Picture Of The Week (POW) Information & Submissions

[Beekissed]

What was growing on them?

Those are my tomato trellises, though one on the end gets to support cukes, beans and sugar snap peas also. LOVE the cattle panel trellises, the only things strong enough to support my huge beefsteak indeterminate tomatoes, that can grow upwards to 7+ ft. tall and hold big, heavy fruit. Don't have to tie them on, just weave them through the squares as they grow...it's pretty cool.

I liked this snow because it was powdery enough to coat every tiny strand of the deer netting, every twig, every surface...the whole world seemed gilded in silvery, white snow. No wind strong enough to knock it off the small places.

 

[Beekissed]

Well, I'm sure glad you're around Bee! I've learned so much from you. Thanks for being a friend.

Mary

Thank you, Miss Mary! I'm the one who's learning on this site and I just love the banter back and forth of the old friends here. Y'all make life so much more sumptuous.

 

[jackb]

Olive Blossom Time.

 

[Smart Red]

Beautiful picture, jackb! Do they smell as lovely as they look? Now for the pollination. I know you plan to manhandle the trunks, so what else will insure pollination and lots of olives?

 

[jackb]

Red,
I am a little disappointed in that they do not seem to have any smell. Still, it is only one tree in full bloom, with eight more still to bloom in that tent. I thought I had read that some varieties do smell nice, however, I have a little congestion so it may be that also. In prior years I only had a few flowers, so I used an artist's brush, this year I am also tapping the flowers to release the pollen while I blow it around the enclosure with a fan. I can actually see pollen floating around within the tent, so it is like Mother Nature would pollinate them. In nature, the wind carries olive pollen for many miles, that is why there are so many different varieties of olives around the world. In the roof of the tents I have an inline duct fan to circulate the air. The fan turns on and off periodically, so that will also help pollinate the plants. When the buds open, pollen falls to the lower leaves, so I am running the fan close to them to blow pollen around. Will I get any olives? That is still an open question, as the trees are flowering well ahead of when they would be expected to flower. Some varieties take five to ten years before they produce olives, mine are only a few years old. The light in the tents has a spectrum tuned to flowering, so that may be why the plants are flowering while they are so young. All but two varieties are now budding, so it is not an isolated plant that is flowering. Time will tell. Also, I have a Callitier cutting that is little more than a year old that is budding.

 

[Circle-M-Farm]

 

[Smart Red]

Beautiful photo of a priceless spot. When I offered my soul for 40 acres and water, that is what I had in mind.

Thanks to DH, my soul is safe. 30 acres and my water feature is a small man-made pond.

 

[ninnymary]

Jackb, that olive tree with blossoms reminds me of an orchid.

Mary

 

[jackb]

Jackb, that olive tree with blossoms reminds me of an orchid.

Mary

Mary,
I agree, we had a few orchid varieties that had long stems with multiple small flowers just like the olive plant. All of the varieties, except one, are in the process of budding now. At some point in the not too distant future there will be a few thousand small white flowers blooming. Not every flower will produce an olive, as the plants will abort many of the buds, they will simply fall off. I did not know when I began this that some varieties are self fertile, some are more productive with specific varieties to pollinate them, and, some will only produce with specific varieties acting as pollinators. I am missing some varieties needed by a few for pollination, but I am hoping that with all of the different varieties in bloom it may compensate for the missing varieties. In prior years I only had a few flowers, this is my first experience with all of the trees flowering, so I really don't know what to expect, but it should be interesting.

Jack

 

[thistlebloom]

I have asked Nifty to choose a new POW picker. As of Saturday it is no longer one of those pleasant tasks I have.
It was fun, thanks to all of you who submitted pictures, they are outstanding! Keep it up!