(DF) STARTING PEACH TREES FROM CUTTINGS

Starting peach trees from cuttings? Yes, that is exactly what I am trying to do. I have never had much luck starting anything from cuttings, but the possible result is worth the risk of failure. There is hope that the blossoms will produce peaches this year, and that I can also try to start a few from seed.

Before I go further, let me first give a bit of background information. First off, the tree in question is getting old, around forty years old in fact, and has not had an easy life. The tree's life started quite by accident (if one really believes in accidents) when my mother threw out a bowl of peach peelings and pits after canning some peaches purchased from an orchard in the next county. As they often do, the seeds that found favorable conditions sprouted, producing the tree in question and another that has long since died. They both turned out to produce large, wonderful, yellow freestone peaches and though not of the same variety as each other, had all the characteristics of the ones that had been purchased. This all happened long before I purchased the property from my parents and the trees have had a variety of hardships since then.

First problem was my mother. Being a more devout tightwad than I will ever be, she flatly refused to allow fruit trees to be pruned, simply because you might cut off a limb that would have produced fruit. Her reasoning did not allow them to be properly and healthily pruned and trained as young trees. Later, when my parents had moved into their new home, they let my brother and his family live here. To my nephews, trees were for climbing, stick fight training and general abuse. With my brother working all the time and his wife not concerned with teaching the kids discipline or the importance of fruit trees, there was a lot of damage. When I finally purchased the property 26 years ago, all the fruit trees had been pretty much destroyed but still alive. The apples, pears and the one peach, were beyond hope of saving. This one tree; however, survived and has in recent years produced some fine peaches. Despite my best efforts to save this one, an ice storm in 2007 broke it down terribly, causing it to require drastic pruning. After finally almost recovering from the ice and heavy pruning, two wind storms last spring broke out limbs and damaged the trunk.

At present, the poor tree is growing prolifically and is covered with blooms, leading me to believe it is its last effort to produce before it dies. As a confirmed tightwad, I see no sense paying for a tree if I can save the money and grow my own, but as you can see, there are deeper reasons this time. Thursday, after work, I pruned as much as the old tree could tolerate, and put the cut ends of the prunings in a bucket of water. Next day, I returned home with rooting hormone and proceeded to pot the prunings. I really hope they take root, and if not, that there will be a few ripe peaches to start seeds from (and hope it didn't cross pollinate with the almond in the front yard.) I will post an update as soon as I know for sure.

(DF) A NEW JOB, MIXED BLESSINGS AND QUESTIONS OF PERSPECTIVE

As most people can vouch, the economy is not as good as it once was and it is harder to make ends meet. Economic factors as well as supply and demand issues have also made my personal level of self-employment much less lucrative of late. Lack of funds have been an increasing issue over the past few months to the point of placing me among the ranks of those seeking employment.

Today, the seeking became the finding and I stepped into the ranks of the employed. I am now working in the lawn and garden department at the local store of a rather large retail store chain. This is where the consideration of mixed blessings comes in.

There are, as always, trade offs and opposing views running through my mind. From one very clear perspective, I really need, and am truly grateful for, a job. With steady work (and paycheck), the bills can be paid and funds will, over time, be available for a number of projects to further mine and Anna's goals. On the other hand, it takes precious time away from projects that need to be finished quickly. It also feels like a huge step backward from goals of self-sufficiency, in some respects, all the way back to self-sufficiency level II.

A friend of mine who served in the military would smile and call it a "strategic deployment to the rear", but honestly it FEELS like a retreat, and yes, just a touch of bruised pride to top it off. Feelings aside, the practical reality is pretty clear. Though a steady job will limit time and delay projects, it will also provide for the bills that just keep coming due, as well as providing funds for projects such as fences, livestock, fruit trees and vegetable seeds, tractor fuel, and alternative energy projects, to name a few.

At the end of the day, even with the pros and cons, I am truly grateful to find a job when so many who are in need are having so much trouble finding work. It is my sincere hope that everyone in need can have such good fortune.

(D♥A) FRUIT TREES FOR THE ORCHARD

Recently, Anna and I decided to order some fruit trees for our orchard. Some of the more recent additions to the orchard here at my place failed to survive the record summer heat, and there were a couple of varieties Anna was particularly interested in, so after checking the catalogs for ideas, we turned to the internet.

First off, we went to the site of a nursery I had gotten good service from in the past on older apple varieties. To my dismay, we found that the company is in litigation and is no longer allowed to sell trees. Looking further, we found a nursery that could provide the varieties we wanted, and their site looked good. Can't be too careful though, so we looked up the reviews.

About those reviews, wow!! The numbers were pretty scary with almost half being negative or neutral, it didn't sound good. However, in some ways, I am still a curious little kid and the all inspiring question 'WHY' is often my first response. In this case I just had to know what any company that was still in business could be doing that consistently wrong to have that much negative input. Reading the reviews, I soon found that most of the negative was from people who apparently hadn't read the buyer's agreement. Really negative stuff like, orders not arriving on the shipping date, tropical plants not growing in the north, fees deducted from refunds for late order cancellation, and many such issues.

With this in mind, we decided to go ahead and place an order, if for no other reason but to know for sure. With the added bonus of the varieties we were looking for at very reasonable prices, we decided it would be worth the gamble.


