Steemit Plant Trade with @papa-pepper, YAY Elderberries!!
Super excited to have a new variety of Elderberries!
A week ago Papa-Pepper happened to see I posted Harvesting my Elderberries and they were playing hard to get and offered a trade of his local Elderberries for mine. I instantly was up for the trade and so last Friday I sent off a package with cuttings and a pack of sunflower seeds. Below is his video he posted in response to my Giant Sunflower Harvest post after he received the package Monday.
A short while ago I heard the snap of the mailbox door closing so I went and got the mail and to my surprise, (I wasn't expecting it to arrive so soon) the package was here! YAY! I had to make a clean surface for pictures, since this IS a farm, clean surfaces tend to be very rare, then opened and photoed.
Since I had seen the above video I was aware that he had included a pack of seeds, but I was happy to see his surprise at the sunflower seeds. They are from my Grand Champion at Spokane Fair, 170" or 14ft 2in tall Mongolian Giant Sunflower and it's really cool that he had thought it would be cool to have some, and then he got some without saying anything. I love when things work out that way.
The contents emptied, my very first thoughts was the distinct difference between the size of our respective cuttings. This is a product of the type of Elderberry and its growth habit. I had to take cuttings 12 to 16 inches long in order to have enough nodes. His have far closer internodal spacing so he was able to take much shorter cuttings while still having enough nodes for rooting.
2 gallon bags with 10 cuttings in each and a bag of Chinese Red Noodle beans. I'm excited about the Red Noodle beans as I only have a few left and I have already been planning on planting a couple rows next year. They are such a fun bean and they can produce bucket loads in a row. It is super fun to take 4 beans and cut them up and have enough for a dish with a meal.
All of them look great. I have put them all in water now after removing them from their bags. I will be making a quick trip to the store for some growing medium to get them planted today. So stoked to see how they do and if I can pop some roots in a reasonable time.
My proof of receipt of the Papa-Pepper Elderberry cuttings
Giant THANK YOU to @papa-pepper!! THIS is Steemit powered trade!
Check out my blog @flemingfarm
Fleming Family Farm
FLEMING FAMILY FARM, LLC
Sustainable & Organic Methods | Heirloom Produce
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Wow that's very cool @flemingfarm to receive a awesome package from @papa-pepper ! I have followed him from the start over a year now as @karenmckersie ! Love to follow you now as well in my new food and drinks blog @momskitchen ! Once I get my little house built in the country , hopefully next summer I hope to plant all kinds of stuff and maybe get some awesome packages as well of different varieties of stuff I cant get up here in Canada ! Upped and resteemed into my blog to share this with my awesome followers !! Thanks for sharing !!👍👍👍🌱🌱🌱
Thank you! Steemit powered trade is killer. There is really a wealth of knowledge on here and I'm sure a book or manual could be made regarding various techniques and methods of all the homesteaders, gardeners, & foragers that post.
That's a great idea ! Thanks for your awesome reply !💕👍💕👍💕
Sounds great ! ✌💕👍
Excellent post and great payout! Steemit sure is beautiful! I'm doing my post tomorrow hopefully, and just got yours planted. Hopefully both of our work out.
They sure are some different types too! I was noticing the differences too.
You will want to give em a healthy amount of room to grow when you get them in the ground. The bushes will spread over time and can get pretty massive. It will be super cool to see how they adapt to the new environment.
Interesting posts, thank you for sharing
@originalworks you and Papa have amazingly interesting posts, thank you for sharing this, makes me want to get some elderberries asap!
They are an amazing plant and have been used for millennia. I know of bushes around our area that I stop at to harvest, all right of way, each year that I can. They are always there as few people harvest them.
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Good one @flemingfarm
Wish you success & great harvest time... What do you use in fertilizing...
One massive growth is in an old chicken yard, a young growth is in an old sheep pen, and the others are in native soil.
@flemingfarm
good options...
have you considered eggshells, fish and or fish water... and also aquaponics... i did update a lot of posts on related subjects... check out my blog posts for many interesting tips...even growing during winter...
thanks and keep steeming hot
I would love to do an aquaponics setup but would have to build a new building to house it as space is at a premium in most all our structures currently.
Depends as aquaponics doesn't really require big space... Visit my blog for all info...updated also today
Wow! Are elderberries different in different areas then? I have a tree in my yard in Florida.
There are a good number of different cultivars around the country and world. I know of 3 primary ones but in my research have found a litany of different named varieties. A large part of the regional difference is primarily the zones. We are north latitude and a far different zone than Florida so the native or naturalized plants will be different. I hope to naturalize these to the zone 5 we are in.
I did know that my elderberry tree was a bit different from the Scottish ones, so it does make sense!
Great looking cuttings! We love our elderberries!
Prolific little buggers if you let em go in an old chicken yard or sheep pen! These will eventually end up in sheep poo composted soil so they can hopefully blow up.
My friend has his near the downside hill of a chicken pen and the bush is now as big as my house!
Growing up in California the same variety of Elderberry that are native here in Washington would get up to 40 feet across the massive growth. Mine may just do that themselves with so many nutrients.
resteemed!
This is really cool. Swapping cuttings and seeds to grow different varieties of plants. I wish we could do something like that here, but I think the postal services and customs might frown upon cuttings. Seeds maybe not...
I'm pretty sure there are major hurdles to go through to get live plant material across the border. This video from the CBC, The Nature Of Things, is about fruit hunters, 1 of 2 parts. In one of the parts a couple from Florida who run a fruit tree repository were able to get cuttings of a papaya into the country. So it can be done.
I enjoyed the videos and the information they contain. We now live in Nicaragua and things can be more complicated here. We have applied a special licence to import plants but who knows, we may get it or we may be turned down. No rhyme or reason. If all else fails, we'll just ahve to make a trip up north, eat our fill of seeds and fly home. lol
Hah Hah! Next thing we know you've gone and become a notorious seed smuggler!
The import rules are understandable to an extent given the proliferation of non-native invasive species making their way everywhere.
Steemit powered trades! LOVE IT! congrats on your new plants!