A Tale of Two 'Orchards'

I have two areas set aside for growing fruit which I guess could loosely be described as orchards. And what I learnt today is that they are difficult to photograph (for me anyway).

 



 

The first orchard is mostly well established and provides us with some of our fruit but although I dream of self reliance as far as food goes, realistically it isn't going to happen in the orchard. If I went down that road I wouldn't be eating a mango or banana again and I really want mangoes and bananas in my diet. Last summer we wouldn't have eaten much fruit at all if I relied on the orchards. It was a dismal year for the fruit because I couldn't spare the water for them so they survived rather than thrived and the fruit that set went mostly to the birds who were hungry in the lean year too.

 

 

This year looks a little better. The leaky tank is mended so there should be enough water for us, the livestock, the garden and the trees.

 



 

The newer part of the orchard is immature to say the least. And it's at this youthful stage that it requires the most attention. Plenty of water, mulch, compost and protection from rabbits. 

And even though a lot of the trees are little more than saplings right now, one day (hopefully) they will bare fruit. That's what is all about, planting and hoping and a bit of hard work now and then. The fruit is an added bonus along the gardening journey.

This season I want to work on improving  the soil in the young orchard. It is really not the best soil but it is what I have here. In this part of the yard it alternates between sandy and clay depending where you dig but never the much lauded loam. So that's my aim. Improve the soil and the plants should come along for the ride.

Prune d'Agen

Bee foraging Prune D'Agen

I'm not sure how other people choose their plants but I am a sucker for plants with interesting names and stories. I do also buy regular non-heirloom varieties at the nursery but the seed and plant catalogues that offer Amish deer tongue lettuce, Yellow sausage tomatoes and apples such as Improved Fox Whelp, Sugar Loaf Pippin, Worcester Permain and Geeveston Fanny draw me in every time. And yes, I have all of those varieties planted. I'm being tempted by the newest Diggers catalogue today obviously.

Better than buying anything new though, I am going to head outdoors now and plant some of the seeds already in my collection. Corn today. Planted early with the hopes that any frosts we might still have won't be too severe.

Do you have fruit trees?  What are you planting now?
Tracy

More orchard

Living on a farm with plenty of land to play with allows me to grow so much more than I could and in fact did on an urban block. When we lived in Sydney we had grapes, passionfruit, a couple of citrus trees and an apple tree. The orchard we have on the farm is in two sections, one established and as shown below, the new orchard. There has been disappointment along the way. In 2009 I planted a lot of heritage apple trees only to have drought and grasshoppers destroy them. Like most optomistic gardeners I replanted another ten new heritage apples in the summer of 2011 as feathered maidens.

So in a year, the feathered maiden apple trees(baby trees) are definitely not productive but they are growing and showing promise. I think it is that promise that keeps many a gardener interested and passionate about what they do. This season I had a few fruits on some of these tiny trees and it was difficult to do but remove the fruit I did in the best interest of the trees.

If I lived on a small block again and my choices were limited by space I would choose only what we would gain the most from. I wouldn't be growing a medlar that's for sure. I haven't tasted the fruit before and I don't even know where the fruit would be available to purchase. It is certainly a strange looking fruit and to be truthful the idea of bletting the fruit prior to eating them is a little off putting.

The turkeys, dad, 'teens' and chicks (mum is still incubating duck eggs) are enjoying the work I have done topping up the mulch.

Tracy

Home Orchard Care

I'm not sure how commercial orchards operate as far as maintenance goes but the home orchard really is fairly simple. What I do think is a good idea though is that if you buy a property or even if you rent and plan to stay long term, and want to grow your own fruit then planning and planting the fruit trees is one of the first things to do. Simply because they do take time to establish and bare significantly. Of course added expenses such as fruit trees isn't welcome when moving into a new house but a new tree every month or so or for a birthday gift can usually be worked into the budget. That's how we did it anyway. Now we have over 60 fruiting trees and berry bushes. The beauty of the home orchard too is that you really can grow a large variety of trees. As our orchard is in close proximity to the house, I like to keep the grass relatively short. This is more for snake spotting rather than a need for neatness. I do like a meadowy look but just not in the house yard.

Mulch is another orchard helper. We have managed without it when mulch was not available but it certainly meant more watering. Now when I see spoilt hay for sale at the right price I snap it up because I know I will use it.

I have cages around all of my trees. I don't like them because they are quite ugly but we have rabbits and I have seen the damage they can do. Even in one night they can ringbark trees and then all the effort and money is for nought. The rabbits here seem to have a preference for apple trees with cherry coming in a close second.

Water is vital to the home orchard just like it is to any garden. After the trees have been established though, it isn't often needed, the rain is enough. That has been the case for us this season and we haven't had to give the fruit trees any additional water.

Prune d'agen

Today I worked solo in the orchard therefore the rewards all my own. Sweet fruit and satisfaction from doing something that is worthwhile to me.

Tracy

Birds in the garden

I really love the seeing and listening to the birds that inhabit our garden. Where I live is very much the home of native birds so there is always a lot of bird calling and squawking so although it is peaceful here, it is never quiet.

The property has some dense areas of eucalypts and I have also planted other natives along the driveway. In the near future I'm hoping to plant some native edibles.

It is not the native plantings however that get the birds into the garden.

It's the irresistible fruit that I have planted. I myself can't walk past a ripe cherry without picking one so it probably is too much to expect the birds to leave them alone.

I would prefer it if they did though. This naughty king parrot taunted me this morning. I was watering some young lavenders and he watched me whilst he delighted in MY cherries. I chased him away twice and he just flew a little away and watched me until he thought it was ok to come back. He probably was a little perturbed with me for ruining his peaceful breakfast. He is a connoisseur, he is leaving the ripe mulberries alone in favour of the more gourmet cherries. My revenge, I picked what I could and enjoyed them right there in the orchard.

Tracy