• The Orchard

    Red Rome Beauties and Crimson Crisp

    August 7, 2019 /

    This years apple bounty is exciting. It’s been 2 years since we originally planted our little orchard and having any apples at all on what started as whips is utterly fascinating. This year all 6 of the apple trees flowered but between the cold snaps and weather fluctuations only 2 of the trees formed fruit. This year I thinned the fruit early (reducing the number of growing fruit in half) not sure if it paid benefits or not but there hasn’t been any shattering like we saw last year. The Rome Red Beauty has a good dozen apples that look good enough to eat. They actually fully ripen in October…

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  • The Berry Patch,  The Garden,  The Orchard

    Cherry Blossoms! and more

    May 8, 2018 /

    Spring blossoms are so rewarding! I love enjoying the outdoors but there is something especially nice in seeing plants mature and thrive. Last year we got a few apple blossoms but nothing from the Cherry Trees. This year 2 of the cherry trees have a few dozen blossoms. Wait a few years and the whole yard will be a bloom! Take a moment and stroll the yard with me.

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  • The Orchard

    Paying some attention to the Apple Trees

    May 6, 2018 /

    Its always easy to let nature takes it course but wait to long and it’ll mean assembling beds around the trees vs in advance. By my count this is the fourth set of beds for this year and the last. I wish we could leave the trees unfenced as it makes the space look so much more open. However we’re not taken any chances with the deer this year. We’ve already put up the garlic and enlarged the fences. From here on out it is simply making sure nothing grows in the mulch and mowing. Beyond taking care of the chickens and weeding the garden… Work in the field is…

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  • The Orchard

    2018 : Ginger Gold Apple

    April 3, 2018 /

    We’ve nick-named this tree “The Dancer” with its slight curves and split main branches. Makes you want to throw your arms up and dance. We saw great growth in all of the Apple Trees with the abundant sun from the souther exposure. Might do a hexagon/octagon liner for outlining the mulch and keeping any weeds from overgrowing it but all in all looking forward to simply watching our Ginger Gold grow.

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