Hi Springtime. yes. each time I've just pushed the prunings from the plum into the ground, and they've grown, fruited well and the plums have been the same as the parent tree. and are just delicious! You could probably put them into a pot of potting mix or compost to grow them too. Hope this helps and you can get your prunings growing.
juliewn,
Apr 28, 8:28am
Hi Jen. no need to buy the prunings. they're my gift to you. I'd put up the buynow just so we could make contact so I can send you a few prunings. the tree is small still, so the prunings won't be very big - they'll get growing for you quite quickly though.Re apple trees - so far I have one growing - and have no idea what it is. I call it a gift of nature! - the seed must have been dropped there by birds, or someone tossing an apple core there. It's growing beside the fence in the driveway, so I'm going to espalier it there so it doesn't come out into the driveway too far. so it's my surprise apple!
juliewn,
Apr 28, 8:28am
I'm planning to plant a Granny Smith once I can plant the larger fruit trees here. we like the flavour of that one for eating, and also for preserving, chutney, apple shortcake, pies, etc. I'd also like to plant a tree that has three varieties of apple grafted onto the trunk. I've seen them mentioned in posts here, and have checked them out at garden centres. it will be great to have one tree providing a variety of apples. Have you seen these grafted trees!. Palmers here have them with two varieties or three varieties per tree. so perhaps one of those trees might suit your needs too. Have a lovely Tuesday. Julie
jen92,
Apr 28, 6:32pm
#318 You are such a doll Julie.let me know when you want me to make contact with you via an auction, I'm always around in this section or recipes.Aren't you lucky re your surprise apple tree growing along your driveway!The only things the birds seem to drop in my garden are weed seeds, LOL.The little beggars are always messing up my driveway with all their proddings and pickings, I'm talking mainly about the blackbird families that have taken up residence here.An espaliered apple sounds gorgeous against your fence.I've always wanted to grow a crabapple, I believe they make yummy jam!Wonder if they are sour!
jen92,
Apr 28, 6:34pm
#319 I'm going to have a look at Palmers and a few other garden centres in my area for apple trees.Now's the time to plant them.That 3-in-1 variety you mentioned sounds intriquing.I've been looking through the May edition of NZ Gardener, soooo good this month.
juliewn,
Apr 29, 6:18am
Hi Jen :-). You're most welcome. I checked the plum tree today - there's still green growth on it. I'll let you know somehow when it's ready to be pruned. Crab Apples are very tart/sour. and are best used for making Crab Apple Jelly - which is divine. The apples are cooked, then placed into a muslin or similar bag, without squeezing the bag at all as cloudy jelly will result. The bag is then hung from something set higher than the bowl that is placed underneath. A broom handle between two cabinets or chairs works well. (keep pets away!) with the juice dripping into a bowl and left to drip overnight.
juliewn,
Apr 29, 6:19am
Next day, the juice is measured in cupfuls, then heated till boiling, and the same amount of sugar is added - 1c juice to 1 cup sugar. A little less sugar can be added to your taste - try the mix after adding a bit over half the sugar. Boil rapidly till setting point is reached, fill jars and place lids or jam circles on top. and enjoy.!
jen92,
Apr 29, 6:45pm
That crab-apple jam sounds yummy Julie. Thanks for the directions on how to make some.I've copied it down for future use.I first saw it on the Food Channel and it looked positively scrumptious, such a lovely colour.I guess this means I'll have to plan 2 apple trees, one crap-apple and another variety for eating, hehe. Now if only I had acres and acres for all these trees I dream about.
katelin1,
Apr 29, 11:59pm
fruit trees for small gardens . or small fruit trees for large gardens!There are quite a few ways you can pack more fruit trees in: espalier against a wall or to create a fence; grow in containers; choose dwarf varieties/rootstocks; summer prune after fruiting to reduce vigour; or plant more than one tree in a hole! For more info on these last two methods check out Dave Wilson Nursery's website (USA) for info about their 'backyard orchard' culture - very interesting & inspiring!
katelin1,
Apr 30, 12:00am
jen hehe i wonder what a 'crapapple' is! I often see this spelling mistake - very funny, and sort of ironic .
