Tag: gardening

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Gardening in the age of coronavirus

There are so many things to talk about but I haven’t been able to slow down. Today, I am sick, in bed. It really sucks. While I’m down for the count and trying not to be scared and just slow down.

I want to post a how to get started guide, since I’m seeing a lot of activity online from people who want to get garden started.

  1. find the space you want to use. Meaning, where is the area that you envision your garden. You can grow something whether you’re on a balcony or you have a lot of space.
  2. how much sun do you get during the day? The reason why I ask you to pay attention to this is because you need to find a natural system that works. You don’t want lettuce getting blasted by 12+ hours of sun a day.
  3. A water source is important, you want accessibility for either a drip system or a close enough water source if you plan on handwatering.
  4. What zone are you in? Determine your zone so you know when your frost dates hit, what you can grow in your area, and so on. You will learn more and more through experience but this is a good space to start.
  5. Find a reputable nursery in your area, one where you can ask questions. Find a seed company while you’re at it. I like rareseeds.com and seedsavers.org.
  6. Find a support group, some friends who you can bounce ideas with and learn and share.
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Guava Goodness

Pineapple Guava in Hand

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.

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Learning to Garden & Post

4x4 raised beds

I’m excited to crank out my first post, as a welcome to you and also as invite to this new adventure.

The goal with this gardening blog is to encourage others, specially those with limited spaces and limited gardening experience to learn more about gardening. When I first started gardening, I had 2 roommates and no working soil so I started planting in pots. It was frustrating to want big tomatoes when I didn’t know how to grow them, and it was infuriating when my vision and my harvest were worlds apart.

Gardening is easy, and it’s accessible. Just like quality food should be.