IMG_6670_ed_lMy two citrus trees, a Mandarin orange and a Meyer lemon, could not stay forever in the half-wine-barrel pots. This year it became clear that it was time to replant them. The orange, in particular, was looking very weak. So, yesterday, after digging a couple of holes in my front yard, a friend came by and we moved them both.

IMG_6671_ed_lIt was an improvised process, but we figured out how to make it work without hurting either the trees or ourselves. Those ancient technologies of the wheel (in this case a wheel barrow) and the inclined plane (a 2×12 plank) came in very handy. Upon discovering that the bottoms of the pots had rotted out, we slid the trees down the plank off my deck, then tilted the barrels on their sides and pulled the trees out. IMG_6674_ed_lTilting the trees back upright onto the plank, we lifted them to the wheelbarrow then slid them off the plank. After wheeling them to the front yard, they slid neatly out of the wheelbarrow into their respective holes. Mission accomplished!

IMG_6675_ed_lTransplanting these two trees marks a watershed moment in my gardening. Up to now, my back yard has been for food production and my front yard a drought-tolerant ornamental garden. For the first time, I have planted a food crop in my front yard. The primary effect of this is that I will now have to begin doing some irrigating in my front yard. With these trees making a beachhead for food crops, I have to wonder: Will I soon be growing other food crops in my front yard?IMG_6676_ed_lIMG_6677_ed_lIMG_6679_ed_l