hogapple, Indian apple, mayflower, umbrella plant, wild lemon (flavor of the fruit), wild mandrake, American mandrake, devil’s apple
Mayapples are unique looking plants that I always consider fun to come across when out hiking. Typically you will not find just one. They usually are found in groupings. All plant somehow attached, even identical, as they can all be grown from a rhizome.
Description:
In spring the main stems of mayapple grow upright. These stems can grow 10” – 24” tall. Reproductive plants have 2 or occasionally 3 umbrella like leaves 8” – 12” in diameter with 5 – 9 deeply cut lobes Plants that will not reproduce, sterile, have one umbrella-like leaf. The single flower comes out in spring and is white 1” – 3” diameter with six, sometimes up to nine, petals and is produced at the axil of the two main leaves. The flower is quite showy The flower matures into a yellow-greenish fruit 1” – 2” long. Typically, when you find mayapple you will find a small “colony” since they can grow via rhizomes.
Habitat:
Mayapples can be found in moist meadows and open / damp woodlands
Location:
Mayapple territory is from Quebec and Ontario in the north, south through New England down into Florida. They are as far west as Texas and Minnesota.
Edible:
The ripe fruit is the only edible on the plant. The fruit can be eaten raw or even made into jam. The leaves, stem, roots/rhizome and unripe fruit are poisonous – do not eat.
Notes of Interest:
They are a members of the barberry family.
Native Americans ate the berries and used the roots to make a tea.
The grizzly wulff is high floating, durable and easy to fish. It is a relatively easy fly to tie. When I lived out west it was one of the most common
flies in my fly box. Many cutthroat trout ended up in the frying pan when I fly fished this fly. The grizzly wulff was developed by Lee Wulff.
The best hooks for this fly are:
Mustad 94840 or 94833
Hook: #8 – 14
Fly Dressing:
Thread: Black 6/0
Tail: Calf tail or bucktail
Body: Pale yellow floss
Wing: Calf tail or bucktail
Hackle: Grizzle and brown mixed
If you like to tie flies like the grizzly wulff, look at our other pages of wet flies, dry flies, nymph flies and streamers for fly tying. These pages offer pictures of fly patterns and provide information regarding fly tying material and the fly recipe for tying on a fly with fly tying know how. These are great flies for fishing and should become part of your fly gear and added to your fly boxes.
Royal Coachman; Adams Wet Fly; Black and Orange wet Fly; Black Gnat Wet Fly; Carey Special Wet Fly; Grizzly King Wet Fly; Parmachene Belle Wet Fly;
Streamer Flies:
Black Ghost; Hornberg Streamer; Woolly Bugger
Dry Flies:
American March Brown; Quill Gordon; Blue Dun; Light Cahill; Ausable Wulff; Black Ant; Royal Wulff; Adams; Mosquito; Black Gnat; Deer Hair Bee Fly; Grizzly Wulff Dry Fly; Parachute Blue Winged Olive; Parachute Pale Morning Dun; Parachute Royal Coachman
Nymph Flies:
Hare’s Ear; Hendrickson Nymph; Kaufman`s Stone Fly
Tomato varieties are the mainstay of many home gardens. When grown correctly fresh garden tomatoes are fantastic. They can be eaten straight from the garden, cooked into sauces, stews, soups – just pick what you like and tomatoes can probably be added. Tomatoes can be easily canned using the hot water method, for directions go to Ball Corp, and can even be frozen. So, any excess fruit grown can be stored for another day. When we have enough, my wife and I stew the tomatoes and can for use in sauces, soups, stews and chili.
Tomatoes have vitamins A, B, C, iron, phosphorous and potassium.
The first of the two tomato varieties I planted for the 2015 garden was a straight forward type called “Abe Lincoln”. It is an organic tomato. It started slow but once it got started it went crazy. Planted – 4 pots with 4 seeds each on March 1. I planted 4 of the plants the 2nd week of June. All are over 6’ tall and as of mid-September have produced a little over 12 lbs. with about twice that amount yet to come. The flesh is firm a solid red and almost a perfect round shape. I really like this tomato, it is juicy but not so much that when cut into there is a mess. Cut a slice and sprinkle some salt – excellent.
The advertising for the Abe Lincoln states: 90 days, indeterminate — ‘Abraham Lincoln’ was originally released by H. W. Buckbee Seed of Rockford, Illinois in 1923. Abraham Lincoln tomatoes are large, meaty, flavorful heirloom tomatoes. There are many exceptional heirloom tomatoes, but ‘Abraham Lincoln’ consistently produces huge crops of extra-large, meaty fruit.
The second tomato variety I chose is an heirloom organic. I picked Botanical Interests Pole Cherokee Purple. I have grown this tomato before and really enjoy it. Pole Cherokee is a big, meaty, tasty hunkin’ tomato. The meat is firm and there really is not a lot of excess juice (which I like).
