Demitrios Pitas

Hello all. I am in need of some reactions to tasting Akebia vine fruits.
I need from you what it tastes like and if you would recommend growing this plant.
My other choice is Schisandra. I have not had this yet either.

Looking for your experiences.

Thanks

Since it's such a tall wall with no way to harvest two stories up (except a ladder), I would like something that isn't going to be as heavy. Once the grapes start to come, with a good year, I just worry about the stress the weight would have on pulling the wall and grapes that grow inside the trellis. .
Those were my only major issues with using grapes.
I thank you for the reply.

Amy Gardener wrote:South exposure walls provide a boost of warmth on sunny winter days. The warmth may allow forest gardeners to plant varieties that require fewer chill hours than the general region requires.

In my case, the recommended chill hours for fruit trees in my area is 1000-1200. I would like to plant an apricot tree, and the highest chill hours for an apricot tree is 800. It seems to me that planting near the S wall could take advantage of the heat that radiates from the wall and thus reduce the number of chill hours required.

However, I don’t want to plant so close to the wall that the daytime warmth causes the tree to come out of dormancy early. Stuccoed S exposure walls in the sunshine can be well over 100°F when daytime temperatures are in the 50’s or 60’s during the winter and spring months. Late frosts commonly kill off fruit, so protecting the trees from extreme fluctuations is also crucial.

I am eager to hear tips on how to work with passive solar gain near S walls to improve fruiting success.

I too am curious. In my instance, I have against the home (an 1910's three story Vic) on the SW side and he wants Vines to shade the home in the summer sun. I'm trying to incorporate edible plants (zone 5b). I have suggested Akebia but they are unsure since not even I have ever had the fruit.
They are not wild about Schisandra. So if I can use the exposed foundation wall as a battery, I was thinking of trying Passiflora edulis. It's hardy to zone 6 so maybe I could squeek that by . . . I will be planting figs and cutting them down and mulching heavily (as I know of people colder than this town and they have all sort of fig varieties at least half out of doors).  
So thoughts on what kind of gain you may expect to see with a color change?
Does anyone know if that is worth a Zone change?? Otherwise, a small Hot house early on with that same deep mulch (1'+) should definitely do it. I would think?/!

Would there be any people with experiences to share?
Thank you

I am looking for companion plantings for grapes. I know that everyone says that grapes are overly sensitive to competition, but nature doesn't work that way. In my experience foraging, I see wild grape in the ditches often near asparagus.
Does anyone have any other experiences/observations to share?
Does anyone know in what environment grapes grow in their areas? I don't need river grape suggestions as this is not a landscape I can dulicate.
I know that quite a few types came from Italy. Maybe someone have observations from that region. France has been cultivating them for so long, I don't know that there would be much to glean from that area. Maybe I am mistaken?/!
Let me know, I am all ears!
Thanks.  

I am composing a planting of new fruit trees in zone 5b in a yard. (I already know to kill all competition like grasses and the like) I am looking to plant from seed fruit trees (so they will be first year trees) in close density (7-10 feet apart as we are trying to keep the small). 6-8 feet in front of them (toward the sun) I will be planting a row of grapes. In between the row of grapes and the fruit trees I will be burying weeping tile for subterranean irrigation. With regard to the fruit trees, I would like to plant some Nitrogen fixers. I was looking at Siberian Pea shrub or Goumi. Seaberry has thorns and has a tendency to spread too fast. I was looking to plant a number of comfrey and alliums (Egyptian walking onion, or chives) as well as a few pollinators with medicinal uses. Maybe some perennial ground covers like mints or strawberry? I know that once the sunlight diminishes, the spreading stops.
I just want to know if the Nitro fixers will cause problems in the development of the trees and out compete them? I am working in a very tight urban space so I have to keep them pretty close (from the property/fence line to the tree will be 3-4' and the Grapes will be 6' in front of the trees((again facing the sun)). The soil PH is high currently, but that can be corrected.
Can you give me any advice, or experience you may have with this type of planting??
Are there better companion plants to be used? Are there any plants that will really help the development of the trees?
The Fruit trees that will be going in will be Apple, Cherry, and Peach.
Thank you for all you help!

