BrownThumb's Blog

http://en.wikipedia.org/w
iki/Persephone#The_Abduction_M
yth

My wife goes bonkers for pomegranates! They are probably her favorite thing in the whole world, besides me. No actually, way more than me. Being her favorite fruit, I have a personal connection with this tree. I've grown to really like it. Sure enough, like Persephone, they bring back spring - at least for my yard.

I bought my first pomegranate 3 yrs ago. It was large enough to already be bearing fruit in the bucket. I paid as much as I could stand so that she could start enjoying the fruits that very first year.

Then the BrownThumb got off his duff and went to work! I transplanted the plant and it promptly dropped all the buds. The small pomegranites even quit growing. I harvested one pomegranate that October. Scratch one season.

Honey, please enjoy your $80 pomegranate. No really, really enjoy it. PLEASE!

For season 2, I was determined to get this plant on the grow. I mulched. I watered. I doted. I read it Greek mythology and the many versions of the story of Persephone (OK, I just made that up). My plant prospered! It grew and split and grew and split - nearly doubling in size. I could barely contain my excitement as the bearing time began to arrive. It came. It went... Nuthin. Scratch two seasons.

Like any reasonable man, after wandering around for 2+ years - obviously lost - I did what I had to do. I finally asked directions.

I called the nursery and chatted a bit. It turns out that pomegranates are MY kind of plant. Water infrequently, place in poor dirt, and pretty much leave them alone. (Though I insist on limiting to 5 main stalks and keeping the suckers nipped down.) By overwatering, I had invested a year in growth - not in bearing fruit. Worser things have happended to plants under my care.

To end the season, I snipped a root that got too far above ground and started a new plant from there - armed with my new knowledge!

Season three: I started with a fine looking pomegranate tree and scheduled my neglect. Let's see... "Week1 - no water, week 2 - no water... I can do this...". The new pommy fawn rooted and began to grow! Excellent, Smithers!

Alright, to make my already long story come to an end: Season 3 was an affirmation of my faith. I got 22 pomegranates of which 4 survived the storms, basketballs, yard ninjas, and neighborhood fruit theives. We're amortized down to $16 per pomegranate and looking forward to season 4. They *were* quite tasty.

Hope Springs Eternal!