Success and Failure in the Bonsai Zone, Part 2, July 2019

I finish pruning the Serissa foetida bonsai forest, that is styled to look like Acacia trees in Africa.
Today's update is the Community Orchard and Edible forest, our team's progress in year 1.

[@sophiaangelini4368]

The video is extremely informative and helpful. Such great work for the community!

[@TheBonsaiZone]

We are doing an orchard tour tomorrow for all the new volunteers, it should be a fun evening!

[@mattbrennan647]

Nice tour Nigel, thanks. It takes a great community to come together and create such a beautiful space. You’re a lucky man, enjoy.

[@daniellarrivee6510]

thank you Nigel for the visit and for your work on these small delicate tree ...

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Thank you Daniel, lots more to come!

[@dubdefense2029]

These community gardens will be such a beautiful place once these trees have grown tall, surrounding the gardens :) great work

[@marysoldeeley2218]

The community garden are coming along very well!

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Yes, it's a good start for year 1. I have an exciting update coming very soon!

[@luckyluke8052]

I just wonder what's happened with your greenhouse project???

[@margaretsims4344]

Lucky Luck me to.

[@OskyPinamar]

Beautiful project. I can just imagine how amazing that's going to look in a few years if the other people around have the same dedication and care as you do.

[@CageJp]

Wow what a beautiful community garden!

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Thank you, it really helps bring people together! I'm looking forward to the years ahead!

[@rajeshbandishte8264]

The loss of trees from the African landscape is unfortunate. But good to know that other trees in the landscape are doing well.

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Yes, it was a rough winter for many of my trees, they are loving the sunshine outdoors now!

[@monkeygraborange]

Your joy at being able to do outside, major work is palpable!

[@domeniccosta5579]

Big hello from Portugal.😁 Love your videos Nigel thx for sharing

[@bonzairebellion4663]

17:54 Thank you Nigel. respect every form of life 🙏🙏🙏

[@snoekhoek]

I’m having a blanket ritual every night. 🛌 :) I hope your gardens are going to do excellent!

[@mikec3820]

here in ny we have tons of apple and pear and plum farms. the old farmers say both apples and pears do best in groups of 3 or more.. we had a pear out side for a few years, gave us fruit too. but it ended up doing the same as your pear trees here, died over winter.. cant wait to see the community garden in a few years in the bonsai zone..

[@TheBonsaiZone]

I am very excited to see the project develop over the next ten years or so! 35 more trees to go in this coming spring as well as lots of berry bushes and hopefully some nut trees. I really feel lucky to be a part of the project!

[@lukeplunkett3768]

I’m always happy to hear how the Zone is doing!

[@patriciaspell2569]

Love the community garden idea.

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Thank you Patricia, it's a really nice project that will keep me busy right to the end!

[@uwethomae4127]

I love your landscapes! Imressive!

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Thank you Uwe!

[@ToWatchMusic]

All "so here i go" timestamps: 2:38

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Wow, I really dropped the ball in this video, thanks!

[@ThePistolpete87]

I believe it’s called “hugelkultur” when you bury logs and cover them up with soil to make mounds. I am not 100% sure on that though.

[@lukeplunkett3768]

It is!

[@PghFlip]

You got it RK, Hügelkultur... saved me the trouble. ;)

[@BonsaiJCan]

Great to see most of the fruit trees doing so well, looks like there will be a lot fruit in the coming years.

[@PapaOsmubal.OscarBalajadia]

Nigel, what is that white tube-like thing coiled around the trunks of those little trees, like that around a St. Lawrence apple?@10:05

[@TheBonsaiZone]

That is on to protect the trees from rabbits in the winter. They will chew away at the tree trunks!

[@vijayetasharma1218]

Which tree is dat in African landscape??

[@tayh3645]

You're going to want a pollinator for the Highbush Cranberry Viburnum. Can be any other Viburnum trilobum. At my house I use the dwarf cultivar 'Baileys American compact' to save space. The dwarf can get berries too, but its main purpose is to provide compatible pollen for the full-size one. Without it usually the best you can expect is a >5% berry set (roughly 1-6 small berries per corymb) Unless there happen to be wild ones around somewhere. You can usually tell if there will be any berries developing about 2 weeks after the flowers fade.

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Thank you Tay, great information!

[@jonattanpichardo8655]

Hey Nigel , I noticed that the wood chips are in direct contact with the base of the trees in the orchard. That can lead to rotting at the base of the plant which will cause them to die. You should make a donut around the base of the trees where no wood chips are in contact with the tree. Also is amazing how your community has come together!!

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Thanks Jonattan, we'll do that, I think there was talk of putting a ring of pea gravel around the base of the tree. I think this is deter insects crawling up the trunk.

[@widdershiznit]

Except for the pears, your fruit trees look great! What's with the pears? Yeah! Anjou pears rule!

[@mikec3820]

was that a black berry bush you put the catapilar on? i love those. they grow wild all over the catskills here. blueberrys too so yummy

[@TheBonsaiZone]

We have raspberry and blackberry bushes at our house, I can't stop eating them when they are ripe!

[@gwicker12]

Any season by season advice for a bonsai novice working with a newly transplanted Eastern Red Cedar. Planted in a pot in April from a ground collection. Wondering what I should do for the winter in Zone 6a.

[@TheBonsaiZone]

It should be fine if you place it on the ground and mulch around it for the winter. I would place a mesh cage around it to stop rabbits and mice chewing on the trunk and branches. They can also be over wintered in a garden shed or a cold frame. Just be careful to keep the soil from going dry over the winter.

