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| FARMER DAVE! Note the apple tree beside him, our protected fig on top of the wall, and the rain barrels! Why am I not in this American Gothic? I told him from the beginning, the yard was HIS domain!! |
With projects INSIDE at a standstill, (the kitchen remodel
is undergoing a 3rd or 4th or maybe 10th redesign!),
Dave decided during the coldest months of the year to work on the outside. He wanted to plant fruit trees and then
decided to put in a rain barrel system to water them. He also tried two different ways to trim the
blueberry bushes. We will see which
works the best. He has also thinned some of the underbrush and scrub trees.
After much research he bought the fruit trees at a commune “up
the road” off of Gerton Highway. The
first clue that it was a commune was the road is named “Another Way”. He got 3 apples (Goldrush, Liberty, and Honeycrisp), a
cherry (Montmorency), fig (Vern’s Brown Turkey) and a Southland Black Muscadine,
and much free advice on planting and conditioning the soil organically!
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| THE PLAN |
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| EXECUTING THE PLAN |
We had discovered a grape vine on the property that had climbed several trees. We had seen clusters of blooms, but no grapes. We figured the birds might have enjoyed them, but Dave, the research king, found out that we needed a second grape vine to cross pollinate the first one. The variety didn’t matter and the Muscadine was what was available when he went to the nursery on Another Way. To clear our view some, and to get more sun on our “orchard” Dave cut some of the scrub trees. They wouldn’t fall! They were all bound together by the grape vine! So trimming the grape vine and staking it out became his first priority. We have no clue what kind of grape it is, or if it will ever bear fruit. But what have we got to lose? We are a little afraid that cutting it back in January and February might make it leaf out too quickly and get frost burn this year, but it will probably survive. From its size we have an “old vine” so it has survived hard winters before!
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| OUR VINEYARD |
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| GRAPEVINES DANGLING FROM THE TREES (If you know where to look!!) |
He spent several days measuring and working the soil. He decided since we are here so sporadically,
a rain barrel watering system would be a good idea. And again the research king found barrels on
sale on Craig’s List! They are from a pickle factory and smell great. Maybe we’ll have tart apples! LOL He
began designing the rain barrel system.
Several trips to Home Depot for fittings and tubing and we were in business. On one trip he got the platform built and the
initial tubing in. And on this last trip
he got the irrigation lines out to the trees.
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| RAIN BARRELS |
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| LET THERE BE WATER!!! |
After worrying about the temperature and our wine over New
Years, he also installed a weather station that is hooked to the internet. Now he can check the weather from his phone
from anywhere. It measures and records
the minimum and maximum temperatures inside and out. And the wine is now in the basement until we
are sure the hard freezes are over!
Last but not least we have taken the top off of Bert, the
truck so that he can haul mulch for the orchard. (Though the Research King is researching wild flowers for the orchard!) We stored the top up by the well house,
covered with a tarp. I teased Dave that
we were real “mountain people” now with tarps in our front yard! But once the leaves come on the trees, you
will not be able to see it!
