Archive for the ‘Crops - Trees’ Category
January 23, 2010 – The Ultimate Christmas Tree
Now that we’ve grown our Christmas tree, dug it out of a snowbank, dragged it into the house for the holidays and decorated it, it’s time for the 2nd to last use of the Christmas tree.
Here it is after the animals had a chance to browse the branches and even chew the bark off the ...Read more.
December 18, 2009 – Now this is A Christmas Tree!
This is the year we have been waiting for – the first Christmas tree grown on our farm. This summer Martin and GJ put an orange tag on the best tree after much deliberation.
On our way down to get the tree, we thought we might be in trouble when the snow started rising almost ...Read more.
December 13, 2009 – Snowbanks
I think the winter is here to stay – we’ve not been above freezing for about 10 days now and the cold weather continues.
Martin went to check out how our natural windbreak worked – and here are the drifts to show that it is working. Years ago, we’d have to put up an take down ...Read more.
August 8, 2009 – Hazelnuts
We have a few hazels around the farm – we planted a half-dozen more that were handed down to us this summer.
This is the first year the bushes will produce more than a handful. If we can just beat the squirrels to the harvest later this fall! One of the best places to get ...Read more.
June 19, 2009 – Pruning Christmas Pines
It’s time to prune the white pine Christmas trees.
Martin’s giving me hand – making sure the gap between the branches in years to come is not too large by trimming back the leader to about 16 inches.
one year ago…”Claire in Washington DC: Episode 3″
April 20, 2009 – Shiitake’s Return
The shiitake’s are back! The logs that fruited last fall are at it again. Linda was out looking for some moss and mushrooms for biology lab and was the first to see that the fruiting had already begun this spring.
Soon, we’ll be eating fresh fungus! It’s always a pleasant surprise to see the logs sprouting ...Read more.
April 1, 2009 – Wind Turbine Output Update
On March 18, our wind generator guy stopped by to upgrade the software in the turbine to allow it to spin at higher RPMs before shutting down in self-defense. It now can go in a wind 10-15 mph more than the previous cut-off and this month, it made a big difference. Until this ...Read more.
March 30, 2009 – Willows Emerge
The willows emerge from the winter slumber.
We recently brought some in the house and they make a nice spring reminder.
They also provide some of the first pollen of the year for the bees to forage.
one year ago…”Solo”
July 15, 2008 – Willow Nusery on Track
In the spring of 2007 we planted seven different varieties of ornamental willows in a low section of the back pasture. (Varieties – Planting  – Washout)
Although it is hard to discern from this photo, the willows have all taken off – we plan on using this as a nursery to propagate more willows further down ...Read more.
July 14, 2008 – Tubex Verdict
For the first time this spring, we tried some of the tubex tree shelters for the new seedlings that went in the pasture.
They seemed pretty slick and easy to use, and look like they might do a great job of protecting the trees from mice and rabbits.
Here’s a look down the top of one of ...Read more.
April 23, 2008 – Trees In
It was finally dry enough (barely) to plant the trees that have been sitting in the basement for the last week, waiting for a window in the rain to get in the ground. It’s a “climate change” collection – trees that we are marginally in the growing zone. I planted some Michigan Pecan, ...Read more.
April 14, 2008 – Christmas Tree Pruning
A few Christmas trees are a new crop for us, so I am learning as we go. I had a vague notion that as the trees got bigger, they should be pruned in late summer. Well, it didn’t happen last summer and the trees shot up some leaders that were 22 inches tall. ...Read more.
April 1, 2008 – Coppicing Willows
Last year we planted a number of varieties of ornamental willows.
It’s now time to coppice (or prune) the willows back to the ground to prevent them from becoming trees and encourage the smaller stems we can use for floral arrangements.
Here’s the willows before coppicing.
When the job is complete it doesn’t look like much!
one year ...Read more.
March 15, 2008 – Maple Sugaring
Today we had a bit of a treat with an introdcution to maple sugaring at Morning Sun Farm. It looks like I’m following the sugar – a few weeks ago we walked through a sugar cane plant, now through maple syruping in Iowa.
Here the “Sapmaster” and one of his daughters check on the sap flow. ...Read more.
