It has been awhile since I have done a blog post updating you with developments from Anita’s Garden. Those of you who read my weekly newsletters (found under the newsletters sub-tab of the Anita’s Garden section on my website) will no doubt be up to date, thanks to my column “pottering around Anita’s Garden” which features in the newsletter every week. For those of you who don’t and would like to know what’s going on, here is a round up of what has been happening in the garden. Cleopatra avocado tree Our dwarf Cleopatra avocado tree from Incredible Edibles has two fruit on it! The tree was planted two years ago and has moved from strength to strength. Cleopatra is a Type B avocado tree and needs a Type A tree to pollinate it. I am now searching for a dwarf Type A tree so we can increase fruit production. Tamarillo trees The two tamarillo trees that I grew from seed from Kings Seeds two years ago are about nine feet high and have lots of green fruit on them! These should ripen towards the end of autumn and we are looking forward to feasting on our first fruit. There is nothing quite like eating fruit from plants which you have grown from seed, which we have also done from our passionfruit vines. I read somewhere that fruit grown from seed is stronger than plants purchased from the garden centre, which is a good reason to start them yourself! Pineapple plants
Two of our tree pineapple plants have fruit growing on them! I’m relieved that the plants are alive as I pulled two of them apart during winter as there were two plants in one bucket, so it seemed like the sensible thing to do. I have very little experience in growing pineapples and wasn’t aware they needed dividing (you really do learn as you go along) so I’m glad that it worked out well. Sprinkler Two years ago, my cousins Shireen and Tor gave us an expensive sprinkler from Mitre 10 for our Christmas present. We have only gotten around to using it now and it has been excellent. On 3 January, our wwoofer Kensuke planted four rows of potatoes in the area where our strawberries previously were, and thanks to using the sprinkler for half an hour every morning, all of the seed potatoes have sprung up. This is no mean feat, given my past difficulties in getting plants to grow during January when it is typically very hot and dry. The sprinkler has also been excellent in assisting dwarf bean seeds also sown by Kensuke to germinate. We also use the sprinkler in that area for half an hour every day. In about 10 days after he had sowed them, they started popping up. Unfortunately, we still need to water the garden manually as it contains many pots and plants in containers which can’t be watered with a sprinkler. However I can highly recommend our sprinkler for establishing new plants and seedlings during periods of time such as now when it is particularly dry. Growing trials for Egmont Seeds As many of you will be aware, I am a brand ambassador for Egmont Seeds and thoroughly endorse their brand to home and commercial gardeners alike due to their high quality of their products and breadth of their range. Most of the tomatoes that have performed outstandingly well which I have reported on in a previous post come from Egmont Seeds. John McCullough, the owner, has given me a range of seeds to grow in the garden during autumn and winter and report back on with my results. Among them are a collection of pansies and all of the different varieties of broad beans which Egmont Seeds stock, plus a new variety which will form part of their range in the future. Keep an eye out on future blog posts for updates as I grow the seeds which John has given me.
1 Comment
Beth Anderson
12/25/2022 10:32:04 am
How’s your Cleopatra tree doing now, Anita? Have you had much fruit off it? There’s not much info on the net, except marketing hype.
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