Let There Be Light

Before the slaughter

My Carolina Cherries lining the perimeter of the back yard wall have been excellent for privacy and giving a sense of outdoors and nature for the backyard, however they've also proven to block a significant amount of sunlight making growing veggies more difficult. Today I impulsively went at em' with a lopper and a saw and dropped the tree line by 4-5'. I have some remorse, it feels much different, less private with an increased presence of neighboring homes. The beds were flooded with new sunlight, I suppose it will be worth it in the end if I'm growing better crops. This years navel crop is maybe the best tasting in my 12 years here. The tree looks like shit, but the fruit is incredible.

Save my Citrus

I'm finally giving attention to my tiny Valencia Orange and Lime trees I planted last year. I did everything right: dug extra wide and deep holes, set trees to correct height and mulched around base. All that didn't matter though because within a few weeks they were under assault from an unknown pest. I stopped by Flowerdale Nursery to ask some advice as they have an excellent selection of fruit trees. I didn't have any leaves with me and it was suggested I send some photos. I sent the following, hopefully my next post will be about the excellent advice I received.