On Saturday (April 14 2018) the barrel that housed our calamansi tree for the last 5 years finally gave out.

I reckon it was the tree itself breaking out. It has been in there the entire time we've had her and we always did say once we buy our house we'll put her in ground.

From it's spot in the garden I'm sure it has looked over in envy at the attention all the other plants are getting thinking "What about me?".

Sunday was all about our Calamansi tree.

What is this Calamansi?

(Our tree at it's peak in March 2014)

Calamansi is an extremely sour variety of citrus fruit commonly called golden lime. It is also known as calamondin and is scientifically known as Citrofortunella microcarpa. This fruit is a hybrid of a member of the citrus genus, that is to say, orange and kumquat, and is widely cultivated in Southeast Asia, particularly in the Philippines. This sour fruit is rich in vitamin C and certain antioxidants, such as limonene, as well potassium, vitamin A, and calcium. Source

It is also a well loved staple in any Filipino kitchen commonly used for sauces, marination, juices ~ anything really.

When we first bought this tree we got heaps of fruit all throughout winter that not only could we enjoy calamansi teas, but I also had enough to make some of my favourite Filipino dishes like Bistek (pictured) and Tapa.

That was such a long time ago. I don't think it's had fruit since then, to say I'm excited about it being in the ground is a total understatement. I love calamansi, my tastebuds reckon it's hands down better than lemons and limes. Unfortunately the plant is hard to find and we've never seen another one for sale since we bought it.

I wanted to buy Mum one (Filipino staple!!) but I still havent been able to find the proper tree. People keep thinking I mean cumquat but cumquats are totally different from the oblong shape to the taste. Taste wise though it's closer to a calamansi than a lemon or a lime.

April 15 2018

It was D day (Dig Day) for the tree, finally after years of being in a barrel she's settling down.

First was to find a spot for it, so we walked it out to the center of the garden and lined it up with the outdoor tap. Once we found the spot I put a stake in the ground to mark it.

I then had to figure out how wide I wanted it and I also wanted to see how far away it would be to the veggie patch. Then there's my little T-rex arms.. I need to be able to reach the center of the tree without having to reach too far out and do my back in, cos you know.. I'm getting old and all that.

Once I was happy with the size I tried a string on to the center stake, taped the end to the spray can to secure it.

Watching all those DIY shows finally paid off.

Hubby held the center stake in while I walked around to spray the circle. That was the end of my part, the next part was for the muscle 💪

You can see in the last photo in the grid the barrel is ready to fall apart, and it did as soon as I started digging the tree out. In the end I didn't have to dig the tree out because the sides fell apart and I had to slide the last remaining metal ring up and over the tree.

Soon enough she was finally in the ground and it was just a matter of filling in the hole with some soil, mixing it in with the ground soil, and the soil from the barrel and then picking out all the grass roots I could find.

I wish I knew my insects better. There were a lot of worms and bugs all through the barrel soil. I was pretty grossed out and wanted to stomp on them but I closed my eyes, stretched my arms out as far as they would go, grabbed a pile of dirt and quickly tossed it in the hole.

Here she is ready for the rest of the guild, which at the moment only consist of marigolds.

French Marigolds

Two months ago I planted French Marigold seeds. I watched and nurtured them for months not really knowing what I was going to do with them, but I figured everyone swears by marigolds in the garden so the more the merrier.

I scattered seeds, God knows how many, not knowing what to expect. I was really just hoping for the best and figured if I had more than one seed going, the odds might be in my favour. I ended up with 7 french marigolds, 6 of which I planted around the garden on Sunday.

4 went to the calamansi guild

And 2 went to the lemon guild

Really though, the calamansi and lemon both fall under the Citrus Guild, which I'm still doing research on thus the marigolds - solid, non invasive, pretty and functional.

The rest of the guild companions will be added later once I figure out what I'm doing. I have been toying with the idea of having a witchy garden. A spot dedicated to growing things I want in my smudge sticks and all that.

Thoughts

I feel the best thing I did throughout this whole process was focusing on companion planting. I really think having the marigolds (pollinators/repellents) made a big difference.

I see so many bees in my backyard all flying around from flower to flower, to the veggies, back to the flowers all just doing their thang.

So when people say bees are dying, I would have to say, not in my backyard. There's that many around I'm considering a honey farm. I saw someone turn a tap in their farm and honey poured out ~ I want one of those.

One day Arly, one day.

If you guys have any thoughts on what I should plant with my calamansi tree please share it in the comments. I could really use the Steemit brain trust on this one.

Happy Tuesday Steemit!

🌻 Arly

🍀 All pictures taken on my Samsung Note 8 🍀

Previously in the Black Thumb Chronicles..

Reclaiming our views | Companion and Lasagna Gardening | Hello Lasagna Bag Garden | Permaculture, Food Forests & Tree Guilds | Weekend Gardening Part 1 | Weekend Gardening Part 2 | Weekend Gardening Part 3 | Day 5 | Day 12 | Stage 2 of the lasagna and bursting bag gardens | Perennials vs Annuals | 41 days towards garden glory | Good Bye Bag Garden, Helloooo Veggie Patch! | Rainy Day Photography | Gnome Crazy | Oh, how my garden grows | Propagating Experiments (Basil, Carrots, Rosemary & Mint) | 25 Days Later | Propagation Results ☠ | Garden Update ~ Goodbye Mint, Hello Tomato |