Artificial Insemination and New Blog Reads

Yesterday I noticed that one of my plum trees is barren of fruit and the other seems to have some embryonic plums, but only (I think) because I hand-pollinated the second when I saw that the blossoming times of the two were not in synch.  The first one was about to drop its blossoms when the other one was just barely opening its fertile little blooms.  I have no idea if that's what really happened, but I did attempt the hand-pollinating, and it seems plausible enough. 

But wait!  Did I say "barren"?  ALMOST.  I found one little plum on that first tree, the one whose blossoms were past their prime when I discovered the problem, and I distinctly remember hand-pollinating THAT one in that location.  So it worked!  But one tree, one plum, and lots of variables that lie between it and coming to maturity -- disease, weather, insects.  But here it is, recorded for posterity, this teeny zygote of a plum.  

Go, little plum, go!

Whereas the other plum tree, which is the one that still had viable blossoms at the time I did my little fertilization ritual, has several:

So I noticed on the tag of the second that it says, "Use Toka" for a pollinator.  Rather than get in my car or on my bike and ride the two or three miles to the nursery I bought this plum tree from to see if they have any Tokas, naturally I did the more modern and logical (ahem) thing:  I Googled "Toka plum Vermont" to see if I could find a nursery that carries Toka plums.  That, though it did not bring me to such a nursery, brought me to The Extreme Gardener.

Seems like an interesting read and a great resource, if not to me, then especially to my Northeast Kingdom friends who are bravely battling the fierce and super-cold weather up there.  And she's got 'tude! which you know is a direct route to my sarcastic little necrotized heart.

I have not gone all the way down her blogroll, but the name of one blog there tantalized me, so I clicked on Eat My Yard.  The first post I read cracked me up, and its tone was so familiar and smart (use of "fucked up" right in the sidebar and talk about tampons in the same post as use of a garden pond as a substitute for an SSRI --yeahbaby, now we're talkin') that I've added it to my Bloglines, as well. 

There's a lot in a blog name.  While I really do value the fact that my own name is in my blog name because I think it makes me more accessible at bloggers' gatherings, rather than the "And you are?"-insert-person's-name-which-means-nothing-followed-by-blank-stare-followed-by-blog-name-followed-by-"Oh! Yes!-[repeat-blog-name]"-which-may-or-may-NOT-be-a-genuine-expression-of-recognition-promptly-to-be-in-most-cases-forgotten phenomenon, I do love a great blog name.  And this is particularly true since the name of my blog, with the word "knits" in it, is, you know, only sometimes accurate and awfully misleading. 

There are a few blog names that always give me a chuckle and sense of wonder and great satisfaction and admiration for the cleverness they took to create.  Sometimes the blog and/or the blogger lives up to the name, sometimes not, but still, oftentimes the name is good enough to make me click on it.

"Eat My Yard," "Extreme Gardener," those are a couple good names, and they seem to have the right stuff.  So, since this is the season when this blog, despite the ill-chosen name, becomes more to do with gardening than anything else, there are two new gardening/eat local blog friends to share with you. 

 

These are baby pears, which have absolutely nothing to do with this post because they managed to do the deed on their own.  I have far, far fewer pears than I did last year, though.  It was cold, rainy and windy during the pollinating season, and I'm sure that has a lot to do with it.  Damn weather.

Comments

[Susan B.]

Damn weather indeed. I've got fewer pears on my tree too, and I know it was the cold snap that did it.

[Sarah]

I'll enjoy following the garden adventures. Yours has already put mine to shame. Also, you have knit more than a couple of sweaters this year.

[Kristen]

If I ever have a house, there will be no grass/lawn. Just garden. As much of it edible as possible. {sigh}

[lisa]

So are you going to put bottles over those growing fruits? So you can "pickle" them in liquor? I'm thinking plum gin or something...

[AnnaMarie]

Damn weather indeed. I'm close to adding firepits to the garden but I think Wes will nix that. 32 when I woke up, no freeze but it was that close!

[Nora]

Snort. I subscribed to Eat My Yard after reading the first post. My kinda gal!

xo

[margene]

The title pays homage to why you started the blog but also warns the reader there is little of the old. Norma is always coming up with new ideas and adventures. Who knows what/where Norma will be 6 months from now. Go with it. Your garden will be wonderful (and good fodder) no matter how much it produces.

[gayle]

Thanks for the heads-up. I'm adding both to my (already bloated) bloglines list. I may have to give up my job and take up blog-reading professionally...
We only have apple trees - scrub apples at that. My husband is using them for pruning practice, since it really doesn't matter if he screws it up!
Frosty here this morning. Vermont spring at its finest...

[(no longer blogging at) a simple yarn]

Um weather...uh huh...after a lovely weekend finishing planting the veg patch what we now have is a lake...or a flood...whichever way you want to take it. With binoculars I think I can see the corn kernels paddling away in teeny tiny canoes. And if I listen carefully, I think I hear the tomatoes plants plaintively crying for snorkeling gear. Guess I'll be visiting the local farmer's markets this year...

[Carol]

Thanks for the tips. I have hopes for apples this year if the trees have survived the winter moth deforestation. Bastard insects.

[Vicki]

I've been finding it hard to live up to the "knit" part of Knitorious lately. Though, miracle of miracles, I actually cast on a new project over the weekend -- and have made progress -- and will require no "finishing"!

I've never seen baby pears before. I think I'm in love. I'm also thinkin' Dr. Suess.

[Cookie]

Sometimes, you just have to get out the Q-Tips and do the man's job. Fingers crossed for the one plum.

I know exactly what you mean about blog names vs people names... and not living up to one's blog name potential. /sigh

[Seanna Lea]

It's too bad that the pear trees couldn't be more like people. "It's cold and rainy out, so let's stay inside, snuggle and BAM!" Baby pear time, people!

[Leigh]

Thanks for the blog plug, and it's a pleasure to meet all you folks. I'm a closet fiber arts junkie, but I just can't seem to get out of the garden long enough to get my hands clean and get into the sewing room. Actually my fabric stash is so ridiculously out of control that it's hard to get into the sewing room at all! I do confess to hooking lewd rugs when I can't get out there and force pollination on innocent cucurbits...