1mumof4,
Apr 30, 12:35am
Just wondering. did I miss the newsletter last Friday!(the 25th)I can't find it in my inbox or the deleted file.
jen92,
Apr 30, 4:30am
#326 Oh dear me - I guess crapapple cause it tastes so sour.I didn't even see my spelling mistake.Thanks for all your tips, I'm off to check out that website about fruit tree planting now.
juliewn,
Apr 30, 5:21am
Hi Everyone :-) #327. Hi.you can read the weekly emails on the bottom right side of the page in the NZ Gardener website where people can register for the emails to be sent. hope this helps. Hi Jen. other kinds of apples can be used for making apple jelly - or add a few quinces and make quince and apple jelly - or add feijoa's to apples for apple and feijoa jelly. Use feijoa's on their own to make delicious jelly too - I'd peel them before chopping to cook, as the skins tend to be a bit bitter. For a delicious recipe to go with lamb, mutton, etc.
juliewn,
Apr 30, 5:21am
When using apples to make jelly, add a good handful of freshly picked and washed mint, including the stems, to several kilo's of apples,Make as above, and just when the jelly has reached setting point, stir in a cup full of fresh, finely chopped mint. Mint jelly is delicious with hot or cold lamb, mutton, etc. and very nice in sandwiches or rolls with some cold meat too - or in an antipasto platter, use with cheese and breads and meats and pickles, etc. From recipe books I have that are from 30-40 or more years ago, often the skins and cores of the apples were used to make jelly, once the apples had been used for preserving or chutney etc. It's interesting looking at recipe books from the past - the changes of recipes over the years show a record of the history of society in some ways - no butter recipes during war years - and again now!, etc.
juliewn,
Apr 30, 5:25am
Hi Katelin :-). thanks for the info about the website. I hadn't thought about planting two trees together like that - though have done this with things like different coloured cosmos, which then gives a two toned display. My Partner has some pink geraniums growing up through red hibiscus - the pink and red flowers, set among the shiny green leaves of the hibiscus look great. I'll have to put some thought into what I could plant together. Cheers.
jen92,
Apr 30, 1:06pm
Hey Julie, thanks for all the xtra info. I read in the May edition of NZ Gardener and on here in other threads that you need 2 Feijoas to cross-polinate if you want a lot of fruit.Only someone said yesterday that the variety I planted (starts with an "s") is used more as a hedge than a fruiting tree!I was gutted, so now I'm on the lookout for the "Unique" variety as they said it fruits the best.Not sure where I'll find it!
jen92,
Apr 30, 1:10pm
The variety I planted is called "Sellowani". Apparently it's not a good fruiting tree, used more for hedging.Drat !The Warehouse is selling them too and I was going to buy another one to plant next to the 1st one I planted.Now I'm thinking bout pulling it out and trying to buy the "Apollo" or "Unique" variety, if I can find them!I'll have to have a look at our local garden centres and hope they have them in stock.
katelin1,
Apr 30, 4:23pm
jen Yes thats right about the sellowiana trees - they are seedlings so best for hedging/ornamental use, not when fruit is wanted. You should be able to find those feijoa varieties at any garden centre, if not ask them to order in for you from their supplier. : )
jules.,
May 1, 4:53am
bumping. dont want to lose the thread!
jules.,
May 1, 7:28pm
ha, 3 weeks after i planted those spuds, they have finally decided to come up and make a liar of me. the kids had their first hockey games of the season today, what a crap morning, the rain and wind was so cold even i was soaked to the bone on the side lines. but its doing wonders for the garden, the veges are growing faster than the weeds for a change!
stevee6,
May 1, 9:11pm
WTG! The only spuds I've got are self sown - right in the midst of the broccoli, of course. But the lettuces are very healthy, thanks to rain at last, and even the parsley has finally germinated. Why is it you can grow curly parsley without trying, yet the flat leaf stuff is as stubborn as a mule, unless it's growing BEHIND the compost pile! *sigh*
misskittydragon,
May 1, 9:53pm
Well for our first attempt at a garden here I am quite pleased with the out come. Our freezer is full and my son is enjoying apple crumbles from home grown apples. lol he is having a hard time getting used to the different taste. Just cleaning up and starting to plan our winter projects. This place looks so dismal in Winter and I would love to bring in some colour.
flossy21,
May 2, 4:50am
Leek Question I planted leeks ages ago and they have sprouted well but do not seem to be putting on much growth. They still look like thin sticks of grass. I have them in a seed raising tray in the glasshouse. Should I take the plunge and plant them outside or wait until they get a bit bigger! They are about finger length in size. Darn caterpillers got into the glasshouse and decided to have had a party with the brussell sprouts but they will still make it into the garden albeit looking a bit worse for wear.
hil53,
May 2, 6:36pm
Green tomatoes, recipe for relish/pickles please.
callistar,
May 2, 9:45pm
cucumbers - help please I have finally pulled out my cucumber plants remains, and still have one large very ripe cucumber which I left so I could save the seed. Except now I'm looking at it wondering how I actually go about the process! Can anyone tell me what to do with it, how to remove the seed from the flesh! Thanks.
Since the public registrations are closed, you must have an invite from a current member to be able to register and post in this thread.
Have an account? Login here.