Oliver Huynh

Next year I will try chickpeas, bitter oranges, Yuzu, banana yucca if I can find it. I planted finger limes this spring, and they bear their first fruits. New Zealand spinach, which has a hard time, but is slowly taking hold and flowering ; no harvesting for this year, I will let it self-seed. Lots of lavender and sage, and a beehive is under discussion.
We have had no frosts, two periods of prolonged drought between storms and nearly no rain - still less than 150 mm of rain since the start of january, it used to be 760mm per year on average for comparison.
I feel I have to plant for mediterranean conditions.

Have a nice evening,
Oliver

The stones are quite small, perhaps a cherry pitter might work ?
I did not try myself yet, as I usually use a steam juicer, I leave the pits inside.
Have a nice day,

it is a very good year for myrobalan plums down here - time for some juicing.

Being in Portugal, on a sunny garrigue-like corner, bay leaf, fig and citrus trees also come to mind. Given it is a small plot though, two small trees might be enough.
Where do prevailing winds and rain come from ? If you plan a hedge, you would set it so it does not block the rain from your land.
Also, is the area leveled or sloping ? A little swale, rock alignment or compost trench cut downhill the trees or shrubs might help them, I would expect strawberries to be planted near a compost pit or water feature though - it might be too dry elsewhere for them.
You might throw some chickpeas  or your favorite legume in there also, among aromatic and edible perennials (sea orache in the sun, sea kale in tree shadow ? depending on what you like)
Some trees or shrubs fix nitrogen, make good hedges, withstand drought, pruning and are edible too (... but are also quite invasive and sometimes spiny ...), perhaps Eleagnus or sea buckthorn ? Depending on space and the patience you have to trim them.

Have a nice day,

Vickey McDonald wrote:
Depending on when it "died" I would wait a bit before you decide to do anything with it.

Quite a bit off-topic, but i tend not to remove seemingly dead trees before two years after "death".
Depending on species, they might stay dormant more than one year, then resprout form the base.
My last "zombies" were a gingko and a persimmon though, not elderberries.

Have a nice evening,
Oliver

Hello,
For me, it is reinforced work pants everytime, and depending on the season a wool jumper or cotton T-shirt.
In the last weeks I had to work in full sun, I tried a worn cotton long-sleeved shirt to get protection.
I usually have a leather cow-boy hat, but I should find something lighter for the hotter days, perhaps straw or light felt.
And of course, wooden clogs anytime.

I do not know about grafting in this case, but first I would firmly stake the tree, so that any new root would be able to grow securely.
Every movement risks tearing the remaining roots, so I would fix it in its current resting position with at least two stakes, without trying to right it up. That can be achieved later with pruning if it does not balance itself after recovering.
Have a nice afternoon,

Elderberries grow like weeds here, only surpassed by sycamores.
I coppice them every two years, so they can flower every other year and I keep some space for myself.
Their wood tends not to break down easily in my garden though, even chipped - better for walking paths than garden beds.
Have a nice evening,

There was indeed a very short time window in which they lost their bitterness and were still tender.
Here, it lasted less than a week.
Have a nice evening,
Oliver

Hello everyone,
My 3 judas trees bear quite well this spring.
Their seed pods are described to be edible, however, they still taste very tart and bitter.
This does not improve after blanching them in boiling water.
Do you know when if and when it should improve, or have a recipe for them ?

For context, the trees are feeding, shading and misting my annual vegetable garden, and they only get weed mulch and what the sky gives them (and we have had less than 20 mm of rain per square meter since mid-february).

Have a nice day,
Oliver