Which variety are you growing?
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Those are Pinot Noir wine grapes. We also have some Red Flame and Thompson Seedless, which are table grapes for eating and turning into raisins.
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Indeed, also over here. A very, very cold spring.
Seedling(s) dead suckes indeed.
Itās part of it, but I donāt know about you, but I got used to the early and warm springs past years. 
One positive point, it seems I can finally get ahead of a lot of weeds. Till my hands stop because of cold.
Rest of your seedlings/plants OK?
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Wow, nice. Over here only buts, and waiting and waiting. Luckily, no leaves yet. Way to cold now, freezing. Not a lot, but enough.
Some (young) plants are turning purple. Hopefully the weather forecast is correct and about two days it will get a bit warmer. \o/
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Thatās true, and very nice to do.
I thought you first needed to replace the sucker(s) make them root well and than graft into them.
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If the sucker is growing below the union (where the scion is grafted to the rootstock), then the sucker is made of rootstock wood. If the sucker is growing above the union, then it is part of the scion wood. Sometimes the union is no longer easy to see. In the case of a 100-year old red-fleshed apple tree, it may take an expert to spot the union. I am guessing the union for this tree is located 10 inches or lower on the trunk, measured from the ground. Thatās a typical place.
If the tree doesnāt need to be moved much from its location, a grafter can make use of suckers below the union as extra rootstock, ready to accept grafts. If the tree must be moved from its general area, the rootstock with a successful graft a few years old can be dug up with a large rootball, in winter, and transplanted.
(tape, usually paraffin- or beeswax-based, goes over the whole cut area above, to keep out the rain and pathogens, and keep in the moisture/sap)
Not all scion wood will grow on all rootstocks. I have countless experiments here where the rootstock is healthy and vigorous and just doesnāt want to support a white peach scion, or a black plum scion, or apricot or nectarineā¦ all these placed in real life on a peach ātreeā that had died back to the graft union one bad winter when it was extra cold.
Ceaseless experimentation. With tags and documentation, and plenty of duplicates to retest after initial trials. Itās a gameā¦ the stuff that tastes the best wins!
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yap, itās a desaster. Friday I was wearing a t-shirt and had many many many cigarette breaks just to stand in the sun - since Saturday a combination of sleet, rain and ugly.
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Oh wow. So gray and wet. I am sorry! I commiserate.
I am attempting to end on an upnote hereā¦ time to get the old body moving:
I hope you have some good speakers attached to your computer. Or headphones. Maybe where you are, you have to be quiet and not disturb others who are working or asleep?
I like to bug my kids by using my good speakers (loud) instead of headphones with this song when they wonāt get up fast enough to get to school on time. They get angry and then they smell breakfast tacos when they come to the table and suddenly itās not soooooo bad.
Introspective version:
"I donāt know what tomorrow brings.
Itās full of such possibility.
But I know that I feel better when I singā
Burdens are lifted from me.
Thatās my voice, rising."
Gets me every dang timeā¦ [sniff]
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Lovely thanks. Itās always a strange thing, normally I would never go for this type of music. But when it comes at my path and I take the time to listen, it touch. And that is is a good thing. Warming.
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And to keep the spirit high. Donāt we love weeds, at there places?
One hour light/sun:
Maybe making some jelly tomorrow.
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It seems safe to assume this sucker is scion wood then (i love the little fungi peeking up there in the background).
I have grown to love dandelions and often include the young leaves in salads (I guess that is what I see here).
While I was out looking for suckers I ran across a variety of wild lily I hadnāt seen before and was amused to find its common name is āblue dicksā (or, though not quite as colorful, common brodiaea). This area has so many wonderful varieties of wild flowers I like to get pictures and keep a record of new discoveries.
Meanwhile 700 miles or so North here are what my grapes are up to. I have only lived here about 4 years now. Just getting a grip on how to handle the basics of what is going on on this property. I have no idea what to do with the grapes besides water them and get to the ripe ones before the birds do. I am guessing they need full sun because the white grape that got stuck shaded by a carport valiantly tries, but is never able to fruit. Transplanting it seems rather daunting.
Wish this picture better captured the lovely blush on the new growth
Behind the sad grape at the bottom of the frame the Asian pear, and what I guess is a Dāanjou, can be seen.
@j9c listening to the music you posted made me wonder if perhaps my choice in gardening music contributed to my injury. There is a William Blake quote that I think helps illustrate this problem which I encounter frequently.
āYou never know what is enough until you know what is more than enough.ā
Lately my gardening music of choice has been this uptempo Brazillian/broken beat stuff. Its a very sunny sound.
@Missy_Pants and @Stynx I hope you both get through the frosty days soon and meanwhile enjoy some rest before the work of the season hits full swing.
As for me, back to weeding tomorrow (no rock or earth moving for a bit longer).
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Heh. Blakeās got my MO spot-on. My pinched nerve on my neck is reporting in, and the news isā¦ ungood. I did a lot of heavy work today.
Thanks for that fun perky music link. For me, thatās more like stuff Iād listen to on a major road trip. Trance out going west on I-10 heading to New Mexico. A big fan of DJ Cheb i Sabbahā¦ I miss that guyās tasty compositions and perceptive choices (RIP Chebiji!):
ā¦ nice for repetitive tasks like pulling weeds and chop-and-drop. Used to do garden chores listening to The Ramones and Gogol Bordello. I think that was the week I pulled a muscle in my back. Then Tinariwenās stuff all started becoming available and man thatās got a good mix of tempo and Tamashek (holy crap thatās one ancient language) and seriously addictive guitar hooks.
