Pasture mowing

Finally mounted the jd 60D mid-mount mower and mowed the main part of the pasture. It's significantly faster to mow this way, except that you can't mow the rocky rough edges, and you can't operate the PTO in reverse (unless you pull a special lever?)

Pasture looks good after, lots of perennial peanut revealed.


Total time about 3:30

Prep avocado for grafting

Repotted 6 avocado keiki for grafting. Added fertilizater and cinder. Collected coco nut and avo nut droppings as cinder substitute. Altogether about 45m.

Coconut palms and other planting

Planted four coconut palm keiki (3 gal) on gulch peninsula yesterday.

Also planted second Spanish lime (mamoncillo) and fourth jaboticaba by shed.

New tree plantings

Planted three jaboticaba using cardboard mulch technique and a bit of chicken manure.

Planted one Spanish lime (manoncillo) using same technique.

These are all over by shed driveway.

Tall vanilla is a little sad. Gave it some liquid urea.

Planted mangosteen and cacao saplings

Planted 3gal mangosteen from Paradise Plants ($40).

Planted two small (12-18") cacao saplings that were sprouted from seed approximately 20120315.

Mangosteen planting method:
Dig hole approximately 24" deep, approximately twice the diameter of the pot the tree came in. Mix a bit of small black cinder and manure (about 1 gal total) and place in bottom of hole. Roll sapling out of container and rest in center of hole atop soft cinder/manure mix. Toss in about 1/2 cup triple 16 fertilizer. Fill rest of hole around roots with manure/cinder mix.
Cut two pieces of weed block cloth about 4 feet long. Cut a slit in each about halfway across at the center (don't cut all the way across the cloth). Slide slit around base of tree, with both pieces so that they overlap.
Place some cinder (about 5 gal) on cloth around tree base to hold cloth down and block light. Create a cylindrical wire cage around the tree using square wire mesh (1" or so) to a height of about 3-4 feet. Stake the cage to the ground using eg a sharpened piece of scrap 1x4. Tie the stake(s) to the cage using scrap wire, twine, or tubing.
After the cage is staked, pour more black cinder around the base of the tree inside the cage: some should leak out of the cage onto excess cloth.
Plant perennial peanut stolons on top of the cinder inside the cylinder.

Pomplemousse status

Green leaves but growing slow after fertilization. Looks like bug damage to leaves.

Calamansi lime status

Looking yellowish leaves after fertilization.

Avocado status

Growing well after fertilization