Archive for the ‘Crops – Trees’ Category
March 15, 2008 – Maple Sugaring
Today we had a bit of a treat with an introduction 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. The sap flows best on days that are above freezing and nights that are below freezing.
Trees are tapped in a path throughout the woods. The buckets (in this case milk jugs) collect the sap until the collectors come around.
Here’s a picture of a tap in a tree – if you look closely, you can see a drop near the edge.
Here Martin pounds a tap into a tree.
Here Martin pours sap from a tree that has been previously tapped into the bucket for transport.
This bucket is about 3/4 full of fresh sap. I was amazed how crystal clear the sap is.
This is an old bulk tank salvaged from a defunct dairy used as a holding tank after the sap is collected, but before it is boiled.
Here is the sap boiling in the evaporation trays.
The sapmaster with his homemade boiler – consisting of an old fuel oil tank and other parts cobbled together. He’s leaning on the cover that goes on the top. You may also notice the scaffolding that he uses to support wind block in the case of strong, cold winds. It is entirely wood-fired and about 8 gallons an hour evaporate.
Since the season is just beginning, I don’t have any photos of the next part of the process, nor the end product, but we have been able to put our stamp of approval on the final product in years past.
one year ago…”Red House Records Night at SXSW”
February 16, 2008 – Thinking Ahead to Spring…
After a few years of planting “safe” trees, this year it time to go out on a limb in a manner of speaking and try some more unusual varieties. It was prudent to start with native trees for the bulk of the planting, but now it’s time to experiment a bit a push the growing zones a bit. All the following photos and descriptions are from Oikos Tree Crops in Michigan (I like to get trees from north of me, to help with hardiness, although I know that most of Michigan is a zone warmer than here due in part to the Great Lakes). I ordered four of each to start.
New northern pecan selection created by using wild tree germplasm from across the U.S. Selections were based on the early ripening characteristics, so all seedlings would fill nuts every year in southern Michigan. Special thanks to the Northern Nut Growers Association, and some of our more nutty customers, we were able to obtain seed from Minnesota to northern Illinois. Some of this strain has its origin near the ancient portages on numerous Midwestern rivers and streams. It took about 25 years to evaluate this strain completely. In the last 10 years of nut production, there was only one year that the nuts didn’t fill. That was the same year the Concord grapes didn’t reach their normal sugar count and we had a frost at the farm on the eve of July 1. Besides that one extreme, we always have trees producing in our hedgerow. Starting in early October, the nuts will begin filling and be completely out of the shuck throughout the month of October and early November. Although many of the original seed trees have perished on the Mississippi flood plain, we are fortunate to grow and offer these as progenitors of a new generation of the most northern hardy pecan. Height to 60 ft. with equal width. Hardiness -35 °F.
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Next to the English walnut, heartnut is the easiest of the walnuts to use for nut production and edibility. The flavor is very mild, similar to cashews. Clusters of nuts are produced in profusion near the ends of the branches. The nuts are fairly easy to crack and come out in halves and wholes. The trees are easy to grow as a yard tree and will develop a wide spreading crown with horizontal branching. Young trees can bear nuts when only 4-6 ft. tall. A few insects attack the tree, but resistant to all fungal diseases that attack butternut or black walnut. Hardiness -25
The American persimmon is one of the most luscious and sweet fruits containing up to 30% sugar. ‘If not ripe,’ said Captain John Smith of Jamestown, ‘it will draw a man’s mouth awrie with much torment.’ ( Hmm – Similar to eating my grandmother’s corn relish.) And that’s the real challenge of growing persimmons north of their native range. Unripe fruit will make it difficult to use them for anything except frozen golf fruit balls and possibly feeding a few birds and deer. As the fruit ripens the astringency decreases and the sweetness increases. Trees can grow throughout the north even in Minnesota or Maine but in short season areas the fruits will not be edible to humans. Contrary to folklore, frost has little to do with ripening. Having a long warm fall something like an Indian summer really does wonders for edibility. About 25 years ago, we began surrounding our property line with American persimmons from different northern seed sources. Today we have many trees producing a wide variety of shapes and sizes of fruit. Ripening occurs from mid-September through late November. After the leaves fall, the fruit hangs on throughout the fall and winter. All types of wildlife consume this high-energy fruit either in the tree or on the ground. A favorite of deer, persimmons are a strong attractant and will bring them in quantity to your property. Deer rarely browse seedling trees since the foliage is poisonous to them. Persimmon is in the ebony family and the wood is very valuable for special uses like golf club heads. Dark heartwood. Persimmons will grow in a variety of soils, including clay, sand or wet muck. Tolerant to shade and competition from grass or other trees. Trees begin producing at 6-8 years of age. Dioecious-male and female flowers on separate plants. A seedling population will contain a 50-50 mix. There is no way to know ahead of time what sex the tree is until it flowers. Space 10-30 ft. Height to 50 ft.-30 F hardiness for our strains.