Hello all! I am putting a planting together for the side of a two story house. I want to use the vines to shade the house of the summer sun. I am in Zone 5b and am looking at using Chinese Magnolia Vine/Schisandra chinensis, or Akebia quinata/chocolate vine or raisin vine.
I am asking for anyone who may have experience or advice as to inter-plantings.
I am looking at using Yucca baccata/banana yucca or spanish bayonette or cold hardy figs (since they have to be cut back every year to survive the winters). I have thought about this and the thermal mass provided by the foundation wall of the house will give me a boost for winter survivability.
If someone has better suggestions or ideas I would certainly be open to them! I am trying to fit as many useful edible plants in as possible. This is just one of the areas of planting. Soils in this spot are "middle of the road", but that can always be improved with amendments of micro life.
I look forward to your ideas!

Hi there all. I am looking to learn basic soil mechanics and then on to engineering.
I need some recommendations on good book to purchase for the library on basics of soils, structures, things having to do with modifying landscapes and not having long term issues. I need to learn about the basic layers of soils and the structural limitations as well.
If I am going to recontour a landscape, I don't want to be doing it with sands vs. clay sub-soils.
Any help would be awesome!

I use abebooks for my purchasing.

My worry would be if it were to be on a slope that is fairly steep, the whole thing may shift during a large rain event. You could certainly try the burlap idea if burlap isn't anti-fungal (I don't know). It sounds like you want to create a terrace as well as a silt trap. I would be careful of using only one type of mycelia. I understand that it's choice due to it's speed of colonization. I would thing of a way to anchor your wall/terrace. Also, keep in mind if the area is hot and sunny, you will be wasting your time. You definitely don't want to have to water those bags. A northern slope or a quality overstory would be ideal. Let us know if this is close to what you are thinking.

Joe Hallmark wrote:So I got my order placed. 10lb of winecaps. I had initially heard that field and Forrest was a good place to order they were slightly cheaper with .5 lb more in each bag but wanted almost 21$ to ship. I looked at a few other places that didn’t have them listed or were out of stock. So I settled on mushroom mountain. $25 for 5lb with free shipping.

I will need more but that’s for later if I get the additional beds done soon which may or may not happen.

I would suggest you go to your local supermarket. Find the organic mushrooms. Look at where they are from. Usually they are semi-local. Get a hold of them and ask if you can get some of their compost (spend growing media). It will still have active mycelia in it.  Usually you can get it for a song.
That way you are helping solve a waste issue. You can usually get a whole lot more for your money!

John Suavecito wrote:I answered question #2 in another thread, because it is yet another different topic.

If it looks like charcoal, it's not wood ash. Wood ash is grey, alkaline, and powdery.  Char is when you heat biomass in limited oxygen until it burns off all of the tannins and oils and only the carbon is left.  It still has the structure of the original material, such as wood. It has the same shape.  Charcoal you buy in the store still has wood in it, as well as tannins and oils.  Char becomes biochar when you charge it with nutritious materials.

John s
PDX OR

The big difference is that ash is highly alkaline. AKA you will change the PH of the environment that you apply it to. It can also cake or bridge, creating a waterproof layer preventing infiltration. Charcoal brickettes have harmful chemicals in them and even after being burned should never be used in the garden upon edible plants. Petro-chemicals are heavy in most to help with lighting and burning. Hard wood lump can be quite useful though. It is almost ready to go. Biochar is not always 'Activated' (this is the addition of beneficial micro organisms). You can activate you char many ways. The easiest is using fermented urine. Biochar is like a Hotel for beneficial micro organisms. They occupy the voids and spaces left by the charring process. A piece of biochar is like a block of millions of tiny holes, the organisms fill those holes and live there for hundreds of years to come. Biochar takes many hundreds of years to break down.
You will find differing opinions on this. Some will tell you only 10% or less in your soils, some will tell you the more the better.
I am in the first camp. If you have too much, then there will be a lack of OM (organic matter) in your soils. This limits moisture holding capacity, and availability of nutrient cycling to take place (the natural breakdown of elements, silts, and other things that sustain plants). If you have too many apartments, then no one owns homes. You need the guys that live in the soil to complete the picture, so to speak. Otherwise you will be dependent on outside ferts and nutes.
Hope that sheds some light on things for you all.