Vitis amurensis in Saskatchewan

Vitis amurensis at the Patterson Arboretum,
University of Saskatchewan

Today I visited the Patterson Garden Arboretum on the grounds of the University of Saskatchewan and came across a grape species I had never head of before and decided to investigate.

First a refresher for anyone who isn't fluent in the nomenclature of grapes, European grapes, the kind typically used in good wine are of the species V. vinifera. These grapes probably originally came from western Asia and the Middle East. As a general rule these grapes are very frost sensitive and not hardy in Saskatchewan or indeed most of North America.  The most hardy vinifera species are perhaps tolerant of temperatures down to -20C.  North America has at least  eight different native species of grape in the Vitis genus, V. labrusca, V. riparia, V. acerifolia, V. rupestris, V. cordifolia, V. aestivalis, V. californica, and V. mustangensis.  In addition to these Vitis species, North America also has grapes of the genus Muscadinia (Muscadine).

Vitis amurensis is native the the Amur valley in eastern Asia. Anyone who is fairly familiar with landscaping trees will likely be familiar already with the Amur name. Other plants from the Amur valley that are commonly grown in Saskatchewan include the Amur Maple, honeysuckle, corktree, ninebark, lilac, and cherry. The Amur river makes up part of the boundry between Russia and China. The mouth of the river is located at a latitude of roughly 53 degrees north. For comparison Saskatoon lies at roughly 52 degrees north and my orchard lies at about 53 degrees.

The table grape that sets the hardiness standard here in Saskatchewan is Valiant. Valiant is a cross between V. riparia (riverbank grape) and a variety called Freedonia. Freedonia itself is a cross between V. labrusca and V. riparia. In grapes the ability to pull useful genetics from various species of grape is essential to producing new, hardier, and tastier varieties.

Unfortunately V. amurensis does not appear to produce very good/much fruit. Anyone with information to the contrary please let me know as I would love a reason to grow this species! Recent research at the U of S to produce grapes that are more hardy than the standard Valiant have utilized much of amurensis's genetics unlike Valiant.

Salsify

This spring I tried growing a very unique vegetable, salsify. aka oyster plant, and vegetable oyster. The particular variety I grew is a Mammoth Sandwich Island from William Dam Seeds. I found this company after one of the classes I took in the Prarie Horticulture program at the U of S sent their seed packs as part of a hands on component to a class. Salsify is a quite long season vegetable (120 days) for this area and so I started the seedlings indoors roughly 8 weeks before planting out. Because they are tap-root vegetables I wanted containers that would provide as deep of starter cells as possible, while at the same time because each root only provides a very small return on investment I wanted as many plants started as I could. I found the perfect starter at Lee Valley, their 72-cell deep rooter starter trays allowed me to start 144 plants in the space of just two trays.

Carrots, Onions and Salsify Growing
(left to right)

The picture on the left was taken around June 10th and so far the tap-root has not fattened up significantly. This is not surprising as they had not received much heat at that point this summer. I have already noted that the tap root on the ones that I have pulled are not perfectly straight and this may be the price I pay for starting them in starter cells. I will see come fall whether the whole adventure was worthwhile in terms of production. As for taste I'm hoping for the best as I have never actually tasted salsify, it's not a common item in the grocery store! I expect that regardless of taste it should make a good root vegetable for soup or dry roasted with other root vegetables. I had started leeks this spring as well in much smaller celled starters in the hopes of being able to make this recipe come fall. The leeks grow very poorly in the cells and I'm guessing the temps indoors may have been too hot for their liking. Live and learn, and we will see what fall brings!

Pepper Thermal Heat Bed

I acquired a large number of cinder blocks from a secret location in the winter of 2012-2013 and used them to create a "thermal storage grow bed" for my peppers. In the summer before (2012) we had grown some peppers in the city on the south side of a friends duplex. The wall was stucco, and the soil was nothing special, but the largest peppers I have ever seen grew that summer. The plants resembled bushes rather than plants! This growing bed was my attempt to emulate the conditions.

