Broody Thursday skies in Buckingham, Virginia as we drove to the county offices.
We drove over to meet the delivery driver for our roof insulation yesterday. After we got that stored, we ran to the county offices to drop off paperwork for permits. We came back and decided to go for a walk. We were glad to see all of the Asimina triloba that had been damaged in the freeze have begun to leaf back out, even the Tallahatchie. Although it had sprouted some below the graft leaf shoots that we plucked off. The late cold really stressed it. We were glad to see it made it. We are still waiting to begin grafting the pawpaws and persimmon trees when it’s up into to the 50s at night and there’s no rain for 3 days before or after. It’s been chilly here in Virginia this week overnight into the low 40s still. It’s been lovely.
We are seeing a lot of Amphicarpaea bracteata, American hog peanut, all over SAFF. It feeds many creatures, including people, as well as fixes nitrogen in the soil. We feel lucky to have it growing to feed our plants and trees. The leaf with the purple center and green edges is Salvia lyrata, lyreleaf sage. It is edible and in the mint family. Native Americans made tea with the leaves. It is an adaptable native herbaceous perennial. It withstands foot traffic well. The flowers support multiple bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. We will try to get a photo of it flowering. Nigronia fasciata, Banded dark fish fly, found along the main waterway at the bottom. This is an interesting find as an adult since it has a brief lifespan of only one or two weeks. They mate and lay eggs at the edge of the water right where we found it. They don’t even have a mouth in this part of their lifecycle since they don’t live long enough to eat. The larval stage can last three years. Their presence at the waterway is a sign of very clean water and a balanced, healthy aquatic ecosystem. They are predators in the larval stage and more intimidating. The best of five blurry pics of this lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum, on Fern Trail hanging off the edge of the plant on the trail waiting to grab on to the next creature that comes along. These ticks are aggressive and out looking for food when other types of ticks are hiding under leaf litter. We recently realized they can cause Alpha gal syndrome from a brief exposure whereas most ticks need hours attached to their hosts to transmit diseases. Be careful out there! Yuck! The three sisters on Ridge Trail overlooking the old colony Pawpaw Patch.Across the main waterway to the old colony pawpaw patch. All of the understory trees are Asimina triloba.Asimina triloba sprouting from the roots of elder trees even. Crimson clover, Trifolium incarnatum, a cool season fast growing annual legume we planted as a cover crop in the clearing to suppress weeds and fix nitrogen in the soil.The new access road connecting our driveway to the Old Farm Road.
We just missed the flower by the look of it. We hope to catch it next year.
Yesterday we had a walk in the drizzly rain at Saint Andrews Forest Farm. We got to the north side and found our fourth native wild orchid. Cypripedium acaule, pink lady’s slipper or moccasin flower. It’s sparse in our area and considered a special find since it relies on symbiotic soil fungi to survive. Each plant can live 20 years or more. It is pollinated by bees who are tricked into entering the pink sweet smelling flower yet there’s no nectar so no reward. The bees then ignore it.
Pink lady’s slipper Picture by Will Parson from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. American persimmon
We had .125 inches of rainfall when we checked the rain gauge. Anything at all is appreciated. We looked for mushrooms but none were found yet.
American persimmon, Diospyros virginiana, up top along the driveway we counted 35 altogether just near the road. Viburnum prunifolium, Blackhaw, a hardy native deciduous small tree producing edible fruit found along SAFF’s northmost trail. Vaccinium stamineum, Deerberry or Highbush huckleberry, found on the North side just off the old farm road. These are attractive to songbirds, deer and pollinators and it forms colonies making it useful for stabilizing banks and creating thickets. Sensitive fern, Onoclea sensibilis, found on the old farm road in a particularly boggy, wet spot. It provides cover for frogs and lizards and is the host plant for the sensitive fern borer moth. Polystichum acrostichoides, Christmas fern, looking especially beautiful in the rain. Nabalus serpentaria, lion’s foot rattlesnake root, a perennial wildflower native to Eastern North America. It grows to 20-79 inches with stems that vary from green, red and purple. Blooms are white to yellow. We will keep an eye on it and try to capture it in a photo. Chalybion californicum, Common blue mud dauber wasp, found in the tiny house. It was very docile as we helped it find its way back outside. It is a primary predator of the black widow spider. Allegheny cultivar Asimina triloba looking vibrant on the Pawpaw Peninsula. We counted 34 other pawpaws right there next to it. They are directly across the waterway from the largest colony of hundreds of pawpaws. Interesting something digging into tree trunk down low. Chris thinks it’s a woodpecker. It does look like the holes they usually make higher up. Google says there are beavers in Central Virginia. They are common throughout the area it says. A beaver would be wonderful to help build check dams and raise the water table.
