Many of us dabble in gardening, but few possess a comprehensive knowledge of a plant's anatomy. That's why hacks like this one, brought to us by Kevin Espiritu with Epic Gardening (@epicgardening) on TikTok, are so helpful — they help us maximize our plants' productivity by truly understanding them.
The scoop
Kevin begins the video by showing us what to look out for when discerning whether your fruit tree is going to have a bad harvest.
@epicgardening If it's your first time growing fruit trees, you might be surprised to find out that almost all fruit trees are grafted, meaning they are actually TWO fruit trees! The first is the rootstock, which is below the soil. Rootstocks can have different properties, most commonly height - dwarf, semi-dwarf, and standard. Then, you have the fruit you actually want to grow, which is grafted TO the rootstock and grows above ground. The problem happens when the rootstock starts to grow shoots ABOVE ground. These are NOT the variety you want, and you should remove them ASAP.
♬ original sound - Epic Gardening
If you look at the trunk, there's a horizontal line that is called a graft point. Most fruit trees, including citrus, have one. Above the graft point is a variety of fruit you actually want to eat. Below the graft point is the rootstock, which is a different variety that has more benefits under the ground.
"So when you see growth coming from below the graft point, you have to sacrifice it," Kevin says. "Because if you don't, they're all going to come up as a variety that you don't want to eat."
Kevin demonstrates "sacrificing" the growth below the graft point by using a pruning tool to clear it away from where it grows at the base of the tree.
How it's helping
Gardening is a great way to save money on produce, especially with hacks like these that help us to cultivate such a bounty.
Additionally, gardening can do wonders for mental and physical health. According to the Mayo Clinic, it can lighten one's mood and lower levels of stress and anxiety.
Gardening has positive environmental impacts, too, as growing your own food reduces demand for mass-produced, store-bought, and globally shipped produce. According to the United Nations, about a third of all human-caused planet-warming gas pollution is connected to food, and the largest chunk of this comes from agriculture and land use.
What everyone's saying
TikTok users took to the comment section to ask questions about and express gratitude for Kevin's hack.
"My heart hurts so much knowing that I probably will never live in one place long enough to 'actually see the fruits of my labor,'" one person commented, "but this info helps so much and makes me want to try." In response to this, Kevin suggested growing plants in containers and transporting them that way.
"I just did this to my peach tree yesterday instinctively," another TikToker said. "Glad I know why now — thanks!"
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