The orchard at its conception.
Just soil and holes.
But don't be fooled. A majority of the toil has already been done.
Next came the plants, mostly tiny wee babies.
As well as bare root stock. Which is ultimately the way to go.
It's not always an option though.
Picking out and picking up plants was a day-long affair...
And then came wicked Spring winds, hail, scorching sun,
and more recently an other storm so icy and cold with speeds greater than 90km/h,
but our orchard is somehow hanging in there.
During the summer it got a little bushy.
In the first winds we thought we lost each and every Elder,
but mid summer they sure looked different!
(Note some hail damage on the leaves.)
Today, most of their smaller, green branches have been snapped, to my great disappointment,
but I think/hope the energy is underground.
Example of bare root success. Raspberries are wonderful!
And our automatic watering system. The best!
Now the mat of thistles that covered the area with the fruit trees has been dug out,
and the plants have all been mulched.
If the snow melts before the ground freezes,
I'll dig out the rest of the more sparsely thistled areas.
(Thank you, thank you, thank you, wonderful Jordan!)
Do you remember this?
Our humble beginnings.
And that was already A LOT of work!
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