Hi SW Friends,

Well, the fig tree planted last fall has leafed out and already set fruit. It is only a whip of a tree. I don't know if the best course of action is to let it be or remove the first fruits so that it will encourage branching. Anyone out there have any advise for me? Never owned a fig tree before.

The plums have flowered out. This will be their second year on setting fruit, so I am hoping for a harvest this time around. Love plum jam.

Hope all is well! Stay dirty, my friends.

Yum! I grew up with 2 old fig trees in our yard. The ants usually found the figs, but we just washed them off. My mom made the best fig jam. It was so good that we used it as an ice cream topping. Ours didn't get any care at all except occasional deep watering. Good luck with it, Gina! You're going to have such a wonderful place there!

Hi Karen,

Thank you. I will simply let it do its own thing and let it be.

It has been a very busy Spring already. I am trying my luck with Moringa this year. If it doesn't do well with our winters, I will just consider it an annual as it is a fast grower. We had a heck of a time with the late snow; I had to reseed the veggie garden, but things are starting to take shape. I will never let it go bare another season again. Oh, and we got the berry bed fenced and planted with the blueberry, blackberry and strawberry plants. Outside of the fava beans and lilies, my hoop house is looking a bit barren these days, but that is okay! It means I got all those trees and plants in the ground. The Carolina Spice and Red Bird of Paradise is even beginning to leaf out. I wasn't expecting them to make, so that was nice to see.

I got the barn floor and roof done. It will be the project shop affectionately named the "fun house". Took two truck loads of stuff off the property. We were able to donate much to friends and family, but one load was just junk, old wood, and such. It was quite the challenge but now we will have a clean work space and not just storage. In the middle of painting the house. I probably have another week into to finish, but it is coming along. Next will be flagstone on the back patio and a few more arbors. I have a May 10th deadline in mind, so there won't be much rest between now and then.

Thanks again for the advise on the fig tree, Karen. Can't wait to have the mature tree on the property even if we have to share them with the ants.

Gina I just left the figs on my tree when it was young. Did not slow it down a bit, in my opinion. They are very prolific trees. The birds do a number on the fruit, however.

Yes they do! I forgot about that. My parents never netted their trees, but if yours is small enough some bird netting might help your first crops. Later on they are so prolific that you can afford to share with the birds.

Karen I have used mosquito netting, I get at camping stores. I had trouble with birds and even lizards getting tangled in in the bird netting that had wider squares.

Oh, that sounds like a much better solution. We sure don't want to hurt our birds or lizards.

After having to untangle a lizard, I had to find something else to use. I love my lizards! Such entertaining little things as they do their push ups on the patio or waiting till I am about to cross a section of the yard to zip in front of me.

We love them too. We have a stucco house and they all gather on the outside walls up near the roof to sun themselves. Sometimes there will be 10 of them all sun bathing.

How cool !

This is the only photo I could find. I'll have to take more this summer.

I love that, thank you. Never seen that many hanging out on a wall before.

I don't know what type they are, but every summer they do that. I think 10 was the most I've counted in a row like that.

Hahahaha, we SW peeps do enjoy the lizards!

We have one big guy in the main garden bed. He is beautiful. Our doggie, Sol, loves to chase him around the trim cap. Another big fellow likes to hang out under the Joshua tree outside the game room window that we keep open when using the swamp cooler. He collects the flies and knats that like the cooler air while we get to watch is exercise routine.

I will look for the mosquito netting, Linda. I am hoping I will need it for my plums and berry patch as well. Maybe even my mammoth sunflowers. I have about 8 seedlings that a looking pretty good. Hoping that the other sunflower plantings will sprout this week.

We don't mind sharing with nature's critters - to a point. We used to put out water for the quail and thoroughly enjoyed the troops crossing our property, but now that we have Sol, they aren't brave enough anymore. But she is keeping the cottontail and jacks at bay, so for me, that is a good trade off.

Have a wonderful day, Ladies!

I'm growing some seeds this year too. I have the orange sunflowers, 2 types of tomatoes, and nasturtiums. Most of them came up quickly. It will be quite a while before I can plant them outside. We are still freezing overnight.

Karen I actually had a nasturtium plant survive our summer heat this year, but got damaged when it froze this winter. It has perked up and started growing again. The plant came from seed Margaret sent me from Canada. Beautiful b!ooms.

That's amazing it survived! Mine grow well and reseed every summer but I've never had a plant like that winter over. We like the young leaves in our salads. One time I tried a recipe for battered nasturtium flowers, but that didn't work out very well!

Never have eaten a leaf.

They are about like watercress if you've eaten that. A little bit bitter, but still good.

Never had watercress either. I have to get out more..