Fruit Trees Update

I chopped off the top part of my brown turkey fig tree in winter as the 'trunk' was very long and filmsy. Here a green bud can be seen. I think it will make it to regenerate new life! The Flemings brown turkey fig tree has put on several new buds which should will be leaves.

The Flemings Peach (Pixzee) tree has fewer flowers this year and so expecting either fewer or no fruits.

This peach tree (which I have no name for) is doing so well after being planted here. Putting on lots of new leaves.

However, the apricot (moorpark) which suffered some miserable beginnings is dead. I scraped its trunk and it just showed brown.

When I finally pulled it up, it barely had any roots left. All have rotted away.

What's Happening Recently in the Backyard?

Recently, I have been doing gardening in starts and stops and have not recorded much of what I had done. Besides being unwell physically, the weather has been rather scorching for much to do in the day time. I tried as much as possible to do gardening when the sun sets yet still bright enough. I have used some pieces of wood which was left by the previous owner to build a little vege patch just next to the back pongola (if I have named it correctly) :

Before weeding & filling up with soil (above) After (above)

The black carolina rose grape vine is growing well at the spot where I just put in the vege patch. My next 'challenge' would be to erect some support for it as it grows.

My capsicum plant in the pot has put forth several fruits, with me wondering how large they will get since the plant is confined in such a small pot.

Three tomato plants are growing in a larger pot since transplanting from their little pot. Where in the garden can they go? Or they would have to grow in a large pot.

The few calendula plants are growing faster with the warmer weather.

Strawberries are developing in two of the three strawberry plants in the pot and on the ground.

Protection against birds half-way there.

My passionfruit panama gold is still surrounded by a tree shield. Fortunately the leaves are not being eaten anymore since I surrounded the skirt of the tree shield with soil.

Peach (pixzee) fruits growing bigger. Just wondering where's the space for further enlargement since the branches are so close. I never thought about that when I bought it.

Snow peas are still fruiting but slowly dying down. Go to the compost soon!

Tomato beef steak has grown a lot, some flowers but no fruits yet.

Purple king seeds have germinated and are this big now! They are actually in a more shaded area and thankfully with more warmth and sunshine recently, they are steadily growing. Lots weeding to be done with the unmulched areas.

The first patch of grass has grown well and is now looking like this...good!

I have germinated some cucumber (burpless). Well germinated. Trellis and space to figure out.

I really have no idea how to care for this pot of kalanchoe. So I decided to prune all the dying flowers. New leaves have grown and I shall see if it flowers next season.

Kaffir kaffir...since into the ground, it looks a little better but still leaves still drop. Here showing some tiny fruits.

The apricot (Moorpark) which I pulled out of the ground and pruned still does not look too good..drooping leaves...may or may not survive me.

Sick days.

Okay. I have been sick for two weeks. Coughing really badly especially in the nights. Hardly had the energy to do much. Sometimes when that burst of energy comes, I will be out in the garden doing work...just whatever is required. Noticed that the strawberry delight in the pot has flowered.

Hubby and I worked on this little bare patch a week back - sown some grass seeds and sprinkled potting mix, watered..and the grass is growing. We have many other small bare patches to work on.

This is the second season for my capsicum in the pot. It has gone through one winter and survived it. Now it is flowering and fruiting.

Many things are happening in spring. One of the most obvious is my little bay plant. Many new leaves burst into existence.

Strangely my lemon verbena is having rusty-looking leaves. Not sure why.

My peach (pixzee) has put on a handful of peaches but they are really congested. Not much chance to further develop with that small space. I thinned the fruits.

Despite giving fungal spray in winter, some leaves are having leaf curl. I plucked off and dispose them. More spray next winter.

Just fed my golden sheens with charlie carp and cleared any growing weeds near them. They are doing fine in that good soil.

Apricot (Moorpark) is not doing too well after planting it into the ground. Somehow I already had the feeling that it would not do well. I am too lazy to uproot it again. If it has to die, I will buy a new one this winter.

Been harvesting snow peas recently. Been sick of eating them too. Haha...

