The black knot on the plum tree does not appear to be spreading, but the black walnut topical extract is really a stopgap, i'm thinking some sort of microbial spray that can help to establish healthier colonization of tree surfaces and keep the fungus from continuing to infect is probably the only permanent solution

it looks like many of the other plants made it through this last hard winter, the russian pomegranate the only obvious loss,, but i hesitate to pull it lest some miracle green spring from it's base

i did put in a second serviceberry  bush and enlarged that terraced bit of hillside, using rocks that came out of the upside excavation as the leading edge of the down hill fill

compost from last year has been spread in circles around all the young trees and bushes as well as fresh hay to help keep down "weeds, and today i plan to go around with peas that have been soaking in water overnight and some fava beans (don't soak those, they split), and those are going to get spread liberally around the base of the plants in the fresh compost

i also have been enlarging other sections of terrace near the greenhouse site and my general idea of letting one terrace overflow to another in a zig zag pattern down the hill seems to be taking shape as individual terraces become better defined

i managed to scrounge enough clay to cover one side of a hugel bed toward the bottom of the slope, and clover seed has sprouted quickly, clover cover crop has also colonized one section of berm around my earth integrated house

i managed to get a start on some gotu kola , a jujube sapling and a black raspberry root as well, i'll try and find a place for them today.