The new view down SAFF’s lower south set back line without the bridge. This is most pleasing.Yesterday during our work at SAFF we began building a new Hugelkultur terrace along the southern slope. We took down 3 tulip poplars which were overcrowded, unhealthy and lanky scrunched in between the pines and oaks. The tulip tree Liriodendron tulipifera is a fast growing tall hardwood tree native to eastern North America. The flowers attract hummingbirds and butterflies while the seeds feed birds and squirrels. It is likely our most common tree in the disturbed areas of SAFF. When a forest is clear cut, these trees move in fast and establish their canopy. They are valuable to our forest ecosystem but not as tightly populated as they are currently. They are great for establishing the Hugelkultur terrace here along the southern slope. All of them will be useful for the development of terracing and the base structures at SAFF.
When building Hugelkultur terraces, tulip poplar is considered one of the best woods for the structural base for the terrace because it is soft and decomposes quickly which creates the nutrient rich water retaining base. We built the terraces we planted the Asimina triloba into out of tulip trees in the new seedling orchard at the bottom of North Trail for the past few years.
We will cover these branches and logs pictured above with soil, our homemade compost and other organic material such as mulch, pine needles and forest floor leaves. We will plant into these beds. The plants and trees in this bed will benefit from the gradual nutrient release of decaying material and increase in water retention. SAFF will benefit from reduced soil erosion.
Image depiction Hugelkultur principles in design by Rose Shelton.
We’re excited to begin planting on SAFF’s south slope as soon as we finish the terrace project and create a fence to protect our plants from becoming wildlife buffets.
Also to share with you our joyful news. We got engaged and have been making exciting plans for our future and celebrations with friends and family.
The stalk arising from the dead striped leaf continues to open up the flower buds. We are surprised by how yellow the flower is after looking deep purple for some time. This is it! The flower unfurled finally. The final flowering stage of Antennaria plantaginifolia, plantain leaved pussytoes. The flower heads have transformed into fluffy seed heads that can take flight in the wind. Diospyros virginiana, American persimmon, up top near the road. We found another group of 10 or more trees. These are young and healthy. They are a major source of food for birds, raccoons and the possum. The American persimmon also serves as host for multiple moth larvae and pollinators. They are low maintenance, drought tolerant and pest resistant. We are delighted to find them. Diospyros virginiana sprout coming up near the other cluster. Another American persimmon seedling coming up in the front. Achillea millefolium, common yarrow, is highly regarded in wound healing as a styptic with antiseptic properties. Teas from yarrow are made to induce sweating, reduce bloating and reduce inflammation. It offers cold and fever relief. It attracts a wide variety of beneficial insects and over 20 species of native bees. It is lovely, drought tolerant and thrives in poor soil conditions. Amphicarpaea bracteata, American hog peanut, is an annual to perennial vine in the legume family native to moist slopes in the eastern US. They produce above ground and underground pods. It fixes nitrogen and grows in the old clonal colony pawpaw patch. We found it today coming up around our Asimina triloba cultivar seedlings which is where we planned to move them. Yay! 😀 It feeds birds, deer and mice. Native Americans ate the pods and underground peanut tubers which are nutritious. A good source of protein, fiber and carbs.Asimina triloba KSU Benson cultivar seedling with American hog peanut spontaneously growing around it offering a low maintenance partnership with the hog peanut feeding the pawpaw tree. Fern trail near the Rappahanock cultivar which is recovering nicely from the frost that bit it. Hypericum stragulum, low St John’s wort, which is toxic to grazing animals. Native Americans used the plant for the treatment of sores, fever, gastrointestinal issues, nosebleeds and snakebites.
We had a nice Sunday with lovely weather in the 60s as we got chores done and took a stroll around the trails.
Packera anonyma, Small’s ragwort, a native perennial in the Aster family. Toxic to most mammals but insects have adapted to feed on it. Found on south set back line at SAFF. Desmodium rotundiflora, Round-leaved Trailing Tick-trefoil, or dollar leaf. A native perennial found across the eastern US that grows along the ground with round to heart shaped leaves and pink to purple flowers blooming from June to November. It serves as a larval host for the Variegated Fritillary and Southern Cloudwing. It is a member of the pea family so it helps fix nitrogen in the soil. It is a beautiful plant we see all over the farm as it typically grows in dry woodlands. Antennaria plantaginifolia, plantain-leaved pussytoes, also in the Aster family and found all over SAFF. It is a host for the American lady butterfly and a great drought tolerant ground cover. Smilax rotundifolia, round leaf greenbrier, a thorny, woody vine native to eastern US and Canada. It provides cover and food to wildlife. The tender young shoots are edible and taste similar to asparagus or green beans when cooked. Berries from it are a crucial late winter food source for cardinals and sparrows. Medicinal uses are teas and poultices used as an anti inflammatory, diuretic and detoxification. Chris prepping the area to clear the bridge encroachment. Drill in hand.
