Female Kiwi Vines Planted Under Holy Loquat Tree

Apr 012018

Two newly purchased healthy female kiwi vines — time to get you two out of your pots and in the ground. Best to plant now before the spring sun gets too strong, too hot. Recent rains have left the ground moist, and rainy season has just come to a close here in Northern California. Left: Actinidia deliciosa Vincent, female. Right: fuzzy kiwi Saanichton ( Actinidia deliciosa Saanichton), female.

Both vines are in 1-gallon pots.

The BEFORE. A loquat tree is espalied along the back fence. Besides providing food, the evergreen tree provides fence line privacy. The tree is planted between our chicken coop (right, out of view) and the compost pile. Marmi, our 6-year-old Plymouth Bard Rock hen, would uproot the tree if not for the sticks, branches, and driftwood root burl protecting its crown. Note also the river rocks used to protect the tree’s roots. Most of the work planting the two kiwi vines will be to likewise protect their roots from the Marmi Scratching Machine. Note the young avocado tree behind the loquat’s trunk. Note also the vibrant kiwi climbing up into the loquat tree’s leaves; that vine is a Hardy kiwi, male, which was planted in 2008.

New vines in place, alongside avocado tree. Hardy male on other side of avocado tree, hidden from view. With the help of a pollinating insects the male’s pollen rich flowers will now have nearby female kiwi flowers to pollinate. What do you get when you cross avocado with kiwi? Only pollinators know.

Saanichton left. Vincent right. Note the integrity of the planting wood — it’s old and rotten, decayed, on its way to becoming soil. The old wood is also pourous; it will serve as a moisture bank and provide food/shelter for garden critters. So among the 3 kiwi vines, avocado, and loquat tree AND all the miscellaneous wood material AND the rich soil, it’s a WILDLIFE HABITAT. And, much of that wildlife will be delicious treats for Marmi the chicken if she is lucky during her garden browsing. As shown in pics to come, Marmi will be held at bay so that she will not destroy the habitat nor uproot any of its plants.

Front view, toward fence. Driftwood and wooden sword keep chicken feet away. About time I found a use for that wooden sword. Thanks Dave!

Almost enough obsticals to keep Marmi away from the vines; more to come.

Tucked next to the fence and under the loquat tree, the southern exposure sun will be filtered to the young kiwi vines. Once the vines grow up to the fence latice, they will be more mature and better able to survive full exposure to our mild, light-frost winters and hot-sun summers.

Marmi will love the new digs, complete with a metropolis of critters living in the caverns and crevices of the rotting wood barracade protecting the kiwi vines.

The AFTER. Hardy male climbs into loquat tree (leaffing vine right of the loquat tree. New kiwi vines, Vincent and Saanichton under the young avocado tree.

Chicken coop cleanings on their way — chicken poop (nitrogen) and decomposing rice straw (carbon). Yum! says the compost.

Marmi says, “Habitat it!”

Enjoy your wildlife garden creations.

Tony

20121119 Patio Veggie Pots 5 of 6

1- Residential Habitats -- Critters and Their Homes, 2- Food Forest Gardening, 3- Habitat It And They Will Come -- Tony's book No Responses »

Nov 202012

Anita dumps a new load of soil critter food.

Day 5 in this 6-day video series: Preparing patio pots for winter veggie planting.

First a video re “Patio Veggie Pots”, then some animal habitat pics (below the video):

Patio Veggie Pots 5 of 6 (video):

Soil Making in Leaf Trench Highway (pics):

Horse manure ages in leaf Trench Highway, on top of many layers of garden debris organics.

Mushrooms pop out of Leaf Trench Highway’s manure after the first rain. Good stuff! Having the fungi/mushrooms means the manure will break down faster.

Harvesting compost from Leaf Trench Highway.

Later that year, Tony harvests compost/rich soil from the trench.

Anita dumps a new load of soil critter food. These apples were “debris” for a neighbor that wanted under her tree “cleaned up”. The soil critters and we are sure happy to have the mess!

A short retaining wall is added to Leaf Trench Highway. The short wall of re-used fence boards will allow a higher pile of organics to be heaped into Leaf Trench Highway, yet keep the walkway clear. Note how the block keeps the sledge from splitting the dry fence board.

Leaf Trench Highway’s short retaining wall in place, holding back tulip magnolia prunings (limbs and twigs). Lichens, mosses, and algae so abundant! Does life get any better?!

Pics and captions from Tony’s new book, Habitat It and They will Come :

Figure 2.11 White Clover and Leaf Trench Highway. Leaf Trench Highway is about making soil — the 3 foot deep trench is filled with green mulch (for example, a whole lot of pumpkin vine prunings), then covered over with old (cool) manure and compost. Potato starts are dug in. Harvest, 6-9 months later, yields full-grown potatoes PLUS a long, deep trench of beautiful soil to use elsewhere in the garden. The white clover attracts pollinating insects to the potato flowers, adds nitrogen to green mulching, and is a sheltering go-between for critters to travel from one garden bed to another. Laying the slate pavers on soil, and not on sand or cement, allows soil fungi, microbes, and larger animals to pass through the soil, thereby assisting the growth of the clover cover crop.

Figure 3.37 The After of Salamander Resort. One year later and the resort is still operating. Driftwood creatures, a thriving beet crop, and Salamander Sunny Swimhole hide the goings-on eight feet below. See Figure 3.36 for “The Before”. Watering the pond waters the beets waters the compost waters the wood chips waters the oak rounds waters tank cavities waters Salamander Shady Shallows, AND waters the adobe clay earth surrounding Salamander Resort. Water + Cavities + Microbes + Mollusks (slugs and snails) + Worms + Insects = Happy Salamanders. The half wine barrel pond, with a 5’ x 5’ sheet of pond liner, was home this spring to Pacific Tree Frogs (and tadpoles). Many types of insect on the wing visit the pond. A salamander must be living somewhere in all that! Note some habitat features: clover on the slate path links this habitat to the rest of the garden, the pond’s surface rocks provide a critter rest stop, the “fedge” (food hedge of fig, pineapple guava, loquat, and pomegranate) along the fence provides flowers and food, and the compost in Leaf Trench Highway at the base of the fedge attracts its own ecosystem of soil makings and critters.

Happy planting veggies on your patio and see you tomorrow.

Tony