in praise of chokeberries

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in praise of chokeberries
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yummersetter

Joined: 26 Jan 2008
Posts: 3241
Location: Somerset

Posted: Wed Aug 25, 10 9:44 am Post subject:

Can I get back to you on that

I keep changing my mind.

One blue honeysuckle on order, more from seed I guess, Myrtus Ugni and a collapsing pawpaw planted a few months back. There are a lot of amancheliers already in the white garden, I think they get raided by the blackbirds as an energy boost on their way to the strawberries as I see them set fruit and then they're gone when I think to look again. I've ordered shallon, that tastes lovely, but the soil here may not be acid enough.

One rainy evening I'll sit down with the Chiltern seeds catalogue and see what's on offer there.

Eleagnus is a bit over-happy here - I planted an ebbingei a few years ago, for its perfume in October and we cut it down as it had got to 5 metres cubed and we couldn't get to the shed, In six years it never flowered or fruited and it was a huge mound of darkness. Goumi would be perfect but I'd need to source or future order from ART.

I was sent a species 'stocktake' list of plants growing in the Forest Garden at Dartington, (not the sales nursery) there are 242 eleagnus plants there

That would smother our entire village, I reckon, if planted here. And 1030 duchesnea indica last year; that'll be 5,000 by now, I guess. I wonder who counts them?

cassy

Joined: 04 Feb 2008
Posts: 1047
Location: South West Scotland

Posted: Wed Aug 25, 10 10:25 am Post subject:

We're a world apart really

. My aim is to source tough, hardy stock that will give a little fruit, but the same plants with you are taking over

. Not as many as at Dartington, but I've got 33 elaeagnus at present!

I've decided not to plant shallon here as it is a Schedule 9 plant in Scotland. Interesting to hear it is tasty as well as a good bee plant; it might be something I reconsider in the future if I can make sure it is contained.

I'm trying some edible honeysuckle cuttings at the moment, to see if I can improve the pollination by planting more closely. They flower so early that the easier I can make it for the insects, the better.

And I have just found some bearberries at a local nursery and I'd been looking for some for a long time so I'm happy.

Blue Peter

Joined: 21 Mar 2005
Posts: 2400
Location: Milton Keynes

Posted: Wed Aug 25, 10 10:26 am Post subject:

cassy wrote:

I've decided not to plant shallon here as it is a Schedule 9 plant in Scotland.

What's a schedule 9 plant?

Peter.

cassy

Joined: 04 Feb 2008
Posts: 1047
Location: South West Scotland

Posted: Wed Aug 25, 10 11:12 am Post subject:

Blue Peter wrote:

What's a schedule 9 plant?

The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 schedule of plants which you should not cause to grow in the wild. Variation to Schedule 9 (Scotland)here.

Truffle

Joined: 07 Feb 2006
Posts: 526

Posted: Wed Aug 25, 10 12:36 pm Post subject:

cassy wrote:

We're a world apart really

. My aim is to source tough, hardy stock that will give a little fruit, but the same plants with you are taking over

So wheres the best/cheapest supplier of elaeagnus etc?
quite tempted now...

truffle

yummersetter

Joined: 26 Jan 2008
Posts: 3241
Location: Somerset

Posted: Wed Aug 25, 10 12:46 pm Post subject:
According to my superficial reading, Duchesnea , which looks like a strawberry but is apparently flavourless, is groundcovering Texas in an unwelcome manner. I'll just wait for the Dartington ones to come to me, galloping east along the A30 with the rubus tricolour as the upper storey

cassy

Joined: 04 Feb 2008
Posts: 1047
Location: South West Scotland

Posted: Wed Aug 25, 10 3:00 pm Post subject:

Truffle wrote:

So wheres the best/cheapest supplier of elaeagnus etc?

Don't know if best or cheapest but I got mine from Cool Temperate and A.R.T..

cassy

Joined: 04 Feb 2008
Posts: 1047
Location: South West Scotland

Posted: Wed Aug 25, 10 3:02 pm Post subject:

yummersetter wrote:

I'll just wait for the Dartington ones to come to me, galloping east along the A30 with the rubus tricolour as the upper storey

Oh, if only! Think of the money we'd all save.

Have you done the A.R.T. course yet yummersetter?

yummersetter

Joined: 26 Jan 2008
Posts: 3241
Location: Somerset

Posted: Wed Aug 25, 10 5:42 pm Post subject:

yes, about two weeks ago, I'm still dizzy with information and learning, and MC is right up there in my pantheon of Heroes. I'm fantasising about living in that tent in the Forest Garden, just want to know more and more in depth about it and to see it through the seasons.

I've never been in any educational setting where so much effort was put into instilling knowledge, in many dimensions. We were given information booklets with massive and thorough reference lists, hours of classic 'lectures' , three trips round the forest garden to see examples of what had just been explained, design exercises, lunches including loads of Forest Garden produce and tours of the trial grounds and nursery area. And we even saw the inside of the Toolshed. And Martin answered a thousand questions - mainly 'What's that plant and why?' All the course members were very keen and enthusiastic too, I hope we all carry it through into our future plans

Truffle

Joined: 07 Feb 2006
Posts: 526

Posted: Thu Aug 26, 10 8:50 am Post subject:

cassy wrote:

Truffle wrote:

So wheres the best/cheapest supplier of elaeagnus etc?

Don't know if best or cheapest but I got mine from Cool Temperate and A.R.T..

Brilliant links- thanks Cassy

yummersetter

Joined: 26 Jan 2008
Posts: 3241
Location: Somerset

Posted: Thu Aug 26, 10 10:24 am Post subject:

hello Truffle - I was thinking of you - at the course there was a session on what I heard as 'micro-rhizome fungi' and how we should apply some to the roots before planting trees.

Of course I thought - small underground tubers = truffles

Yey

course notes explained : mycorrhizal

I gabbled on about 'how the underground fungi run through the soil and sustain and transport nutrients between plants' to a non-gardening friend over dinner that night. I'm pretty convinced he thinks I was talking about bindweed

cassy

Joined: 04 Feb 2008
Posts: 1047
Location: South West Scotland

Posted: Thu Aug 26, 10 11:10 am Post subject:

yummersetter wrote:

I've never been in any educational setting where so much effort was put into instilling knowledge, in many dimensions.

That sounds wonderful

. I hope all your plans come to fruition

Truffle

Joined: 07 Feb 2006
Posts: 526

Posted: Fri Aug 27, 10 3:56 pm Post subject:

yummersetter wrote:

you have to be careful, mycorrhiza can take over your life...

yummersetter

Joined: 26 Jan 2008
Posts: 3241
Location: Somerset

Posted: Fri Aug 27, 10 4:16 pm Post subject:
as can bindweed

Res

Joined: 07 Apr 2005
Posts: 1172
Location: Allotment Shed, Harlow

Posted: Sat Sep 04, 10 7:50 am Post subject:

yummersetter wrote:

as can bindweed

don't talk about the "B" word!

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