For better or worse, I finished digging up bonsai this weekend.
I did not go to the Pumpkin Patch on Saturday. Casey let me know they were glaze firing this weekend, so I opted to go to Port Townsend and dig trees instead. I'll likely be going back next weekend to pick up pottery. I'll have pictures then. Casey doesn't open until noon, so before going out there, I decided to dig up some trees.
So Saturday I grabbed six ginkgos and four Japanese black pine. I think one is a mugo pine. While there, I was telling the guy that I was running out of dirt. He offered me some pumice, shredded tree bark, and scoria! I'll have to go back sometime for that. Sunday morning I went back for one final big push. Hunter and I pulled our final 11 crab apples. we left a few in the growing bed, but I'm out of room. These crabs were the biggest of the bunch, so they were more work. We left Sunday muddy, sweaty, scratched, and exhausted, but with another carload full of trees.
Aaron took two of the ginkgos to his growing area. He also took a Japanese maple. He's going to buy some steer manure and take possession of another maple. This should help with the crowding.
I noticed some of the crabapples from the first digs are showing some leaf scorch. Not all of them. Some are doing okay. This just reiterates my point: it's a numbers game. There's a chance that I may lose trees. That chance can be represented by a percentage. A number. The more trees I have the higher the numbers.
We already knew there was a risk of losing trees and digging these trees in summer was risky. Yet, if they survive, our return on investment could be a game changer. I'll have a source for cuttings. I may be able to do some air layering. And I'll have stock for bonsai.
All for now.
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