Ed Hoffman

So it's been cold and wet up here for most of March.
My peach tree is in bloom and loaded with blossoms.
Hopin for a boom year. We'll see.

L. Hayes, where are you in Western Washington?

Ken, I could send you some Brooks plum seed. I'm in the Pacific Northwest, if you are in this area these will do well. You'll havta let me know when the time to get seeds is though.

Steve, they make really good smoothies too.

All I gotta say is get some Black Currant bushes going!
There aren't any fruits more intense in flavor, and it makes the best jam in the world.

I have two Brooks plum trees. They are an off shoot of the Italian plum, but they are four times the size. They have a honey like flavor and sweetness. They make the most incredible pies, and the comes out with the consistency of firm peach pie. I dry them in my dehydrator and make fruit roll ups. And they are just plain great to eat right off the tree. We start picking them when they are still slightly green, really good. I'm in Western Washington and get a huge crop nearly every year. I planted one over 25 years ago and another one about 12 years ago, both were bare root from a local nursery. They start producing fairly heavy in about 3 years from planting, but the fruit got really sweet and flavorful after about 5 years. My older tree seems to produce more and taste better than the younger one.
Brooks Plum, everybody should have at least one!

Jill, Thank you so much for clarifying leaf curl and wilt. What you described as Leaf wilt is exactly the same description of leaf curl.
The soil in my area is acidic because it was all once the forest floor. I'm constantly trying to amend the soil, but Im gonna take your advice and leave my 🍑 tree out of my amendment practices.

Alcina, I've been to England and Gardens are small. We call it the frontyard and the backyard. My sister and brother in law live in the East Midlands and they are lucky enough to have a sizable back garden and grow quite a bit of food. Here in my area with all the high density the County is pursuing with new building, all these new homes have no room what so ever.

Hello Jill,
What exactly is leaf wilt?
In my area, the Pacific Northwest on the West side of the Cascade Mountains, we get alotta rain and we also get alot of Peach Tree Leaf Curl. Which can just kill the entire tree. I wondering if it's the same disease as Leaf Wilt?
I started using a mineral supplement about 10 years ago called Sea-90. It is actually sea solids collected in a very pristine bay in Central America. I have a friend who was growing and selling micro greens to restaurants in mostly Seattle until the pandemic hit, he adds it to his water for sprouting and growing the greens and it works great. I just toss the solids around the trip line and I don't seem to get leaf curl so much!

I keep reading about squirrels on this thread, don't you people have a BB gun?
And if you haven't heard, deer and elk taste really good too.