Wood chips, and first picking of the strawberries this year!

Wood chips

I finally got around to using the woodchipper again - first time since I "refurbished" it.  It works much nicer now!

I made about 2 cubic yards of chips.  I used them on the strawberries and blueberries.

Mulched the new blueberries

They are blooming!

Mulched the new strawberries

Strawberry Progress

The old strawberries are getting closer to ripe!  There are lots of them on the plants, but there are lots of them being eaten by critters too.

These plants are taking over the world with those runners!

First picking of the berries!

Smoe are still a bit green here, but they would be gone if I waited until next weekend!

Tree damages

Well, some kind of critter, probably a ground hog, (maybe a rabbit?), has been gnawing on the base of some of my trees!

I put chicken mesh wire around the base of these tree cages to stop whatever is doing this damage.

Weird

Also, something is snipping OFF some of my new trees!  At least 3 of the osage orange have been cut off about 3-4 inches from the ground!   I am betting on rabbits.  I have seen rabbits near these trees.  I made chicken wire cages for all of the osage orange.  Fingers crossed they don't go after the ginko trees nearby!

Trixie is back!

Our three-legged deer is back!  She looks pregnant!  We hadn't seen her for quite sometime and thought she didn't survive the winter, but she showed up one day all of the sudden!  

Shes hard to see in these photos, but she is there!

Cherries are ripening!

They are small, but I am lucky to have any at all.  The deer seem to go freaking crazy over these things and tear down the lower limbs to get them!

I picked a few and froze them (and ate some).  These are the sour cherries.  The sweet cherries had some on too, but far fewer.

More Rain. Tree status

I am doing this update almost a month later!  I have just been that busy at work - ugh.  I still am but I really want to record some of this stuff.

Fruit Trees

Despite the rains, its been a good year so far for the fruit trees.  My trees didnt get hit by the frosts.  It was close though.  There was some frost damage in the lower areas new the forsythia, but the fruit trees seemed ok.

Cherries!

The new planting of sour cherries.  I discovered as I was planting that this area has more clay than I would've liked.  Oh well, as the wheel wills...

The "old" sour cherries have a good crop on them now... 

We will see how they do with the deer and bird presence...

Here is one of the new cherry trees blooming!

The grape vines are even getting ready to bloom!

Lots of peaches setting too - but we all know peaches tend to drop...

Braces that I put on to spread the limbs are holding surprisingly well.

Pears.  Asian pears coming in.

Crab-apple tree - fighting for its life.  I think that when I put these young trees in the "tree sleeves" that caused fungus or disease to bloom.  I am not putting new/replacement crab-apples (or any fruit trees) in those tree-sleeves.

I am not sure if these are crab-apples or regular apples...

Cherry trees all caged up!

Signs of life in these new tree-lings!

Rain...

LOTS of rain this spring.  2-3 inches per week lately.  Here are some random shots are the place.

 

Just a big screen shot of the orchard

Strawberries

Blueberries

The "old" blueberries

 Tomatoes

I managed to (just) get the tomatoes in the ground before the rain!  It was a herculean effort because I also had to put up the fence and put down the black plastic.  I cant remember if I tilled that day too - maybe!

The rain really battered them down.  Some even broke off!

Long distance shot of the garden.  Only tomatoes in there now (the strawberries and blueberries are in the back)

Cottonwood blooming again!

Elderberries

 Locust trees blooming!

I cant believe I never noticed these things blooming before.  Now I can't look anywhere without noticing them!