So pruning has begun and i really do miss it.. I havent been much on keeping up on anything but thats life sometimes. I have been just buried in my work and my thoughts. This year should yield some long awaited results. I have great hope.

new year

    So the year is about to begin again and like always I am not ready. I still dont have the house built and my employment situation is as bad as my ability to function.  I really miss my family even after ll we have been through and am so shaken by the whole thing ,I got directional malfunctions. Things are getting a little better for me as I know what the tasks are that need to take place I just have to keep motivated and get them done. 

   I was thinking of trying to get someone to run the operation and me staying out of it. I thought maybe the college or an Individual who was motivated. I have all the equiptment and sprays so its only taxes that need payed and if someone was willing to fight for a decrease in those I could cover that as a thank you. I could work on the house then and un burden myself of all the stresses if only for a minute. I always have known I did not build this place for me. I just hate to admit how just flattened I am by my current life status. Its as if I need tome to heal but knowing the orchards can provide that and not being able to partake becasue my house needs finished.. Im like a scrambled egg.lol
   If your interested please contact me,I am easy to work with and its all you..

remember the emperor splendor

 This gives you an Idea on how big the leaves are,and I dont have small hands by any means.lol

REMEMBER these trees were planted last aug and were cutt off at the ground in feb.So this is this years growth. Some are well over eight foot and a few have reached 4 inch stalk diameter and are in the fifteen foot range..World tree tech  may be my new hero..

not one of you

I move forward at a much different pace now and will try to keep up with the blog.Nobody bought the place so it continues to be my duty.

on pine 2

This site has the walnut trees as well as some peach and of course the creek has Paw P aws and hazelnuts. I gotta say it was a slaughter during pruning and it was more of a shaping with these peach trees. I still dont know what im doing ,but Im getting it done and I feel as if I got a clue. I guess the hardest part is cutting away so much tree.I fear Im hurting it but at the same time it need shape.I will feed the heck out of these trees as it has proven to be the key.I have trees that are three times bigger than what I have sold to others.I know some of that is Gods blessing but some of it is the fertilizer. Simple miracle grow injuected in the ground around the tree..awesome results and cheep but time consuming

walnut and apple on pine

These apple trees produced great last year and grew like crazy,I also cut tons of growth from the walnut trees .,I still havent done anything with the hill across the creek but bamboo in the wettest area and I am wondering if I should go apricots on the mound or emperor splendor.

emperor splendor update

 In this 1 acre plus site  I planted the cold weather variety of the emperor splendor in Aug of 2014.

This is a few of the stalks I cut off at the ground in hopes the tree reacts the way it was promised and should be between ten and 20 foot of growth this year. The stalk is somewhat hollow but green which tells me everything survived the winter...yeahhh...
http://us.worldtreetech.ca/home

fish again

Nobody likes to see things die or be the cause of it. Last year I took all the fish from the ponds and put them in my basement aquaponic system for safe keeping.I forgot the hose running in the tank and along with a 250 dollar water bill and emergency contact from the water company,all the fish died from the chlorine or water temp.It was my fault and I felt horrible because it was my responsibility and I failed.I will try again this year and be much more aware..

2 outa 3

I have one more sign for sponsored orchards but I cant find the picture. The space is for small placards to be placed to show whos is where and row location,on the sponsored it will be sponsors name. I aslso have a sign being made that says "lets grow together with my email address that can be printed on both sides to maybe be able to start getting gifts so I can grow..

Reliance Peaches

I spaced these bad boys a little further apart so they could breath. I pruned in here and was a little nervous at the strange gooey stuff coming from the graft but I can do nothing about it.Im unsure if it is a beetle entrance wounds or if its normal.Once again I will be filling in the missing paw paws with Hazelnuts along the waterway..

Blues Jam plumbs

This is full of Plumbs and those are paw paws along the waterway,I will be "filling in" with Hazelnut trees where the paw paws didnt make it.It took me most of the day to prune this orchard because of the incredible amount of growth. I will be doing a video on this to show just how much growth there was.

some of day 2

 Spent a few hours here today removing tree guards and pruning..

This entire site is pretty much a tributary of Spoon River I.I have it planted full of North Star cherry trees with a little closer spacing than my other sites but I am limited in what I can so here so I may try some bamboo on the widest side to fill the gap with a cash crop as they say.I pruned these hard to be a tree instead of a shrub.I wish I could carve stumps because i got a couple of dandies here,anybody interested?

Pruning day one

 This is a small lot but holds 88 early lambert  with the exception of a few North Star fill ins..

