Apple and Pear Trees

Today we planted our three apple and two pear trees. About two weeks ago my local garden store had these trees on sale. The first thing I did was scope out which trees they had in stock and then came home to research whether those trees would fit my needs. Most fruit trees need a pollinator, another tree of the same species (apple to apple, pear to pear) and they must bloom at the same time. However you may also want to make sure your trees give you early season apples, mid-season apples or late season apples.



Making sure you have the same blooming times and the right harvesting time can be tricky. I did however find some useful info in my book, The Farmer's Wife Guide to Fabulous Berries and Fruits. I also found a few websites that helped to chart which blooms when and which trees they would be compatible with. In the end, I choose Granny Smith for their good baking and ability to store over winter, Spartan for their excellent eating and Cortland, another good baking and storage apple.

My husband and children love pears so they twisted my arm into getting two pear trees. We got a Barlett and Bosc variety. I plan to use some for storage and can the rest.

Trees need to be placed at least 10 feet apart but no more that 100 feet since they need each other for cross pollination. We can help the bees along by keeping them fairly close to each other. We spaced them out in their pots to visualize and measure. Once we decided where everything should go we got to digging.

To plant an apple tree you must dig a hole as deep as your pot but twice as wide. Loosen your tree from the pot and break away some of the dirt around the base of the tree. After you refill the soil around the planted tree, water the base of the tree with at least a watering can full of water.



John Seymour, author of "The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It" said the best way to ensure a tree reaches it's maximum potential is to "bury a dead dog underneath". I can see the use for good decomposing matter but I just didn't have one on hand. So barring that, I used some plant food supplied by my garden nursery who would guarantee the tree would live for an extra year (over their standard 1 year warranty) if I used it. What the heck? They'd give me a new tree if these ones ever died.

I also added a layer of mulch to the base of the trees to keep the moisture in the soil since moisture is essential this first year.

Here's some tips for Planting Apple and Pear Trees:

- plant in spring to give the trees a full 3 seasons to mature before winter.
- Apples do best in colder climates because they need a bit of winter chill to ripen correctly.
-do not plant them near a pond or wooded area as these places attract frost which will cling to your young apple trees and kill the blossoms.
- do not plant at the bottom of a hill. It is best to plant in high ground as frost tends to go to the lowest part of the landscape.
- add compost to the base of the tree in the fall.
-water each week if you have not received at least an inch of rain.
- prune in fall when required.

Before planting you must contact your local utilities to get what's called a "Locate" this is where they go around your yard and mark where the water, gas, hydro, phone lines are so you don't accidentally damage something. You could be held liable if you dig without doing this homework. It also gives you an accurate picture of where your plants will flourish and not get it's roots tangled in anything down below. Most areas have a One Call company that handles this for all the utilities. You can see in my one picture where there is red spray paint (water-based, lead free). I had to wait a week before I knew where the power lines were but it was worth it because in the end I did not have to worry.

Chocolate Spring Nests

These are yummy with or without the chocolate eggs on top. You can make them year round or as a special Easter/spring treat.



Chocolate Nests (aka haystacks)

3 cups of rolled oats
3/4 cups of shredded coconut
6 tbsp cocoa
1/2 tsp of vanilla extract

Mix in a large bowl and set aside.

In a sauce pan, over medium heat combine:

2 cups of sugar
1/2 cup of milk
2/3 cup of butter

Bring to a boil slowly. Once large bubbles form, pour over oats mixture and mix well. Let stand for a minute to cool.

Place wax paper over flat cookie sheet or pan.

Using a spoon, drop enough to form a small nest and place a chocolate egg inside (Hershey's Eggies or Cadbury Mini Eggs work great). Continue until all dough is gone. Place cookie sheets in fridge or freezer to let them set. After an hour or so, Enjoy!

Catastrophe!

Silly me, silly me. You'd think I would have more foresight. You'd think I would have known better. I proved to myself I am human, after all.

Last week the kids and I diligently planted seeds, labeled them and put them safely in our 4 shelf greenhouse which I typically keep indoors at our sunniest window. We were having such a beautiful string of good weather I saw no harm in pulling the greenhouse out onto the back deck where our precious seedling would have a bit more direct sun. I figured an afternoon of sun would be good and that I would bring them in again before night fall, just so they don't get too cold.

My kids had swimming that day and we were only gone an hour and a half. In that time the wind picked up and I am not yet accustomed to the amount of wind we receive here as opposed to our woodland sheltered former abode. We came home that day to a fallen over greenhouse and a mangled mess of potting soil, seeds and seedlings on the deck. It was a chore to clean it up and set it to rights. I figured I'd have to restart and was glad I had not used all my heirloom seeds in the first go.

So now we are truly late in getting our seedlings off the ground but it's okay. We live, we learn.

Making Do

Have you ever seen the television show "Till Debt Do Us Part." I enjoyed it while my husband and I were struggling to make end meet and I enjoy it now that we have some better fortune. It's a show about a married couple who are usually deep in debt because of consumer spending and bad financial habits. Gayle, the shows host and financial expert, assesses the situation, identified cracks in the couples budgets and shines a blaring spotlight on why these couples can't seem to make ends meet. These families usually have healthy incomes but for some reason their spending is out of control.

