At the risk of sounding like this xckd comic: http://xkcd.com/621/ I am very sorry to have missed so long between blog posts! Lots and lots has happened in the garden, and, unfortunately, to my laptop. The laptop bit the dust on the day of the last post, and I’ve had an interesting several months going more or less “computer free.” Of course that’s not completely true – I have a smart phone and my partner’s desktop computer in a pinch, but not having access to a laptop decreased my screen time significantly. Gradually, I noted the following:
1. More time spent reading. I read 2 books, several newspapers, and even some work-related articles. In the 6 months pre-laptop death, I probably read 1 book.
2. Some time spent writing. Other than this blog, I haven’t written in a journal or anything similar for a long time. I wrote several journal entries and started a habit of writing letters as well.
3. Better sleep patterns. While the laptop was closed, I was getting other (albeit less “fun”) stuff done. Cleaning up from dinner earlier, putting away laundry earlier, all led to getting to bed earlier.
4. Not missing the laptop. The longer I went without it, the less I missed it. A few times, once while prepping for a work presentation, and once while doing some research for a church project, I really noticed the void left by ‘ol lappy. But on a day to day basis, I found that I didn’t need the laptop the same way I assumed I did.
So what did I learn? How does it relate to gardening? I’m not exactly sure. But I do think going without a laptop for a bit was a nice way of hitting the reset button on my technology use. And, although I ultimately got a new laptop, I’ll be moderating my use. I want time spent on the internet to be time toward creating something (like a blog post, a meal, a gardening project) instead of just consuming something. But this blog is about gardening, so back to gardening we go!
A lot has changed around the garden since September. The raspberries, blueberries, and figs have dropped their leaves. The mullberry prunings have been twisted into a wreath, and the figs came inside to the basement for their winter nap. I added a gooseberry bush, called “Captivator.” Right now it looks a bit like a bunch of thorny sticks coming up from the snow, but hopefully it will give some fruit next summer!
Fall seems to be a season mostly of preparing in my zone 6b. Preparing for a long winter without greenery followed by an uncertain spring. Like many people in this area, I’ve experienced spring bringing deep freezes right through the end of May, a sudden “heatwave” of 80 degree weather in March, and enough rain to float Noah’s ark right when gardeners should be planting out seeds. To try to give some new additions a better chance in the spring, I’ve fall planted several things like the gooseberry, another blueberry, and now – fruit trees!
To plant a tree is to believe in the future (or so some famous person has said, I’m sure). Fruit or nut trees are at the heart of many permaculture food production plans because they arguably impact all other plantings the most. Fruit trees tend to require full sun, but ultimately they will produce shade for the crops beneath them. They can be picky about pollination, and timing their bloom to actually produce fruit. So I thought long and hard before selecting my fruit trees, and actually selected them based on sites where two large bushes in our landscaping died in the snowpocolypse of 2013-2014. One site gets full sun and is close to the edge of the deck – a perfect spot for a bit of overhead shade and fresh fruit! The other site is in partial shade at times but fills a large hole in our privacy hedge between houses. Both are great sites for dwarf fruit trees (in my less than educated opinion!). The problem was finding the right trees. I decided based on a few factors: Must be zone hardy and “easy to grow,” have good disease/pest resistance, and yield a fruit that is difficult to get locally.
The trees I chose were a dwarf Hosui Asian Pear (http://www.starkbros.com/products/fruit-trees/pear-trees/hosui-asian-pear) and dwarf Harglow Apricot (http://www.starkbros.com/products/fruit-trees/apricot-trees/harglow-apricot). One of my friends repeated this saying to me “Dig a $20 hole for a $10 tree.” So I began by pre-digging the holes (and removing the dead shrubs) in both locations. The site by the deck turned out to be less than ideal. Beneath a scant 2″ of topsoil, I found terribly compacted subsoil that included all types of 1930’s trash. No, seriously. Bits of coal throughout, pieces of glass, pottery, and twisted wire. Throughout the entire hole I think I found one insect. Not the best planting site (and surprising that the bush had done as well as it did!). Fortunately I pre-dug the site almost 2 months ahead of time. I loosened the soil, added a bit of compost, and hoped for the best. When I re-dug the hole to plant my tree, I was pleasantly surprised by the work nature had done. I found at least a dozen earthworms, as well as evenly moist soil all the way to the bottom of the hole. By the way – the bottom of the hole? Wasn’t hardpan soil anymore. Softened by 2 months of water (and, I hope, beneficial bacteria) it was easier to dig on planting day. Speaking of planting day – how about some pictures?
How To Plant a Bare Root Fruit Tree
- Unpack the trees and inspect for any damage, make sure they are properly labelled. Prune off any broken roots or limbs.
Yes it was dark. Gets dark here early in the winter, you know!
- Place the trees in a bucket of water to soak for up to 24hrs (but not longer) to hydrate the roots prior to planting.
I’m all about getting the best photo ops and lighting!
- Dig a hole at least 2x as deep and up to 4x as wide as the tree’s root system. Trees make most of their roots in the top 12″ of soil, so it’s not necessary to make the hole terribly deep. If planting in compacted soil (like me), be sure to rough up the sides of the planting hole, rather than leaving them smooth (I used a digging fork).
The apricot’s new home!
- Plant your tree by creating a firmly packed soil cone in the base of your hole and draping the tree roots on top of the cone.
Checking for depth on the asian pear tree.
- Backfill around the tree, making sure to shake the tree occasionally by its trunk to remove air pockets – soil needs to contact the roots directly to transfer water and nutrients. Do not add any soil amendments at this time, or it will create a super-nutritious central region that the tree’s roots won’t venture out of. In my case I added a few handfuls of compost 2 months ahead of planting the tree to promote soil life (as my soil was so poor in one location).
A hopefully happy apricot! (and somewhat traumatized comfrey)
- Companion plant as desired, water in the tree thoroughly. Tree stakes are controversial. Some sources recommend them in areas of high wind/heavy snow, others state they make the tree weak and can damage it….EVERYBODY says to remove after one season. I had some stakes available, so I gave them a go, along with some loosely wrapped twine.
Planted pear tree (and the neighbor’s driveway as a bonus)
- Water approximately once per month (very difficult to find sources on this?) until ground freezes solid. Fortunately, the freeze/thaw cycle of snow and occasional rain have more than handled this for me.
For gardeners in zone 5b, winter is synonymous with waiting. You try your best to prepare the plants for their long nap, and spend the snowy days leafing through seed catalogs and reading blogs from gardeners in warmer locations. There have been a lot of bright spots so far, and the good news is that the solstice has passed, so each day gets longer and brighter yet! Just this afternoon I watched as some sparrows picked the seeds off the dried heads of my echinacea flowers, and the squirrels skimming snow off the deck railing for a drink. Life is quietly going on, and I hope to have a lot more goings-on (in terms of the blog!) over the next few weeks. After all, a lot of a gardening is about planning, and I have such plans for the spring.
Roots for Tomorrow 