When I was a little kid, we lived in a rent house with a giant pecan tree in the back. One of the ones that seemed to reach all the way to the sky. I used to love when your entire extended family would be out there picking pecans, then cracking bags and bags of them, and stuffing yourself until you couldn’t handle anymore.
That memory laid dormant for a really long time. I didn’t grow up in a house with fruit trees or a garden. It’s not something my parents did. But we first bought our house, it came with 2 fully mature fruit trees – a loquat and an orange tree. Picking fresh fruit off those trees and a few podcasts that led me down the permaculture rabbit hole and I was ready to jump in.
We planted a dozen trees that year and we’ve put in a dozen more in the 2-3 subsequent years. I’ve spent countless hours planting, fertilizing, watering, weeding, staking, trimming, all these trees and not eaten a single piece of fruit. That my friends is playing the long game (however our garden has given us tons of vegetables).
Finally in year 3, the trees have hit a critical max. They require extremely minimal inputs and are FINALLY putting on fruit! It’s really exciting to see all these trees finally becoming productive.
I don’t do this to be frugal or save money, that’s just a side benefit. It’s largely because I enjoy being outside, working in the dirt, and enjoying the satisfaction of of growing something. It’s also good exercise. However, I am hoping I make my time and money back on these trees over the next few years as the real productivity is just starting.
Are you gardening? Doing some permaculture? Let me know in the comments.
I’ve put a few pictures below:
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