Sundown Handmade

Dreaming of Soil

I woke up this morning with the scent of soil in my nose and an urge to get out and work the soil. I have already planted radishes and peas this year as well as 4 blueberry plants and two elderberries. Here in Portland, OR we don't really have a hard frost so many things can go in pretty early in the season as the soil is workable year round. I planted the blueberry and elderberry so early in the season so that they can enjoy a bit of the wet weather to get their root system off to a good start.

I've been able to get in the garden enough to scratch the itch but I'm yearning for the days spent with the earth nurturing our plants and feeding the soul. My kids feel it too asking to run into the yard and they sink their hands into the soil of the empty garden bed waiting for the broccoli and cauliflower transplants that are growing under the artificial light in my kitchen. I love the temptation of spring but every year I have to teach myself the same lesson. Wait until the timing is right, you can't rush the seasons no matter how hard you try. 

Winter Pruning Fruit Trees

Since I moved to Portland, I've wanted to get involved with the Portland Fruit Tree Project. The idea that they take care of somewhat abandoned fruit trees and then harvest the fruit giving half to the volunteers and half to a local food shelter sounded like a great idea. This past December I decided to officially sign up as a Tree Care Member. This means that on a somewhat regular basis I go out and learn about the whole process of fruit tree care while working on a somewhat neglected orchard in a resident's backyard. It's pretty amazing that in the heart of the city someone can have a full on orchard in their backyard. This past weekend we went out for the second time to focus on winter pruning. It was amazing seeing what just a couple of larger cuts can do to really open up the center of the fruit tree and bring down the height. I learned that the most important thing to do is to take a step back and really picture what you want the tree to look like thinking about fruit and leaves being on all the branches. From there figure out your biggest offenders and go for it. The general rule we were taught with fruit tree pruning was to take out 1/3 of the branch mass which is quite a lot when you see branches on the ground after you are finished pruning depending on the size of the tree. If you are interested in learning more about taking care of any fruit trees in your backyard I highly recommend this book. The book is called Grow a Little Fruit Tree and is a great introduction into managing a small backyard orchard in your home. 

So what does my orchard look like at my home? So far I have a potted meyer lemon tree and an espalier grafted dual fruiting cherry. Currently I am desperately looking for a bit more space to add an apple tree though with a small city lot size and an increasing vegetable, fruit and herbal medicine garden I'm struggling to find some space. What does your backyard orchard look like? 

One of the beautiful trees from the orchard this past weekend