[@gwicker12]

@@TheBonsaiZone Thanks Nigel I appreciate the quick reply ! I'm a big fan of the channel here in Indiana. I will send a pic going into fall and next spring of the overwintered results Right now its extremely hot here 90 - 92 F. Big battle to keep it watered.

[@Kjbrunzo]

Are those tall trees dead on the horizon at 13:31?

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Yes, they are Ash trees, all the Ash in this area were killed by the Ash boring beetle. The city will be coming in and removing the dead trees this summer.

[@briankavanagh7191]

Nigel any plans for "Bees" or is it to cold up there?

[@TheBonsaiZone]

It has been discussed and it may be possible in the future. We are afraid of vandalism as it is a public area.

[@briankavanagh7191]

@@TheBonsaiZone Brave vandals to take on a hive of Bees

[@patsfreund9164]

Enjoyed seeing your work on the bonsai. The bougainvillea is really looking good! The serissa forest looks much better after pruning/cleaning up. Serissa is a much loved bonsai down here in s. FL for the flowers, but it is notoriously difficult to grow. They seem to die "for no apparent reason". The visit to the community garden was a great idea for inclusion in this video. How large is the plot that your community has for this project? Have you allowed the wood chips to "cure" before putting them around the fruit trees? If they haven't cured the chips will have a tendency to leach the nitrogen from the soil. Thanks for both part 1 & part 2 of this video. It was a pleasure to watch.

[@lakeelsinorebonsai1203]

Looking at your thumbnail, I thought you have finished your greenhouse Nigel😃

[@TheBonsaiZone]

I just haven't had any time lately, maybe soon!

[@kevinmartin7760]

Bad luck with the pears! You're going to have to be on the lookout for black knot on the plums and peach leaf curl on the peaches. Once these diseases get established they're really tough to get rid of. Also, I've been trying to find a Russet apple around here (Kitchener) with little success. Where did you get yours?

[@TheBonsaiZone]

The whips were bought from Whiffle tree nursery..... www.whiffletreefarmandnursery.ca/ They have a great selection and are close to you! Thanks Kevin!

[@RahulPandey-tj7yq]

Merry Christmas Nigel

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Thank you Rahul, merry Christmas to you too!

[@RahulPandey-tj7yq]

@@TheBonsaiZone thanks Nigel

[@camargolf54]

Nigel or anyone actually, does anyone have any idea where to buy Turface in Toronto area?

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Canadian tire sells it, but I here it is finer than the type I get from TSC stores. You get a lot more waste from the finer Turface, almost 50 percent. I would try an Automotive store, they sell it for cleaning up oil spills in garages.

[@dorindamiddleton5418]

When you grow a garden on top of the logs it’s called hugelkulture. It is a German method and it is a good way to conserve water.

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Thanks Dorinda, I asked my wife, she's helping out with this project! It looks like an interesting concept!

[@ashwarirai]

ver nic so soon fruiting sir..😍😄

[@liquidxskin19]

The small creek would look nice with blue aquarium rocks

[@TheBonsaiZone]

I'll be working on it once the tree grows it's canopy back in, I noticed some small leaves developing today!

[@ToWatchMusic]

Burial of logs to create garden mounds is called Hugelkultur :)

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Thanks, I can't seem to talk, think and video at the same time!

[@maryshoemaker1437]

Ali... good on ya... second

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Very fast Mary!

[@alicsandertheismadsen1820]

Ohh can i get a cutting of that tree its so beutifull

[@TheBonsaiZone]

I can't ship any plant material out of the country without a special permit, if you are near by, no problem!

[@alicsandertheismadsen1820]

@@TheBonsaiZone in Denmark

[@alicsandertheismadsen1820]

@@TheBonsaiZone i live in Denmark

[@fayadbatal4336]

came as quick as i can

[@carloscosta1386]

Hi from Portugal

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Hello Carlos, espero que você esteja tendo um dia maravilhoso!

[@silvioferraz7924]

Olá me chamo Silvio. Sou do Brasil. Assisto a todos seus vídeos, teria como colocar legenda em português? Parabéns pelo trabalho. Obrigado

[@camargolf54]

Silvio eu sou Brasileiro moro no Canadá e entendo bem inglês, se houver algo específico que você tenha duvida sobre algum vídeo eu posso te ajudar. Nigel, I'm offering Silvio a help understanding any specific detail he may need help with.

[@thealimirjalili]

foist

[@dubsydabster]

My phone was switching from Wi-Fi to data and I missed it! Great job Ali!

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Dubsy and you are in the Zone today!

[@thealimirjalili]

@@dubsydabster In the foist zone, there is no room for errors and latency :)

[@dubsydabster]

@@thealimirjalili Wise words Ali. Live by the FOIST die by the FOIST

[@Horses4life1001]

You should cut top of your hair to the same triangle shape.

[@i0nm0s47]

Nigel!! something from Portugal is not exotic hahaha... it's Europe, beside Spain and France!

[@lukeplunkett3768]

I0N M0S exotic is totally relative. Toronto is exotic for Tanzanians.

[@lukeplunkett3768]

www.google.com/search?q=define+exotic&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari

[@banksbonsai9922]

likeb4watch

[@Tony-ys3yo]

N

[@janandersen6001]

🇩🇰🍃🍎🍒🍓

[@harolddiaz2567]

Nigel

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Harold