The company advertising states: 80 days from transplanting. Indeterminate. Cherokee’s rose/purple skin with green shoulders encases red brick colored flesh with just the right level of sweetness. You’ll be harvesting large numbers of 10 to 12 oz. tomatoes from this well regarded heirloom variety from summer to fall. The flavor has been described as yummy, tasty, wonderful, delicious, heavenly, and unbelievable! Provide support for vigorous vines that reach 6 feet or more. The package states organic and labeled NO GMO
Planted – 4 pots with 4 seeds each on March 1. I planted 4 of the plants the second week of June (family vacation trumped planting this year) So far this year, as of September 18th, I picked about 16 lbs. The Cherokee Pole plants are smaller plants than the Abe Lincolns but frankly I think they taste better and grow larger fruits.
tomato vines with tomatoes
I planted 8 plants along the north side of garden bed 1. Spacing is as instructed – 2 feet apart. The other plants in the bed are peppers and eggplants. The spacing away from the tomatoes is also 2 feet. This year I have kept the plants trimmed. I cut off about two thirds of the leaves trying to keep air circulating. Any leaves that hit the ground were immediately removed. Watering was kept on the light side and during the late morning to give the plants time to dry. So far, as of September 18th, all the plants have stayed healthy. I do cage my plants and frankly they do well. What is great – no chemicals used on the plants. Just 2 doses of Miracle Grow 10-10-10 fertilizer early in the season nothing more. About as organic as I get!!!
Over Labor Day my grown children “went shopping” in the garden. Each ended up with tomatoes, as well as other veggies, to bring home.
As of October 11, all tomato plants were pulled. We ended up with 8 plants producing 35 lbs. of tomatoes. That is only 4+ lbs. per plant. In theory we should have been able to grow about 60+ lbs. with 8 tomato plants. With the early summer cold and damp and the summer very dry I can excuse away. Others that also garden stated their tomatoes were somewhat the same as ours so….. Still for the investment in 2 packages of seeds – roughly $4.00 we were able to produce (based on our local supermarket prices of $1.50/lb.) $52.00 in tomatoes for the season. All were eaten, saved and given away.
Just a quick note, I always like to try different ideas. For the 2014 garden I tried growing a tomato from Canada that turned out to be a hybrid. The tomatoes that I took the seeds from were large, juicy and delicious. The tomatoes that grew from the seeds ended up being a plumb tomato. They were not overly tasty at all. So…word of warning.
The Grizzly king wet fly is an old pattern and has been been very popular for brook trout in New England and Canada. The grizzly king wet fly is a fine fly to use with a sinking line in the clear fast streams trout inhabit.
The best hooks for this fly are:
Mustad 3906 sizes 10 – 14
Sizes 8-16
Fly Recipe:
Thread: black size 6/0
Tail: Red swan, duck or goose or any crimson red hackle barbs
Body: Green embroidery floss or green dubbing.
Ribs: Fine flat silver tinsel or with a Black tinsel.
Hackle: Mallard duck body feather (long fibers).
Wings: Mallard flank feathers
If you like to tie flies look at our other pages of wet flies, dry flies, nymph flies and streamers for fly tying. These pages offer pictures of fly patterns and provide information regarding fly tying material and the fly recipe for tying on a fly with fly tying know how. These are great flies for fishing and should become part of your fly gear and added to your fly box.
The deer hair bee is an imitator pattern and is a great searching fly for most free stone streams. It is usually fished dry but may also be fished wet.
The best hooks for this fly are:
Mustad # 3399
Sizes: 10 – 20
Fly Recipe:
Thread: Black 6/0
Tail: Golden pheasant tippets or brown hackle fibers
Body: Yellow and black dyed deer hair – tied in sections of black-yellow-black
If you like to tie flies look at our other pages of wet flies, dry flies, nymph flies and streamers for fly tying. These pages offer pictures of fly patterns and provide information regarding fly tying material and the fly recipe for tying on a fly with fly tying know how. These are great flies for fishing and should become part of your fly gear and added to your fly boxes.
It is my understanding that this fly pattern developed in the Canadian west. The variations are are up to you. The body color can change according to what you think will work. The pattern here is red chenille but olive, black, orange, etc can be substituted. You can also use floss or fur – it is up to you.
I have used the Carey Special in red to clean up on a school of perch and have read that in orange on a larger fly works on salmon and steelhead.
The best hooks for this fly are:
3x long nymph or streamer
Sizes: 12 – 8
Fly Recipe:
Thread: Black 6/0.
Tail: Pheasant flank feather fibers
Rib: Copper wire or similar
Body: red chenille
Hackle: Pheasant flank feather, tied back.
You can add weighted if you want to fish deep.
If you like to tie flies look at our other pages of wet flies, dry flies, nymph flies and streamers for fly tying. These pages offer pictures of fly patterns and provide information regarding fly tying material and the fly recipe for tying on a fly with fly tying know how. These are great flies for fishing and should become part of your fly gear and added to your fly boxes.
Habitat:
