BrownThumb's Blog

A Purple Thumb?
Oct 18, 2008 | 9:56 AM PST
Tag: poms pomegranate drought yield

Well, my garden is a testament to the power of my pestilence.  The drought and my travel got the better of my good intentions. I was able to enjoy some goodness, but the tomatoes and bell peppers had an exceptionally hard time of it.

I've managed some basil, oregano, and assorted hot peppers (WOOHOO!) and barely kept my yard alive.

On the plus side, my composting has gone fairly well and my pomegranate has become a happy member of the family. I've got about 24 pomegranates or so with little loss during the season except for my erstwhile pruning (see below).

 

Here is a closeup of my first victim!

Looking forward to turning that BrownThumb Purple with these!

Some info to pass on regarding how to maximize your yield:

• I read to leave roots alone even if they go above ground
• Water well about once every 2 weeks
• Stay forever vigilant against the supersuckers, they pop up as soon as you turn your back.
• I read to prune fruits that were in multiples (2 or more together) to allow one fruit to grow larger than two smalls. (I found that this was not really evident in the final outcome. I left some doubles intentionally to test this and I have found little difference between singles and doubles.) This little exercise cost me about 20 pomegranates! Grrr!

 

I've enjoyed following all the blogs and messages, though I haven't slowed down to post in a while.  I've got to get back to posting on GG!  Soon, I will post on rattlesnake adventures (trailer: it tastes like chicken) and time well spent running from wild hogs. ;-)

Good luck to all in your fall/winter gardens!

- That One with the BrownThumb