The New Additions: Pineapple Guava

Are you familiar with Pineapple Guava a.k.a. Feijoa?  I'm not, but I've got four new shrubs of it planted along my back fence line next to the espaliered apple and pear.  I took a local orchard class that covered it, and I've read up on the topic, but I have yet to taste or see the fruit.  I'm really looking forward to trying it though!  Currently the plant is in bloom with these fabulous flowers:

They are a big hummingbird attractor for obvious reasons (their centers are Hummingbird Feeder Red).  Also, the flowers are edible!  Now tell me that's not cool.  There was a recent post on Sunset's One Block Diet blog about making a nasturtium cooler... maybe I can modify it and use pineapple guava petals instead!  I will have to be diligent though if I am going to come up with 20 blossoms like they used in their recipe.  Maybe I'll make a very small batch of Pineapple Guava Syrup.

From everything I have learned and read, pineapple guava are really forgiving plants.  They thrive in a Mediterranean climate, are evergreen (leaves are dark green on top and pale grey-green on the bottom), and require very little in the way of maintenance.  They can be pruned into a hedge shape or tree, but if you want fruit you need to be cautious with your pruning.  The plant bears fruit on new wood so prune right after harvest; if you prune in spring you might seriously deplete your crop.

Future Pineapple Guava Hedge along fence line

Fruit are typically ready to harvest 4 to 7 months after flowering.  In my climate, I'm expecting to harvest the pineapple guavas around October.  When the fruits are ripe, lay a tarp under the plant and shake it vigorously - the fruits will fall to the ground.  If you do grow them, you will want to be aware of potential issues with vermin.  I'm told the fruit they drop is quite enticing to the rodentia.  However, if you stock your garden with a squirrel-hunting dog and a pair of everything-hunting cats, you should be all good!

The New Additions: Grapes

Here it is- another installment of the New Additions.  Today I'll be introducing you to the grapes! 



We live in wine country out here and one of the most popular (and prolific) grapes in our valley is syrah.  So we really couldn't plant a bunch of wine grapes and not have syrah, that would just be silly.  We considered planting the whole vineyard with one varietal, but decided that it's better to hedge our bets.  The other grape we chose is zinfandel.  It also does well in our valley.  And it pretty much goes without saying that we love drinking both.

The grapes are set up in two different areas- the syrah is planted in the Mighty Kitchen Garden itself, and the zinfandel is planted in a mini-vineyard (which henceforth will be known as the Zinyard) in front of the espaliered apple and pear.  The syrah are oriented E-W along the wall of our house and E-W along the fenceline.  The zin are oriented NE-SW. 

The Zinyard
Pluot in the back corner, apple and pear along the fence.

Wine grapes are typically planted four feet apart.  For example, if you have two posts that are 8 feet apart, you would plant two vines between them, with each vine 2 feet in from the post (and 4 feet from eachother).  That's how all our grapes are planted. 

You can expect to get about one bottle of wine per vine.  Of course that depends on lots of factors so it's just a rule of thumb.  We have 10 syrah vines and 9 zinfandel vines so we're hoping to produce at least a case of wine... maybe even a case and a half.  Another rule of thumb is that it will take about three years for the vines to be established enough to produce wine.  Therefore, I'm looking forward to the MKG 2014 vintage!

Snoutface: Guardian of the grapes

The New Additions: Potted Citrus

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, the MKG Orchard has been growing. Already an Orange and a Meyer Lemon have staked a claim here, and now they are joined by two new potted citrus:

Oro Blanco grapefruit and Bearss lime!

Oro Blanco is a yellow grapefuit that does better in this climate than red grapefruit. A good rule of thumb for citrus, as recounted to me by my Orchard Instructor, is: "Sweet needs heat!" That means that the sweeter your citrus variety, the more heat it needs to develop that sweetness. It does get really hot here in the summers, but it's just not like Florida for growing sweet citrus. I hope the Oro Blanco will do well at the MKG!


Generally, when you plant a fruit tree the existing fruit should be removed. This allows the plant to focus its energy on growing, rathering than ripening fruit. Since I planted the Oro Blanco in a pot, and I don't want it to get too large (less root-pruning), I decided to leave the fruit on there. I hope it's tasty!

The other new addition, Bearss lime, will round out the citrus for now. It is billed as a "seedless" lime, but I am skeptical. From the aforementioned Orchard Instructor, I've learned that it is basically impossible to grow seedless citrus in California. Know why? Well, you need to prevent pollination to keep seeds at bay. That means different citrus need to be separated by more than 1,000 feet to keep them free of seeds. Do you have any clue how many backyard citrus there are in California? Tons! I would happily wager money that there are at least 100 citrus trees within a 1,000-foot-radius of the MKG. It's almost impossible to isolate your trees here so I'm expecting the occasionial seed.


Planting in pots is always a little tricky. Dilligence is necessary for keeping the plants hydrated and fed. These guys are set up on a drip irrigation system so hopefully they won't dry out. And I'll *try* to remember to feed them their monthly doses of citrus food. Conveniently, I have to walk past them to get to the MKG, so that should improve their odds of survival.

If I do manage to keep them alive, next year I'll be enjoying a mean homegrown mojito!

p.s. Am I the only one who sees the name "Bearss lime" and thinks "bare-@ss lime?" Just curious...

The New Additions: Orchard Espaliers

During the last week, the orchard portion of the Mighty Kitchen Garden has more than doubled! I've been planning and researching these plants for quite a while and I'm so excited to actually see them in the ground. The new additions cover a wide variety from exotic to standard. This installment of the introductions will focus on the espaliers.

The MKG is rather big for a garden and quite small for an orchard. Accordingly, I was very keen to select some trees that can produce fruit in a small space. Enter the espalier.


"Espalier" is a term that basically means to train a tree or vine so that it grows in a single plane. For example, training a tree to grow flat against a fence or wall. This method of growing is ideal for fitting trees into small or narrow yards. It is also a great option for fitting in more varieties of fruit. Enter the 6-in-1 espalier.

With a 6-in-1 tree, you literally have one main trunk with 6 different varieties grafted onto it. The six branches you see in the picture below will each produce a different type of apple! How cool is that?


The MKG is now home to two 6-in-1 espaliered fruit trees. One is an apple and features Gala, Fuji, Braeburn, Gravenstein, Red Delicious and Golden Delicious. The other is a pear and features Bosc, Comice, D'Anjou, Bartlett, Red Bartlett and Flemish Beauty.

In addition to looking great and fitting a lot of fruit into a small space, the 6-in-1 espalier also extends the harvest. Each of the six varieties will ripen at a slightly different time, creating a living parade of apples and pears. I can't wait to try them all and determine which harvest window produces the best combination for apple pie!