Another sapling installed

Today, I took advantage of the good weather to transplant a Black Walnut sapling into the orchard. I'd pre-prepared the hole and support post so the process was straight forward. This time it already had soil on the root ball so it should take without too many problems. I had some treeguard tubes available so I was able to protect the slim trunk from rabbit/squirrel damage.

It is fascinating to wonder if I'd still be alive to see the nuts harvested from the tree I just planted. I'm in my mid-sixties so I should have a decade or too left to me. It's the old story, you plant trees for the next generation.

There's a great backlog of work to catch up in the orchard. Mother nature doesn't care if you've been unfit. The sunny weekend day saw plenty of people stopping by for a chat. It slows the work but is most welcome.

No to Fracking in Turnditch

We'll be opposing the move to create a fracking site on the orchard. Meanwhile we managed to get some hedge cutting done as our fitness returns. We found a good number of old nests in the hedges, an increase over previous years.

We've noticed the soil is quite dry for mid-February.  Hopefully we'll get some meaningful rain this Spring.

Spring is not far away

Finally, after recovering from a surgical operation and a subsequently badly sprained ankle, after a 5 month delay I was finally able to get back on the orchard yesterday and today.  I was taking it easy and just planted a Fig shrub and a small Apricot tree (bare roots). I had to clear back some unwanted Elm shrub to provide space for the new arrivals. My folding Silky saw was very handy.

The fig and apricot trees are positioned against a south facing concrete retaining wall. Hopefully that will provide enough shelter and reflected heat to help them flourish.