How's summer going? Did you miss us?
Don't worry, even though we "closed for summer," we haven't gone on vacation. And as I promised last week, I'm going to tell you what I'll be doing in the field during the summer.
Because as much as I'd like to lounge around all day and enjoy the 'caloret' by the pool, the field is a demanding lover. So these months, we have an endless number of tasks to be ready for when things get busy again.
From checking that the crops are healthy and receive the water they need, to pulling weeds, the number of tasks is countless. But there's one that might surprise you: Throwing away fruit and breaking off branches... On purpose🧐?
Yes, you heard right. This, which sounds like vandalism and plant abuse, is actually an essential part of the process.
I know it sounds crazy, but let me explain😅
This is one of our persimmon trees. As you can see, they are still very green, but that's not what's interesting about this photo.
This is a photo from last year in October, and although it seems like there's no problem, this branch is in big trouble...
As you know, with millennia of selective evolution, farmers have achieved larger and tastier fruits, which is usually a desired quality. But in the case of persimmon, the size is such that if we let the tree grow all the fruits it wants, its branches would break from the weight.
At this point, there is no choice but to remove a few persimmons to try to save the branch.
Each branch can hold a couple of persimmons.
However, this is a great waste of food, not to mention the effort the poor little tree makes growing its seeds, only for us to come and remove them when they are almost ready.
That's why, now that they haven't spent so much energy growing them, we go through and "thin" them out, although we always miss a branch or two, as you can see happened to us last year😅...
To ensure the trees stay healthy and survive the season if this happens, we have another ace up our sleeve…
But this newsletter is getting long, and this technique is complex...
So don't miss the next few weeks if you want to know what it's all about!
