Orchard 3: Photos 2010-2012

This post has a bunch of pictures of Terribly Happy’s orchard, in roughly chronological order. They’re numbered to aid in earlier/later comparisons.

2010

1. We first saw this property with our realtor on 3 May 2010. This view N shows part of the high tunnel (hoop house) and some of the filberts, which John Hogan planted in spring 2006 (so they’re 4 years old here). Compare with picture 14!

2. Beth took this picture of me with the filberts on 26 June 2010, about 2 weeks after we moved in. Later that day we mowed down the grass (picture 3). Hard to tell because I’m bent over, but the filberts are about 5-6’ high. My head is pointing toward the Williams Pride & Scarlet Surprise apples, which John planted in spring 2007 (so they’re 3 years old here. The gate and fence in the foreground came down in winter 2011 when we fenced the entire property.

3. Mowing is underway on 26 June 2010. View N of (L to R) filberts (bushy), apples, persimmons (right down the row), and chestnuts. John planted the persimmons and chestnuts in spring 2008, so they’re 2 years old here. Compare with pictures 8 (2011) and 14-17 (2012).

4. Beth mowing with the 1948(?) Ford tractor that we traded away before long. View S of (L to R) almonds, chestnuts, persimmons, and apples. Compare with pictures 8 (2011) and 15-18 (2012).

5. I mulched the trees with the mowed grass (L to R, apples, persimmons, chestnuts). 11 July 2010.

6. 1 Aug 2010: mulched (R to L) persimmons, chestnuts, and almonds in the distance. Note the weird poplar-like upright shape of the persimmons. Not desirable. See what I did later in picture 16.

2011

Even though I finally moved permanently to Oregon in late spring 2011, I took almost no pictures of the orchard that year! I guess I was too busy working.

7. Fortunately, my parents visited, and Dad shot a 7-minute video of the place with his camera on 8 June 2011. This view to the NE shows a filbert at left, and apples, persimmons, chestnuts, and almonds progressively farther away.

8. Beth took this picture of me adding bark mulch to the persimmons (left) and chestnuts (right) in mid-summer 2011.

9. A farmer in coastal Oregon bought our high tunnel/hoop house, which we weren’t planning to use. He and his friends took it down and trucked it home in mid-Dec 2011.

2012

10. In late winter, my assistant Dave Shoemaker and I planted 164 trees and shrubs, including 20 young apple trees in the orchard. Most of those are shown in this 7 March 2012 picture, recognizable from the light-colored circle of pea-gravel mulch that we applied. Thanks Dave (who is built like Popeye) for all the shoveling! The same area is shown in a reversed view three months later in picture 12.


11. Two weeks later (21 March 2012), conditions weren’t quite so, uh, pleasant. Several inches of rain and a bit of snow in a short period flooded the ditch along the road, and parts of the orchard. That “river” at right-center (below neighbor’s garage) is actually within the orchard! though nothing important is planted there.

12. Apples, 5 June 2012. Five-year olds on left bore a great crop this year. March 2012 plantings on right (see picture 10).

13. Persimmons (P) and chestnuts (C), 5 June 2012. I staked out the persimmons in the winter to spread the branches. Compare sizes with 2010 (pictures 3-6), 2011 (picture 8), and Sept 2012 (pictures 16-17).

14. Filberts in the late afternoon on 29 Sept 2012. Compare with picture 1 from May 2010!

15. Apples on 29 Sept 2012. Compare with pictures 10 and 12 from earlier this year, and pictures 2 and 3 from 2010.

16. Persimmons on 29 Sept 2012. Staking produced broader shape. Compare sizes in pictures 3-6 (2010) and 8 (2011).

17. Chestnuts on Sept 29 2012. Some are now >10’ high; compare sizes in pictures 3-6 (2010) and 8 (2011). Produced our first crop this year—they’re delicious!

18. Almonds on Sept 29 2012. While these trees are “Pacific Northwest-hardy” and will survive, they won’t grow significant crops. I’ve already pulled four weak trees, and will do the same to most of the rest (within the pink boundary). I’ll keep tending the eight within the white boundary—they’re healthier, and also nearer the house and forest garden, so it’s a simple matter to add them to my irrigation schedule.