What is going on today 2017?

That’s terrible man, sorry to hear.

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My Frost peach looks about ready to pick and eat. That spindly tree is in a 35g pot sitting in full sun (7 am till 9pm). Hopefully it’ll do better next year and be more productive. Got hit with bad PLC (over 90%) early in the year but the hot dry weather since early June has really helped it bounce back.

These Frost peach still need a bit more time but the tree is partly shaded by my big greenhouse.

Nectarines on the same combo tree also needs a bit more time. Hopefully my anti-pest controls will keep these babies safe a few more days.

Fuyu persimmon in my gh still months from harvest but already a decent size.

Anthony

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Everyone always asks me what I do with so many trees and fruit. Here is the answer. I made 5 boxes identical to this one and delivered them to friends during my lunch break today. It contains Kikusui Asian Pears, Rome Beauty Apples, Concord Grapes, Celeste Figs (small ones), and Chicago Hardy Figs. Its just enough for them to get a taste of everything coming in this time of year. I usually deliver peach/nectarine/plum boxes in the spring but late frost killed all those this year. I enjoy giving them away and hearing people’s reactions to fresh fruit. Around here almost no one has ever tasted a fresh fig, so its especially fun hearing people rave about them!

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Kevin,
That is very generous of you. Your fruit looked perfect. Hope your colleagues realize how lucky they are.

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You are a good guy.

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Picked the Shiro plums today

Odd how the netting seems to have kept the squirrels at bay, when last year they got the entire crop in one night

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Squirrels do not work at night. Are you sure the damage wasn’t done by raccoons or other nocturnal animals?

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was just there two weeks back myself for second time. the “behind the falls” tunnel tour is a must.

when i got back from vacation, picked my first ever “red” apples (Williams Pride). In Alabama, i never get truly red apples due to the humidity into fall…even my red delicious are pink…lol

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Boy are you a nice friend!:heart:

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You know you have friends here too right? :wink:

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Squirrels work earlier in the morning than I call day

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You are a very generous person Kevin. We need more people like you. Hopefully one day ill have enough fruit to spread the wealth like you.

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@Drew51, you made me laugh out loud with that one! I wish I could give fruit to everyone here who needs some this year!

And while I appreciate the compliments about my generosity from the rest of you, I must confess that its as much fun for me to give the fruit boxes away as it is for those who get them. For one, it gives me a chance to “show off” what I’ve grown. Two, if I didn’t give it away, much of it would just go to waste and I could never tolerate that! Three, I’m a big believer in Karma/ what goes around comes around. The next time I need a favor its a lot easier to get help from someone you’ve given a box of fruit to. I guess I’m making myself sound a lot less philanthropic and pure of heart, but it didn’t feel right having you all think I was a saint for giving away my harvest.

Looking at my fruit boxes, one thing I must confess to is a bit of pride. But more importantly, I hope I can convince some other new fruit grower just getting started that if I can do it, you can do it. Just 5 short years ago I started planting fruit trees on my new place in the country. As some of you may remember from back on the other fruit growing site (now Houzz), no one knew less than I did-no one. I honestly thought I could plant apple seeds from my favorite apples and I’d be picking the same kind of apples a few years later- didn’t even know what a graft was! I could go on and on. I had no idea what a “zone” even was, let alone which one I was in. I never knew any fruit had to be sprayed…thought you just planted a tree and waited a few years for the fruit. The point is, to all new growers, no one knew less than me. Fast forward 5 years to now. To be clear, I’m absolutely not an expert at all…not even close. I’ll NEVER have the knowledge of @scottfsmith, @fruitnut, @Olpea, @jujubemulberry, @alan, or countless others on here (I left off a LOT of knowledgable experts). However, with the help of everyone here on GF I have managed to learn the basic information that I need to grow some pretty darn good fruit! I’ve learned from the aforementioned experts, but also from folks here just like me who have learned a thing or two that they’ve passed on to me when I ask questions. In short, this site is a community that works together and helps everyone at every level to learn and grow better fruit. So if you’re new and you often feel like the more you read the less you know and the more confused you become- don’t worry! If you feel like you’ll never know half of what others here do, then you may be right, but also know that you may not have to in order to get some good fruit. I’m still on the very low end of knowledge and understanding of fruit growing, yet I’ve produced plums, peaches, cherries, apples, persimmons, pears, figs, berries of every kind, pluots, nectarines, and more that almost anyone would be proud of. I’ve had countless failures and made mistakes so dumb you wouldn’t believe it- but I’ve still managed to learn enough to grow some darn good fruit. SO new growers, take heart. No one started lower on the scale of understanding than I did. Its good that fruit trees take a few years to bear, because I’ve learned most of what I know AFTER I got some trees in the ground. You can to. So to anyone who feels overwhelmed or lost at times, I’ve been there and I’m still there in many areas. But I’ve also reached a point where I have lots of wonderful fruit to eat and give away from early spring until late fall. And it’s been worth it! The satisfaction I feel from giving away those boxes of fruit and the enjoyment I get from stepping out my door and picking the best fruit I’ve ever tasted…it all confirms that fruit growing is the best hobby I’ve ever known and I encourage anyone with even a small bit of space to try it. Its often frustrating and heartbreaking, but the pride and satisfaction and the good fruit you get make it worth the difficulties. Long live Fruit Growing!

