take me at least a couple days off work to handle it all.

My wife had been wanting on and off to do the breeding, but I don’t think she ever will.. She won’t compost any of the seedlings that aren’t up to snuff.

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

Shoot Scott, at the rate you are going, you could open your own “Daylily Farm” and sell a few in your area!! Something to maybe think about, but it would be a lot of work. You have a fantastic base with which to start.

Sounds like you got the right idea about indexing location and name of the pics you took. Good way to keep track too on that bed layout sheet. I think the system would work well as you expand your collection too.

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b