The largest native fruit – up to one pound – with a rich, custard-strawberry, banana flavor. Purple orchid flowers in early May. Best growth in a rich, moist high-organic soil, although tolerant to sand and clay. Grows extremely well throughout North America from Florida to Maine to Nebraska. Some commercial growers are found in California too. Two are required for fruit set. They need each other’s pollen to produce. It takes 4-8 years before fruiting begins. Slow-growing at first, established plants average 1-2 feet growth. The Louisiana Indians wove the inner bark into fiber cloth. The fruits can be made into jam or custard and mixed to make cookies and cakes. The fruits can be eaten fresh after they become soft and fully ripened in September and October. The seeds are lima bean shape and contain alkaloids that are not ingested by birds or mammals. Raccoons and possums are frequent visitors to the groves we visit in the wild. Deer never eat the foliage of the plant. A pyramidal tree to 20 feet. Plant 10-15 feet apart for a dense grove or 20 by 20 for an orchard. Great understory tree with oak, hickory and maple.
February 12, 2008 – Mystery Package
Everyone, including the delivery driver, didn’t know what to expect in this 6 foot high package that was dropped off while I was at work.
Even though it was about 6 feet tall, the shipping charge was only $10.16. The family is never too sure what might be in the mail at high hopes.
Mystery revealed – some tubex tree shelters and bamboo stakes – all at what I thought was very reasonable prices – a buck each for the tree shelters in packages of 5 that are usually $2.50-$3.50 each and the bamboo stakes were 6 foot for $0.30 each. They’ll be used for something – perhaps a trellis or something else – it will just be good to have some around. Thanks to Ray’s Supply Company for the quick delivery as well.
one year ago…”SXSW Draws Near”
July 24, 2007 – First Hazelnut!
We also planted a half-dozen hazelnuts years ago to see how they’d like living at out place. They have been very slow to produce – this year the first nuts have appeared.
I’m not sure if this is normal for first fruiting but 4-5 years seems a bit long – we have peach trees that have produced fruit faster than that. We may have a place for them as the shrubs below the understory in the developing shade strip down the center of the back pasture.
June 30, 2007 – Trees Gone Wild!
The trees that are in their third year in the ground at high hopes are really taking off this year.
This tree is typical of that year of trees. It has sent a leader skyrocketing 21 inches-many of the other trees have experienced similar growth. This year’s seedlings, while not sending up that much, have 3-4 inches of growth. They must be happy with the intermittent, but heavy rains we’ve experienced this season.
June 5, 2007 – Farm View Series #2 SE Corner
Today is the second in a series of views of the farm. I went to each corner of the property (and the midpoints) and took photos in different directions. The following views are from the SE corner of the property.
 
This is from the SE corner shooting diagonally towards the NW. You’ll notice the corn crib is reroofed and all but about 80% of one side resided – that’s a fall/early winter project. The project that is next outbuilding-wise is the renovation of the south side of the hog barn – the north side is tight and re-roofed, but the south is falling apart. Right now my time is devoted to the house, so it will sit a bit longer.
This is the view looking due west from the SE corner. Just over the rise is a small orchard, trellised berries and a garden.
Finally, this is the view due north from the SE corner. It shows the first row of trees along this boundary.
June 4, 2007 – Farm View Series #1 NE Corner
Today is the first in a series of views of the farm. I went to each corner of the property (and the midpoints) and took photos in different directions. This view is from the NE corner of the property. I did some of this a decade or so ago, but wish I had been more thorough as the shots are kind of hit and miss.
