Planting for the future

posted in: Family, Gardening, Simple living | 1

This weekend we achieved something that I am really excited about – planting fruit trees! I really feel like this is planting for the future, as there is no immediate harvest coming off this little babies. However, it was a wonderful family gardening experience, and it was just what a garden should be about, bringing you together outside, enjoying the sunshine (DS1 got burnt), the flies (who particularly love me!) and the back breaking labour of 6 holes in solid clay (DH is a digging machine!)

We planted them in the area recently vacated by the 3 raised vegetable beds… the garlic was the last to be moved, but so far seems to have survived the uprooting process. Which is a good thing because the bulbs are no where near big enough for a harvest, but they are very promising! And you can see here also the mammoth Rosemary, and a great angle on the size of the Passionfruit vine. (more on that to follow).

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So here are the trees, in their little box from the post office.

Tree delivery Unboxed trees

And being watered by my trusty garden assistant. They were beautifully packaged up by the Diggers Club and don’t seem to have been fussed by the travel from Victoria at all!

They had to wait a couple of days, but finally they are in the ground!

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The positioning of them on our yard was very carefully thought out. They will receive a good amount of sunlight, but some wind protection there. They will grow up and hopefully block out the view behind us. Because our block is higher than the one behind, we are a little exposed on the deck to all the passing traffic/neighbours. The plan is also to widen the chicken run to the fenceline, so they will be able to help with the clean up of any fallen fruit/pests, as well as provide fertile soil to the trees. It’s part of the wonderful little eco-system we are working on here.

In order we have…

Dwarf Apple Anna
Dwarf Apple Anna
Dwarf Apple Granny Smith
Dwarf Apple Granny Smith
Dwarf Apple Tropical Beauty
Dwarf Apple Tropical Beauty
Low chill Nectarine White Satin (Dwarf)
Low chill Nectarine White Satin (Dwarf)
Peach China Flat (Dwarf)
Peach China Flat (Dwarf)
Low chill Plum Gulf Ruby (Dwarf)
Low chill Plum Gulf Ruby (Dwarf)

All six of them are grafted onto dwarfing rootstock, so the apples should grow to about 2x2m, the largest tree will be the Plum, which is why we put it closest to the coop – hoping for some good shade and wind/rain protection for the chickens from it.

It was actually a really amazing surprise on Saturday, the neighbour that adjoins our corner heard us in the garden, and popped her head up over the fence to offer us some excess seedlings she was planting out… and boy was she surprised to see our yard! It’s a real little oasis at the moment, and because our front is totally unfinished (well in truth, barely started), you would have no idea what lay around the back. Looking at it from her viewpoint, I had to stop and just admire how much we have done in 2 years. It is a real pleasure to take a cup of coffee outside and sit, surrounded by your hard work and planning and see how it has all come together!

Here are the girls admiring the roses, which are just smothered in buds at the moment. They are loving this early spring.

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And there is growth in the vegetable garden too, with all of my saved bean seeds (Lazy Housewife Beans) from last years abortive effort germinating and leaping out of the soil. Think I’m going to need some extra stakes for them to climb!

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And finally there is the Passionfruit vine, which has been steadily growing all winter, and is flourishing now. I have added lots of extra wires and am carefully training tendrils along each one. The first flowers have formed and I’m hoping we get some fruit off it this summer. Big difference  from the spindly little twig we planted earlier this year.

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So there is a quick garden update. Things are just bursting with life here and I’m hoping for a productive summer.

 

 Happy Crafting - Cassie.

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