Now for our own review of Willis Orchard Co. On February second, I submitted our order for four apple trees, one peach tree and three blackberry plants. I immediately received an email confirming my order and that my debit card had been charged for the amount. On February 17, I received an email from FedEx showing that they had picked up my order from Willis Orchard Co., along with a tracking number and estimated arrival date of February 21. On February 21, the order arrived. Prompt shipping makes me smile since it so rarely happens, but what about quality. Opening the box, I expected reasonable quality trees with decent roots packed in damp sawdust or peat. For the price, I expected un-pruned tops which barely reached the specified height, thus being much younger trees. What I found was really good quality trees, top-pruned to specified height, with some of the best roots I have seen at any price, packed in gel, not sawdust. The berry plants also have excellent roots and green stems, looking like they are just waiting for a few warm nights and sunny days to start growing. The photo above shows the order we received.

Now, I suppose nothing is perfect, so I will say some negative stuff for good measure. Willis Orchard Co. does have a minimum order of $50, which makes it hard if you only need one or two trees. Also, though they have a large variety of tree and plant types, the number of varieties within those categories are somewhat limited. Beyond that, I can't think of anything that could be considered the slightest bit negative, and even these things are quite understandable. Of course, there is no way to be absolutely sure of the fruit at this time, and I can't comment on how well they honor their guarantee since I have no reason to test it.

I will keep you posted on any future developments, but for now at least, I feel comfortable recommending Willis Orchard Co. ( www.willisorchards.com ), based on our experience with this order. Of course you will need to do your own research and make the best informed decision for your situation. Please let us know if you have had experience with this company and what those experiences were.

(DF) OF FRUITS, HERBS AND FLOWERS

Falling asleep last night with thoughts of ordering fruit trees, planting herbs and the concept of Valentine's Day flowers, all swirling in my head, as often happens with such things, the chaos gelled and the somewhat coherently combined thoughts woke me in the early morning hours, long before time to get up. Though I am not quite sure why all of these things were running in my thoughts at the same time, the coherent thoughts it produced were of reasons for planting flowers vs fruit and herbs.

First off, I would like to say that I have absolutely nothing against planting flowers and shrubs purely for their beauty. With that said, at the risk of sounding entirely too practical (though I most certainly am not), I tend to plant fruit and herbs instead of flowers strictly for their beauty. This seems a little strange to me as I do dearly love daffodils, lilacs, irises, roses and various other flowers that are primarily (if not totally) for the beauty.

My obvious argument for fruit instead of flowers is that fruit trees and herbs produce lots of beautiful flowers AND delicious food. In truth, the blossoms of fruit trees are, in my opinion, among the most beautiful and sweet smelling flowers. If the numerous shades of light pink do not provide enough variety, the herb garden can provide the full spectrum of colors including red, yellow, blue and everything between, from the brightest to the most subtle. There is also the consideration of contrast between colors of flowers and fruit, as with bush cherries, which are covered in springtime with lovely light pink blossoms, followed by loads of small, red cherries.

Though it sounds like I am defending my tendency to plant fruit instead of flowers, and in fact I am, there is really no substitute for the beauty of daffodils in early spring or the lush, fragrant lilacs. Roses are also almost a necessity. Flowers provide a beauty that the world would be a much duller and less joyous place without. Just keep in mind that there is nothing wrong with a combination of fruit, herbs and flowers, whichever you tend to prefer.

(D♥A) WORK TO BE DONE AND US TIME TOO

Tuesday, the intent was for me to be at Anna's place about noon. It didn't happen quite that way, it was one of those days when everything seems to fight for attention and delay any plans that get in the way. I finally got there about sun down (if the sun had been shining).

We spent the damp, chilly evening discussing matters of business and our future together. Meanwhile she cooked a venison roast with potatoes, onions, carrots and turnips. If I didn't love this woman already, the roast would have done the trick. Time flies when you're having fun, as they say, and at some point, we realized that it was already early morning, so we opted for a bit of much needed sleep.

Morning came, overcast and chilly in spite of the forecast of sunny and warm. The late morning was spent taking care of puppies and more talk of making the necessary adjustments for combining our separate lives. As with any change in lifestyle, the transitions will be a challenge, but more than worth it.

By afternoon, it was time to cut some firewood (the practical aspects really MUST be worked in). Turns out that all the large, dead trees at Anna's place are leaning heavily toward the house or the fence, and will have to be pulled the right direction with a rope. A rope we do not have at this point, as a matter of fact, so I cut up some dead tree tops and small dead trees, which needed cleaned up anyway. Needless to say, a long rope is on the immediate purchase list.

I had intended to leave Wednesday evening, but we ended up going over catalogs and picking out fruit trees for our orchard instead. It was hard to leave Thursday morning but I really had to get back and get some work done. Actually made it home before the truck broke down (head gasket, hopefully nothing worse) but that is a tale for a later post. Maybe after the cold spell.

It seems I am rambling a bit, but the point here is that a lot of important work, planning and decision making took place in a relatively short time, as well as some desperately needed together time. Problem is that each time we part, it is harder, giving more incentive for me to get fences and other preparations made as quickly as possible. I can hardly wait.