Yeah, all my trees are dwarf. The rocky soil and mega short season does it for me.
my trees are in ground now, and I’ll have to spray the plums and apples this week before it gets any further into budding season here. I’ve only two good apple trees, the others are small and/or stunted, earlier purchases I made before I knew where they ought to be in the property. I may try to move them this year.
Growing fruit in Alaska has a few challenges (&$#@*! moose…) but there is one blessing: I don’t need to spray anything in my apples nor cherries. Well one year there was a ant colony farming aphids on one of my trees and I had to spray water but that was it.
Two issues I do get is sawfly larva on currant-family plants and some sort of plum curculio on Saskatoons. One localized timely spray on those is all it takes.
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Heirloom: Thank you for the idea. I haven’t the patience to husband trees providing fruit that doesn’t excite me.
My abiding interest (obsession?) is enjoying apples grown near at hand. Since this project has gone on 15 years, 11 apple cvs., two plums, raspberries, black currants, saffron & yarrow (for the occasional ale without hops) is as wide & deep as I care to go in growing.
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Fair enough and it was just a thought to ponder.
Quick update on a few projects. My blueberry and blackberry bed is doing well. I added the trellis recently. The arbor was from a neighbor’s yard who said they were going to burn it because they didn’t need it. It was a beast to move although I’m just across the street. Added two simple trellis pieces where the lathe had rotted away. They were a pretty good fit without any cutting although I would have built them at a more custom size to fit the frame. All in good time, though.
Quite a few blooms on these young plants. The Osage that I bought from Lowe’s last year has grown tremendously and has lots of blooms. I added straw as a compost. I covered them with burlap on some recent freezes. I have no idea how hardy they would be but some were getting ready to bloom.
Katie’s spot is coming along. I’ve got wildflowers planted in the soil after my sons helped me clear the sod. Clearing the area, laying pavers on the sloping area, and adding a low rock wall started in February and is still in progress but nearing completion. The Adirondack chairs are diminutive in size but very comfortable. They were thrown out at a trash area and I somehow got them in my already full car.
The sprinkler at the head of the area is a motion activated water deterrent that is keeping the chickens away from my newly seeded area. It sometimes sprays when the plants sway in the wind but just for a few seconds. The added bonus is a frequent but brief watering of the seeded area. I’ve had it for at least five years and never had problems. I actually used it during some deer grazing of the trees and it was effective. The blast is sudden and forceful and I guess a bit startling. It is for me too when I’m setting it up and get into it’s path.
A few shots of my new low rock wall in the shade area. I only had a few stones left so I finished out the other side with pavers.
There is a rope swing hanging under the dawn redwood tree that I’ve had for a long time.
In this photo the wire bench is so rusted it has gone incognito. The owl statuary is from vacation in Virginia Beach. I like that the colors are somewhat muted rather than bright. This area was a project from last year.
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all the trees are in their planned places. I put in the winecap bed, and strewn morels past their prime everywhere there is wood chip. signed on for chip drop again.
one of my apple trees died and stark bros replaced it- now I have to figure out where a semi dwarf Arkansas black can fit. where is there space?
I’m still figuring out where the new greenhouse goes and where the old hoophouse will be used as a high tunnel. that’s going to take up space.
also just finished all the grafts I had. wish I had more.
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Beautiful place. Very well done.
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Update on Katie’s place. I overseeded the wildflowers to try and choke out the grass. The annuals have come into bloom and I expect the perennials to be showy next year.
I think Katie would have liked this spot.
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What scions are you lacking?
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mostly would like to try sweet and/or sour cherries, we have two cherry trees that are just flowering cherries I think. plenty of room on them. also I’m always looking for apples that are interesting- “cheese apples”, early apples, oddities. I grafted two plum this year that took, and the tree has room for more in spring
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