We loaded up the trailer with the supplies we needed to take down the bridge and drove the tractor to the south end set back line. It took several hours to take it down. The weather was perfect as it was much cooler with temperatures dipping into the high 30s at night and only warming to the 60s. It finally feels like spring.
Houstonia caerulea, azure bluet or Quaker ladies, bloom in early spring in the forest and clearings. These are still hanging on near the bottom main waterway. They provide early nectar for small native bees, bee flies and butterflies. The flowers are edible and can garnish salad. Mainly we love to look at them with the blue flowers floating near the ground, they are magical.Asimina triloba new leaves and early fruit still hanging in there! We counted 10 of these tiny little fruits. Podophyllum peltatum, Mayapple, with early fruit. We counted 4 fruits easily seen yesterday. They will ripen to yellow in late July or August typically. The bridge is gone. Yay!
Diospyros virginiana, American persimmon, we just noticed this new persimmon coming up out front near the roadway. Phylloxera caryaeglobuli, Hickory leaf stem Gall Phylloxera, an insect creating the distinctive galls. They do not damage the hickory trees. This was found in the bottoms near main waterway.The underside of the pignut hickory leaf with the gall showing a little hole where the insect exits. Aplectrum hyemale, Putty root orchid, open a bit more than the day before. Seedlings that look like this get our attention because we are on the lookout for Tree of heaven, Ailanthus altissima, which has thumbs on the leaves. It’s a fast growing invasive that attracts spotted lantern flies and grows in thickets of dense trees that fall over quite easily. Happily, it has no thumbs, so this is Juglans nigra, eastern black walnut which grows primarily in riparian zones and is native to eastern North America. Asimina triloba grows well with eastern black walnut. However the tree produces juglone that can inhibit growth of plants that are sensitive to it within their root zone. Juglans nigra has dark strong wood and nutrient dense bold tasting nuts. Blurry Rubus pensilvanicus, Pennsylvania blackberry, found along SAFF south set back line. We found a couple clusters of these native berries flowering.Ferns and Mayapples, Podophyllum peltatum, in the old clonal colony of Asimina triloba.
We went over to Buckingham to get some jobs done at Saint Andrews Forest Farm. It was a gorgeous day here in Virginia with crisp cool overnight temperatures and warm sunshine heating everything up throughout the day. The rain gauge registered .1 inch. Virginia and most of North Carolina are in a drought. Before we left to drive back to Staunton, we took a walk around the forest. It was quiet except for the birdsong and our footsteps crunching along on the dry leaves. We plan to spend most of the weekend working on our Pawpaw project and taking down the bridge our neighbor to the south built on our property a few years ago.
Top of pic shows the bridge we will dismantle this weekend.
Yesterday in the clearing up top beginning with the start of this season’s meadow of crimson clover on the hillside.
Apheloria virginiensis, Black and gold flat millipede, found on the road to the bottom south set back line. It’s reported to secrete cyanide so if you touch them, wash your hands or it can irritate your eyes or skin.
A grass spider, Genus Agelenopsis, amidst a sea of Neivamyrmex nigrescens, Black legionary ants, a common species of army ant in the US. The ants are nocturnal, predatory nomads that hunt other ants and insects.Deidamia inscriptum, Lettered Sphinx moth, feeds on Virginia creeper, grapevines and woody vines. Only one brood occurs per year. Active at night and attracted to light and nectar from lilacs. Asimina triloba fruit developing at SAFF. This is the longest they’ve stayed on for us and the biggest we’ve ever seen them get. Fingers crossed! Another fruitlet. Chris found what may be a Carolina leaf roller insect infected with something similar to what Ophiocordyceps kimflemingiae does to carpenter ants. It forces infected ants to leave their nests, climb plants and bite into leaves (or branches) with a death grip. Then, the fungus grows and releases spores from the ants head. We will update you with any information about the identification of this insect and fungus.
Wee tiny mayapple initial fruit set. They grow to the size of a plum. 1.5 to 2 inchesVirginia bluebells, Mertensia virginica, blooming in the old colony pawpaw patch. Beautiful and attractive to pollinators in the foreground. Perfoliate bellwort, Uvularia perfoliata, in the background.
