Sunday, August 10, 2008

Planting Shade Trees To Lower The Electric Bill

I planted 2 of the 3 baby trees that I bought through the electric company. I had to promise to plant them within 15 feet of the house on the south, west or east side. I only had room on the west side so that's there they went. They should grow pretty fast. I took out some cactus and lots of weeds and made my path bigger. I need to do a little more work so that it looks nicer but I had to stop for the day because it was too hot. I have one more tree to plant, the Desert Ironwood. It is smaller than the other two and grows much slower. I don't have to plant that one close to the house (only 2 trees have to be planted within 15 feet) so I found another spot where an Ocotillo plant had died. The previous owner made a rock ring around it so all I have to do is remove the dead branches and I will already have a little showcase for my tree. Then I will need to remove more weeds and shrubs so I have a clear place to walk. It's hard to carry heavy buckets of water, avoid twisting my ankle on the rocks and watch out for rattlesnakes hiding in the brush at the same time.
This is my Desert Willow tree. I left the aloe plants around the bottom to keep the ground cool and help collect water. I still need to pull out the grass that has grown among the aloe. I wanted to plant the trees close to my other potted plants which are on the other side of the green house since I haul water to them already. I'll be hauling 3 times as much water now. These new trees are drought tolerant so I won't have to water them except in the driest months after they are established. The leaf tips of the Desert Willow were drooping after I planted it but it perked up again after I gave it two buckets of water. That's a good sign.

The Mesquite tree is supposed to be a very fast grower. I hear the foliage gets too dense if given too much water and then the wind blows them over. I doubt my tree will get too much water. This tree will shade my RV if I haven't sold the RV by then. It might take 5 years for it to grow big enough for shade.

So, 2 trees planted, one to go. Maybe I'll plant the other tonight when it cools off or if the clouds come back. I would love it if it rained. Not too much just a nice gentle rain.


Anonymous said...

Hi Daizy
Just found your blog..we are on similar journeys
Good luck with your mortgage payoff
-laura :)

Daizy said...

Thanks for stopping by! I'm glad other people share the same vision.

Why Portugal? I mean, other than it is beautiful.

Anonymous said...

we chose Portugal for several reasons,
-only 3 hours from England
-hubbie should be able to get work in leisure industry(what he does now)
-lovely people, lovely country
-300 days of sunshine, much better than the 30 in the UK (lol)
-golf! (not me, hubbie)

Daizy said...

Would that be 3 hours by boat? It looked too far to drive by car and not far enough by plane.

I never thought of Portugal for golf. I've learned something new.

Is Portugal cheaper than England, the same or more expensive?