My lemon tree is now planted...in the front yard. Mum saw I was going to put it near the terrace of the house on the north side where it gets the most sun, but was up and arms about it growing to block the path. So now it is planted in Mary and Socks bed where the pink cabbage tree died.
I have fed it some cow pat pit liquid manure, organic rock dust fertiliser and lime. I was quite amazed at how shallow citrus roots are. Just this week came across a book by Eion Scarrow all about citrus trees on the library withdrawn trolley. The thing is it had cross section diagrams such as dig a drain and put scoria in for heavy clay soil..but who really does that? Most gardeners don't they just plant each tree as they come it's never a plant by numbers thing where you get every plant and then just fill in the plot like colouring in a book. The outlines aren't even there to begin with and you don't even know what's underneath unless you try some very expensive excavation.
What Esther Dean of the 'no dig' school of gardening recommends is using a pendulum. If it goes clockwise, its good, if its anti clockwise, it's bad. Or something like that. Might be different according to the hemisphere you live in. Perhaps the dowsers have it right after all. When the pendulum makes a figure eight movement, plant it. And when mixing your biodynamic fertiliser, swirl clockwise then anti clockwise to activate the microbes. To me, it's a dizzy style of gardening, but, if you stand still long enough like a plant would because it likes to fix itself in one spot (it's not got legs like us) you'll experience the stars and clouds and sun race by overhead, and if you're planted in the wrong spot where you can't access all that you need, you can't do a thing about it can you?
I sometimes felt like that when I was stuck in some jobs and I wasn't allowed to move. I would be like, can I try something else. The planters, or the HR or whoever it was could see I wasn't thriving where I was but they would just tell me to work harder. Sorry but no it doesn't work that way. You can't tell a plant just to grow taller or bigger. They need the right location, and no matter what you do they won't be happy until they are placed just so.
Terri came over yesterday for a garden visit and also checked out my new library fridge, just a few doors down. My excess garden books go in there so she's picked up a book on water plants for inspiration for her pond in a dinghy. Terri's keen to chat about online gardening so I'm going to be doing some research checking out the best of the best garden groups online. Terri gave me some tips about using panty hose for tree ties (or in my case, arch supports) and she made appreciative comments about my garden. Mum was like 'your garden is rubbish, why would she want to come and see it?' so I just said well Terri doesn't think so. Mum has to get over her God complex and think that she's always right about everything and nobody can think differently from the way she does. But then she was the one who planted the apricot tree really close to the house, which never fruits. So what does she know?
Anyway I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that when life gives you lemons, you need to make lemonade. Life isn't giving us apricots, so I won't be making apricot jam any time soon.