We visited Saint Andrews Forest Farm yesterday afternoon and went to check on the Asimina triloba as we walked around the woods. In every patch (Southside gully natives and Rappahanock, old clonal colony and newly planted cultivars and seedlings in the new orchard at the bottom of North Trail), we had frost damage. The new seedlings and cultivars and the Southside gully gang will rebound albeit wounded for the season. Our sad loss was down in the clonal colony where we spent hours pollinating from the wild. We had a lot of frost damage. We’ll see. We saw tiny green bananas still hanging untouched by the cold. It definitely will impact our fruit this year. We did not expect it since temperatures were reported as 33 degrees. We think they may have been especially sensitive since it was also very dry here. The drought is ongoing. We had sprinkles yesterday while we walked around but still no significant rain.
Tallahatchie cultivar Asimina triloba hit by frost and will hopefully rebound.Southside Sally and her gang, a native SAFF group, got hit by the frost we were sad to see.Rappahanock cultivar was filling out and getting fluffy before the frost.
Antennaria plantaginifolia, plantain-leaved pussytoes, was found budding in multiple locations on the trails Monday afternoon. The buds resemble cat paws. This native groundcover supports Virginia pollinators and is a host plant for the American Lady butterfly, Vanessa virginiensis.American lady butterflyUvularia perfoliata, perfoliate bellwort, a north American woodland perennial known for its distinctive leaves that appear to pierce the stem and drooping yellow bell shaped flowers. Attracts pollinators. Young shoots can be cooked like asparagus and eaten. Roots are also edible after cooking. Found along the trails at SAFF.
We got out to the farm yesterday to check on the tiny house and continue to level it up. We’re placing cinder blocks around the trailer to support it. We also continued to pollinate the newly opened small, green pawpaw flowers. We see tiny initial fruit set has occurred as well as new buds opening.
Asimina triloba buds showing an older female flower to the right with green color at bottom and the pollinated one facing us with the green banana surrounded by pollen. There’s another smaller and younger bud not yet open behind the middle bud which has dropped most of its petals.
Early fruit set on just one small 6 foot Asimina triloba in the old clonal colony pawpaw patch. There’s multiple large colonies of Mayapples and Virginia bluebells coming up. Mayapples by the main waterway down in the old clonal colony pawpaw patch. A Mayapple, Podophyllum peltatum, with a white bloom in center. We will watch this one for a fruit. All parts of this plant are poisonous except for the ripe yellow edible fruit. Extracts of this plant are used for treating cancers. It spreads through rhizomes to form thick ground cover colonies and goes dormant mid summer. Wear gloves when handling as it can cause irritation. Mayapple flower. This is the Mayapple fruit which ripens through the summer. We begin to look for it in August in spots where we’ve seen flowers. It’s the 2 leaved Mayapple that flower and fruit. The fruit is described as a fleshy lemon shaped berry native to eastern North America that has a unique tart flavor compared to pineapple, passion fruit or starburst candy. I found this description from one of my favorite teachers. “My first encounter with a ripe mayapple fruit was unforgettable. I actually smelled the fruit before I saw it. Within seconds of harvesting, I indulged in what little edible material was available. The taste was ambrosial — almost too good to be true — and from that day forward I became a devout seeker of ripe mayapple fruits. “ Adam Haritan from Learn Your Land.
I was literally standing on a young rat snake as I took this photo of the blueberries here by the waterway! I bet I scared him as much as he did me. First peaches are forming on the heritage Indian Blood cling peach.Our first asparagus spear this season.
We’re picking up 100 bare root Asimina triloba seedlings from the Virginia Department of Forestry Thursday and we have 50 Spicebush seedlings and another 50 Asimina triloba seedlings coming from the Arbor Day Foundation this week. We will be busy this weekend potting up the new trees in deep tree pots to accommodate their long tap roots. Last year we planted 108 and this year it looks as though it will be 300-400. We can’t wait to see how many seeds sprout that we cold stratified over winter. Last year they began growing in June. It may be early this year since it’s been so warm. We will get photos of it all this year. Last year we were too amazed by how much grows from the seed so quickly. The taproot goes 10 inches before there’s anything to be seen up top. It’s a wondrous thing growing Asimina triloba —and the seeds sprouting is just the start but we were too overwhelmed last year to document it. We will do so this year. 👍🏼
This Red Fox, Vulpes vulpes, was caught on the FarmCam on February 9th and we just remembered to share. Beautiful red foxes live in their den on Chanterelle Trail and went out to hunt for food. It’s rare to catch them on the camera. They avoid being spotted.
Saint Andrews Forest Farm 