Never too late...
The fact that I didn’t have any experience gardening…didn’t stop me from dreaming and planning for one.
This week, March 6, 2023, I took advantage of a mild day to prune my apple trees.
It felt good to be working outside after a mild but long winter.
It reminded me of what this field looked like when we moved here just four short years ago.
Looking to the future...
This view of our feral field, filled with thickets, grapevines, wild raspberries and HUGE thistles, was to be the future home of my raspberry and pumpkin patch…apple orchard, and garden.
I had a debate…with myself.
Don’t apple trees take like 5 years to produce?
Isn’t it kind of late in the game to plant apple trees when you are 64 years old, lol?!
Well, I made a decision to go for it!
Apple Trees 101...
So once again, on the computer I went to study, learn and choose my apple trees.
Dwarf varieties seemed the way to go. They only get around 7 feet tall and 7 feet wide.
That way I wouldn’t have to get on a ladder to prune or harvest the fruit.
The first thing I learned is that apple trees are not that easy to grow.
Most varieties need a different species to use as a pollinator.
Trying to keep as organic as possible, was going to be difficult.
They need to be pruned, twice a year, watch for several diseases and be fertilized on a regular basis.
Location, Location, Location...
Previously, my granddaughter, Molly and I had measured out my entire garden area and I had drawn it on graph paper
This was VERY serious business…lol.
I tease about sweet Molly, but it was important to plant the trees in the correct placement.
So we figured out that the trees grew to approximately seven feet wide.
If I bought five trees, we could put three in the back row…leave room for the lawn tractor, and put two trees in the front row.
As you see, even though I chose dwarf varieties, when you leave room for access and care, it takes quite a bit of space.
The apple orchard area ended up being 25 x 25 feet
Don't do it...
Every article I read said DON’T start your orchard with finicky apple varieties…
the beloved “Applecrisp” variety was not for beginners.
But the good news was, the bare root trees are around two years old when you receive them, so maybe instead of five years to wait for apples, it could only be three.
Keeping in mind the choices for pollinating varieties, I chose a Granny Smith for my pollinator.
Good in pies, great for applesauce and wonderful dipped in caramel!
Reading about a new variety that was crisp, sweet and fairly easy to grow, I bought two “Pixie Crisp” trees.
Than of course my “How hard can it be “gene took over and I ordered two “Apple Crisp” trees, lol!
Ready or Not...
When you order fruit trees from a catalog, they ask you what zone you live in.
I’m proud to say, I knew the answer, lol!
After months of study, watching videos, YouTube and reading blogs on gardening, I had previously looked up our growing zone.
Living in Illinois the zones vary widely. We are at the very top of Illinois, almost on the border of Wisconsin.
So we are in zone 5b.
They would send the trees in a bare root form, promising to send them at the correct planting time for our zone.
I was shocked to receive them on a cold and snowy day the first of March 2020 with instructions to soak them in water for a few days, then dig a hole and put them in the ground….yup winter and all.
New Home...
As I explained before, the area for the the orchard was going to be behind my sweet garden shed.
This is it before any renovations or new roof.
I love that little building so much.
I wrote a blog about the first stages of renovation if you would like to take a look.
Here’s the link:
The orchard was going behind and to the side of the garden shed.
Learning curve...
Knowing the trees would need extra support, I splurged on these nice tree supports.
They were attached to steel posts that were pounded in close to the tree.
Little did I know at the time, dwarf trees should be strapped to a large pole, that follows the trunk.
It should be placed when the tree whip is planted and left for the entire life of the tree.
We may have to address that in the near future.
We have an orchard...
Sticking to the plan of three trees in the back row and two in the front, Ken and I dug the holes and in the ground they went.
They were so tiny, lol!
Our huge dog “Happy” made them even look smaller, lol!
The Funny Papers...
Shortly after planting the trees, the kids came over and I recruited them to help me with a chore.
My neighbor had been saving his daily newspapers to use as a weed barrier under mulch.
They asked me “What are those from”? I know this is hard to believe…but they didn’t know what a newspaper was or what they were for, lol!
They wanted to know, why you would read a paper instead of looking it up on the computer or watching it on TV… true story.
I told them there was a special page on Sundays, just for kids,,,it was called the Comic Section.
They still couldn’t get their heads wrapped around the concept of the paper…but I looked around and saw them taking it all in.
Growing...
The little orchard is doing well. I learned how to prune them and have battled Japanese Beetles and more.
But they still look pretty and I’m so glad I went ahead and planted them.
We got our first apple off of the Granny Smith last year…
March 2020
March 2020…does that ring a bell?
Ken was in his final year of work before retirement.
Because of the Covid shutdowns world wide, all of his big customers (Ford, John Deere, etc..) no longer let salesmen into the plants, so he was home that final year.
We felt snug as a bug, on our little farm that crazy year.
And we still do.
Join us next time for more adventures of starting a farm for retirement.
Fondly, Sandy
How sweet to get your first apple! I bet it tasted better than any apple you’ve ever had!
The kids were over the moon and wanted to pick it every time they came over, lol.
We should have let it go a couple more weeks…there’s always this year!
Thanks Penny❤️
I love your first apple. Bet it was the best apple you’ve ever eaten.
It was exciting! Can’t wait to see what we get this year!
Thanks for following our crazy farm life!
Fondly, Sandy