Low chill orchard
This is a backyard garden/orchard in Central Florida
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Spring again
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Apple surprise
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Dog days of summer
Sunday, April 29, 2012
A season of apple blossom
"Soft and gentle on my mind the apple blossom comes in spring, and every year nature does endear his creation will always sing. Though the wind come and hard rain, the blossom come still the same. Its a wonder and delight because it shows his power and might, not drought on record, rain and wind, his creation will always bend."
-Tony Loftin
(video by Stephen Hayes, Fruitwise Heritage Apples, UK., fruitwise.net)
-Tony Loftin
(video by Stephen Hayes, Fruitwise Heritage Apples, UK., fruitwise.net)
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Fruit thinning apples
Well it has been a while, much warm weather and very dry weather here in Central Florida. It is April already, mater of fact its the middle of April and things seem to be drier than normal. I am hand watering in the orchard to keep my fruit trees from burning up. Several of my apple trees put on fruit and, in many clusters, it is to much for the small limbs to carry. So even though it just kills me to do it I have today just decided to thin the clusters of apples to one or two apples per cluster. These fruits are just perfect and it seems to be wrong to do it, however if this is not done then the young trees with smaller limbs will just strain and possibly break under the load of many apples. Hopefully the trees will use some of their vigor to grow heavier wood for next years apples and it will have been for a good purpose.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Early apples
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Apples in many stages of bloom
I have found that this year with one day at 87F and the next day at 50F my apple trees are very confused. This confusion has some of my apple trees still sleeping deeply, yet others are waking up, and still others are at various stages of bloom. With the Dorsett variety being the first to wake up and having many blooms before the Anna slowly deciding to come alive, cross pollination has been varied at best. Some fruit set has occurred, however it is very light at best. I could take it upon myself to make a trip into the orchard and make things happen by doing the work of the bees and use a feather or some other device and force the issue, but that is not my style. After all I am not doing this for a living this is just for fun and if my apple trees don't get a heavy fruit set then I guess that will have to be.
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