27 Jan 2024

Mandarins

I’m exploring all the plants in the garden and have come across our first mandarin. The tree is a great little plant that is very green and compact; not much needs to be done.

There is something wonderful and tasty about homegrown mandarins. I am partial to citrus fruits; in Sicily, there are thousands of lemon trees.

I also enjoy the brilliance of the Pansies; they give the garden a lot of color, and they are my wife’s favorite. Absolutely beautiful!

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The Fig Tree

My ongoing saga with saving the fig tree continues. Too many offshoots have dried out the soil, and the plant has withered, losing all its leaves. It is a stubborn plant; I know it’s very hard to kill.

I decided to repot it with new soil and get rid of all the offshoots, except for one that I pulled out weeks ago, and it is doing well.

Additionally, I placed some old newspaper sheets underneath the mulch to retain water and slow down evaporation; hopefully, the weeds won’t thrive either. Today, I noticed new budding leaves.

I also collected a bunch of unripened tomatoes and am letting them ripen in the sun. The wildlife is very hungry and will eat anything, even before it’s ripe.

I have collected over 180 cherry tomatoes so far and have enjoyed many garden salads this summer—very delicious!