I am pleased to announce that I am finally getting a fabulous feijoa crop again. After a couple of years of snowfalls that repeatedly damaged my five small feijoa trees, I have managed to coddle them back to a happy, productive state. I am also quietly pleased that my trees are doing better than my neighbour’s ones.
The recipe for my fabulous feijoas is somewhat as follows.
- Hard pruning. This promotes fresh, bushy growth and also counteracts the distinct and utter lopsidedness that snow can inflict upon a feijoa tree.
- Tie the trees to the fence when it snows. This did not occur to me until the last snowfall. Ha! Try to break those branches now Mr snow!
- Have a diligent husband. If you are fortunate, you will have a husband who is at home during snowfalls, and while you are at work, he will kindly shake the snow off the feijoa trees at regular intervals.
- Fertilise your trees. Do it regularly. I use a granular citrus fertiliser.
- Water your trees. Make sure they get a nice deep watering every now and then, especially during hot summers.
- Add horse pooh. Putting a layer of well-rotted horse pooh on the soil is like giving your trees an invigorating, luxurious mudbath. Except it’s free.
Now I am enjoying the fruits of my labour, all the while keeping an eye out for Mr Snow.
Wild Hope Homestead 