This is an even smaller lot full of North Star cherries,like 30 or  so.I never counted them I guess,Im just glad they are growing so well.I could prob ably put another tree in between each of the rows but I dont have the money right now to do it and by the time I do it will probably be too late.I may have some stock left over form last year but Im sure its not enough..

finally

 I have chased money to put a plan into action where birds could be raised and released in town for a long time. Maybe you remember my original plan about the Dry Basin Project or maybe your just one of my friends who hear me preaching about how important it is to re supply birds to the area. I originally wanted to try raising and releasing  the prairie chicken but there range and price (nearly impossible to find at 500 plus per pair but surprisingly available in a couple online hatcheries), made it unrealistic at the time but a thought for the future. Well the future bit me in the butt.. I could have been eligible for some money to help from some F.S.A. and U.S.D.A. if I would have known what they had to offer.So I was wondering if ?
      Is  anybody interested at all in helping with finding and applying for assistance ? I have been recently issued a farm tract# on half of the properties and we are at about 4.1 acres. I have one active bee hive and several bat houses on inner city flood plains planted in fruit ,nut ,timber,and experimental trees as well as corn. I am getting some pet bob white quail this year as well as some of my favorite ducks.I hope to build a small aviary at the house I personally purchased in the middle of the area. This house will feature an attached greenhouse/aquaponic system and will be mostly recycled and made from recycled materials. I hope to have a functioning off grid kitchen and heat source as well as a few other green goals as well as a saw mill .The problem is that I need help,I have a little money so I am reaching out to those who could help me stretch it.
  I am slammed with things to do but I feel I am missing out on opportunities because I am so busy working and building on the house.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_bobwhite
http://www.birdinginformation.com/birds/ducks/mandarin-duck/
 
  I am not going to be letting birds go but I  would like to be ready to when and if I can by having some of my favorites on hand.I think birds are great pets and companions and hopefully I can dig a pond on the new property and raise some fathead minnows and a pair if african grey geese.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fathead_minnow

 Yes the grey geese would be for me,I love this breed and was devastated to loose my girls.

So I am planting some more edibles

bamboo supplier
  I have ordered some bamboo to plant in a few specific locations that can be easily managed as not to pollute the local landscape. I have planted varieties that are edible as well as useful in construction and weaponry.
 I havent been keeping up to date with this site, so this is my quick post to get started again.I have so much too share,be patient. I am still on my own in this venture physically and financially while trying to maintain existence like everyone else on Gods green earth.

this is getting harder too do

I never have time to write about all the things that have been going on and yet at the same time the trees are still sleeping but the grass is green and the garbage is visible still.I need help to walk through the creek and clean it out.I guess I should say "the northern most fork of the spoon river"" I see that it is nearly the conception point of the "spoon". It is here that so many of my orchards just so happened to be cast upon.Its as if its purposeful,like to clean it up and keep it that way. I am uncertain but I may have mentioned in the past about the spoon river conservation committee.
 I wish I had some help to clean it up because I still have to check each tree and fix the grow tubes along the waterway.I need to get some buckwheat seeded along the creek first so that the litter picking will drive it down deep.It really needs to be burnt after I failed last year to control the weeds.This year is buckwheat seed along the waterway and if that doesnt work I will have ot just maintain it.

The year of the horse

   It has been awhile to say the least! I have again used my time away to try to understand how to keep moving forward. I believe I have a plan but it seems I will need help and lots of it.
   I havent been sharing much lately but I have some very big plans for this year which will take alot of money that I am currently trying to earn.
   I have decided to plant a tree that will be a lumber and "foodleaf" as well as "foodblossom" producer. The other deciding factors for me were the ability for the tree to grow very quickly and keep regenerating from the rootstock.I am not going to list all the things that make this tree amazing but I really have high hopes for what it could do in a local economy. An I think that is worth planting a hundred trees minimum.I actually would like to plant that every year for seven to ten years.I need to convince some of you to invest in what I am doing or offer up some interest free loan or line of credit with easy terms. I can offer a reference,I have only one.I really need gift money but I hate to ask for it.I may have to hire some help to get the house structure on the washington property solid and I will have so much to do in the orchards.If you live in the area maybe mowing could be how you help out this year.
 

   

bought a couple more properties?

 I thought I was done buying property but I ended up with two more! One was needed for an access point to get to an orchard that is tough to reach the other is actually a house that I will be rebuilding as a place to live.
  The house is becoming necessary because of the on going issue with the train horns and the constant high speed traffic,not too mention that the neighbors are constantly changing and too close.The new yard will be 170 by 180 and connects to an orchard of that same size.
  I also have had enough with the high energy bills and am interested in a more energy efficient home that can sustain off grid living..
  I am so busy with work and the orchards I am interested to see how this house is gonna get built but I am sure it will happen.
 Not much else to report on except the trees are "napping" so its time to boogy

spend spend spend

 It seems I rarely do anything but spend money lately.New tires on truck and car repairs and chainsaw and sprays,but I never seem to find the time to do much work. I did however get the land cleared and some remaining cherry trees planted on the mill street site and notify the buyers of the cottage street site that the deed has arrived and they should get with an attorney to settle the property. It would be a tough spot to grow anything and they dont gnat trees in there so now it will go to them.
 I will probably check into purchasing a lot or two to replace the one I sold and then concentrating monies on finalizing the signs and web site for the entire program.I also have some areas that will need trees in the spring to finish filling in and I need to start leaning towards expansion planing for future projects using money solely generated by the program so I can relieve financial stress in my own home.
 I still need to get a tree carver in here to do some work so I am busy behind the scenes.

some pics

 This is the winter wheat variety I planted in the flood plains, it is up about 2 inches and seems to be doing well!

This is the new trailer under renovation, it has been painted and has new tires,. It will get a bottom and removable sides for mulching and the carrying of the mower(it does tilt).
   I  have been so busy I havent been able to keep up with the whole program,I will try harder to delegate my responsibilities!