Updates From The Farm
Scouting for Pest Problems
Scouting One of the most important tools a gardener or orchardist has are his or her eyes. Scouting is the act of observation, with the intent of recognizing disease or pest hazards before they become critical. The idea is to act before too much damage is done. This...
Upright Fruiting Offshoot (UFO) Sweet Cherry Training
Many visitors to Cloud Mountain are intrigued by our 'cherry tunnel'. This upright fruiting system (UFO) is an unusual way of growing sweet cherries. It was initially developed for commercial growers, but can be adapted to home gardens and market farms as well. The...
Pruning Sweet Cherries
One important note: always prune cherries when you will have at least 2 days of dry weather. This can help reduce canker. Most people grow sweet cherries as freestanding 'bush' shaped trees. In a future post, we'll talk about growing sweet cherries as an espalier or...
Pruning Stone Fruits
Traditionally, we have been pruning most of our stone fruits in late January along with the rest of the orchard for quite a number of years. A few years ago, we discovered something interesting in our Peach Plum. It has been my youngest daughter’s favorite plum since...
Frost and fruit buds
With our mild winter and early spring, most fruit trees are breaking dormancy a bit ahead of normal. This time of year when the forecast is for sunny days and clear nights, it's possible we'll get some frost. Should you worry about those fruit buds? Critical Bud...
Plant of the Week- July 30
Plant of the Week- Sea Buckthorn aka Seaberry Hippophae rhamnoides or Seaberry is a large, thorny, deciduous shrub native to Europe and Asia. It is a member of the family Elaeagnaceae, which also contains Autumn Olive and Goumi. The yellow to orange berries are...
Plant of the Week- July 3
Plant of the Week- Currants & Gooseberries Currants and Gooseberries are all members of the genus Ribes. This large genus includes all the fruiting black, red, and white currants, gooseberries, and hybrids including Jostaberry, as well as many flowering ornamental...
Plant of the Week- June 25
Plant of the Week- Diospyros kaki Asian Persimmon The Asian persimmon is native to China, and has been in cultivation for more than 2000 years. There are many varieties in commercial cultivation, but most of them are unsuitable for the Pacific Northwest due to their...
Plant of the Week- June 11
Plant of the Week- Oregon Box or Paxistima myrsinites Oregon box is one of the lesser know natives in Pacific Northwest nurseries. This low growing evergreen shrub can be found from Mexico into British Columbia and Alberta, east into the Rocky Mountains. Oregon box is...
Pest Alert
Codling Moth Alert One of the consequences of this year's unusually warm spring and early summer- pest issues are cropping up earlier than we've ever seen them. Most years, we watch our heat units and degree days to properly time a spray for codling moth, one of the...
Plant of the Week- May 21
Plant of the Week- Styrax japonicus Late May and early June in the garden is a time of flowering abundance. Most woody plants have flowered by now, but the annuals and perennials are just starting up. There are a few trees that wait to flower until now, though. One of...
Plant of the Week- May 3
Plant of the Week- Elaeagnus umbellata or Autumn Olive Autumn Olive is a deciduous shrub native to Asia. Growing to 8'-10' in our climate, in the wild it can reach 20' or more. This shrub has silvery foliage, small cream colored flowers, and fall fruit of bright red...