Chronicles of the Long Shot Farm

To keep our blueberries happy, we apply ammonium sulfate as a nitrogen source every spring which also helps to maintain the lower pH that blueberries need.  We check the irrigation hoses to make sure we don’t have any leaks or plugged emitters and then we weed…and weed. ( It is always amazing how quickly weeds can grow in the spring, especially after it rains.) Finally, we apply mulch to the entire blueberry patch – to help increase the organic matter of the soil, retain moisture and keep the weeds from growing.  (Just remember to apply extra nitrogen to encourage decomposition of the mulch)

Just got in from planting 16 pear trees (Anjou and Bosc).  The new fruit trees border the bottom of the mixed grape field and run nearly the entire length of that field.  Basically, we ran out of space and ended up with 3 extra trees, which were planted in pots for later. 

These were young trees, with small root systems, so we could make the holes with a rototiller and shovel.  A great way to water trees/shrubs or other larger plants is to use an old 5 gallon bucket and drill 3-4 hole close to each other on one edge, then fill the bucket 1/3 to 1/2 full of water, place it close to the tree, and let the water slowly trickle out.

The new pear trees are across the street from our other “orchard”, also made up mostly of pears, but in addition there are some peach and cherry trees.  Hope these will grow – they should all look spectacular when they bloom in the spring … in 3-4 years.!

All we did this weekend was work with mulch.  Except for one quick trip to Lowes, to get trellis posts, which were on sale at 50% off.  This sale only happens once or twice in the spring, so we had to take advantage of it.  Those posts are just sitting on the trailer near the grape vines for now.  Jeff will start marking off spots for the holes, and then use the post-hole auger on his tractor.  If the weather holds up, he’ll get started this week!

We probably used up over half of our huge stockpile of mulch – Jeff would scoop three tractor bucket loads into the smaller trailer, which we then pulled with the Four-wheeler.  We used pitch-forks and wide shovels to move the mulch around trees and bushes.  Lars and Tina tried to keep a running count of the wagon loads, but we lost track.  Our best estimate is that we did at least 15 loads since Friday evening.

All the elderberries, fruit trees and half the blueberry bushes are done. A few of the flower beds got some “left-overs”, they will need to get more later.   The weekend, as always, was way too short to get everything done.