Tuesday, September 13, 2011

The Orchard

This is supposed to be our last hot day; then down cooler than normal and with a tantalizing promise of rain. I only get excited when I hear it hitting the awnings!

I hope I have mowed and watered the orchard/garden area for the last time. I do hope to till it before the ground freezes.

We have 8 fruit trees back there: Liberty apple, Gloria Peach, Madison Peach, Shiro plum, a Santa Rosa type plum, Stanley plum, a nectarine, and another apricot. If the weather permits, we could get a few peaches next year. I may order three more trees, dwarf this time. These are semi-dwarf. I want an Arkansas Black apple, a crabapple (they can be great pollinators), and another sour cherry tree.



and this is our winter supply of hay. It is just south of the orchard.



and this is the gate between the two area that opens into the whole 20-acre field.
We have these two areas fenced off with hot wire.



This is taken looking west to the barn with the new doors, the holding pen where the babies are and Willow who now has access to the hay storage area that has lots of grass, dried I might add, for her to graze....or she can attack the hay. We keep a stock tank of water inside the barn lot to the left of the picture.

I have plans to do some mowing around the house where the grass has been growing because of the water it gets when I water the foundation beds.

5 comments:

  1. How wonderful to have your own orchard, with such a nice variety of fruit. Your hay looks great! I always enjoy reading about your life there.

    Hope you have a really nice day today.

    FlowerLady

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  2. Love the shots around the property..thanks for sharing!

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  3. We are on the countdown now, how many more times to water or mow or weed. Every summer I am ready for fall, then every winter I can't wait for spring! Love that orchard, you have everything you need right there Glenda. I remember my Grandma saying those words, she took great pride in doing for themselves :o)

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  4. I'm also sick of watering! I lost about eight blueberry bushes last year because I didn't water enough, so this year I wasn't going to take any chances, especially with the trees!

    We bought four types of apple trees two years ago; golden, gala, crisp-something or other and arkansas black (two of each). The Arkansas Black are doing the best by a landslide. No cedar apple rust and they seem to tolerate the heat well. We lost both of the gala last year, too much damage from the cedar apple rust.

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  5. I have lost three blueberries! I am not going to replant. I don't want anything that requires constant moisture... A $45 lesson learned.

    I am happy to hear that about the Ark-Blk apples. I will place an order for next spring soon. So far cedar apple rust hasn't been an issue but fireblight sure is!

    Joycee, I have always said I was born in the wrong century. I love the self-sufficient lifestyle of the 1800 and early 1900's. Now, if I can just get a couple of pigs...

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