After one season of bumper crops, our entire fruit orchard just stopped producing. Well, except for the few small fruits that the foxes got. In desperation, I went to Sonoma Mission Gardens, the most fantastic and extensive gardening and plant shop you’ve ever seen. Then I threw myself on their mercy and asked for advice.
Turns out it all comes down to water. Just as I can go through three gallons of water when I’m trying to do something in Sonoma heat (like walk from the barn to the pond) apparently fruit trees also need a long cool drink of water. At least twice a week. And the little drip system we have has only given them a small sip every now and then. What’s needed is a good long soaking twice a week with a hose. A drink that gets right down to the roots.
This is not a happy tree. This is a tree that needs a long cool drink and some fertilizer.
Also fertilizer. Who knew?
So Lucy and I spent hours out in some of the hottest sun we’ve had this year watering and fertilizing fruit trees. Eventually, I had to water poor Lucy who had collapsed under a Manzanita. So we’re dehydrated, but the trees look great.
I’ll be back up Wednesday or Thursday to do it all again. Hopefully, that trip will coincide with the delivery of my lavender bottles. Yup, I’m finally going to get around to bottling our lavender water and oil, both from last year’s harvest and this year’s upcoming harvest. I worried for a moment that I might not have ordered enough bottles.
Then the shipping company called me to arrange delivery and asked me if I happened to have a forklift.
Lucy "helped" by sitting on a pile of mulch until she couldn't take the heat any longer.
Then she needed to cool off in Lake Charles.
This is remarkable. I used to make lavender water and sell it via a fancy PJ website called Napcakes. I had someone ask me is I still made the water. Nope. But I would like to know more about yours and if it will be available to those of us that still iron.
Have you considered deep root pipes for irrigating your trees? It sure helps down here in hell. They might benefit your thirsty trees.
Sounds like a job for the late evening….the watering. Cooler for all and would keep more water on the tree before the heat dried it up?
This hot weather here is hard on the crops too, we might need a twice a day watering
I’d say you ordered enough bottles! I, the vegetarian, was put in charge of ordering some ribs a few years ago. When I asked for a rack of ribs the guy said “how many ribs” so I figured there were 20 some individual ribs on a rack – I said 24. When I came to pick up the ribs – he rolled out one of those carts stacked with 24 huge racks of ribs – ooops!! I guess he considered each one a rib?
I always learn something on your blog – did not know that lavender water was used for ironing….