High-density fruit tree planting

Our latest experiment is in high-density fruit tree planting, as popularized by Dave Wilson. These are Minnie Lee and Lee Royal cherries, which have just now started appearing in nurseries, although they've been available through Phoenix Permaculture Guild for several years. They have a chilling requirement of only 200-300 hours, much less that most cherries. I figured that even if they didn't set fruit, their flowers would be attractive. We purchased ours at Summer Winds and planted them about two feet apart, slightly angled away from each other, in this small bed at the side of our upper pond. Previously, we had a nectarine in this spot, but it died last year, probably because it was crowded out by the overgrown thevetia I removed last week.

Gardening is like a box of chocolates

Gardening is like a box of chocolates...you never know what you're going to get.

What is all this? I don't know yet. When seeds first come up, they all look pretty much alike. All seed plants produce either one (monocots, including corn and other grasslike plants) or two (dicots, including most other vegetables and flowers) embryonic leaves. It's not until the plant's first true leaves appear that you can begin to guess what the plant is, and that might be several days or even a couple of weeks.

When the true leaves appear, I'll be able to distinguish the smooth oval leaves of zinnias from the feathery leaves of larkspur. Telling a marigold from a tomato seeding, or a squash from a melon seedling, might take a little longer.

Knowing what was in this bed last year, I'm guessing that a fair number of these seedlings will turn out to be zinnias which I'll need to thin aggressively. There's some larkspur in this mix, too, and there are likely to be tomatoes considering how many wound up composting where they fell. And somewhere in there is the red okra I planted a couple of weeks ago.

Part of the fun for me is seeing what I wind up getting, and then trying to incorporate it into an attractive whole.

Thinning, weeding, and planting: a Lenten meditation

Our Desert Gold peach tree has set fruit, not so much this year as some years, but it still needs to be thinned in order to yield tasty, reasonably sized fruit. As I've been working on that today, I also notice that some of the branches have died, so I will also do some pruning to remove the deadwood.

The recent rain has caused weeds to grow along with the vegetables and fruits in our garden. This time of year it is a daily battle to keep them under control. They seem to sprout up and grow a foot high overnight, and I try to get them out before they become fruitful and multiply. At least the moist soil makes them easier to pull out.

We planted two more fruit trees yesterday, Minnie Lee and Royal Lee cherries. Cherries are one thing that historically haven't been possible to grow here, because they require more chilling hours than we usually get. These are new cultivars that have only recently been appearing in nurseries, and they supposedly only require 200-300 chilling hours, which is about what we get. You need both varieties for cross-pollination; they aren't self-fruitful. We're also using them to experiment with a new growing method, high-density planting, in which you plant two similar trees in the same planting hole.

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent on the Christian calendar. I didn't grow up in a liturgical church, so my take on this season is probably a little different. I don't think so much of "what should I give up for Lent?" as I think of thinning, weeding, and planting.

 Are there things in my life that need to be thinned? Many things that are desirable and good are best enjoyed in moderation. Trying to do too many good things at once may result in none of the things being done well, or even burnout.

Are there things in my life that need to be weeded? There are some things that don't belong in the garden of my life, and they deprive the things I want to see growing of water, nutrients, and sunshine. Ignore them too long, and they will spread and become more difficult to remove.

Are there things in my life that I want to plant? I've always found Lent a pretty good time to try out a new spiritual practice. If I try something and find that it brings me closer to God, then I try to make it a permanent part of my life. If not, I don't feel the need to continue it for an arbitrary period of time. Sometimes my gardening experiments don't work so well, either.

March overview and a look back

Most of the fruit trees have begun budding and blooming, as have the hollyhocks, larkspur, and bachelor's button that have appeared in various places after reseeding themselves. It's always fun to go out and see the garden surprise of the day- what has come up and where, what's budding, what's blooming or fruiting. (although sadly, sometimes the surprise is what has died!)

Day to day changes in anything are often so subtle that we don't realize change is taking place. Here's a photo looking toward the same corner of the yard, taken in 2002 when we began this adventure.

.A lot has changed since 2002, and not just in our backyard garden. Some of the changes have been good and some bad and some I can't tell yet. I think it's best to think of change like a garden- something one is actively involved in shaping. There are things I can't control, like our hot, dry climate and our alkaline, poorly draining soil, but there's plenty of work for me to do dealing with the things I can control. I also try to remember that change is not usually an instantaneous event, but something that happens gradually over time.

A disappointment of broccoli

I'm disappointed in the results of the second planting of broccoli. We set these transplants out in January, and the small heads are already beginning to flower. It seems to do much better when planted in the fall and allowed to grow slowly through the winter. There just isn't enough leafy growth to support big heads of broccoli in these plants, and I assume the flowering is a function of day length and temperature.

The romaine lettuce transplants I set out at the same time have not done so well either. I bought transplants because of all the salad greens I planted in the fall, only arugula came up. About half the transplants have succumbed suddenly to an unknown problem. One day they appear healthy; the next morning they are wilted and limp.

Almond blossom time

There are lots of blossoms on the almond tree now, but I'm not sure if it will produce any almonds. The mild winter that spared the hibiscus and other frost-sensitive plants from frost damage this year probably didn't provide enough chilling hours for it to set fruit.

Oh yes, please let the rain come down

We're getting some much needed rain here today. The last time we had rain was before Christmas.