Gardening in the Early Morning

Thank you for all of your comments yesterday. I got up early this morning and did some research on the pomegranate issue. At least the fruit wasn't all eaten overnight by rats like it has been in the past. It's now  August, and if I can just keep these pomegranates on the tree until November, I think I will have a healthy, organic, and ripe crop of full sized fruit.

The splitting can be caused by a few different things. Infrequent watering is one. I water on our drought schedule here, which is every Tuesday and Thursday. We are allowed to use extra water for our fruits and vegetables. Sometimes what occurs is that the cells of the fruit develop before the cells of the skin, and then they sort of explode. That's what it seems like is happening these, in the above photograph.

I got out the ladder and picked all of the pomegranates that were cracked or split open. The larger ones are fine. My sense is that I needed to thin the fruit, anyway.  I gave some to my neighbor for her chickens. I'll give the rest to my other neighbors around the corner who have birds.  

My tree is pollinated primarily by hummingbirds. I plant a lot of wildflowers, which attract birds, bees, and beneficial insects. Hummingbirds love tubular shaped flowers, and the pomegranate blossoms are perfect for them. I also trimmed out a lot of dead wood from the inside of the bush. It feels much healthier and alive in there now. It reminds me of a cave.  I'm going to spread some unfinished compost underneath it as mulch. I'm hoping that from here on, the tree will have more energy available to nourish the larger fruits, and that they will grow and develop. We'll see if this theory works.

I have been working on a new vintage sweater. A woman from one of our local knitting groups gave me the yarn. It's silk and wool. I absolutely love it! This pattern has short rows, which I use when I make socks. It's a lot of stockinette stitch, which I find relaxing and meditative.

Here's a photo of the cotton sweater that I knit last month. I didn't check in the mirror before taking this picture, so it's not really hanging correctly. It's very comfortable and fun to wear. It reminds me of a 1930's chenille bed jacket. I also received a photo from my friend of her grandchildren taking a nap with the baby blanket I made. It warms my heart to see them.  How is everything going with you?