The theory of this bed is to store up heat during the day and release it slowly at night, providing the peppers with a more stable daily temperature routine so that they experience less stress and grow faster and larger. So far this has not panned out, and the peppers grow marginally better inside the bed than out. I chalk this up to a couple factors:

• The cinder blocks are not filled with soil which would significantly increase their thermal capacity
• The original design had called for the north wall  to have soil mounded against it, again increasing thermal capacity
• This summer so far has been atrocious for growing peppers

Last year the peppers also didn't well, but the thermal bed did have one significant advantage last year that proved its worth and somewhat its theory. Last year we received a surprise late frost. I had put out absolutely no frost protection blankets and the temperature hit -2C. All of my tomatoes and most of my squash died from the frost, but I didn't lose a single pepper. I will continue to modify the design and will let you know if I find a more effective configuration. 

Grape cuttings

Grapes are the second easiest non-herbaceous plant I have ever started (after willow). These cuttings were produced from a Valiant grape vine growing out by my parent's place near Duck Lake SK (near Prince Albert). The cutting were dipped in isopropyl rubbing alcohol then dipped in Stim-Root No. 3 rooting powder. The media is a 50/50 mix of sphagnum peat moss and course pearlite. The cuttings were taken well after the plant had developed it's buds and begun to produce new growth. This is not ideal, however grapes (or at least this variety) is so easy to root that it still had over a 90% success rate on rooting. These cuttings were intially started on the heat mat that I had mentioned earlier in regards to the Arctic Kiwi cuttings that I started after the grape cuttings. In the book "The Grape Grower; A Guide to Organic Viticulture" the author states that cuttings can callus within a week if maintained at 27 - 29 degrees C. The callus is a lumpy white tissue that will often split out of the side of the grape cutting. Roots develop out of the callus tissue and so good callus formation is essential for good rooting. Last year I started grape cuttings from wild grapes (Vitus riparia) in the softwood stage. None of these cutting survived the winter. I am not certain, but I suspect that it may have been due to the fact that these cuttings did not have enough stored reserves come spring as they had not lignified (hardened). Time will tell if these guys survive into another year!

Wild Cucumber

 Echinocystis lobata on my trellis

Wild cucumber is an incredibly fascinating plant that I was first introduced to by my wife and her mother. In some parts of Canada and the United States it is an incredibly invasive species. In my own experience it is not unheard of for individual tendrils to grow 6 inches a day. It is an amazing cover plant for unsightly areas or place where you would like more shade. The Ontario Wild Flower website has many great pictures of the plant flowering and the fruit which resemble green hedgehogs and fire their seeds out in little explosions in late summer. Anyone interested in getting their hands on some seeds please let me know. A word of warning though... once planted they will come back with a vengeance every year. This species is very persistant and can launch its seeds quite far from the mother vine. That being said as anyone who gardens knows, it is very easy to kill a cucumber with a lawnmower, unlike  plants that spread by runners and roots. The seeds need stratification and will not germinate unless they have been left in the cold for a significant period of time. For these plants I collected the seeds midwinter from the dried fruit husks that are left on the vine in the winter.

Arctic Kiwi Cuttings

Arctic Kiwi Cuttings

Arctic kiwi are also known as Hardy Kiwi and are scientifically called Actinidia arguta. The common kiwi that you buy in stores in Acinidia deliciosa. Listed on the Vesey's site as only hardy to Zone 5, I have seen them thrive in the heart of Saskatoon which on the face of it is in Zone 2b. A city the size of Saskatoon does have an appreciable "heat island" effect and so the city itself may experience up to one zone warmer, with microclimates created by building foundations, overhangs and other protection producing small areas with a Zone 5 type environment. Last year I began experimenting with cuttings and tried my hand at Arctic Kiwi. I took hardwood cuttings from a vine well into spring that had already generated many leaves and the cuttings died in reasonably quick order. The cuttings were stored in a north facing cold frame (more on the frame in the future). This year I am doing softwood cuttings. The cuttings were taken around the beginning of July. They are sitting in a roughly 50/50 mix of pearlite and peat. This spring I also bought a Hydro Farm heat mat. I looked at many places online for the best deal but many of the American sites had outrageous shipping and handling charges and in the end I purchased the mat from Early's Farm and Garden here in Saskatoon. The heat mat has greatly increased the rate of rooting of other cuttings that I have done this spring and I would highly recommend them to anyone who is looking to do more than a couple cuttings per season.