(published in the Love.Life Telehealth Newsletter, 2/2024)
As I write this month’s gardening column, the rain and wind are blowing on a very grey winter day. Oh well, it doesn’t look like I’ll be doing much gardening today. During breaks in the rain over the last few weeks, I’ve seized the moment, grabbed the garden shears and got to pruning some of our deciduous fruit trees. Pruning the fruit trees and berries is a major part of the winter list of gardening chores. Practically, it’s the best time to remove dead, diseased, and damaged branches. This wood can lead to problems for the health of the tree if left in place, so out with the old to allow room for the new. Additionally, with all the leaves gone on the deciduous fruit trees and bushes, we can see the form of the tree and shape it more accurately. But on another level, the pruning process can be quite meditative (Imagine a crisp, clear winter day. Snip, snip, go the pruning shears. Was that the right cut? Will it allow more air flow and sun exposure next summer to maintain a healthy tree and help it form a juicy, aromatic O’Henry peach? I think so. Well, I hope so. Snip, snip. Ah, what a sweet bird song; was that a phoebe?). You get the idea. And while it’s not exactly a killer work-out, I’m standing up instead of sitting down (except for the blueberries; sitting while pruning them is where it’s at), stretching to get that last branch, and working on my balance, sometimes while on an eight foot ladder. Look out below!
But not today. It’s still raining. And on days like this, it feels like I’m not getting anything done in the garden. But that’s actually one of the best parts of a garden. Much like a retirement account, stuff is happening every day, without us lifting a finger. The rain is recharging the soils and filling the rain catchment barrels, and in my drought prone part of the world here in northern California, rain is always a blessing. The garden compost, hay, and arborist mulch that I’ve put down over the last few months is slowly being broken down by the soil microbiome and adding nutrition back to the soil. When temperatures are below 45 degrees Fahrenheit but above freezing, we are getting critical winter “chill hours”, time in a temperature range that allows our deciduous fruit trees like cherries, plums, and apples to break dormancy successfully in the Spring.
So I suppose things are getting done in the garden today, after all. Thanks for reading, and happy growing.
Jeffrey M Pierce, MD 