Dead electric fence

I neglected to mention that our electric fence isn't happy.  Apparently, you really can't use T-post clamps on U-posts.  

Thankfully Wifey has ordered U-post clamps a few days ago when we first noticed that some of the clamps were cracking.

Lot of Elderberry flowers

Wifey and I took a bit of a walk through the orchard as the light was fading.  Because the high for the day was about 75 F, it was a pleasant evening for that.  Although I only took two pictures, four of our elderberry plants have a considerable number of flowers on them.  We should end up with quite a few berries if we can keep them from the birds!

Raspberries!

Wifey and I took a bit of a walk this evening after we put the kids to bed to see how the raspberries were doing.  I'm pleased to say that we got a pretty decent haul.

Elderberry flowers and raspberries

Wifey and I took a walk through the orchard this evening to check progress.  We are continually amazed by all the clusters of small elderberry flowers.

We were thrilled to be able to harvest a small handful of raspberries.

We have raspberries and elderberry flowers!

Wifey and I took a walk out to the orchard a little bit ago to see how things are there.  We were thrilled to see that we have some raspberries!  They were quite tasty.

We also are quite pleased to see that we are getting a variety of clusters of elderberry flowers about to bloom.  Here is our first cluster that has actually opened up.  We stand very good odds of getting a good number of elderberries this year assuming the birds don't get all of them.

Lastly, I was quite pleased to see this ladybug on one of the elderberries.  Considering they're a beneficial insect for a yard, it always makes me happy to see them on the property.

Stiffening the kiwi t-frames

When I planted the kiwis I sunk some 6'x6' posts then mounted 2'x4' crossbars on either side at the top to support the vines once they get long enough.  Ever since then I meant to stiffen the crossbar  with other pieces to join the two sides together. 

Today I finished one of the t-frames. One more to go.

Transplanted Oregano

While I was working on the raspberry lines yesterday afternoon Wifey worked on putting a wood chip border around a few of the apple trees and transplanting the bulk of an overgrown oregano plant from the front bed.  We decided that since deer supposedly don't like strong smells (including oregano) that we'd transplant most of the plant to part of the orchard as a bit of a deterrent.  Perhaps the flowers (once it flowers) might attract pollinators as well?

 

It's hard to tell from the picture, but this plant is about 2' x 2'.

Bumblebee on raspberry

Wifey got this picture of a bumblebee pollinating raspberry flowers today.  It's a great one, I think.

Baby raspberry canes are coming up

I don't know if it's the warmer weather, bouts of rain every few days, or the lack of weeds in the area (or a combination?) but we're seeing a number of new raspberry canes coming up.

Working on the middle tier of raspberry lines

This afternoon I worked in the orchard to add support lines in what will eventually be the middle of three tiers.  I got three of these lengths completed.  One more segment will complete the middle tier.

Kiwi continues to survive

I've been trying to grow "Hardy Kiwi" for a few years now.  I think that that name is more than a bit of a misnomer as I've had a heck of a hard time keeping them alive.  Below are pictures of a 2+ yr old vine that has survived despite all odds.  I also have two other vines that are one year old that are barely hanging on.  The hope is that they will eventually bear fruit.  At this point it's just interesting to see if I can keep them alive.

Mulberries continue to thrive

Our mulberries continue to do quite well.  As I read prior to planting them, they're growing quite well.

Persimmon is sprouting

While we were working around the asian persimmon tree to clean up its root area, we got a few pictures of it as well.  It is always a bit behind everything else so there doesn't appear to be a lot of new growth yet.  At least it's leafing out.

Cleaning up the raspberries

Wifey and I have spent a lot of time digging out the areas around the base of the raspberry plants to create a channel for them to grow on.  We've also added wood chips to deter weed propagation somewhat.  I'm slowly crimping wire ferrules to cable to help keep the canes from leaning too far one direction or another.  Would really be helpful if I bought the correct tool for the job.

While digging the weeds out, we transplanted a number of canes that had spread to the sides to go down the middle of the channel.  To my delight, we haven't lost a single transplanted cane and even have some new sprouts such as the one shown below.

Peach tree growth

Our peach trees seem to have handled the winter pruning pretty well.  It's great to see that we have a lot of baby peaches on the larger of the two trees.

Blueberry blossoms

While on a walk with Wifey yesterday she took a few pictures showing blueberry growth.  She also got some nice pictures of the flowers on a variety of the shrubs.

Apple blossoms

Wifey and I took an evening walk through the orchard to see how the various plants are developing.  We were quite happy to see that the apple trees haven't been impacted severely from our first effort at pruning this past winter.

 

 

Planning for permanent agriculture just got complicated

Last week Wifey and I had a productive date day where we came home with 2 almond trees, 2 hazelnut starters, and 2 purple raspberry starters in addition to the chicken coop we went out for.

This weekend my mother-in-law visited and also told me that she'd purchased some plants for me for my birthday.  While it's a great gift that will, hopefully, keep on giving it is also poses an interesting problem from a planning standpoint.

She gave me the following:

• 2 elderberry starters
• 2 hazelnut starters
• 2 shagbark hickory starters
• 3 hardy pecan starters

Wifey also got me 2 almond starters for my birthday.

Wifey and I took a bit of a walkabout this afternoon to try to figure out where we're going to plant everything.  We've pretty well sorted out locations for about half of everything.

• Two almond trees will flank the driveway by the street.  They will hopefully not provide too much shade to the garden.
• The other two almond trees will flank the silver maple in the front.
• I need to drop a few trees in the woods in the back to provide some added light and space.  That will be the new home for the shagbark hickories.  Conveniently, I discovered another pignut hickory nearby to where one of those trees will be located.
• I need to drop what Wifey thinks is a cherry tree to make some room for one of the pecans.  That will allow us to plant on what I refer to as "the peninsula" which is a spit of land extending into the gorge on the way to the orchard.  The cherry needs to go, anyway, as it is dying and has a nasty lean anyway.  

A second peach tree is in the orchard

This afternoon Wifey and I had a thought that we needed to add another peach tree to the orchard.  After a short trip to the plant nursery, we came home with another peach tree, some mulch and some plant compost to add to the hole.  Add in 45 minutes of digging and we have ourselves another tree near to the first peach tree.

Peach is in

We bought a Loring peach tree this past weekend to add to the orchard.  Unfortunately, it's a dwarf variety but at least it's something we can depend on.  We have a sneaking suspicion that the dwarf variety we have in the front yard is some oddball type that won't ever actually produce normal peaches.  We'll most likely get another peach tree to plant nearby later on.