For the show it usually means the couple must do a few things. Write up a budget, learn to communicate and learn to live within their means. There's no fancy formula, no get rich quick scheme. It's just plain old work and reality.

I think it's the reality part that most people struggle with. We see commercials and magazine articles with glossy pictures that give the impression that most people live like this or should aspire to live like this. The reality is most people don't live with all the bells and whistles but nor should we be made to think we have to. We can have a fulfilling life without a brand new kitchen or professionally designed home.

In reality making do and living within our means often translates into waiting to purchase something, even if we think we need to have it now. I was a professional photographer for a few years doing weddings and family portraits. The equipment is expensive so I concentrated on using available light and natural landscapes. When I became a homeschooler I kind of phased that activity out of my life at about the same time digital cameras were becoming more and more advanced.

I was still using film until two years ago when my Single Lens Reflex camera batteries were becoming harder and harder to find. I shifted to digital but at the time, with my husband in college, I could only afford a rudimentary point and shoot. It was a hard adjustment. I knew I could create better shots with a real camera but also knew in reality a digital SLR was out of reach. I had to make do. I have known other professionals who have said "once you go SLR, you can never go back." Had I subscribed to this I would have amassed more debt than I was willing to be responsible for. I would have paid twice as much for the camera by the time I paid off my credit card only now the camera would be old and I would still be on the debt treadmill. Sometimes you have to live within your means and make do so you can reap the benefits later.

I bought a new digital SLR a few weeks ago and I am falling in love with photography all over again. A little patience paid off because now I have exactly what I want and didn't have to pay extra in interest to get it.

It takes work and perseverance to stay within your means. But the rewards are far greater than simply buying on a whim. This applies to so many other areas of life; dieting, education and many others. A little work now will mean a big difference later.

Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Next Order of Business

My indoor radish experiment was a flop. The radish leaves did great but the actual radish was nonexistent. The lettuce on the other hand has done rather well. I am harvesting baby greens right now using the "cut and come again" method. This is a method of snapping off leaves but leaving the main plant intact so it can continue to grow and flourish throughout the season.

Today the kids and I planted some more seeds. Each of them chose some seeds a few weeks ago to plant in their own square foot garden. I think it's interesting that my daughter has chosen flowers (morning glories and corn flowers) to grow while my son went for the vegetables. He wants peas, carrots and cucumber, with sunflowers mixed in.



Because my daughter wants morning glories we have to soak them for 24 hours before planting. We dampened some paper towel and placed the seeds inside. We planted the cucumber and sunflowers. I also started my broccoli and tomato plants.

I know I am a bit behind. I should have planted them a few weeks ago but I don't even have my raised beds constructed yet. The lumber has been purchased and is sitting in garage waiting for a sunny weekend to piece them together. I decided to paint the outsides of my boxes, not the insides that touch the soil that touches our food, just the outside to keep the wood from rotting and looking dingy over time. The paint is also waiting patiently in the garage.

Fruit trees are on sale this week at my favourite garden store. I went yesterday to see what varieties they had and came home to hit the books. One of my favourite resources is The Farmer's Wife's Guide to Fabulous Fruits and Berries. I picked it up last summer at a second hand store for three bucks! It's an excellent reference book with how-to's and recipes. Covers everything from choosing varieties, planting, maintaining, harvesting and preparing and/or freezing.



I used this book and a few others to determine the best varieties of apples for my needs. Not all apples are created equal. Tonight I head back to purchase the varieties I chose but I will post about that another time, once I have some pictures.

So far so good on my little homestead in the suburbs.

ADELE 'Rolling In The Deep' (Studio Footage)

This is my newest favourite artist. I bought the album off iTunes after a friend posted this video on Facebook and now I am addicted. I have this alum on in the background while I am writing and while the kids and I are doing chores.

On my mind...

I'm joining in on a "On my mind" photo feature hosted by Down to Earth. http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

On my mind this week was my garden. Where to put it, how big to make it, what to grow and how on earth am I going to get everything done? I should have constructed my raised beds last weekend when the weather was gorgeous but we were elbow deep in green paint doing up my son's room (post to come soon). This past week I have been kicking myself for not making my gardens a priority but right now I very much feel like I am being pulled in so many directions.

I need composters and rain barrels and cold frames (oh my!). Slow and steady it will all come together but you know me I am a very impatient type of gal.



The juncos have been making quick work of our yard and sent out a grid pattern search party...what they are searching for I have no idea but it was neat to watch them fan out. In the picture you can see them all around the willow tree.

Building a Nest... literally

Today the kids and I hung out with some homeschooling friends. One mom in the group brought a nest building activity for all the kids. In teams, the kids were given a folded up piece of paper that displayed a local bird name (Robin, Chickadee, Hawk, Crow), their nest building facts and a list of materials the birds would use for their nests.

It was up to the kids to work as a team to find some of each item and construct a nest. We soon discovered that birds have "mad skills" when it comes to nest building.



This is a Chickadee's nest, a joint effort between myself and my 8 year old son. He did very well padding the inside with moss and pine needles to make the nest very soft.




My daughter worked with her friend and some younger girls making a Hawk's nest. The nest is very large compared to the chickadee's and Blue Jay's nests.

The nice weather is here and we are trying to enjoy every minute of it.