Apple Trees join the Home Garden

Yesterday I cruised the local nursery and found two apple trees to add our home orchard. We already have two peach trees: an O'Henry peach tree that ripens in mid-August and a Reliance peach tree that ripens in mid- to late-October. It's been easy to tell when the O'Henry ripens (purchased solely for its name -- my husband loves the O'Henry stories) because you walk by the tree and the warm sweet peach smell knocks you over. Of course, this tips off the local insect and avian population that "Dinner is served!" The Reliance tree is a little trickier. I have always picked these peaches too early and they are dreadful to skin for skin if they're not fully ripe. This year I vow to wait and wait and wait until I'm certain they have to be ripe.

Anyway, with food and gas prices going the way they are, I've decided that I had better get the home garden into serious shape. So, in addition to a new layout, I am adding a Fuji apple tree and a Honeycrisp apple tree. The Fuji is on B-9 dwarf root stock and the Honeycrisp is on M-111 root stock...for those of you who have any idea what that means (which I sort of understand! A bit.). We love eating apples at our house, and I'm looking forward to applesauce and maybe even trying my hand at apple juice. Ah, the glorious delusions of spring gardening.

I also got the lumber for my planter beds today: 2x6 treated lumber for 2 beds that will be 3'x6' and one that will be 2'x4'. I know the small one seems a little odd, but that was how it worked out to efficiently use 3 lengths of 16' lumber. And the lumber guys were nice enough to cut it all for me for free. Now I get to use power tools to put them all together. Another day.