Upper Orchard notes

The tree in the picture is an apple tree that was originally grafted to a very early apple. Then two water-sprouts were grafted to Melrose. The grafts are about 8' above the ground. Then the tree was given zero attention for more than a decade.

A couple of years ago the orchard came under my care and I mentally marked this tree for culling. The reason that I dislike very early apples is that it seems like there is a three-day picking window. If you miss that window, they fall to the ground and make a mess. They are also magnets for stinging insects. Finally, they just don't taste all that good.

While reviewing it mid-fall 2024 I noted the branches of Melrose apples in the dense thicket of branches. I picked the apples and marked the two branches by tying face-masks to them. Hey, I was working with what was in the truck and it seemed like a good use for them.

Pruning out the branches of the early apple left two, gangly whips that were much too tall. I made the executive decision to leave them as they were because I needed to leave some wood to leaf-out to support the metabolic needs of the trunk and roots. My hope was that more shoots would sprout lower on the gangly whips and I could start taking some height out of the tree.

The branch on the east side of the tree surprised me with a bumper crop of apples. Maybe it is saying "Thanks!"

Hunting blind update

The sheet-metal went up without a hitch. Potential issues were identified ahead of time and I put plans into place to remediate them. Working alone can be a challenge when you have to handle sharp and awkward items like 8'-by-3' sheet steel panels.

One of the features I added is that I capped the header with a 6", 5/4" decking plank with rounded edges and I tilted  the outer edge of the header a quarter inch downward so any rain that falls on it will run OUT of the blind. It is also closer to parallel with how the firearms or crossbows will be tipped when shooting.

Now I have two more sides to complete.

Palmer amaranth and water-hemp

PA and WH are similar species of amaranth that are weedy. I imported them when I purchased bags of "composted" cow manure.

Many species of amaranth have edible greens. These two species are nominally edible but the tips become fiberous quickly. In the wild, they are often contaminated with pesticides and during dry-spells can have issues with nitrate accumulation (the cause of Blue Baby syndrome) and possibly hydrogen cyanide.

I spent part of yesterday walking the orchard and grubbing out the PA and WH plants I saw.

Shift in orchard priorities

The priorities shift with the season.

Obviously, harvesting fruit is the major priority but there are also other tasks. 

One task is to identify the varieties of the trees. The two trees in the west row immediately north of the newly grafted Enterprise might be Spigold or Sweet Sixteen. They are late, large, crunchy and already sweet. They also appear to have corky-spot. Corky-spot is a fruit quality issue where the tree cannot deliver enough calcium to the fruit. The fix is to spray the trees with multiple sprays of calcium-rich solution.

"Why not just add calcium (limestone) to the soil?" you ask. Because Corky-spot is often a transport issue. For some reason, the stems cannot or will not ship the calcium to the developing fruit.

In the third row, counting from the west, the two northernmost mature trees appear to be Jonafree.

Another task involves armoring the baby trees against mice/voles eating the bark. That involves removing all of the deer and rabbit guard fencing and wrapping several wraps of paper or metal window-screen around the trunks before re-installing the rabbit and deer protection. I expect that to take 15 minutes a tree so that will absorb a lot of time.

Branches and brush still need to be cleared out to facilitate mowing. 

Mowing

I removed one of the blades from the mower at the Upper Orchard site and sharpened it. When I returned to reinstall it, the adaptor that is supposed to be on the end of the spindle was gone. That is baffling because I immediately replaced the bolt and washer after pulling the blade.

While searching the internet for a replacement I learned that the blade is supposed to be 20" instead of 18", so the mower has the wrong blade, too. Used equipment is full of surprises. The right answer is to get the proper adaptor and blade which will work if the spindle is still original. 

Ground blinds

I also put up a ground-blind on the edge of a grassy, goldenrod filled field. I was disappointed with the size of the stakes that came with the product so I need to purchase some real tent-stakes.

You can see the traces of the deer trails in the upper, right corner of the image.

The distance between the blind (the green diamond) and the extreme, upper-left corner of the image is about 40 yards.

Charlie Kirk

A brave man. He knew there were grave risks and he answered the call of what he saw as his mission anyway.

The 72 hour rule is in effect.

I find that the best way for me to deal with stress is to throw myself into something productive. Fight, flight or work. And of the three, I prefer work.