I previously mentioned about my apricot tree dying. I have had issues with a fungal infection, but was hoping that I could cut out the older wood as new growth was looking promising to replace it. Suddenly, this year it's just completely died on me. I was still rather puzzled, because when parts of the tree have died before, it was just a case of them not returning after winter. The other day, I realised that the neighbour's plum tree, which is right next to our apricot, has also suddenly up and died. Even odder as it has previously shown no signs of issues. Knowing that the neighbours' landlords have been removing all the trees on their property over the last couple of years, I'm now wondering if they poisoned it. If they have, the chances are the roots of the two trees touch one another anyway, so this could be why our apricot has died with it.
Ah the joys of neighbours when you're trying to grow a garden. They have young kids and they seem to like throwing their rubbish onto our driveway and over the fence. I suspect they also like using our driveway as a ramp for their bikes and scooters, because the plants I have alongside it have been damaged and ripped up at various times. I know their parents would do something if they saw it, but they don't always supervise them playing out. I'm tempted to start lining the driveway with really spiky bushes...
The grapes aren't looking great. Initially I wondered if those late spring hail showers caused some damage, but now I'm wondering if it's black rot.
With the root knot still not under control I'm feeling like the most useless gardener ever at the moment. Do you want to know what else I have killed this year? One lime, two finger limes, the lemon is nearly there and the mandarin is surviving on a prayer!
Okay, I'm going to attempt to try and look at successes. I have some volunteer tomato plants that I've moved to a, hopefully, root knot free zone. Some are flowering and setting the first fruits of the year. Yes, I know, everyone else in the gardening forums locally are already getting ripe tomatoes, so they're way ahead of me. Mine aren't dead, though, so surely I can get some credit for that!
After hand pollinating and with a little getup forum the bees, I do seem to have a few more apples growing this year, but not lots.
The first butternut squash/pumpkin plant has reached the top of the makeshift curcubit arch. Now I just need some male flowers to pollinate the females that keep coming.
I also have some cucumber plants that aren't dead. Admittedly, I did have four, but one got chomped at the base of its stem earlier on. No signs of any fruit yet, unlike those show offs on the forums and 
I have oranges on my orange tree and admittedly scale insects that I keep trying to remove from it.
I also have carrots again! Check out this pretty thing I was choping up the other day:
I really need to see if I have any more carrot seeds to sow. I'm so disorganised...
My Easter Eggers are over 5 months old, so I really should get them sold. I'm just a bit nervous of getting the sex wrong, because out of 13, I only seem to have 3 roosters and that's just too lucky to be true. Maybe there are some late developers. One of the three pullets my parents took has started laying, so they can't be that late in developing, surely?
Mamma Red has her chicks up roosting. That's the joys of having a hen raising chicks. The 5+ month olds still hide under the nest boxes most of the time. Probably because the big hens are bullies and peck them if they go on the roosts.
Those looks that say, "do you mind, we're trying to sleep!"
Now I should probably go and actually get on with gardening instead of writing about it. Maybe that's why nothing gets done...
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