Re: Citrus and Peppers

Theladygardens@aol.com wrote:
> 
> Oh, I am so pleased you are going to try the peppers next to citrus.
> We are sure there is some connection.
Quite exciting if it works for me too!
  All of our peppers are planted
> on the sunny side of the citrus.  

We are an organic garden also, using
> shredded tree bark mulch and letting it compost down over a year on
> our garden pathways.  We remove the good compost and use it where
> needed and replace with new shreddings.  The garden is large enough
> and enough work that we rarely fertilize anything,

Carolyn
But you DO fertilize your garden very effectively and just the way
nature intended. In the natural world "fertilzer" does not come in bags,
as I am always trying to get over to folks on the Organic list. The
fertilty of a fully alive (ie "organic") soil depends partly on the
waste organic matter which the soil workers recycle and partly on the
extra food elements they draw from the mineral part of the soil.  This
has been going on continuously and perfectly effectively since the very
first soil got its very first inhabitants, from millions (even billions)
of years before man got clever and though he could improve on the
process.. (Sure he may in some case with his fertilizer regime  get 
more bulk from his crops, but often with a noticeable loss of  their
nutritient value and virtually always at the expense of gradually
destroying the soil he is using).

  Some of the citrus were  tiny (and affordable) when we put them.
> Some  we had dug out of a property where the new owner was tearing
> down the house and rebuilding and offered the fruit trees to anyone
> wanting to dig them out.  They were all young, appearing to be 2-5
> years, labeled and healthy.  We dug out 13 very carefully.  Only lost
> 1 and it had appeared the healthiest.  There are a couple of very
> small citrus that have not produced yet, those that are starting to or
> have, seem very healthy and productive.

What a good opportunity and one you seem to have skillfully taken
advantage of. Fortunately most fruit trees are among the plants which
can be successfully moved by anybody who will take proper care with
their root systems. 

With some other trees and shrubs (The Protea family for instance) this
is definitely not the case and any plant put into the wrong site is a
wasted plant, as moving will inevitably kill it. They only move the
first time (from the nursery) if carefully grown in a container from
which they can be planted with absolutely no root disturbance.

 About peppers, they like heat and we started years ago trying to
> remember to water them with slightly warm water, instead cold hose
> water.  When they are young this seems to help. 

A marginal climate for warmth is I am sure our main problem just here. A
bit farther north (warmer in our "upside-down" world) they grow with the
greatest ease while we struggle to get a long enough season. 

I will try the warm water suggestion when mine are up and growing. (the
seed trays are at present in a warmed propagator which is watered from
below, so the water is already up to temp before the roots encounter
it).

I think so far the major problem has been the short season, as the best
crop I ever grow was put under row covers in the autumn and surrounded
by jugs of water (home made "wall-0-waters in effect). This ripened a
good many fruits and went on doing so until almost midwinter when the
remainder rotted.

Trouble is that this is a bit of hard work and incresing age has made me
rather lazy!!

Perhaps the citrus " nurse" will speed up the growing enough to get them
ripe before the temp. falls.

<Just made Tipsy Meyer Marmalade and its good.

What makes this marmalade "tipsy"? I am intrigued.

Moira
 
-- 
Tony & Moira Ryan,
Wainuiomata, North Island, NZ.     Pictures of our garden at:-
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/cherie1/Garden/TonyandMoira/index.htm
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