Planting Pomegranate Trees and More Wood Chips

This time of year is fairly busy on the farm. Activities for this week included:

planting pomegranate trees, prickly pear cactus and the last of the goji berries
putting out more woodchips (semi composted mulch) around the fruit trees we planted in November
clearing a dead tree off the bridge so I could get to the back field
moving brush and wood that had been cut a few years ago
cutting down more the invasive trifoliate citrus bushes

The weather was spectacular. It was nice to be outside.

Foggy on the way to the farm. Fog adds such a beautiful element to the view

The orchard in the back field is slowly coming together

Daikon radish used as a natural fertilizer

Wood for campfire from tree that feel across the bridge

Spinless (sorta) prickly pear cactus planted and mulched

Goji berry planted and mulched in back field

Tree mulched and anti-deer cage replaced

Natural Fertilizers for Trees and Bushes

One of the things we have on the farm this time of year is diakon radish (also called field radish). We use it as a cover crop. One of the methods I used when planting trees and bushes was to harvest some of the daikon tuber and put it in the bottom of the hole where the trees and bushes went. The daikon tuber breaks down over time and adds nutrients to the soil near the tree and bush roots. It is especially easy to do when the daikon radish is just a few feet away.