Thursday, August 17, 2017: Too many Koi

Several weeks ago I noticed a couple of Koi small fries in the pond. Now I have dozens in addition to the 10 we put in. Doing a bit of web searching, one site stated:

One way is to stop feeding your Koi the minute you realize that spawning has occurred. Do this for about three weeks. Do not worry about your Koi starving, as they will focus more on natural foods if you are not feeding them daily. This “natural” diet includes their young. The adult Koi will eat their young when they are still eggs or if they are small and resemble insects. Once the baby Koi actually resemble real fish and the adult fish recognize this, they will no longer eat them, so it is important to start this process as soon as you notice spawning.

Therefore, this morning's feeding will be the last until on, or about September 7.  I'll put it on my calendar.

If this doesn't work, they suggest giving them away.

I have noticed that the horn wort (it actually may be parrot feather)in the pond is receding. Maybe this is due to the small fries feeding on it. It had, at one point this summer, had occupied almost one-half the lower pond. I pulled some out, but it has receded on its own.

Also, yesterday, I noticed a Koi small fry in the upper pond! No way to get up there except through the circulation pump. Would have been quite a ride!!

Sunday, August 13, 2017; Roses

When we went out to visit T on her birthday, I wanted to take some of her roses. Sarah suggested we plant the roses in a growth medium...a potato. We did. When Mary was out there later in July, she sent a picture and it was obvious that the roses had not survived...or they were mowed over. In preparation of trying again, a few days ago I picked up three potatoes and today, followed the instructions I found on-line (http://homeguides.sfgate.com/propagate-roses-using-potatoes-23904.html). If successful, and depending on the weather, may take them back out when I visit T in November. However, that is getting pretty late in the season. Guidelines are to plant six weeks before the first frost which, in the KC area, would mean to plant in early September. I will probably wait and take them out in the Spring. I'll take some cages so maybe they will not be mowed down.

Tuesday, August 8, 2017: Late Summer Plantings

Another really nice Summer day here in the City. It will be in the mid-80's and sunny with a gentle breeze. I have had the AC off for the last five days.

Before Treatment

After Treatment

 Last week the treatment of the east porch was completed. They had to put on a total of three coats due to the rains that did not allow the coats to penetrate properly.









Today I decided to put in some late Summer crops. In the west bed, I planted 14 Ruby Swiss Chard (7-10 days to germinate and 50-60 days to harvest) inside the boundaries of the magnolias; four more Dwarf Blue Curled Kale (5-10 days to emerge; 55 days to harvest) around the perimeter of the marigolds. In the east bed, I planted five Yolo Wonder Green Peppers (10-25 days to emerge; 50 days to harvest). I am soaking more beets to plant tomorrow, probably in a row along the previous row in the west bed. I planted all of these early this Spring. Only the beets and one kale survived. Hope to have better luck this Summer.

Yesterday I prepared my minced meat pie fillings. This year I made two batches. One using beef tenderloin and beef suet and the other using lamb tenderloin and lamb suet. I also used Calvados as the brandy instead of the St-Rémy. I used Granny Smith apples and, as I did last year, substituted barberries for one-half of the raisins and currants. Both batches are in the aging in the fridge and should be ready by Thanksgiving.

Friday, July 28, 2017 Hosta and Decking

A few days ago, I noticed one of my favorite hostas (‘Sagae’ Hosta) had seed pods on it that appeared ready to open. I did a quick search and found a procedure to follow to see if I could propagate. It is pretty simple: allow the pods to open and then place the seeds in a moist paper towel and putting in a sealed Ziploc bag. Once they sprout (the instructions did not speculate on how long this might take), transfer to pots and allow to grow for eight or nine months. So, if I get them to sprout in the month or so, they should be ready to go into the ground next Spring. If I get one to the point of planing, I will put it in the spot between the two northern-most hornbeams.

‘Sagae’ Hosta

Pods and Seeds

In a wet paper towel for sprouting

This week I had the east porch restained (natural cedar color). The last time was in 2011. There is some wood rot, but considering it is over 30 years old, it is holding up well.

After Power Wash

After Staining

Fish update: There are many tiny baby fishes in the pond. The smallest are hiding among the Horn Wort.

Monday, July 10, 2017 Babies

After a two week absence and a week of company, I found myself along on Sunday. I went out in the morning to feed the fish and noticed, for the first time, that I now have 12 fish...not 10. Yep, it looks like I have two young fish. Not sure if they are gold fish or koi. One is larger than the other and they dart around very quickly. I was able to capture a photo of the larger one. The smaller one is about 2/3 the size of the this one.

Tuesday, June 6, 2017: Prickly Pears, Rhubarb, Hollyhock, Kale

I harvested the rhubarb yesterday. I got just over 3 ounces of stalks.

Before harvest

After harvest

Also the ‘Denim n Lace’ Russian Sage is starting to blossom out.

Today, I tackled the prickly pear I brought home a couple of weeks ago. I cut the plastic tub away and disassembled the plant. There two or three trees in the pot along with the cactus so it was necessary to untangle the roots of the cactus from the tree. I essentially dislodged all the soil and brought the bare rooted plants to their new home. One of the cactus appears to have a yellow flower on it. Probably ended up moving about two-thirds of the original cactus to its new home.

New home

Since I was going to throw the leather gloves away anyway, I took the opportunity to remove the potted cactus on the east side of the pond and plant it directly in the rock crevice.

It didn't take long for the flower to open up!

Cactus Flower

Last fall I planted 12 hollyhocks. Today I took stock of those and found eight of the twelve have survived. They range greatly with regards to their size and color. Some have not bloomed yet. The shortest (the rabbits really seemed to like this one) is only about 12" tall. The tallest is (so far) over seven feet tall.

The one on the left is the bunnies' favorite

At least 7 feet tall

This one gets only a couple of hours of direct sun each day. It is almost 6 feet tall 

This hollyhock never gets any direct sunlight. I had little hope for it, but....

Finally, I was weeding the west raised bed when I shockingly discovered a little (2") kale. Early this Spring (too early) I planted kale, chard, beets, leeks and peppers. I had come to the conclusion that nothing was going to come up. There is ONE kale plant! It is just outside the ring of marigolds, so the rabbits may eat it.

Kale

Sunday, June 4, 2017: Prickly Pear Preparation

Today I picked up 1/2 cu ft each of drainage rock, river rock and pea gravel. I am going to use the plastic imitation half-barrel for the orphaned prickly pear I brought home a couple of weeks ago. The total 1.5 cu ft is just about right for the barrel. I am thinking of putting it on the corner over by the east fence line. Other than the neighbor's cats. this area is a relatively untraveled walkway. I can let it cascade down between the fence and the stone wall.

Currently, the prickly pear is in a cheap plastic 2-gallon bucket. It's been there apparently for many years. It has many new growths and numerous volunteers in with it.

I may tackle it tomorrow. I think I may "disassemble" it, prune it, get rid of the weeds and then put it in its new home.

Saturday, June 3, 2017: Rhubarb and Barley

One June 1 I put the replacement barley log in the pond. They recommend replacing the logs every six months and to allow one month for the new log to become effective. Therefore, they suggest putting in the replacement log at the five month mark so that it is effective when the old one is removed. Again, these logs are supposed to release something that naturally inhibits algae formation in the pond. This works due to the interaction the barley, air and the sun. So far, it appears to be working. Compared to last year, I see absolutely no algae in the stream or pond. Last year it got very thick in the stream and I spent a lot of time manually removing it to keep it under control. So far, no need for manual extraction. All the goldfish and koi are doing well with very hardy appetites.

The rhubarb I harvested one week ago today has grown back nicely

Rhubarb one week ago

Rhubarb today

I will harvest it again tomorrow.

Saturday, May 27, 2017: Rhubarb

I believe it was back in 2012 that we planted two rhubarb plants along our west fence line. The first year, one grew nicely and the other one appeared to die. The following year, the one that apparently died did well and the one that did well the preceding year, appeared to die. This went on for the next couple of years before we started our backyard project. To my knowledge, we never harvested any rhubarb from these plants. When the project started, I dug both of them up and stored them in the basement, pretty much ignoring them for the next 18 months. Once the raised beds were installed in 2015, T had me transplant them to the east bed. One appeared to die and the other did well. The one that appeared to die, actually did so this time. The other one grew each Spring and wilted by early Summer. Today, I decided to actually harvest some. I found a roasted rhubarb recipe and hope that by harvesting some of the well formed sprouts, new growth will be encouraged.

Before harvesting

After harvesting

Got just over 5 ounces of stalks

Roasted rhubarb

 Very tart, but very tasty.

Wednesday, May 24, 2017: Carp

The new koi seem to be happy in their new environment. I fed them for the first time this afternoon. The koi are relatively easy to pick out from the goldfish. They are very "light" colored but this may change as they grow. I've named them based on their appearance.