Archive for the ‘Crops – Trees’ Category
March 30, 2010 – Winter Damage
Now that we are getting out and about, a couple of crops have taken a significant hit from the deep snow and drifts this winter.
Many of the blackberry vines were bent over and cracked. In some ways it greatly simplified pruning – just getting rid of the damaged vines accounted for much of the pruning. The patch should survive the damage just fine, however.
The white pine Christmas trees are another story. I’d say at least half of the trees were damaged beyond repair. Here’s as example of the type of damage. The Canaan Firs held up much better, probably due to their nature and the fact they were a couple of years ahead in growth to the white pines.
March 13, 2010 – Tree Pruning
The sun peeked out unexpectedly today! Our week of fog and overcast is coming to an end.
Tree pruning brings many decisions. Here is Linda scoping out a tree for the next cut.
Later on, in a different tree, she takes to tree climbing for a better stance. This tree is a great example of the effects of a microclimate. It is planted due west of the sw corner of the barn. When we get an east wind, the breeze funnels around the barn on this spot – so much so, that the tree has grown with a distinct lean to the west.
one year ago…”Getting Bees Ready for Spring”
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 tree! The last step will be for the tree to be dragged to the site of next year’s burn pile to be the base for next December’s bonfire. Certainly the high hopes version of the giving tree!
one year ago…”Laying Hen Update”
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 high enough to bury the fenceposts!
When we got to the tree (or at least we thought it was the right tree because the orange flagging was buried!) we saw we were in for some digging!
With shovels and hands around the branches, we started trying to release the tree from the snowbank, being careful not to break branches.
The digging crew after they had dug down to the ground.
Martin stands in the excavated hole where the tree used to be. After we dug down a couple of feet, we found the orange flagging! In addition, there was a bonus as there is a bird nest in the branches.
one year ago…”Thingamajig Thursday #146″
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 snow fences – one less task now that the windbreak trees are doing their job.
one year ago…”Lumberjacking Christmas Tree”
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 information on hazelnuts is a long-time breeder in southern MN, Badgersett.
one year ago…”Cherry Leaf Spot”
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 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 month, the most the turbine produced was about 360 kwH. In March, only having the update for 12 days, it made 482 kwH.
So according to our meters – the power company says we used 668 kwH off the grid, but we returned 178 kwH, so we will be billed for 490 kwH, much less than our pre-turbine billing use of 900-1400. Someday when I have more time, I’ll put out all the numbers month-by-month.
one year ago…”Coppicing Willows”
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.
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 the wet stretch of pasture.
This early spring we coppiced (pruned) all the willows back to the ground and for an experiment, wanted to see how well they’d root without any attention or care. We we took some cuttings, found some soil that was unfrozen and stuck about eight pruned sticks right into the ground and forgot about them until recently. Nearly everyone survived – even though they were just stuck into the ground in an established pasture, they rooted, and grew under the cover of grass that was not mowed. Now we now that they are rather self-sufficient, next spring we can go nuts and start propogating many more from the nursery we’ve established.
one year ago…”Saying Good-Bye to Kawishiwi”
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 the shelters – so far – so good.
one year ago…”Random Shots from Claire”
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, Persimmons, Paw-Paw, and Heartnut.
I’ve had persistent problems with rodents eating young trees, so I thought I’d try the tubex tree shelters with bamboo poles for this batch of trees.
It was a wonderful few hours – I had all the materials I needed (didn’t have to take a trip back to retrieve anything – I guess some good things come with experience – I’m probably in the golden age until I start forgetting what I need!) The meadowlarks and red-wing blackbirds were the soundtrack for the afternoon, a warm breeze swept over me, I was digging in luxurious black soil, and using water collected from a tank off the roof of the corn-crib which was closer than any other source of water.
Today was the 2nd try for pouring the wind turbine foundation – but it is still too wet as a cement truck would just sink in the soft ground. So, with more big rainfalls in the forecast the next few days, it’s postponed indefinitely. The good news is the turbine has been improved to increase the top speed from 27 mph to 30 mph – which means it will run more at high speeds and potentially give 15% more production over the course of a year.
one year ago…”Apple and Nectarine Blossoms Appear”
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. I called the nursery I bought them from asking if I could still prune and got the go ahead – so pruned the top leader and started shaping the trees.
Here’s a before pruning photo.
Here’s an after pruning photo.
one year ago…”Finally, A Day”
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!
