shiukopuppy's Blog
shiukopuppy's posts about: nashi
Oct 22, 2007 | 1:38 AM PST
Tags: foxglove , apple , nashi , cherry , almond , onions , seed tape , garlic
It's an inspiring but also frustrating time in the garden. I'm trying to wait until the last danger of frost has passed before planting out my eggplants, chillies and tomatoes. The vegetable beds are bare and the greenhouse is full. The last frost frost should be in 2 weeks.. 2 weeks is such a long time! ! After this, I will move my dwarfed trees out of the greenhouse (apple, nashi, almond and cherry!)
My foxgloves are starting to bloom as you can see..
This morning I planted out some shallots bulbs as well as some spring onion tape. It was my first time using the seed tape and it was difficult to manage in garden gloves. I couldn't decided whether it was convenient or not. My white, brown and red onions are swelling, which is exciting. I transplanted some garlic and it was also forming medium sized bulbs. It's my first time growing garlic, and my second time with onions. I've learnt so much..
Also on my to-do list this morning was to plant seed potatoes, but the site I had chosen wasn't big enough. I had to go to work so that will have to wait until another day.
Oct 4, 2007 | 4:38 AM PST
Tags: grevillia , cherry , Pomegranates , nashi , almond
Behold the latest flower - a yellow grevillia!
It's been busy and I
can't seem to get on top of things in the garden. But that is just part of lovely spring..
Lately, I fixed the vegetable cages and added new doors. I weeded them and planted some companion flower seeds for later.
I began clearing leaves that had come in with the recent heavy winds and I fertilized some fruit trees - almond, cherry, apple, nashi, citrus and pomegranate.
I read up and worried a lot about codling moth! It sounds very difficult to deal with without chemicals. I did notice lots of the friendly hoverflies who made me feel optimistic about the health of my vegetables.
Sep 25, 2007 | 3:35 AM PST
Tags: almond , nashi , Asian Pears , apple , bonsai , flowering
Here are the first spring blossoms on my almond tree! The nashi pear, cherry, and apple trees also have blossoms which is very exciting as they my first fruit trees ever! I've spent a lot of time in Japan where they go to view the spring cherry blossoms and also the autumn leaves. My partner is into bonsai so he has been creating the same scenes in miniature! Some of his bonsai are flowering, and all of the deciduous bonsai are growing leaves again. You should have seen autumn in his tiny maple forest!
When a chilli or tomato grows from a flower, it's very exciting, so I look forward to the flowering of fruit. My avocado tree is extending its branches but it had an infestation of tiny white 'dots' - possibly aphids? I gave it a good spray of pyrethrum. I went to the hardware store to get some bird netting to protect the berry canes and couldn't resist getting some more spring onions (they were getting quite large!) I bought some planters to grow the chicken forage in too.
And is there any advice on fertilizing a herb garden? I haven't fertilized it for a whole year as I'd heard herbs don't need anything, but my partner was saying that they do need something. hmm.
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Jul 19, 2007 | 2:37 AM PST
Tags: guava , grapes , nashi , Pomegranates , almond , coffee , avocado , berries , lime , Lemon , strawberries , water apple , lychee , durian , mango , star fruit , papaya , honeydew , dragon fruit
There are varying climates in Australia, but I currently live in a temperate area. I'm growing the fruits that need winter chilling but I'm dreaming of the fresh fruit of hot summery places! There are things that I just can't grow here or at least not grow well. Especially right in the middle of winter! It's heartbreaking to taste the fruit in the shops and even sadder when the fruit has come a long way and suffers in flavour for it.
Rambutans here are overpriced and old. I used to eat fresh mangoes, dates, pomegranates, papyas and honeydews when I lived overseas. I even ate durians. The shrivelled tiny star fruits in the shops here are unappetising. Lime and lychee drinks - not financially viable! Bananas are expensive because there was a typhoon in the banana growing areas. Earlier this year I visited a fruit farm and spice gardens in Malaysia where I tasted dragon fruit and my new favourite is the wax jambu or water apple. Above is me at the farm gesturing to a plant that I forgot what it was!
So you can see that I love to eat!! This is a major motivator in the garden. Hopefully one day I can garden in a tropical setting. And I comfort myself that I get to grow a lot of my current plants that would not survive in the tropics. As spring is nearing, I am checking all my fruit/trees' health.
GUAVA: Died back completely this winter, but I read somewhere that they recover well.
GRAPES: Still can't figure out how to prune them - it has been a few years of struggle..
NASHI: Had some rust or something last summer. I have dealt with that. It's about to bud-burst!
POMEGRANATES, ALMOND, COFFEE, BERRIES: Still very dormant
AVOCADO: Looks cold and sad!
LIME: Going crazy, looks to be outgrowing its container
LEMON: Not looking very motivated..
STRAWBERRIES: Now they are working very hard :)
