My Mom’s Cactus is Out of Control

Exploring agriculture as a form of art

The love my mom has for nature knows no bounds.

As someone who grew up in a village with her family being farmers, she was introduced to the miracles of plants early on.

Her father would take her to their peach gardens almost every day. These peaches were their primary source of income.

In orchards of peaches, my mom would run and play as her father would work in the sun’s warm cascade.

He taught my mom everything about agriculture, waking her up at 5 AM every weekend to learn at the peach gardens.

Agriculture as a Sacred Form of Art

My mom learned early on how agriculture is a divine art form rather than just a business.

She understood that trees, much like humans, provide more when they are nurtured and reciprocate with abundance when provided with the care they require.

The process of planting, building the watering system, growing, trimming, and harvesting needs to be done in a particular way for different fruits and vegetables.

It’s important to note that mom studied Business in college and was a manager at many different companies but soon found her way back to nature.

The Art of Kiwi

My mom built many kiwi gardens, starting from turning her father’s peach gardens into kiwi gardens.

Later, she bought additional lands to grow her kiwi business as it made some profit.

Each garden takes an extremely long time to build and even longer to pay for its own investment and nonstop expenses. Some of her gardens are around 8 to 10 football fields, and she has built multiple.

My mom drives and walks around these kiwi gardens, working every single day for over 15 years. Some weeks, she has workers helping her; other weeks, she has no one but herself.

Growing These Trees

There are challenging steps such as choosing an appropriate location for the trees and considering factors like soil quality, drainage, sunlight, and climate.

Soil preparation is one of the first steps. I’ve always heard my mom talking a lot about pH levels to create an ideal growing environment.

And throughout the months and years, keeping the pH levels and minerals in the soil balanced is vital.

Then, each tree sapling requires planting at the appropriate depth and spacing. It takes years of extreme care before the trees yield fruits.

Regularly pruning trees to promote healthy growth, shape the tree, and improve fruit production is crucial. I’ve heard that even a slight mistake in pruning can lead to the decline of these trees and reduction in product quality.

Some of these wrong moves at the pruning step will even be irreversible and hurt the entire business for years.

Fertilization is another step to provide the necessary nutrients to support growth and fruit development, but it’s essential to balance this step and use the correct fertilizer for each tree.

I also hear my mom talk a lot about irrigation, which ensures a consistent and adequate water supply, especially during dry periods. It’s crucial to prevent drought stress.

Recently, we went on a trip and my mom would call her workers to make sure they turn on the water for an extended period due to the dry weather.

So, my mom’s morning, afternoon, and evening routine includes checking the weather.

When we were back, she immediately noticed that some parts of the gardens didn’t get enough water. Now she’s working day and night to ensure the trees don’t dry out.

They also tend to take care of pests and diseases to ensure healthy fruits.

Thinning is another important step that my mom taught me, which is removing excess fruit from the tree to promote larger and healthier fruits.

Harvesting is an exhausting part of agriculture. Picking ripe fruits when they are at their peak flavor and quality is vital.

There is also sorting and grading based on size, color, and quality. This is for market distribution.

I know bigger fruits go for higher price while smaller fruits go for much less. Each buyer approach you with their own budget and needs.

Packaging is another vital step, but the boxes are costly and intended for one-time use only.

Transportation is mind-blowing as large trucks come in to transport the fruit. Most years, my mom gets more than 300 tons of kiwis and tens of trucks go in and out every day.

I sometimes can’t believe how my mom organizes every single detail of the entire process, talking to each worker and driver to ensure the best possible outcome. Not to mention, she’s a perfectionist.

Next is storage. Storing fruits in controlled environments not only extends their self life and maintains freshness but also necessary before the farmer can sell their products.

Moreover, there’s an option to put the fruits to freezers, which is a costly step if chosen, but later, when the fruit is out of season, your products in the freezer will go for higher prices.

And lastly, distributing fruits to retailers, wholesalers, or local marketers is the most crucial part. It requires a large network of people and years of self-marketing, much like artists at the beginning of their careers who need to build their networks.

My Mom’s Magical Touch

Nature rhythmically dances and sways in my mom’s presence.

That’s why my mom’s cactus is out of control, as are many of her other plants.

In an unconventional way, they grow bigger and bigger with no fertilizer but just her unconditional love.

I see her talking to plants and saying positive affirmations. And she did that long before it became popular and everyone was talking about it.

Plants thrive under her care while they struggle with me.

She loves nature, and nature loves her back.

Whenever I drive around with my mom, wherever we are, she plays a game of naming all the trees, flowers, bushes, and plants she sees on the side of the road or up on the hills.

Whether we’re in the US, Turkey, or Europe, she knows all the plants, their characteristics, and what they need to thrive.

My mother is a part of mother nature, and not in the way we all are.

She has a unique connection to nature and vast knowledge that fascinate me.

Learning From Her

As a kid I didn’t have any interest in plants.

You know how you tend to do the opposite of what your parents do because you’re a rebel? That was me. I’d do the exact opposite of my mom.

Now in my 20s, I started to appreciate my mom’s love and knowledge of nature.

I still kill every plant I get even though I try my absolute best to take care of them. I ask my mom what to do and do exactly as she says, yet they always die on me.

I’m my mom’s daughter, yet I can’t even take care of a succulent. How can a cactus die? I swear didn’t water it more than necessary!

I’m starting to think either me or my current house is toxic for plants…

In a world where nature rhythmically dances and sways in my mom’s presence, I meditate under a tree, hoping I can become like her one day.