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| Before: Territory of Neglect |
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| After: Mt. Produty (half produce, half beauty) |
Not particularly impressive at the moment, but I'm confident about the prospects. Given that we have remarkably sandy, useless soil, I applied an entire bag of manure AND an entire bag of compost.
The tree is a Dwarf "Pink Lady", and is expected to grow 1m wide by 2m tall, perfect for the suburban garden. It will grow to just the right proportions to offer us some added shade and privacy in our front garden. We're developing our backyard as a productive garden (photos to come), so these elements are crucial since the front garden is where we'll enjoy our leisure time.
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| Succulent varieties |
The young plants surrounding the tree are a succulent variety known as Portulaca (I selected the sundial blend which features an assortment of pink, yellow, white and peach blooms) and will serve as excellent ground cover. Better still, being succulents they require minimal watering, so won't place excessive strain on the apple tree (or me). Each should reach approximately 30cm in width and offer shelter to the apple tree's root system. They're also remarkably simple to propagate and establish in other garden areas
The violet seedlings visible at the rear are Blue Salvias. They're a long-lived perennial that reaches about 30cm wide and 50-60cm in height. I'm quite fond of them. They'll provide an attractive framework for the apple tree and occupy the back section nicely. They prefer full sun to partial shade, making this an excellent location, as they'll receive plenty of sun during winter and the apple tree's shade in summer. Plus, they're highly drought resistant.
I purchased my plants from Blackwood Nursery. It's an independently run, family-owned enterprise. The team possess genuine expertise and aren't pushy about sales. They lack an online presence, but they're listed in the Yellow Pages.
The tree cost $60. We purchase apples at $3.60 per kilo from the farmers markets, so according to my calculations we'll need 18 kilos of apples (or 144 medium-sized apples) for the tree to break even. Well.... Let's treat this as an experiment and observe how long it takes!
Kate xxx
