Human nature - never satisfied. With only an annual rainfall of 11 inches, San Diegan wish for more rainfall to fill up our reservoir and water our gardens naturally ( and for free). Then the rain comes down, and the frown appears on the foreheads and smiles turn down :(
I am no exception to this. I LOVE even miss the rain but not winter rain because it is cold! When one grows up in the tropics where you can play in the warm rain, winter rain is a big let down. Strolls through the garden lessen. Thankfully, I live in San Diego, when winter days can unexpectedly be sunny and 75F. When that happens, it is time to spend all day in the garden and the kitchen is close.
I was in my garden despite deary weather to harvest the last of my Persimmons. Took a quick look around and snap some pictures of the plants that keep going despite the weather. You can see the drops of rain on the fruits!!
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| Pomelo ripe for eating. It holds well on the tree |
From the look of the leaves, my Pomelo plant is lacking in Iron. Actually, I think all my citrus plants are in need of iron and some trace minerals... more loving care that is for sure.
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| Satsuma Tangerine almost ready to be enjoyed |
The ripening schedule for the Satsuma Tangerines and Pomelos are in line with Chinese New Year. My kumquats are also getting fairly big and getting some color on them.
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Kaffir Lime (Limau Perut)
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| The Kaffir Lime plant is loaded with fruits. |
The flavor and the fragrance of the my Kaffir Lime leaves depends on the weather; the hotter the weather the more intense the flavor and fragrance. I am told there are some variety of Kaffir Lime more fragrant and flavorful but the nurseries are pretty general in their labeling so I have not been able to spot different. Hence, I still have only one plant.
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| A young fig overwintering. |
I neglected to remove the net I had draped over the fig tree to prevent the birds from eating the ripe figs. As a result the fig grew through a hole in the net cutting itself in half, growing over the net. I am going to have to sacrifice the fig.
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| Immature Blueberries already on the plant |
This particular pot of Blueberry seems to have acclimatized to the climate in my garden. It has flowers, immature fruits and ripening fruits on the same plants a good part of the year. It is almost winter so it should really quite bare but as you can see my breakfast fruit is being formed on the plant. Definitely a candidate for making cuttings.
It has been raining for more than a month already here and I can save energy on the watering part. However, whenever it rains heavily I pray that it would stop we do not want the floods and when drains are full, the monitor lizards will pay a visit. My kaffir lime tree is really taking its own sweet time to grow even some leaves and branches, so how can I hope for fruits? I grow my pomelo plant in a pot, more for the leaves which are used for cleansing before prayers. I have never seen a real blueberry tree. Is there any chance of you getting a white Christmas?
ReplyDeleteToday 12/21 is the first day of winter.The past month, nightfall comes earlier and earlier, normally around 5pm. When it rains it starts to become dark around 4 pm!! Yesterday, we had a bonus day in San Diego :) The sun came out of the clouds and shone brightly at 4pm!! Nightfall was delayed till 7pm. That's why I love San Diego.
ReplyDeleteHa, ha, if you had asked me a few years ago, I would say it no snow but now... It is too warm where I live for a white Christmas but in recent years due to global warming we have seen snow flurries but nothing really sticks. Still we only have to drive 2 hours to get to snow. The best of both worlds.
Wishing you and family Happy New Year 2012!
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