Persimmon Blooms

This past weekend, I noticed that my persimmon tree was in bloom. They're small but quite striking.


I used a fine artist brush to hand-pollinate them. I doubt anything will come of them this year but one can hope. If any of them start developing into young fruit, maybe I'll remove all but one and see what happens. Maybe the little tree can support one lone fruit.

Persimmon Dreams

My potted Japanese persimmon tree is doing well. I made sure to amend the growing mix with plenty of compost and organic fertilizer when I planted it last month. So far, I've had mix success growing fruit trees in pots. The only reason why I didn't plant my persimmon tree in the ground is because I'd like to take it with me when we eventually buy our next home (who knows when that will be since we've only been here for 2 years). Plus, Asian persimmon trees are only marginally hardy in our Zone 6 climate. If the winter weather ever gets particularly brutal, I can also stick it in the garage for a few days.


I bought my Ichi-Ki-Kei-Jiro persimmon tree from Stark Bros. The online catalog said that it should begin to bear fruit in 2 - 3 years. The other day, I noticed flower buds were beginning to form on the new branches. I doubt anything will come from them but one can always hope!

Around the Garden - A Slow Start

How Depressing....the weather forecast is predicting nothing but rain for the next five days. As I walk around the garden, I can't help but to compare this spring to last year's. Everything seems to be growing slower this time around. Is it just me or are my fellow gardeners living in New England noticing this as well? Hopefully it's just my imagination.

I caved this year and purchased a Asian permission tree. This is a non-astringent variety called Ichi-Ki-Kei-Jiro that is supposed to be hardy down to our zone 6. I have it growing in a pot that is the size of a half barrel. I know, I know - I'm not expecting much from it in this potted state but I couldn't find it in me to plant it in the ground. If we end up purchasing a new home within the next few years, I wouldn't want to leave it behind just when it was starting to produce. Call me selfish. As a result, it'll have to spend the next few years of its life in this pot. I will however plant two less-exotic fruit trees from Home Depot and leave them for all future owners of our home.


The only things seemingly unaffected by the weather are the wild strawberries. Hopefully we'll be able to pick some of these tasty little yellow and red nuggets of strawberry goodness soon.


My red onion sets are looking good. I have a feeling I planted them too close together though (about 4 inches apart). As you can see, some critter did away with two of my Brussels sprouts! I had to buy transplants today to make up for this loss.


My Napoli carrots have germinated very well - close to 100%! I'm excited to see how they will grow in my raised box. On the other hand, only 50% of my Paris market carrots germinated. I hate having to reseed gaps.


The fig trees I purchased last year are showing signs of life. I really hope we get some fruit this summer. To increase the chances of this, I really should move all of my fruit trees to a sunnier location.