March 2023 Garden Diary Challenge: Harvesting Semeruks🍒

A dream doesn't come true by magic, it takes sweat, determination and hard work. 
            - Colin Powell

This month has been very productive in my garden and I have harvested several fruits such as passion fruit, milkweed, tomatoes, sweet bell pepper and now semerucus 🍒. I am very happy because I have received from mother earth those desired fruits, as a reward for the constancy in the care of these plants to supplement food. Thank you mother earth and God.

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I tell you the process I did to have the shrub called semeruco🍒, one day I decided to plant it when I got a seed on the ground in my yard. Around my house, several neighbors have that bush and the magic of the birds eat the fruit and go all over the yard distributing the seed, then I took it from the ground near the laundry room, I cleaned it and planted it in a pot and put a palette with its name and began to water.

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After a year in the pot, I set out to plant in the ground well prepared with organic fertilizer. And with constant watering it has grown and is strengthened with triple 15 fertilizer.

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It took about 24 months to see the results today. If they surpass the joy it gave me when I started to see its small flowers, then its first fruits.

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I already have semerucos 🍒in my hands, ready to taste.

Semeruco 🍒is a shrub native to this semi-arid zone, in the central western region of the country, Lara State, Venezuela.

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Semeruco 🍒 is a small tree typical of dry areas. It can be used as a hedge, as an ornamental and fruit tree. It is also known as acerola, cerecita, manzanita or semeruco. This species is resistant to pests and diseases.

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There are more than 30 species throughout the American continent.

The consumption of this fruit brings benefits to the organism.
- It contains iron and vitamin C, more than oranges.
- Its leaves are astringent, relieves dysentery.
- Its consumption in excess has a purgative effect.
- It is an antioxidant that favors the production of collagen and prevents premature aging.
- It is excellent for growth in children and adolescents.

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In the state of Lara, an entrepreneur has distilled wines and liquors with this cooked and fermented fruit to enhance its identity. In addition, it is used in the kitchen by some chefs. In the municipality Torres is where its cultivation is greater. And it represents the emblematic tree of Lara State.

I am also happy because the gardener lion is called Dande 🦁 and now I have planted several bushes and I will continue to propagate this seed from now on because it is beneficial to prevent erosion, protects the soil, promotes the microclimate and feeds wildlife.