Our spring ...and now fall projects :-)

These are exciting for me.
We are finally putting up our big high tunnel.
And are putting the big drip system back in the field where we are going to grow trees.
There will be 54 50’ rows on each side of the center line, with emiters every two feet.
We will be planting about 1500 apple rootstocks, 50 plum, some pear, a few peach, and 100 persimmon, not to mention my young trees on dwarf roots that I grafted last year, and the cherry bushes from Honeyberry USA that we are going to put there for a year. (Still prepping their permanent location)

Copenhaven is behind in digging stock, because of the snow, so it may be march before we get the last of our rootstocks.

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This is that field now, from about the same location. The weeds have been pulled in the rows, but we need to mow or string trim the outer areas.
The back right corner is just a jungle of lambquarter and other monster weeds.

This is a picture of the three rows of bush cherries that are going to be a long hedge on one property line. The tall ones on the left are Carmine Jewel, the shorter in the foreground are Romeo, and the taller ones on the back right are Juliet.

This is a few Prok Persimmon grafts.


A happy Hachiya persimmon graft.

And a couple Giombo persimmon grafts.

I only did about 20 + persimmon grafts this year, because we had watering issues on the trees, and it looked like many of them might not make it. In June I decided some were going good enough to try grafting, but then I was unfamiliar with persimmon scion wood, and wasn’t sure atbthat late date what was viable. Only about half of what I grafted grew, and with a fair number of those that didn’t, I lost the rootstock too. I’m glad I waited on most, as next year they will be ready to go at the right time.

Here is a Pink Princess with a few apples on it.

Another thing that slowed me down this spring was starting a 40 week project almost 17 weeks ago. January is a great time for a new addition, but I still lacked a bit of energy this spring.

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Jolene,
Those trees, persimmon and bush cherry, seem to be planted rather close to one another. Are those trees in nursery rows?

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Yes, that is the nursery. When we plant out the cherries we do want a solid hedge, but we are planning on 6 feet apart. The cherries are a foot apart in the nursery. The Romeo and Juliet plants were tiny, just a few inches tall. They seem to handle the summer heat alright, and have grown a lot.
We have a neighbor with a lot of acreage. I’m thinking about planting the persimmons over there…at least some of them. Maybe once I get them all grafted, I can sell some to recover the cost of rootstock.
And a lot of the apples are going to go into our commercially sized and styled orchard at another neighbor’s place about 1/2 mile away.

One thing at a time. Lol

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You have great neighbors!!
Tony

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Jolene,
I do not know how you and your family have done but your garden and orchard are just amazing. Hats off to you.

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Both neighbors would like ag status. And both neighbors are older, and dont want to have ta do it all themselves. I agree, they are great neighbors, but it would be mutually bennificial.

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Thank you for the kind words!

If I took a picture of the huge thistle going to seed by the Arkansas Black, or the area the sheep grazed that hasnt been mowed yet, or a dozen other places around here, it would give a different impression.

Our place is a work in progress, and one area and project at a time we are getting there.

The hardest thing about summer is these guys are working full time. Makes projects around here harder to get to.

We have had the valves for the irrigation system for years, still need to put it in the stone fruit orchard, and yard, and pasture where the nut trees are.

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let us know how the pink princess tastes

still wondering if i should choose that over the pink pearl for a red fleshed variety

I got a couple this year on one year old dwarf trees, but they never really finished ripening. I should know more next year, as I should get some pink pearl, and pink princess, and we are planning to spray for coddling moth…our no 1 pest.

interesting thanks for the reply, i think i will go with pink pearl

nice to meet another zone 7’er :slight_smile:

How did these end up doing for you, Jolene? Did you get a chance to taste them? Thanks

They didn’t really get pink fleshed, or ripe, but it’s a very young tree that was transplanted the past winter. Even the Arlie’s Red Flesh didn’t get very much flesh color this year. I think our peaches stole all the color. Lol they were super red!

I’ll certainly share my opinion of the red flesh apples, once they have a real chance to do something.

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In the last couple of weeks we have worked on removing the protective cages around our trees.

Now that we have electro-net fencing to control the sheep, they are not needed, and with the trees getting larger, it will be easier to do the trimming this year without them.

Here is a picture showing a caged tree.

And here is a view through the orchard this morning.

The turkeys are another fall project lol, and they are part of why the grass is gone.

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