I grew apricots this year. The trick? I needed nutrients! Every year for 5 years I’ve tried to get some apricots to grow from this tree and each year I was disappointed. Last year I got my first batch but it was very small. This year in March I added some fertilizer when I started to see the first leaf buds and the tree exploded. I got so stoked that I started making my own dirt.

I drink a lot of coffee, eat a lot of eggs and bananas, carrots, and apples, so I save the grounds, shells, and refuse in a bin and throw it into the compost bin. I also toss in bits of cardboard, brown paper, and dead headed roses. At first it was composting really well and made very fluffy and healthy looking dirt, but then I made a huge mistake by throwing in a bunch of expired oatmeal.

The oatmeal fermented, created the worst smell, and made my soil clumpy. It still hasn’t fully recovered but it’s getting better with each passing month. I also had a ton of pomegranates that I didn’t harvest, so I tossed those in too. The bin is small but it is processing all of this organic matter.

I noticed some beneficial insects like worms, black soldier fly, and beetles making their home in the pile. I know I still have a lot to learn about dirt, but it seems like at the end of the day h less you’ve added tons of toxic chemicals, you can just wait it out and it will eventually break down into dirt.

I’ve also remedied the situation by just adding more factory dirt on top, mixing it often, and keeping it damp.

I don’t just have apricots coming in. I’ve got lemons and pomegranates too. The guava is also blooming. I have one fig. The blackberry bush also looks fantastic this year.

I still need to find a new mate for my Kiwi vine and probably weld up a trellis for them to grow on. The goal will be to make my whole yard edible. Besides the fruits and flowers we also grow rosemary and lavender.

This winter I’m going to move my lemon tree and lime tree to bigger containers and hopefully start getting much more of those fruits. I also have kumquat and loquat, both of which haven’t given me fruit lately so I’ll address that as well, along with the fig tree, pawpaw tree, and other shrubs riding the struggle bus.

Growing a garden, some days you just don’t feel like you’ve made any progress, but up until 2019 our entire backyard was just grass and giant bamboo plants. Not only have we learned how to grow fruit and flowers, we’ve learned how to make preserves, build fences, install pavers, and complete projects.

Some days I look out at it and all I can see is stuff I am behind on, stuff that needs to be done, but it never gets tiresome or overwhelming. If I get behind, I can catch up. It gives me an excuse to be outside and an outdoor space to enjoy.

If you have outdoor space, plant a garden. It’s not just fun, it’s inspiring because in a way it’s an act of rebellion. It’s also faith building to see how Jehovah created the earth so that things grow in a miraculous way.