Tags
apple trees, apples, gardening, mini, mini-dwarf fruit trees, permaculture, spring gardening, suburban gardening
We are trying to achieve balance in our suburban yard between practical and beautiful (although the practical can also be beautiful). Ben is always headed to Raintree Nursery to see what else our garden needs in the way of berries or fruit trees. At times he gets a little carried away, such as with the 16 blueberry plants crammed into our yard amongst the rhodies and camellias. He is also excited about berries, especially since this is the first year they will bear fruit.
I am most excited about the apples. The blossoms were specatacular this year and the fruit set the best we have seen for a long time. We have two established dwarf trees (one is gravenstien and I think the other is Chehalis). Because these are not in the best location (not as much sunlight as they should have) I use these apples for apple sauce. There is a third established tree that was here when we moved in and produces the most beautiful red apples. The only problem is it was plant on the side of a steep hill (we call it the gully) and is VERY hard to harvest. Finally, we have two mini-dwarf apple trees in pots. One is William’s and one is mine. These trees will perfect for William to take care of and enjoy as he grows up. They are both Queen Cox and are grafted on a heavybearing, especially small rootstock. Technically we shouldn’t have let them produce this year but we couldn’t resist. One tree set only one apple so the tree itself should continue to grow larger. The other tree won’t grow as large because we have allowed it to bear the apples it set. I haven’t counted but there are more than a dozen fruits developing. There is something so hopeful about watching the blossoms swell into baby apples. The life cycle continues and next up are strawberries!