Some Digging and Planting - Apricot, Kaffir Lime, Egg Plant and Thai Basil.

It has been raining and raining and raining. I am grateful for the rains though not really for the chilly strong winds. The rain softened the ground substantially and provided lots of watering for my new garden. I managed to dig the hole on the front garden for my apricot Moorpark and planted it into the ground. Drainage over this spot does not seem excellent but I will have a go and see if this apricot will establish itself well : As per my earlier entry, after coming back from 2.5 weeks of overseas trip, the pot of kaffir had produced lots of new leaves but at the same time, its potting mix has become home to thousands of ants which I had killed drenching the mix in pyrethrum. Older leaves were falling at an astounding rate and I assumed that the kaffir lime needed nutrients. I fed it with with Osmocote, a slow-release fertiliser with hope of easing its problem fast but soon the young leaves started crinkling. Gosh! Over-fertilising? Poisoning? Last resort : plant it into the ground! :

Crinkling/Shrivelling of leaves (above & below)

Here it goes into Patch 3 (above)

I bought a pot of thai basil and eggplant supreme from IKEA while there to shop for storage solutions. Planted them near the kaffir lime :

Marco my dog trampled on and nibbed off the parsley on Patch 6. Well, I might as well pull them off since I hardly use parsley and there are so much of them. I also bought a pot of coriander and planted it next to the leftover parsley :

New Leaves and Fruits.

Eversince my aloe vera has been placed under the patio where it gets indirect sunlight, it has gone green and new pups are developing at a faster pace. This concludes why it was very light green and had burnt-like tips whilst in the green house under direct sunlight and heat. It was too much for it. With several new pups growing, I hope to be able to propagate new aloe veras in new pots : My Trixee? Pixee? (just cannot get its name right) dwarf peach is growing well since my fungicide treatment and fertilising in winter. I was even surprised to find lots of peaches growing. However, I will try to stay on the pessimistic side as the branches are so close, I reckon the peaches have not much space for developing. Fingers crossed, none have dropped yet :

Kaffir lime has got lots of new leaves growing but it looks a bit unwell :

Pomegranate (left by its previous owner but I will gladly accept it :)) has put on lots of leaves but I have no clue what I should do with them...prune? :

Apricot Moorpark finally put on leaves. I thought it was dead :

Within 2.5 weeks, the plum tree put on a whole crown of leaves. Lesser plums this year after the recent hair-cut :

Pruning My New Apricot Moorpark.

Another gloomy day. Not as windy but forecast to have storm and hail later part of the day. My boy is attending a holiday children's programme organised by my church these few days. I did a bit of the sponsorship job behind the programme and it was rather challenging. Hope that the programme will truly impact the children in a positive manner.

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Now it is time for me to have a break without much distraction. I have some time alone doing work without having my maternal instinct switched on, always being on the lookout in case he trips and falls here or there. I miss him and hope he will not wander out of the hall without any supervision. Did not want him to go at first as he is not even 4 yet but I decided that I would let go and trust God for his safety. I repotted the aloe vera again. Even though Hubby has drilled more holes in this green shallow planter, the drainage still did not improve. Then I remember Kelvin Hendreck's book saying that the height of containers/pot depth make a lot of difference to the wetness of the potting mix. Average wetness is greater when it is in a shallow pot than when it is in a tall pot. The aloe vera has grown definitely but now it has this slight purplish tinge on it....strange by me. Hope it will not die on me especially when I saw several pups developing. Some gardener says they thrive on neglect...I wonder!

This is the Apricot Moorpark before pruning.

I bought a pair of cheaper pruners yesterday and after reading on this topic, experimented on the large already bald peach tree and then went for the apricot tree. Haha I was procrastinating pruning the apricot tree for fear that I will damage it but I did prune it after all! It was not too bad. Now only time will tell if I have indeed done the right job!

Another branch after pruning.

My poor rosemary plants are still having powdery mildew. Perhaps the fungicide prepared a while back has lost its effectiveness. I prepared a new bottle and practically drenched the plant with fungicide. It is so strange since I hardly water them and do not practise overhead watering. Wont be eating them for a while!