More transplanting

Well it was time to take a coffee break (coffee direct from Cuba) and share a little bit of how my transplanting is going.
Yesterday I started into potting up (IE; bigger pots) last years left overs which are still in pots. I am trying something new and it may be a good thing as the prediction for rainfall is not good. So I will either move the pots between my present rows and be able to water everything at once or I will haul these to where the water is. New pots are 3 gal so it takes a little more potting soil but that's ok! I use Sunshine Mix #4 as it seems to have good water retention but also will drain and not build up mineral deposits or loose the air holding capacity. All these are important in potted materials.

In the basement I am potting up the seedlings started in peat pellets. They are in so many different stages but all started at the same time. Today I am working on seedlings from my Kitoy River (Siberia) project. There are huge differences in the seed vitality/vigor as evidenced by the size of one of the plants compared to the rest. Germination has not been the best but there are a number of factors to consider, damage at extraction, earliness of harvest, and dormancy could all be factors. I did try to select good seed but they are small and you can miss details quite easily. Here are some pictures.

Everything looks quite healthy and even the ones I have moved out to the greenhouse are recovering from the shock!

Transplanting has begun

Tonight I thought I would begin the process of transplanting my new seedlings. I start them in peat pellets and once they are growing well I like to transplant them into 3.5 inch black pots (I am buying by the case now if I need them) and into Sunshine #4 soiless mix. Here are some pictures. The toothpicks mark the first 50 % to germinate. I am trying to track this but don't know if it is significant or not.

This last picture is of a plant from seed from the Irkutsk/Kitoy River area of Siberia. The seed did not germinate very well but the plants which did come are quite healthy looking.
More to do in the next week as there are about 175 plants from germinated seed. Not as good as I would have expected but some populations just did not do well.

New use for Blue Honeysuckle jelly!

So our son is getting married May first and they are having cupcakes instead of a wedding cake. They decided they wanted the cupcake folks to try an injection of Blue Honeysuckle jelly into the cupcake. She would like something with baklava as she is Greek. Who kows what they will figure out! So here are the cupcakes.

They also had a chocolate sample but they felt the chocolate cut into the flavour too much. Another place for Blue Honeysuckles.

Take my little survey

I have set up a little survey about fruit growing and will post the details once I get 20 surveys completed. This is strictly for interest sake. Maybe there will be a more serious one later in summer which would lean toward helping all of us know what is happening with Edible Blue Honeysuckle and Haskap.


Click here to take survey

What's in a name?

I have been finding out that people are already "educated"  about the name Haskap and most know nothing or very little about the Edible Blue Honeysuckle which is the source of the University releases under the Haskap "brand" if you will. The present varieties Tundra and Borealis which are protected under Canadian Plant Breeders Rights (look under Blue Honeysuckle by the way) are not from the Japanese source of plant material  Lonicera caerulea var. emphyllocalyx but rather a cross between a selection of Lonicera caerulea var. caerulea and Lonicera caerulea var kamschatica and so are basic Edible Blue Honeysuckle. My understanding is that they certainly have material coming through their breeding program which will have the Japanese species in the gene pool. This is good since it will bring more certain authenticity to the Haskap designation. But as I pointed out in the opening sentence, the die is cast!

Later this week I will post a table with some of the germination data from my present plantings along with pictures. I see too that the snow is melting off of the pots out side as we are having these wonderful spring temperatures. Re-potting is in my future.

Good seedling growth

I just wanted to put up a few pictures of seedlings getting started. Note the fine hairs on some of the closeup pictures. Every day there are more so I am pleased to see them come. The white coated pellet is coir which is shredded coconut shells. I had a couple left so stuck them in the tray. They are not a favorite as it seems to take a long time for them to get wet to the core. More pictures soon.

Seeds germinating

Well seeds are germinating under lights and so far they are doing well for the most part. Some such as my Japanese seedling sources are quite slow while others like seed from Fialka and Amfora are nearly all done.
So far it looks like this number wise:
Fialka ---- 23/24
Amfora ---- 22/24
Dimza ---- 14/24
Morena ---- 7/24
Nimfa ---- 5/24
Leningraski Velikan ---- 3/24
Some seed leaves showing on Russian seed acquired from the Kitoy River area of Siberia as well. Time will be the judge in all cases but it is good to see new life taking place.
Here is a link to a very interesting paper from a study done in Lithuania. And here an informational page from
United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Area
Germplasm Resources Information Network