This is from the NE corner shooting diagonally towards the SW. You can see the brush piles from the ice storm and an old granary in the back pasture.
This is the view looking due west from the NE corner. It shows three rows of trees, this year’s planting furthest to the left.
This is the view due south from the NE corner. It shows the first row of trees along this boundary.
May 19, 2007 – Trees all Tucked in
A couple of weeks ago, most of the trees were mulched. It’s those last 20 that take so long. The supply of chips at home was exhausted, so it was necessary to load and haul chips from the Marshalltown compost facility.
Here’s the look at the north border – the row on the furthest left is the newest row.
Here’s the new row along the east edge of the pasture. Linda contnues to get more seeds planted in the garden.
May 2, 2007 – Tree Mulching
The tree planting is the easy part! Now comes the mulching. We mulch because I think it may be less work in the long run and we don’t have to use herbicides and worry less about watering in dry periods. Today was the good mulching day. The fastest equipment was put into force today. Below is an old animal chute that I rigged up to hold mulch. It pulls with the tractor, drives over the rows and holds enough mulch for about 180 feet of row.
I also have some old barge wagons that I use, but they aren’t quite as handy. But these contraptions are nice since I can load them up in the late fall so they are ready to go in the spring. Today, I ended up getting 60 trees covered in the morning. Last Monday I got 35 trees done and suffered from equipment failure, equipment stuck in the mud, and smaller-scale haulers. The temperature was near 90 on both days, along with up to a 30 mph wind, so I spent some time watering as those are about the worst conditons you could imagine for newly planted trees. Now I’m on the lookout for a small low, trailer that the garden tractors can haul – the one I got at an auction 8 years or so ago to use to put the stock tank on to drag water on, was one of the equipment failures when the axle snapped (with an empty load, thank goodness).
April 28, 2007 – Starting to Plant 150 Trees
Over Saturday and Sunday, we managed to get 150 white pines in the ground. All the kids were out of the house on Saturday night, so after a leisurely breakfast on Sunday morning, we got 55 in before heading off to church!
Here’s Linda near the end of the row along the east pasture. Notice the two boards used to measure the distance between trees and the distance from the fenceline.
Stage two is watering the trees – the mobile water hauler (stock tank and garden tractor) work better than the big tractor when it is this muddy and wet.
April 18, 2007 – Martin Brings Home a Tree
Today Martin brought a tree home from school. He said everyone got a tree in his class. He didn’t know what kind it was. sually, the kind of tree would determine where to plant it – how big it may get, its effect on other plants etc. He said there was a note on the tree. The note said it was in honor of Arbor Day and was donated by the Izaak Walton league and if it isn’t planted today, keep the roots wet. No mention of the type of tree on the note. Â Not wanting to discourage the budding arborist, we found a place for it.
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He was sure we could find a place for it on the farm as he remarked “Dad has planted millions of trees.”
April 3, 2007 – Willow Varieties
Yesterday I planted seven different willow varieties. Let’s fast forward to what the willows will look like in the future. We’re thinking these will be a great addition to the farm as they fulfill the “rule of three.” We like each element of the farm to have at least three uses. The willows can be used as goat browse, woody ornamentals, and basket/furniture materials, all while growing in a moist spot of the pasture. We purchased all these willows from Bluestem Nursery – the folks have a wonderful web site. All the following photographs and descriptions are from the Bluestem Nursery site.
Salix udensis ‘Sekka’
Common name: Japanese Fantail willow, Dragon willow
Description: Large shrub; 10 m (35′); dark maroon-black new growth; very bright fall colours; highly ornamental.
Salix gracilistyla ‘Melanostachys’
Common name: Black pussy willow
Description: Large large shrub; 7 m (23′); rounded form; slow growing; showy black catkins appearing in spring; highly ornamental. Black pussy willow will often bloom (display its catkins) before the snow melts. No other willow compares to the display of orange anthers against the jet-black catkins. Slow-growing and easily controlled by selective pruning, ‘Melanostachys’ is suitable for smaller areas.
