Uncover my Peach trees. I know! I know ! I am stretching it for peaches in this cold zone but, and there is a but, I have a boiler line that keeps the ground warm over which I planted the trees. I put tubes down next to the two trees to bring the heat up much like Bernie Nikolai does in Edmonton. Then wrapped them with an insulate blanket and a tarp making sure the ground around was covered in snow to keep the roots dormant.
I put a remote thermometer in there and when it got down to -27C it was only -18C in the tent. A big concern is warming too early, we don’t get chinooks here and when the temperature rises in the spring where the cold will not affect the trees I will take the cover off all together to keep them dormant.
Here’s to foolish hopes and the fun in experimentation both failures and success.
Digging holes in the orchard to remove ginormous rocks and plant new fruit trees. I tend to spend most of the winter digging holes to remove rocks and add hugelkultur, anyway (since winter is when we get most of our water; the soil is almost impossible to dig in the summer, since it’s so dry it resembles a brick).
Being in zone 5b, not a whole lot yet. Bought the ingredients to make old fashioned grafting wax. Yesterday ordered my first cordless pruning shears, excited to being able to put them to use. Wiffletree nursery in Ontario, Canada (ship to all of Canada except BC) offers a 12 pac Wildlife package of lower grade trees, of mystery varieties but labelled stone fruit trees at a very good price so will order them in the next few days. Always enjoy the mystery and you usually get a few that grow on you that you would never have ordered.
Recipe for grafting wax.
1 lb. resin
1/2 lb. beeswax
1/4 lb. tallow
1/4 lb. lard
Melt and mix together over low heat on a double boiler. Once cooled becomes a pliable mix that softens in your hands to apply.
Well my agonizing has turn into some receipts. I seem to be getting some very large apple varieties only by part intent. Had 2 substitutions where they shipped Howgate Wonder and Belle Di Pontise from low on my alternate list. Both are whoppers.
We have Annie Elizabeth and Kimrome. We just got Reverend Wilkes, Encore plus Levering Limbertwig and Edward VII which are right under very large. Vystavochnoye arrived and it can get well over 250 grams as a sheepnose type.
Atha, Umphress and Starr are coming as well as Myer’s Royal which gets very big too.
I tried it this afternoon and it works pretty good! I haven’t found the stuff to jury-rig a drill or something up as a motor for the spinning, but my hand does just fine!
I did find out I will need two bins for underneath and one for the end if I care to catch the big stuff coming out.
Yes, I could do that! I think stopping to dump it would be more of a hassle though. I did think about leaving the spokes/ bearings(?) Not sure if that is the right term.) at one end to use later for rotating the contraption.
I will probably make one more of these with a 1/4" mesh. This is 1/2" mesh.
I forgot to post the video I looked at to make this thing! For those interested:
But what if the cap is removable and the chassis can be raised a few inches on one side with a lever? Then when nothing but large material is left, off comes the cap on one end and up goes the chassis at the other end, followed by a brief spinning until the gross material works down into the waiting barrel.
I like the function but I don’t have any quick ideas on how to actually make a cap that either fixes on easily or the durability of the hardware cloth is upheld.
As the unit is now- the ‘trommel’ is free floating. The small wheels run in the bike wheel groove. I boost up one side of the frame below higher than the other side by a few inches. Scoop in the material then spin it.
It’s the pine pitch resin, sometimes also called rosin. Available on Amazon and can be lumpy, granules or powder. The powder melts the best but any will work.
I have been working all winter… mostly on warmer days… mulching all my fruit trees and beds… 30+ fruit trees and around 15 beds.
I have all fruit trees mulched good and have around 5 beds left to finish.
I mulched with maple leaves in the fall… and then early December bought a 21 inch mower that bags. I have been mowing around the edge of my fields where there is a mix of grass and leaves on the ground.
It does not take long to fill the bag with a mix of chopped leaves and grass. I dump it out around my fruit trees and apply it to beds as well.
It stays in place good, should retain moisture well and block weeds… and eventually compost in place.
In the spring and early summer (before grass has seed heads)… I am going to add a layer of grass clippings to all.
It got down in the 20s last night… high today in the mid 30s… I may work on this more later this afternoon when it warms up some.
I like getting this type of work done before spring… that way I get to hit the river in my kayak and bring some fish home to eat.
not sure you can tell the difference. but finished it off a couple of days ago. some branch spreaders on there to adjust some things. the top needs another year before i can move it to make it grow up and fill in the gap thats there from the terrible pruning lol
I want to build a smaller chicken tractor because my current 10x8 Conestoga wagon style is just too heavy to pull over hilly or uneven ground and I have a couple birds who are too dumb to stay perched so I cat pull it behold a lawnmower. I also have a 6x8 extension for it, which in itself is kind of heavy. I want to be able to drag the new tractor between tree rows, and have an extension tunnel that can be attached and removed more easily, and can also be used to lock the birds in temporarily if I need to move the bigger house. I’m thinking of making 2 doors on the side, so I can attach the extension going perpendicular down a narrower row as needed.
Just pruned my one year old Thomcord and my young Errante Noir grapes.
Just ordered a few more metal ring tree containers.
On order this year:
Bay Laurel Nursery: Semi-dwarf Geo Pride Pluot 24"
Semi Dwarf SpiceZee Nectaplum
Semi Dwarf Flavor Punch Pluerry
RestoringEden
4 in 1 multi-grafted Pluot. (Flavor King , Flavor Queen, Flavor Supreme, Dapple Dandy)
Growing Organic
4 in 1 multi graft tree (unknown 4 of these - Fantasia, Saturn, Red Baron, Mid-Pride, and Double Delight)
What goes? A fruit cocktail 1 year old multi-graft. Bad variety choices.
7 year old weeping Santa Rosa. Does not fruit well nor does it taste good. Considering stumping it and grafting a few Japanese plums to use the developed roots.
I tend to spend most of the winter digging holes to remove rocks and add hugelkultur, anyway (since winter is when we get most of our water; the soil is almost impossible to dig in the summer, since it’s so dry it resembles a brick).
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