January 2019 – Bloom Dammit!

January 4, 2019

Mandarin Harvest

Finally my mandarins are here! Rejoice! Why am I so happy? First, these are so easy to peel and the fruit is just so sweet. My variety has seeds and so I tend to be careful when giving them to kids, but the seeds are small and sometimes soft, so I don’t worry too much.

Last year my harvest was appalling, there was enough fruit for the squirrels and maybe a remnant for me. This year, I vowed to take a more active interest in my trees – meaning, increase the amount of time I spent caring for them. Refer to my guava post.

My mandarin tree is located on the east side of our property and there is a little too much shade on the south side/east side corner. I cut down some problematic bamboo trees (more on this later) and am still working to cut through the root system of the bamboo for two reasons: 1. provide shade 2. provide space for the mandarin roots to grow. The sun did wonders for the mandarin, and I increased the water ritual, now I do a deep watering once every 2 months on a low trickle, ensuring that the slow trickle gets to the deep root system instead of running off.

I also identified this tree as a mandarin and have been going back and forth regarding the tangerine/mandarin naming convention – find out more about this lovely citrus tree by clicking here and reading this pdf from the yuma county coop extension.

January 4, 2019

2019 Zero Waste Resolutions

I have such a hard time talking about zero waste. Let’s face it, aside from a handful of people who keep their trash in tiny mason jars, it’s a really hard process for everyone else who isn’t obsessed. So people like to say it’s a journey, and it is… a long journey of watching everything that comes into your home. My other issue with this movement is that it can sometimes be an upper middle class struggle, or a movement for the elite. When you have very little money, and resources, you tend to buy what is on sale, what is available and sometimes that food has more plastic. So I’m trying to strike a balance in finding affordable solutions that are open to everyone. Here I go.

BULK

This is the first area I’d like to expand on. I don’t mean go to sprouts or whole foods bulk bin – but if you’re not there yet, please try it. I mean, finding a farmer I can buy bulk grains from, maybe 5lb. bag or so to get me through a few months – this way, all I have to worry about is one container. Take into account quinoa – I buy one small plastic bag at a time. If I buy a 5lb. container and request it in a cloth bag, I may be able to reduce a lot of my personal plastic. Lately I’ve been looking into buying from Kandarian Organics.

Grow Your Own

This is easier for those of us who have the space, but don’t be discouraged. There are a lot of areas that offer community gardens that are easy to rent a raised bed from for a nominal fee.

Less Amazon – More Buy Nothing Group

Recently we got a puppy, and my husband is super responsible and wanted to get a harness and start lessons right away. He purchased an xs dog harness from amazon, and it was too small. I accidentally threw out the box and now we’re stuck with it. I didn’t want to spend another 25 bucks on getting the next size up, so I posted on my local Buy Nothing Group page and had 3 people offer up their dog harness. It was the most wonderful thing to have people who are so kind gift you something. It’s mutually beneficial too, as they’re probably looking to declutter their home too. To find out more about the Buy Nothing Project click here.

I’ll be sure to keep adding to the list, but for now this is what I have going on. Please feel free to comment on anything you think I should try, or add in order to share with others.

January 1, 2019

Guava Goodness

We have two guava trees in the backyard, one is a white/pink guava and the other one a pineapple guava. I was ready to throw in the towel and cut down the guava tree last year, since it didn’t produce any fruits.

This is one of the few times I decided to go against my gut feeling and try to be logical about it. This tree looked like it had been in my backyard for years, and it was a disappointment that it didn’t provide any fruit. So I changed my attitude about it and made some observations and changes.

Sunlight

There is a large hedge that sits between our yard (on our property), a mandarin tree crowding the guava, and a large navel orange tree blocking out light. I trimmed back what I could manage, and had some landscape guys come in with some industrial sized ladders to handle the rest.

Water

Yes, it’s obvious, more water. But it wasn’t obvious to me. I was watering my trees every few months, with superficial waterings in between. I increased watering this tree to every 2-3 months. This seemed to get the leaves to change their shape, from a curved and withered look so the leaves opening up some more. In 2019, I will probably do a longer, deeper watering once a month with a slower trickle of water.

Fertilizer/Mulch

This was possibly the largest heavy lift of the project. I started by mulching a circle around the tree. I pulled up all grass around the tree, any invasive roots or other plants that could have been crowding this plant. I provided this plant with Dr. Earth’s fruit fertilizer, it truly is my go-to for a few of my trees. In the next year, I will more than likely cut back on this fertilizer and just try to get my soil health to a better place, by using some horse manure and letting it cure before I apply it. I will also add in more compost and perhaps some worm juice to help it.

I’ve never tasted anything as beautiful, delicate and exotic as a pineapple guava, and I really can’t wait to continue to nurse this tree until it can provide enough fruit for me, the squirrels and birds – who knows, one day I may actually have enough fruit to share with neighbors and friends.