Birdfeeding
May. 23rd, 2026 12:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmith posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
birdfeedingToday is partly cloudy and mild.
I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.
I put out water for the birds.
I've seen a hummingbird flying around the forest garden. :D
EDIT 5/23/26 -- I potted up the fruit tree seedlings from the 12-flat in the house. Out of 24 sprouted seeds, 5 seedlings survived to repotting stage: 3 Pink apple (2 of those in the same cell), 1 Ginger Gold apple, and 1 Yellow Pear. All were near the center of the flat, right under the light. This suggests that the light is not strong enough to support seedlings at the edges. However, these were in the cells for about 2 1/2 months. If I'd been able to transplant them sooner, I would've gotten more. On the other hoof, the survivors are likely hardier in the face of poor conditions. As an r-strategy gardener, this has value to me. We'll see if any of these survive to get planted in the ground.
Fruit seeds are free. Potting supplies are cheap. I don't mind planting dozens of seeds if I eventually get some fruit trees from them. Because cheap fruit trees hardly worth buying are typically $25+ and the more interesting cultivars are $50-$100. Occasionally I find a better deal, but most fruit trees are now ruinously expensive. Fuck that noise. I'll just keep experimenting with different propagation methods.
EDIT 5/23/26 -- I potted up the fruit tree seedlings from the water jug greenhouses. I had 4 jugs, each with 9 sprouted seeds sown in them: yellow pear, Pink apple, Ginger Gold apple, Ambrosia apple. Of these, only 2 survived to be placed in deeper pots: a yellow pear and a Pink apple. However, these are larger and more robust seedlings than the ones from the small cells. So I think this is worth repeating; the overall success rate is quite low, but the resultant seedlings are very promising.
I've seen a male cardinal at the hopper feeder.
EDIT 5/23/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
EDIT 5/23/26 -- I did more work around the patio.
EDIT 5/23/26 -- I planted things from jugs into the prairie garden. Little bluestem, northern sea oats, and side-oats gramma each had a few seedlings; switchgrass didn't sprout at all. I thought these would form dense rootballs like they have in smaller pots, but they did not; they were barely sprouts. I'm not sure any of them will survive. It seems that native grasses do not enjoy this method. I did get three milkweed sprouts. They didn't form a dense rootball either, but at least they were a little more vigorous.
EDIT 5/23/26 -- I watered the newly planted things.
As it is now dark, I am done for the night.
I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.
I put out water for the birds.
I've seen a hummingbird flying around the forest garden. :D
EDIT 5/23/26 -- I potted up the fruit tree seedlings from the 12-flat in the house. Out of 24 sprouted seeds, 5 seedlings survived to repotting stage: 3 Pink apple (2 of those in the same cell), 1 Ginger Gold apple, and 1 Yellow Pear. All were near the center of the flat, right under the light. This suggests that the light is not strong enough to support seedlings at the edges. However, these were in the cells for about 2 1/2 months. If I'd been able to transplant them sooner, I would've gotten more. On the other hoof, the survivors are likely hardier in the face of poor conditions. As an r-strategy gardener, this has value to me. We'll see if any of these survive to get planted in the ground.
Fruit seeds are free. Potting supplies are cheap. I don't mind planting dozens of seeds if I eventually get some fruit trees from them. Because cheap fruit trees hardly worth buying are typically $25+ and the more interesting cultivars are $50-$100. Occasionally I find a better deal, but most fruit trees are now ruinously expensive. Fuck that noise. I'll just keep experimenting with different propagation methods.
EDIT 5/23/26 -- I potted up the fruit tree seedlings from the water jug greenhouses. I had 4 jugs, each with 9 sprouted seeds sown in them: yellow pear, Pink apple, Ginger Gold apple, Ambrosia apple. Of these, only 2 survived to be placed in deeper pots: a yellow pear and a Pink apple. However, these are larger and more robust seedlings than the ones from the small cells. So I think this is worth repeating; the overall success rate is quite low, but the resultant seedlings are very promising.
I've seen a male cardinal at the hopper feeder.
EDIT 5/23/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
EDIT 5/23/26 -- I did more work around the patio.
EDIT 5/23/26 -- I planted things from jugs into the prairie garden. Little bluestem, northern sea oats, and side-oats gramma each had a few seedlings; switchgrass didn't sprout at all. I thought these would form dense rootballs like they have in smaller pots, but they did not; they were barely sprouts. I'm not sure any of them will survive. It seems that native grasses do not enjoy this method. I did get three milkweed sprouts. They didn't form a dense rootball either, but at least they were a little more vigorous.
EDIT 5/23/26 -- I watered the newly planted things.
As it is now dark, I am done for the night.
