A string of moderate breezy days and cold nights, will make for an interesting spring as far as our fruiting plants go. In our mini-orchard, where I experiment mostly with seed-grown fruit trees and sale finds, I’m hoping enough chill hours will bring a proliferation of buds. I know not what I’m doing with fruit trees, but I’m doing it anyway.
Today I transplanted a seed-grown Korean pear and seed-grown narrow-leaf guava. Two years ago we were gifted a 4-ft Panamint nectarine that seems to have taken to the challenging alkaline clay soil. A newer arrival is a Desert Gold Peach, which is currently container grown above a morass of Mexican sage and Hummingbird sage.
All of these experiments are an attempt to understand the micro-climates of our property, plus combine rewilding with sustenance. It amazes me how our Mediterranean and African climate thrivers (artichoke, olive, pomegranate, grape, coffee) co-exist with pears from the Caucasus, alongside yuzu, longan, goji, and loquat from East Asia, alongside passion fruit from South America, among blueberry and blackberry from North America, among all the cacti and succulents. All managing on this scant acre that was already populated with mature native lemonade sumac, laurel sumac, toyon, black walnut, coyote brush, etc. Not to mention our garlic bed, sugarcane hedge, veggie pots, propagation greenhouse, and ornamentals.
We share much (okay, most) with the squirrels, birds, and mystery visitors. Plenty is lost to heatwaves and my lack of knowledge or energy. But I think I have to keep trying. My body hurts but I think I have to keep trying.
Without further ado, here’s today…
camellia (unknown sp.)
monarch on tropical milkweed (thankfully no aphids)
strawflower container grown among blueberry, still in its autumn red
two coffee bushes, variety unknown, found under the fluorescent lights of Ikea
narrow leaf guava that has been begging for attention in the greenhouse
okay, bad photo, but this is the Desert Gold peach that I picked up bare-root for $15. it shot up about two feet in its wooden container full of homemade, super-nutritious, well-draining potting blend: kitchen compost, aged chicken coop shavings, a bit of topsoil, and plenty of organic potting mix comprised mainly of aged forest product. last spring this tree already set peaches, which I pinched off so energy could be focused on primary growth.
today’s harvest of yuzu lime will be made into red yuzu kosho paste. for this batch i will ferment the yuzu peel with these gorgeous dried himo togarashi peppers that did so well in the greenhouse last year. our previous batch of green yuzu kosho was fantastic—salty, spicy, tangy, funky—used in salad dressing, pasta, and dabbed on blistered shishito peppers. we don’t know the spice level of this batch, but expect a mellower experience.