Sorry Iām yet again veering off-topic. I do love listening to this on my pickup truck speakers because the people who walk by usually stop, listen, and ask me āwhat is that music?ā I tell them if they will help me shovel the mulch or manure I will text them the name of the band. Ha! Usually no one helps me, and I end up promoting Tinariwen anyway.
Keep Austin Weird, man.
Time for ibuprofen and going to bed. Ice packs all ready to go in freezer, if tonight is going to be anything like last night. Hoping to go to chiropractor on Monday.
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Hope your neck is feeling better! Mine I think (fingers crossed) is back to normal. Didnāt get it checked out but I am sure it was just a muscle spasm from my pruning zeal.
Iām glad you enjoyed Da Lata! I randomly discovered them while doing an image search. Guess the name is basically a music genre; like calling your act hip hop or something. The stuff you shared was great, ESPECIALLY Tinariwen! Would gladly shovel a variety of materials for that gem!
I also noticed that my previous post said scion in regard to the first image but should have said root stock, which I realize was backward. In any case I am starting the rooting process of the red fleshed apple scion wood. Hope I can get it to work!
Sadly my pear trees are goners, I have been treating a fungus infection in them with copper soap to no avail. On further inspection was able to identify pear rust fungus. Even if I was interested in using some kind of scary, toxic anti-fungal stuff, it isnāt available outside of commercial operations. So they are going to get chopped down and burnt and hopefully the other pear trees in the area (and junipers too) will remain unscathed.
I wasnāt going to put in more plants this year. Just maintain my perennial beds and over seed the yard with some wild flower mix, but it is out of my hands. My mother in-law/gardening partner-in-crime/plant enabler keeps bringing me flowers. Most recently half a dozen pansies and another half dozen snap dragons. At this point I am totally off the wagon and we are planning a massive nursery trip this week. Week sounds like weak, like my willpower. Which may only be a figment of my imagination in a predetermined world. All I am sure of is I NEED more flowers!!!
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Oh no! Pear rust sucks! And yes burning the infected material is sadly one of the accepted methods of controlling it. (Kill the patient to save the patient?) Ye gods. Is there a cultivar that is more resistant that will work better in your area? Can you talk with your local county extension agent about such cultivars? I love pears: Asian and European. I was just at a friendās yesterday, we ate melt-in-your-mouth DāAnjou pears and Danish blue cheese. She drank wine and I drank [cleanish] rainwater from her cistern.
Thanks for your kind thoughts about my back. Still slamming ibuprofen but I only have one more night to go before I can get to the chiro. Last night was not pleasant. But this too will pass.
The world needs more flowers. The bees need more flowers. And the butterflies. Human eyeballs overtaxed by rows and columns of gray text and numbers. Children. The dying. The lonely. People who donāt think they even notice flowers need them. I used to think flowers were frippery. Splurgy. I used to think they were justā¦ ok. Then:
Tagore blows me away every time. I make myself pay attention to him. He called me out on this one (below), pretty potent even though heās passed from this plane of existence in 1941:
Dang.
Iāll cop to it.
I read this and it felt like I had been slapped awake.
So I try to make room for stuff I will never eat, never even cut: poppies, bluebonnets (a kind of lupine here in central Texas), Copper Canyon Daisy (thatās Tagetes btw), various Helianthus spp natives, funny little native irises and fleabane and some wild relative of thyme the bees are currently happy with. The beneficial insects are supported (and help control veg garden pests), and my flower-loving neighbors are happy.
Getting stuff to grow out here (too many voracious deer, not enough soil, not enough water, extreme heat and often drought) is a major achievement, IMO. You should see how much those rolls of welded wire fencing cost! Many of the flowers I mentioned are either too odorous or too toxic to deer to require protection. The fencing we buy now is for peaches, pears, plums, persimmons, pomegranates (six kinds), mulberry, pecan, and locust (black and honey). Thatās the overstory weāre trying to get going, so we can plant out our understory (zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, melons, greens) inside the caged area. Youād be surprised how much tomatoes appreciate getting out of the western sun in August out here. August here is like a blast furnace.
Oh good!
And I have several shovels. Stop by any time. Let me borrow some words from a gardening hero, Ron Finley. Heard of him? Inspiring! I love what he is doing in South Central Los Angeles.
āIf you want to meet with me, come to the garden, with your shovel, so we can plant some shit. Peace!ā
Also, those gardeners against the odds in the UKā¦ they are doing some wonderful work as well.
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We planted a lot of fruit bushes a couple of years ago, it looks like we may get our first proper harvest this year!
There are a number of other raspberry plants in different areas - they do spread a bit, but otherwise theyāre very low maintenance. We planted vegetables quite late, but some of the shoots are starting to show. We donāt really have a large area for gardening, itās mainly pots on the patio (flowers and herbs), fruit bushes scattered around the garden and the small plot in the final photo. Itās nice to see so much green around though.
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Do you have some currants there, or do my eyes deceive me? I love currants, but canāt grow them here-- they require a winter freeze, which we donāt have here in San Diego. There are some strains of raspberries that have been engineered to grow without the freeze, but Iāve never had any luck with them. Strawberries, on the other handā¦
Yes, we have three blackcurrant bushes, a blueberry bush, about 10 raspberry bushes, three gooseberry bushes, a strawberry patch under the treehouse and some blackberries. Last year we didnāt get any blackcurrants or gooseberries, but they seem to be coming out well this time.
Oh yes, and weāre good friends with our neighbours - I harvest their cherry tree and get some of the fruit every year! Our neighbour on the other side has fruit trees and some fruit bushes too, so Iāve been helping them to tidy it up this year. They really helped us out when we first moved in, and gave us quite a few plants that they didnāt need (mainly raspberries and bushes for making a hedge).
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I have never heard anyone complain about the climate in San Diego. Cheers, man!
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