Garden Share collective January - fruit
Welcome to the garden share collective hosted by kate at rosehips and rhubarb and Kyrstie at a fresh legacy. Thank you for doing this, it keeps me motivated!
The theme this month is fruit, and since I have a small garden I never really thought I would be able to grow much fruit. The main feature in my side garden is the lychee tree and this year I really wished we didn't have it in the garden. We had it pruned a while back and the gardener said that he couldn't lop the height off for some reason (I was at work when this happened) Of course it has now grown higher and when it fruited over December, we couldn't reach a single fruit, but believe me the bats and rosellas could! The noise, and the mess were horrendous. My poor hubby was raking up leaves and rotting fruit a couple of times a week to try and gain control, but the fallen fruit still attracted fruit fly. Well, end of the sorry story we are digging deep in our pockets and going to have it pruned again - this time the top will be lopped off. I hope the garden does not suffer too much!
Here you can see the lychee tree behind the fence.
- Fruit Salad Alley. It gets lots of sun. Part of our septic system runs under there, so I have kept everything in pots so that the roots dont cause problems. Last year in August we enjoyed a small fig harvest, and I get strawberries, mulberries, limes and lemons. So far the pomegranate has not fruited, but just today my neighbour showed me passionfruit on her side of the fence. I recently added a lot of compost so maybe it liked that. I spent some time today showing it what a lovely arch there is on our side of the fence as it seems to like my neighbours side of the fence better!
I took a photo of my lemon which has quite a bit of fruit on it this year. I didn't notice the green ants while taking the photo. If you take ten green ants and put them into a glass of water you can make lemonade so no wonder they like my lemon! (of course you strain it before drinking as they have a nasty bite!
In the lemon pot is this volunteer capsicum. It reminds me of the pepperdew that you get in South Africa. small squat capsicum - lovely colour and quite a prolific fruiter.
I also have limes
A while back I began to hear about fruit forests, where the fruit trees were kept small enough to harvest, and then provided shade for the understory plants. I like the sound of that because I seemed to be continually taking the shade cloth up and down in the veggie patch. I have a few papwpaws but they dont provide much shade, and a lime mandarin which for some reason has never produced fruit. then I planted a barbadoes cherry. It has lovely long arching branches, and the cherries are chock full of vitamin C. the birds love them, so we share, and I think sometimes they get more than their fair share.
My plan for next month is to work on getting the garden ready to plant some veggies. Pick up some dolomite lime, five in one mix, seaweed and maybe order some seeds.. I am off to go and see what all the other gardeners in the group have been up to.
The theme this month is fruit, and since I have a small garden I never really thought I would be able to grow much fruit. The main feature in my side garden is the lychee tree and this year I really wished we didn't have it in the garden. We had it pruned a while back and the gardener said that he couldn't lop the height off for some reason (I was at work when this happened) Of course it has now grown higher and when it fruited over December, we couldn't reach a single fruit, but believe me the bats and rosellas could! The noise, and the mess were horrendous. My poor hubby was raking up leaves and rotting fruit a couple of times a week to try and gain control, but the fallen fruit still attracted fruit fly. Well, end of the sorry story we are digging deep in our pockets and going to have it pruned again - this time the top will be lopped off. I hope the garden does not suffer too much!
Here you can see the lychee tree behind the fence.
- Fruit Salad Alley. It gets lots of sun. Part of our septic system runs under there, so I have kept everything in pots so that the roots dont cause problems. Last year in August we enjoyed a small fig harvest, and I get strawberries, mulberries, limes and lemons. So far the pomegranate has not fruited, but just today my neighbour showed me passionfruit on her side of the fence. I recently added a lot of compost so maybe it liked that. I spent some time today showing it what a lovely arch there is on our side of the fence as it seems to like my neighbours side of the fence better!
I took a photo of my lemon which has quite a bit of fruit on it this year. I didn't notice the green ants while taking the photo. If you take ten green ants and put them into a glass of water you can make lemonade so no wonder they like my lemon! (of course you strain it before drinking as they have a nasty bite!
In the lemon pot is this volunteer capsicum. It reminds me of the pepperdew that you get in South Africa. small squat capsicum - lovely colour and quite a prolific fruiter.
I also have limes
A while back I began to hear about fruit forests, where the fruit trees were kept small enough to harvest, and then provided shade for the understory plants. I like the sound of that because I seemed to be continually taking the shade cloth up and down in the veggie patch. I have a few papwpaws but they dont provide much shade, and a lime mandarin which for some reason has never produced fruit. then I planted a barbadoes cherry. It has lovely long arching branches, and the cherries are chock full of vitamin C. the birds love them, so we share, and I think sometimes they get more than their fair share.
My plan for next month is to work on getting the garden ready to plant some veggies. Pick up some dolomite lime, five in one mix, seaweed and maybe order some seeds.. I am off to go and see what all the other gardeners in the group have been up to.
Your garden looks lovely - although I am glad I don't have to fight off bats and rosellas. The neighbours cats are bad enough when they scratch around in my freshly dug patches! I agree with you that it is motivating to do a post each month - and always great to see what everyone else is up to. Hope you get some of those passionfruits on your side of the fence!
ReplyDeletethank you. Our neighbour has a cat that sometimes comes in and just hangs out in the shade. Hopefully the surgery on the tree helps us reclaim our patch!
DeleteI'd never seen those green ants in Perth, they look nasty! We do get rosellas eating our fruit too and of course we do get fruit fly once in a while too. A real mess! It takes a lot of time to keep the garden in shape Gill doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteSami,
DeleteYes they do have a nasty bite. It does take a lot of time, but honestly that is my therapy, entertainment, exercise, and it even supplies food! How can you not love gardening!
You have lots of fruit! The bats and rosellas don't sound like much fun so I hope that round two of the tree lopping has better results for you. Your arch is lovely Gillian. Have fun planting your next round of seeds.
ReplyDeleteKyrstie,
DeleteOnce I did a round up I realized that I do! I am looking forward to starting my veggie patch this year.
Your "fruit forest" is looking quite nice and soon your fruit salad alley will be producing more fruit than you can keep up with.
ReplyDeleteThose ants look DANGEROUS! Be careful.
Virginia,
DeleteI love the fact that whenever the grandkids come to visit they always check out if there is anything to nibble on there!
One thing I don't miss about living in Cairns is green ants. I remember the pain. I'd like to copy your fruit salad alley idea in our new garden with potted fruit trees - a lemon and lime so far. I hope they do as well as yours. What else can you recommend?
ReplyDeleteRos,
DeleteYes you have to keep a close eye out for their nests. :) I think you can grow a lot more varieties where you live. At first I wanted to espalier them but I think I am just going to prune them to keep them small. It would be nice to have them in matching pots, but my gardening budget doesnt stretch that far! I will have a look at your site and see what you have done so far.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI don't envy you those green ants, I encountered them a couple of times in Queensland, nasty little blighters. Your garden always looks so lush and green.
ReplyDeleteJan,
ReplyDeletethey are supposed to be quite beneficial - not quite sure what they do that is so special though!
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ReplyDeletehow lovely and lush and green your garden looks AA! amazing. I too have a passionfruit that is more interested in looking into the neighbours' yard - i'm pulling the vines back constantly!
ReplyDeleteand I've never seen green ants like that - scary, they look big! I don't think i'd want to touch them to make lemonade!