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.
Pollinated mayapple, Podophyllum peltatum, with initial fruit set in the SAFF old colony pawpaw patch. We are noticing more flowers this year on the Mayapples. Southern adder’s -tongue, Ophioglossum pycnostichum, was found in the newly planted Pawpaw Orchard very near our Mango cultivar and a select seedling we planted last year. Found in moist shaded bottomland forests during late spring, Southern adder’s-tongue is considered rare in many regions but common here in Virginia. It is a fern that spends most of its time underground. Although edible and medicinal, it’s a plant that stores energy for years to send up a single leaf. Members of this family of plants have extraordinary high numbers of chromosomes. Over 1200. This occurs because of extreme polyploidy. It has astringent and anti inflammatory properties.Vaccinium stamineum, deerberry, a native deciduous shrub in the blueberry family found on Blackrock Trail near the wet weather gully at SAFF. These are eaten by birds and mammals.Erigeron philadelphicus, Philadelphia fleabane, is a widespread native wildflower in the daisy family. It is a valuable food source for bees, butterflies and moths. Found on our Northmost Trail at SAFF these Vaccinum stamineum, Deerberry, sit atop a hill near many pines.Sensitive fern, Onoclea sensiblis, known for being sensitive to frost and dying back if touched by it. Thrives in moist shady areas. Historically used by Iroquois for medicinal purposes and food. A native bush clover, Genus Lespedeza, found throughout SAFF. Today we noticed it near the Asimina triloba seedlings we planted last Fall. It is a nitrogen fixer and is valued for soil improvement and provides food for quail and other wildlife. Monochamus scutellatus, White spotted sawyer, a native wood-boring beetle that eats dead pines mainly. This appears to be female by the shorter antennae. Asimina triloba in old colony pawpaw patch with initial fruit set. Mayapples in the background.
It was dry at Saint Andrews Forest Farm on Friday afternoon. The ground crunched as we walked around the trails. There’s a chance of storms and cooler weather expected Sunday. If no rain by then, we will need to water the newly planted Asimina triloba seedlings at the bottom of North Trail. All of them look great with leaves filling out. We weeded and worked on clearing spaces around each of them. Even the ones that had tops chewed off by a passing deer or rabbit have new growth sprouting.
Houstonia caerulea, azure bluet, found all over SAFF has now passed its peak blooming and is beginning to to die back.
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. 👍🏼
Second year mayapples budding up at Saint Andrews Forest FarmRappahanock cultivar Asimina triloba by the southern wet weather gully beginning to leaf out.
We think the pawpaws and mayapples are about a month earlier than previous years. It’s been very warm with repeated cold snaps. Speaking of which, this Tuesday overnight is dipping into the high twenties in Staunton and Afton. We’re relieved that so far it looks as though SAFF and the budded up Asimina triloba out there will be alright in the low 30s. We will have to cover all of our pawpaws potted up in Staunton that have begun to leaf out. The forecast is 28 here.
Asimina triloba right now at the farm are still opening buds. We got a good look inside of them on Saturday and it appears fruit is forming. Asimina triloba, pawpaws, we potted up in February from the Virginia Department of Forestry. We ordered 100 more of these for pickup next week. The February ones are doing well and beginning to leaf out and wake up. They are the same age as the seedlings we planted at SAFF last year. We will cover them with warm blanket way before the temperature gets into the 20s. They will stay in their tall tree pots until the fall. Then we plan to plant these 150 in total from the Virginia Department of Forestry along with the seeds that pop open in June (we think as with prior years) that we’ve had stratifying in pots over winter in our backyard. Last year it was 100 that opened with much less seeds than we had this last year. So we’re hoping for at minimum 150 seedlings to sprout, maybe 200. This will give us 300-350 or so to plant in the fall.
We continued our pollination at SAFF in the old clonal colony pawpaw patch on Saturday. While we were down there, we saw what appears to be tiny fruit forming! Right now, they look like tiny bananas or very miniature versions of the Buddha’s hand, a type of citrus.
