February: Hard Labor

February 5, 2016

Here's a panoramic taken from our side patio. Mike completed the raised bed/patio paver redo necessary for our pergola plans, and we're waiting on HOA approval on those. Since the weather has begun to warm up a little in the afternoons, we've been working on clearing Bermuda grass and other unwanted invaders from the raised beds, redoing the wells around the fruit trees and rosesbushes, working on rejuvenative pruning of frost-damaged and overgrown bushes and vines, and other labor-intensive tasks. Today Mike is working on the pond and streambed, which has again been overwhelmed by cloverlike plants with thick matted roots. He also found that iris roots had grown up into the pond pump, and is cutting those back along with doing some root pruning. I've been working on the raised beds and tree wells, and found several nice-sized sweet potatoes as a reward for my labors.

We're harvesting lots of broccoli, which is peaking now, along with lettuce, spinach, and citrus. Too bad my mother isn't here to enjoy the grapefruit. We can't even donate the extra to a food bank. Although we haven't had any problems, concerns about the pest which spreads citrus greening disease have caused a quarantine for citrus in the West Valley. There are lots of blossoms on the pea plants, but no peas yet.

Broccoli

Snap pea blossoms

Assorted lettuces

Grapefruit

More on the road less blogged about

Our "backyard" is really fairly small. We do most of our gardening in the "side yard", so that's where most of the pictures on this blog were taken. The trees flanking the pathway are a pink grapefruit and an orange, and together with a lemon tree that isn't shown, are the oldest trees in our yard. They were planted as 15 gallon trees in the summer of 2002. Citrus trees have done much better for us than any kind of deciduous trees. They are on drip irrigation and we fertilize them three times a year. Here's the chart we use to calculate how much to feed them and when. You will note that they look more like bushes than trees because we allowed them to grow into their natural shapes. That's best for the trees, because the shade protects the bark from sunburn. Some say the fruit growing on the lowest branches is the sweetest.

And here's a picture of what the trees looked like when they were first planted! That's my mother in the picture. A breast cancer survivor since 1991, she is convinced that pink grapefruit played a part in her successful treatment. So when we moved here, one of the first things we planted was a pink grapefruit tree.

When life gives you lemons (and oranges and grapefruit)

Lemon

Orange

Grapefruit

 Happy Valentine"s Day, which here in the Phoenix area means it's time to fertilize citrus. These are our three oldest trees, planted in 2002. Even though we lost several large limbs on the lemon tree last fall, it still produced prolifically, so my Chandler friend if you are reading this, come and get some!

We've pruned the lemon tree into a tree shape, because we grow things under it, but left the grapefruit and orange untrimmed. When possible, citrus is best left in shrub form. The low hanging branches protect the trunk from sunburn, so you don't have to paint it with tree paint, and the lowest growing fruit is usually the sweetest.

The last couple of years we've frozen some of the lemon juice to enjoy fresh lemonade year round. For lemonade, I put about a cup in a ziplock bag, and I also freeze cubes in ice cube trays for uses that require smaller amounts.

My mother, who lives on the other side of the country, usually visits us once a year and pays the airline an extra luggage fee to take back a box of grapefruit. She is convinced ours taste better than the Florida-grown ones available to her. She's also a 23-year breast cancer survivor who is convinced that grapefruit played a role in her recovery.

We mostly eat the oranges fresh. I like to put them in salads instead of tomatoes which I can't grow myself this time of year. They are especially tasty when combined with avocados. (Unfortunately, we haven't been successful in growing those.)

This year we splurged on a Vitamix and I've been experimenting with citrus-based salad dressings and drinks. I find it much easier and less messy to use than a citrus juicer, because you can put the whole (peeled) fruit in. It's probably healthier to eat the whole fruit, pulp and all, too, because of the added fiber.

Citrus Fertilization Guide on the Maricopa Master Gardeners site

Summer changes in the garden

I pruned the orange tree today...removed some of the lower limbs which were hanging down to the ground. It looks more like a tree than a giant bush now, I should be able to plant something under it (haven't decided what yet) and we should still get plenty of oranges. The grapefruit tree looks like a bush too, but I am more reluctant to prune it as it seems more fragile than the other citrus trees and I would hate to accidentally kill it since my mother enjoys grapefruit so much. She still takes a big boxful back on the airplane, even though she has to pay extra to do so.

The first zinnia opened up today, and the orange daylily has also started blooming. The Confederate Jasmine behind the patio pond is still blooming, and the two Carolina Jessamine have started to come back, even the one I thought was probably dead. The birds have pretty well finished off the last of the peaches, but I enjoyed the first apricot a few days ago. There is apparently one plum this year at the very top of our Santa Rosa plum tree, which is wedged in between two rosebushes. Whose bright idea was that? Although we have had the tree for several years, we have never seen any plums. It may have helped that we put in another plum this year which will help pollinate it.

We are still struggling to the get the irrigation system right. There was a big puddle in one spot this morning, and other places aren't getting enough. I thought one day without watering had killed the parsley and mint I planted under the almond tree, but it seemed to bounce back after getting watered. I changed the system to come on every day. Supposedly you are not supposed to do that, but I haven't found any other way to keep things alive.