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Fruit & Orchards

Before the Snow Falls

10 years ago

My orchard this past summer.

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Comments (12)

MrClint
10 years ago
Very picturesque view. Nice place to spend a Summer's day. Thanks for sharing. :)
User
10 years ago
Looks very nice MrsG.
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New Garden - Row Width
Q
Comments (19)
I think your garden looks great. I use wood chips from a tree service between my growing rows as they last longer than straw. My raised beds are 16x16 boxes which allows for 39" growing rows and 12" walking rows. There are 4 grow rows and three walk rows. The dimensions are based on 8' lengths of lumber which is less expensive than 10' or 12' lengths. I plant large plants in the middle of the grow rows and small plant on the outside of the grow rows. By the time the large plants take over the space the small plants have been harvested. I also plant gaglic and onions any where I can throughout the rows as I feel the nematodes and moles do no like the garlic and onion roots, which may or may not be true. I use concrete wire for my tomatoe cages. the cages are abot 30 ' in diameter and the plants are 3' apart. I prune the suckers off and keep the vine trimmed fairly close to the cage. Next year I will stop the growth at 6' as my plants were all together about ten feet long this year. I get two harvests from the same plants. The first ends in july. The second starts in November and ends about mid december. The green tomatoes I wrap in newspaper and store them in crates in the garage and I have red tomatoes into March when I plant again. Your beds and rows look great and you should have no trouble with whatever you plant. My growing rows are a little wider than yours and my walk paths are narrower which maybe gives me a little more growing room but what the hey you will eat well. I will build bird netting supports over my tomatoes this year. I put yellow bowels with soapy water between the cages. The yellow attracts bugs and the soapy water gets them. It is amazing what flies, crawls and slithers into the yellow bowels.
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what to do after harvest
Q
Comments (3)
1. Some of us pull everything out of the ground and put it into the compost while others of us see no reason to cart that stuff to the compost pile and then back so we leave that to get digested in the garden, amounts to the same thing one is just a bit less work than the other. 2. If you have a continuous mulch then a cover crop is not necessary, most of us that plant a cover crop/green manure crop do that where the soil would be left bare, although some will till in the mulch and plant that cover crop. Largely a waste of time and energy, however. 3. The major purpose of a cover crop is to protect the soil against erosion so you would not want one that would be winter killed and you would not want to mow it before the snow flys. However, that cover crop would need to be tilled in before spring planting, more maybe unnecessary work. 4. Rather than storing the leaves you accumulate this fall to use as mulch next spring put that on your gardens this fall so that work is done before next spring, and all the necessary work that entails, arrives. One more job out of the way now that will not be necessary then. 5. If a good mulch layer is down when the snow pack melts any "weeds" will have difficulty germinating and growing so they would not be a problem. One more job fall mulching has eliminated. Ask those questions since that is the way we all learned.
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Remove everthing, Start anew
Q
Comments (1)
Solarization is iffy at best. If this were my garden, I'd go with RoundUp or similar product and blast the heck out of the weeds. 2 applications about 14 days apart and you should be good to go. Instead of "fill' dirt, opt for a decent garden planting mix. It may cost a bit more but you will be getting the good drainage and organic matter a lawn needs to thrive and without the possible contamination (weeds, roots, rocks, misc. debris) that fill dirt normally has to offer. Preparing a good seed bed - regardless if you are seeding a lawn or laying sod - is the most important aspect of planning for a new lawn. I'd go towards the extravagant end with this (more soil as opposed to less) as it will save you time and money in the long run. You want to grade the soil so that it is even and any dips are filled or lumps flattened out but it should have a bit of a slope and away from the house. I'm not sure where in CO you might be located but if you are planting a cool season lawn (bluegrass, fescues, creeping ryes) you want to wait until late August/September to seed. That still gives you plenty of time to get things prepared thoroughly before you lay seed. Once the seed is laid, make sure it stays evenly moist for good germination. CSU has a great horticultural website and I've linked to their turf section for you. This should be perfect info for your area. Here is a link that might be useful: CSU turf info
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Starting to call it quits for the season
Q
Comments (5)
I'm a propagater/experimenter, too. In fact, I always check out the clearance rack this time of year with the intention of buying something just to take cuttings, or for their seed. Last year I bought a huge, over grown Alabama Sunset coleus for a $1.00 at Lowes. Actually it was more of a spindly, bush. I took over a dozen cuttings and rooted them over the winter. The following spring I planted 6 and gave the rest away. Right now, I'm checking out everything in my garden in terms of propagation. It's been a very hard summer around here, and its taken its toll, but I've got my rooting hormone, clippers, and a prepared bed awaiting some cuttings. Heather, the way I look at it is that you have nothing to lose, and everything to gain when you take cuttings to propagate. Plus, it's fun! :-) Good luck! Marilyn
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mrsg47
Original Author
10 years ago
All of the fruit trees form a large rectangle around the rose garden. Takes a lot of work, but I do love it. On my Christmas list this year, are endless bags of mulch and topsoil. My husband and friends are now very used to this request. My friends are so surprised to find out I do it all myself (except for clipping the privet arches and hedges. (in the pic they had not yet been cleaned up). Anyway, the orchard gets bigger and better every year. I have many of you to thank for its health and vigor. You know who you are. Thank you , Mrs. G
Konrad___far_north
10 years ago
WOW...is coming along nicely!
mrsg47
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks Konrad, you are a huge inspiration for me. Mrs. G
User
10 years ago
Mrs. G,

What a beautiful garden!! What are your rose varieties? Besides having an orchard, I try to maintain a perennial garden. Yours is beautiful.
mrsg47
Original Author
10 years ago
The roses are: Rhapsody in Blue, Rosa Mundi, Spirit of Freedom, Gold Medal, Tiffany, Blue Girl, the Pilgrim, Ferdinand Pichard, A Shropshire Lad, Ambridge Rose, The Prince, Wonder Stripe, Portlandia. More to follow. That is just the Rose Garden, My perennial beds are on the other side of the privet. I do not grow grafted roses. They are all on their roots. They take longer to establish, but once they get going, you cannot kill them. Mrs. G
User
10 years ago
Do you spray your roses? I used to be crazy about roses before I started an orchard. Rose forum used to be my favorite. I don't spray them and most get black spot badly by mid summer esp.the Austins. Any of your roses are black spot resistance?

My perennial bed will be redone next spring.

Looking at the picture of your rose garden is inspiring. Maybe, I should put more work on my roses next spring, too.
mrsg47
Original Author
10 years ago
I spray my roses with the same mixture as my trees. The fungicides are perfect. Monterey Fungi fighter and Immunox are excellent for black spot. The leaves of my roses are pristine and glossy. No black spot. Triaz. mixed with immunox is what I use most of the time (with a sticker). the triazicide takes care of aphids and japanese beetles, or any other nasty insect. Mrs. G
olpea
10 years ago
Lovely garden Mrs. G.

I've paid attention to your gardening journey since you started posting on this forum.

It looks like some of your trees in the background are ready to give you a good amount of fruit.

In few years (maybe next year) you will be so covered up in fruit.
Tony
10 years ago
Beautiful orchard Mrs. G. A nice place you can kick back and relax in the evening.

Tony
mrsg47
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks guys, I'll shoot it again in winter so you can see the large trees. I'm trying to keep everything at about 12' max. There is a peach tree to the far left of this picture, that has gotten away from me a bit, but its only about 14' tall. I have since pruned it. It is a very relaxing place to be at the end of a day. This picture was taken in June. Its been a great journey, Olpea and Tony! Mrs. G

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