Last year, I went to It's About Thyme nursery in South Austin to look around at some of the fruit trees that they had available. I have always wanted to grow fruit. After all, sometimes it can get tedious growing veggies all of the time. I had considered it a new challenge. I took my time as I walked around, looking at what I could possibly cram into every inch of available space. Then I realized...These trees won't stay this small forever. Well, on to Plan B. I considered many varieties based on size, our likes and dislikes, dwarf, semi-dwarf, standard, self fertile and semi self fertile. Wow! That is a lot to take in. My prior research on the web and watching countless Youtube videos was paying off. I chose a dwarf fig, a dwarf Hosui pear, and a semi-dwarf peach. Although these are dwarf varieties, they will still get a little bit of height to them. And the best part is, they could be planted in containers. We picked out some large enough pots, dropped them in with some good organic soil, and watered them deeply. That's it. All we had to do is wait for them to produce.
Needless to say, we were not yielding bushels that season. The fig was too young and the asian pear required another variety in order to pollinate. However, the pear did produce 1 fruit, but Josh accidentally bumped into the tree and knocked it off. Marin was looking forward to eating it. She had called "dibs" on it every since it was a little baby pear. So another trip to the nursery was in order for another pear tree. This time a Shinko asian pear was added to our collection. With the new pear tree potted, there shouldn't be any problem with them getting pollinated. Once they start blooming, the bees will come in and carry the pollen from tree to tree, thus completing the requirements to produce the fruit. Which... brings us to the topic I
would like to share with you, today.
Bees are such an important part of our garden. As soon as the weather warms up, they are out in full force. Collecting as much pollen as they can for their hive and at the same time, pollinating our fruits and veggies. However, it is the middle of March and the spring garden has no goodies for them to partake from.
Except....OUR PEACH TREE. Yes, our peach tree is in full bloom right now! And not a bee in sight. It apparently is still too cold for them. We did not realize this last year, so this year we have to take action. We must do our own pollination on our peach tree. This is the only early bloomer we have. So, armed with a soft bristel paint brush, I put on my bumblebee costume from the 4th grade talent show(Just Kidding!) and "beelined" for the peach tree. Excuse the bad humor. When hand pollinating, the object is to lightly brush the pollen from the top of the male filaments that are surrounding the central stigma(female). Pollen collects on the anthers of the male. Basically, we are brushing the pollen from the tips of the male organ and placing it onto the female stigma. Check out the pictures to get a better understanding. There is only a short window to do this, so act quickly. The female is only receptive for so long. Just look at all the filaments around the stigma. You will see tiny yellow clouds of pollen on the tips. Just brush and touch to the stigma. That's it. You are done. Just check back to see if any more blooms open from time to time and do the same for them.
Bees are a very important part of the garden and some day, we would love to start our own hive. But until then, our peach tree will have to get used to us getting the job done. So, if you have early bloomers like a peach tree, you may have to hand pollinate them before the bees ever come out to play. We will definately keep you updated on the status and anxiously await the fruits of our labor. This weekend is spring garden planting time! So, more to come very soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment