Blueberries - 6 weeks early

All about almonds

I was gifted two almond trees quite a few years ago, and they remain in their pots -- another item on my never-ending list of garden shame.

But they're doing okay, so maybe I'll get around to planting them this Fall... Maybe....

Last year (2013), for the first time, they produced several fruits. Here are a couple of photos and my notes at the time:

"When the sap oozes out it's a sign that the outer husk will soon split. That's when I'm supposed to harvest. Or so the Internet tells me. This is the first year the trees have produced any almonds."
 

"Sure enough, the internet was right. After some oozing sap, the outer hull (a fruit?) split, revealing the almond." 
 

"The internet tells me to let the freshly harvested almond dry in the sun. This should form a hard shell which can be cracked, revealing what we eat and call an 'almond'."

Which I did. Crack and eat. Sorry, not photos of that.  This year (2014) there is only 1 fruit on one tree. I think because we had a pounding rain and hail storm at the time when the trees were setting baby fruit.

Crocosmia... creepy

 

February snow

rosemary in February snow

Surprise February snow coats my rosemary. A vast sprawling mass now, it started life in 2004 as two tiny, anemic starts from the farmers' market, not more than 3 inches tall. This year I'd like to figure out how best to prune it and shape it. Assuming it'll last another 10 years? 20?

Blueberries, decaf

As is often recommended, I've been fertilizing my blueberry bushes with coffee grounds. Twice yearly, in early Spring and Fall, for about seven years. Wow. I just realized I planted those bushes seven years ago! Time, whoosh!

Last year I noticed the berries seemed to be getting more and more tart each year, losing not only sweetness but any true blueberry flavor.  I decided to experiment with stopping the coffee grounds.

So, I skipped the coffee in Fall 2012 and Spring 2013. And, interestingly, the berries do seem sweeter this year. It's hard to say though because we've also had odd weather -- an excessively wet spring, followed by a sudden shift to unusually hot (90+) weather.

Is it lack of coffee, or the extra water followed by extra heat that caused the sweetness?

Can't say, but I think will continue the no coffee rule at least through the next growing season.

Geum, Mango Lassi