Salix triandra ‘Black Maul’
Common name: Japanese Almond leaved willow
Description: Large shrub; 10 m (35′); dark maroon-black new growth; very bright fall colours; highly ornamental. Probably the most widely used willow for baskets with varieties growing throughout Europe, Britain, the Middle East and into central Asia.
Salix koriyanagi ‘Rubykins’
Description: medium, many branched shrub; 4 m (13′) in height; reddish-green annual growth; young leaves pale pink, turning to dark green and grey beneath; sways nicely in a breeze. Used extensively in Japan for fine basketry. Naturally grows long, very flexible rods. Basketmakers will want to coppice annually in late winter. Native to Korea, but very hardy in our cold climate.
Salix babylonica var. pekinensis
Common name: Curly or Corkscrew willow, Peking willow
Description: Small tree; 6-9 m (20-30′); contorted reddish-gold new growth; outstanding ornamental throughout the year. There are many varieties of the larger Peking willow. However, this is a smaller clone preferred by the Japanese for flower arrangements, where it is used both fresh and dried. In colder climates, it is not as prone to die back, thus preserving the twisted golden branches. Highly ornamental and non-invasive, Tortuosa can be used in smaller areas. Nonetheless, one would wise to keep it well away from septic fields, which is the case with any tree. S. babylonica var. pekinensis will grow to a height of 15 – 20′ in just 3 to 4 seasons, then slow down and fill out, eventually reaching around 30′ after 8 to 10 years. There are two ways to grow this plant – pruned or left to grow to its natural form.
Salix viminalis ‘Superba’
Common name: Common Osier
Description: Tall shrub; 3-9 m (10-30′); yellow to olive-green branchlets; conspicuous yellow blooms, often before the snow melts. For basketry, plant in fertile soil, space .5 m apart and space rows 1.5m. Keep well watered and weed free for three years. Prune annually to encourage long straight rods that quality baskets require. There are two ways to grow this plant – pruned or left to grow to its natural form.
Salix caprea ‘Select’
Common name: Goat Willow, French Pussy Willow, Great Sallow
Description: Large shrub or small tree; 6-9 m (20-30′); reddish-brown new growth; leaves broadly elliptic or obovate, grey-green. This is one of the larger willows not associated with water. The natural habitat is the woodland edge and in the lowlands. In early spring, goat willow or great sallow produces an abundance of nectar and pollen on the many fat catkins (see them developing at the leaf junctions in the picture). Bees are greatly attracted to these catkins. This is one of the famous pussy willows of the floral trade.
All descriptions and photos from Bluestem Nursery where this is only the tip of the iceberg in willow varieties for sale.
April 2, 2006 – Willows in the Ground
My day was outlined for me when the mailman brought a package of willow cuttings.
Tomorrow, I’ll go into more details about the varieties, but today it was important to get them in the ground. (Note to self – they are planted in the order of the photo.)We have a wide swath of lowland that is temporarily wet in the spring and after a big rainstorm. We hope to start a small nursery here where we can propogate the varieties that do well for us as ornamentals, goat browse, or willow baskets/furniture (or all three).
I was lucky today was not windy, so I could get the landscape fabric out without turning it into a sail. If you look closely, you’ll see little sticks poking out of the fabric. To plant, when it is this wet, just stick them into the ground and they root.
The completed (except for fencing and more mulch after the willows grow) willow nursery.
A little time, mulch, and some wet and muddy knees, and the willows are tucked.
March 24, 2007 – Getting Piled up Chores Done
The weatherman promised rain most of the day, but it really didn’t seem to come as heavily/often as we were led to believe. That gave us a chance to get some much-awaited spring chores done. First was overseeding the back pasture.
Martin’s job was to reseed the cow trail. He did a good job and seeded all the way to the property boundary. We spread about 25 lb of seed over the 2-3 acres.
I’m also behind on fruit tree pruning. Between the cold until early March, ice storm/snow, and week away, it is a little later than I’d like.
I was able to get 90% of it completed. Linda started all the seeds that need a jump – flowers, tomoatoes, peppers, etc.
Martin was a good helper, filling the peat pots for Linda. I also got new fittings on a water tank, so it comes out a one inch hose instead of a garden hose. So the things that had to get done, got done today.
