The fall of the twins and the rise of an edible garden.

[Sporky]

Today saw the fall of the twin deciduous trees in our backyard.

It now means I don't have a shadowing tree in the back yard and more room for growing things (or at least that's the idea!)

I'm hoping for some gardening advice, at the moment I have a small veggie patch in the back right corner. I have planted beetroot, carrot, pea and an unknown (cause what the hell!) on the 1st June. I haven't seen the seedlings yet but it's too early.

I also have a lemon tree that is dying (it's what I do apparently) so I was hoping someone could tell me why the leaves have started to yellow at the top. I've lost 2 leaves so far. Since getting the tree, I have replanted it, added mushroom compost (on the advice of the gardening guru at the community garden) , and added a small amount of slow release fertilizer (when it was replanted). That's the extent of my lemon tree knowledge.

I will add photos once I figure out how lol

[Sporky]

Hi guys, I feel I need to point out that the black stuff on the leaves is the soil from the potting mix. I picked up the two leaves from the base of the tree and held them against the yellowest leaf on the tree. I am planning on making up some white oil (recipe courtesy of gardening Australia) but I want to make sure I'm treating the right thing. It was clear the eco oil was not working .... I guess? I have checked each leaf and can't find anything black that resembles sooty mould pictures I have found but then again, I'm no expert!! Is it possible I'm not watering it enough? Or perhaps too much? Or is it definitely sooty mould?

[greygardener]

Oh sorry @Sporky. I should have read your post more carefully. I was mainly going off your picture. I can see now it is the potting mix on the leaf! That's good you don't have sooty mould. 

Losing a couple of leaves is not a big problem. If you keep on losing them though it could be due to a number of different reasons.

First thing to check is the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot. Make sure they are not blocked as drainage crucial for lemon trees. And you shouldn't be watering much (if at all) at this time of year. 

Another culprit could be wind. Is it in a very exposed position? It will be happier if it has a bit of shelter from strong wind.

And have you been feeding it? Make sure you don't feed it too much, especially at this time of year and nothing too strong. If you use something designed for trees planted in the ground, such as granules, then the tree can become stressed and drop its leaves. 

Good luck.

[Sporky]

Oh great!! I won't mix up some white oil yet. I will get my husband to help me check the drainage holes. I assume it will be obvious if they are blocked - if they are, do I just poke it with a stick?

I will stop watering it, as that's probably not helped. It is sitting beside the house, but along a wall. I will move it to a more sheltered position but it means it will be in full shade.... I don't think that's ideal either...

I have not been feeding however I did put some granule fertilizer in the putting mix when it was repotted as that was the advice I was given. Perhaps it's sent the tree into shock? Perhaps I should have been given a different fertilizer?