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well said! i believe heathy fruits can be part of a better heathy lifestyle because of the great nutrients and other beneficial organic chemicals that are found in fruit to help battle so many diseases . the chinese and japanese have really reaped the benefits and know how important certain fruits, vegetables and mushrooms are to health and longevity. we need to educate as many new growers of the benefits of growing fruit. people like you inspire others to get into the hobby and strive to produce the quality and variety of fruit you have shared. like you said, not many have eaten fresh figs. just tasting one may imprint its taste on the consumer and make that person strive to grow his own figs. you remind me of my father who used to have all the neighbors kids helping him in his garden and yard. he would reward them with fresh fruit and veg. to bring home. the kids would constantly ask him if the apples were ready! he even had a small garden near the road so the kids could come get peas when he wasn’t home. many of these kids that are now adults , have gardens and fruits tress all over their yards! i see these people now and they proudly talk about their gardens and tell me they were glad to have my father spark their interests in growing things. keep up the good work Kevin! your making our world a better place.

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it is a futile endeavor @thecityman, your modesty and self-depreciation have no effect–whatsoever-- on the fact that we are all peers/equals here.

besides, it is so much safer to regard any knowledge which might be posted here as nothing more than points to consider, and not necessarily gospel truth.

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Did a lot of tree trimming around the farm with the Sawzall today. Cut off a lot of limbs from black walnuts that were drooping over various areas. Those trees grow like weeds around here. Also cut off some sycamore limbs that were hanging way too low over the barn driveway.

Cleared off the area around the chicken coop of easy to pull but fast growing weeds. Got started clearing out some cane like weed, that can turn into a pretty substantial almost tree like plant before we had to stop for the evening.

We seem to have pokeweed growing pretty prolifically around the farm. It has pink hollow stalks and stems, and the berries are black. They look almost like a black currant, but they’re not. From what I’ve read, they’re not edible, and toxic. Pretty looking, but not to be eaten. Got to get rid of that stuff…

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I enjoy it too, I got about 120 to 150 Arctic Glo nectarines off my tree. I should have thinned more, they were small, anyway I gave my wife 30 this morning (to hand out at work) and in 5 minutes of being there they were all gone. My wife said that the medical staff was eating them during the morning huddle with lots of juice running down chins and slurping. No matter how many I grow, the hospital emergency staff can down them in minutes!
Last year i gave my mailman some, he said he never ate a nectarine! Never made a comment about them, and so he’s not getting any this year. I gave my neighbors some on every side of me, and I still have a fridge full. I have another nectarine tree not ripe and 2 peach trees, and plum trees loaded too. I have enough trees, glad I didn’t add more. Also Arctic Glo just so rocks it, I wish all the fruit was even close to how good that one is. A few are, and any that are not will get top worked eventually.

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Spent a lovely sunny morning cutting flowers for the market on Saturday. The sunflowers are finally ready, all are in the cooler now and I am off to flip hay. Have a great day everyone.

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Wow, awesome flowers, love it!

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Horrible weed - hard to get rid of

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