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)

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.