That might be an arguable point in that my knowledge base might be lower. When you guys talk about Joe and Jill Public buying trees at the local WalMart thinking “oh, lets grow some peaches, pears, plums!” —That’s me!! At least it was two years ago. And then I had a bit of a problem and found this forum and now daily I continue learning how much I don’t know! That said I can take a bag of black berries, ground cherries, muscadines, or even just a few jujubes to work and maybe show them a picture of my grafts that are growing and I become knowledgeable in their eyes. So sometimes I feel that I am being productive. But at the same time I come home and look at a tree and just feel so frustrated because I wonder if this a disease process I’m looking at, or HOW am I going to prune this, or when am I supposed to pick this fruit, or what tree do I need to pollinate, etc. But I have a resource here and to you that have all this knowledge I say Thank You for sharing. I have even caught myself at work saying “I have this friend that grows…” and it’s one of you forum members of whom I am speaking.
you grow good for zone 2!
I put in four grape vines this spring at the end of the apple rows. I have always heard the rhyme 1st year they sleep, second year they creep, and third year they leap. My vines are doing all three this year. I am training them, in my head, to the first and third wire and running cordons up to the next wire for the grapes. By putting them on the end of the trellis, I am hoping to essentially be able to cage them with netting in am attractive or at least not hideous way.
Cayuga, sleeps
Noble and Niagra creeps
Catawba, holy f@&*
Nicely-shaped pear tree!
My first peach harvest ever, Loring, some late Legacy blueberries and the last Breba on my Flatbush White
YUM!!! Beautiful!
FINE-looking peaches!
Hey Steve. I don’t want to get all sappy here, but your post really touched me in a lot of ways. First, I LOVED hearing the story about what your dad used to do in terms of giving away produce AND getting future generations into the hobby. I often lay my watermelons and other produce I have an abundance of, so I can certainly relate to his thoughts and motives and reasons for doing that. I can absolutely 100% envision me following in your dads footprints by getting young kids to help out and therefore be involved and hopefully fall in love with growing fruits and veggies. The picture you drew really took me back to a simpler time (I’m only 46 so I don’t mean in my own life, but just picturing what it was like back then for your dad). One of the many things I love since moving into the country is just how life is slower here and really seems like what I imagine life used to be like for a lot more people. There is also a level of trust and closeness with neighbors that I didn’t see in the cities. You mentioned how your father would -by design- make his pea patch available for neighbors to stop and pick when he wasn’t home. I do exactly the same thing with my tomatoes…I plant two very long rows that are honestly less than 4 feet from the edge of payment, and I’ve told everyone I know and even several “passers by” that I don’t know that they are welcomed and encouraged to stop and get some tomatoes any time they want to…and LOTS of people do. Those “community tomatoes” have been a bigger success than other free things I’ve done. I see someone stop there almost every day, and they just pick a very small number of them to take home and eat fresh. When I’ve put watermelons out someone often will get them all- I once had a guy get about 25 watermelons!!! ANYWAY, my point here is just to tell you how much I appreciated your e-mail and how much I could relate to- and agree with- everything you said. Like you, I really do hope we can inspire more people to enter the hobby. This website has without a doubt done a lot to advance the hobby and the number of people enjoying it. Thanks again for your response to my OP.
I’m Blueberry picking at Brady’s backyard,front yard,side yard and rooftop orchard.Someone once said,a person can never have enough Blueberries.That guy can have some of my plants. Brady
Excellent! Gratifying isn’t. So pretty you will want it to last forever!
I think I said Raspberries.
im glad my comment brought back good memories. I’m the same age as you. dad used to sell stuff on the side of the road for dirt cheap. when he had extra he would put out a free sign. even then most would still leave ’ donations’. always had a greedy person occasionally but most were honest. my kids often come to help me in my garden. they say I’m just like their grandfather. quite the compliment but I’m only half as good as he was. keep passing it on. its good for the soul and inspires others. 
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After a short vacation to Washington State, I came home and found some of the apricots, 1 nectarine & 1 peach on the ground so I started picking some of my tree ripened Hardired?? nectarines and Puget Gold apricots. The nectarines are among the best I’ve ever eaten and make me want to go out tomorrow and buy another nect. tree to add to my urban orchard (already have 7 or 8).
Anthony
Picked a couple pounds of new fingerlings for potato salad
I’m getting about a pound per seed now, but they aren’t totally died back so they have a lot of those pea-sized thing that might have grown into real tubers
I’m hoping the yield on the later vines will be more
I have some fingerlings growing too, I have yet to harvest. I’m growing a cross with Yukon Gold also, and those look ready, but I’m not. I harvested 42 ears of corn today and tomatoes, raspberries, I have to go shopping and cut the grass and I need a nap already! Busy day!
Having a birthday party for my 2 year old son today. His absolute favorite things are tractors and heavy equipment. Appears to be a young farmer in the making.
My creative neice decided she wanted to make his birthday cake. She came up with this and I think it turned out phenomenal! My boy is going to love it. Looks so nice I think we will all be sad to cut into it. But hey, it is cake 
Notice how the excavator is digging into the actual chocolate cake! And she actually added some cow pies. Haha
Wow that is amazing!
What a talented niece you have!!!
Sign her to a contract 
. There are many more years that your son would love to see and eat her creative cakes.
Wish your son a very Happy Birthday.