Initial fruit set of Asimina triloba.Our pollen covered boots walking around the woods. Pollen all over the pines attracts butterflies and bees aplenty.Allegheny cultivar Asimina triloba leafing out on the Pawpaw Peninsula.
Virginia pine, Pinus virginiana, on Wednesday with yellow pollen cones clustered near the tips. We pulled in and saw these on all of the pines. It was a beautiful surprise. We were at the farm just the day before and did not notice them!
On our way to Saint Andrews Forest Farm Tuesday and Wednesday and Friday, we continued to find male pollen from many trees and locations to take to the female pawpaw buds at SAFF in order to set fruit in the old clonal colony. We’ve seen many more clusters of trees along Howardsville Rd, creeks and rivers on the way to the farm. We are so hopeful they will produce fruit this year with the pollen from different genetic material. We have been getting rain regularly so far and have more in the forecast for the next few weeks. We just hope for the best.
Male Asimina triloba buds found along Howardsville Road. Chris walking from the native old clonal colony of Asimina triloba after spreading compost tea.
We’ve also continued to level the tiny house and check for water entry after rain. We found that there are a few areas where we need to address past water damage. We have plans for a new overhanging warm roof which will be a large help on multiple fronts. We also will remediate the damage done by replacing materials as needed. The tiny house was built on a mobile home trailer with steel framing so the bones are strong.
Inside view from the tiny house. Our plan is to address the roof issue as our top priority with the tiny house. We have been working on the layout for inside and planning our staircase and storage needs. We will begin working on the roof as soon as we get scaffolding and other supplies as soon as next week.The view from the other side of the tiny house interior with water tanks and some lighting and other supplies.The tiny house is built on top of this trailer.They insulated it and covered it in plywood. We will need to replace a few of those sections under there. Instead of plywood, we will use metal and flashing. The overhanging metal roof will also take away most of the moisture from dripping onto the edges of the trailer. We are collecting our supplies.The metal frame of the tiny house.Mayapples, Podophyllum peltatum, found in the old colony pawpaw patch.Azure bluet, Houstonia caerulea, found everywhere right now at Saint Andrews Forest Farm. Clearings, trails, roads and under forest canopy. Some melted and some fresher shoehorn oyster mushrooms found on Amanita Way just near the main clearing up top. Asimina triloba found on the way to the farm.
Today we were pleased to have a farm day Friday and we ran right down to the old colony pawpaw patch to continue pollinating. We noticed a powerful smell right away. As we went down to the main waterway from the Pawpaw Peninsula to cross over we saw a possum carcass. Normally this would cause us more than some displeasure. Today we couldn’t believe our good fortune. What a blessing in disguise! Asimina triloba are pollinated by a number of insects as we’ve seen but the most important pollinator historically has been the fly. Flies were all over this gift of a stinky carcass. We are sorry for the possum. A few years ago, we found another possum in a similar spot and also deceased. We’ve grown to appreciate them and hope they thrive in the forest at SAFF. They are known to eat ticks which is a positive. Poor creature.
We also noticed our shoes are covered in pollen. We will get a photo. We are like giant bumble bees running around the forest spreading pollen everywhere wittingly and not.
Class Agaricomycetes growing on black cherry. The underside of theAgaricomycetes shows teeth instead of pores or gills.
Of course we went over to continue to search for morels. It was a beautiful day and the farm was burgeoning with spring. We saw multiple colonies with thousands of mayapples emerging. Only a couple of the largest ones have flattened which is a great indicator of timing for morels to begin coming up. We found these new colonies of mayapples emerging in the pawpaw grove where we also found Virginia bluebells popping up. We noticed that the blueberry bushes are starting to leaf out.
Virginia bluebells not yet flowering but almost. One colony of mayapples which has plenty of sun so we hope to see some fruit. We hear the taste is similar to pineapple and starburst candy. Yum! Leucobryum moss found at the bottom of the slope.Eastern fence lizard found up top in the clearing. Genus Houstonia, flowering bluets, a native wildflower found covering the farm especially in clearings.
We got plenty of rain yesterday and can’t wait to go back out to search for the elusive morels.
Saint Andrews Forest Farm 