fruit trees Archives - Good Food St. Louis

Spring Comes to the Ozarks

Last weekend at the farm wasn’t just a Food Fest, it was also a Work Fest. At this time of the year, I’m overcome by an urge to part the soil and sprinkle the contents of colorful seed packets into neat, little rows.

Robin and Lucy work on the newly created rock garden.

Robert gives some TLC to one of the new apple trees.

The Joy of Planting

Being even more ambitious this year, we made a nursery run and returned with a Gala and a Honeycrisp apple tree (two previous ones didn’t survive—obviously, I’m no Jeannie Appleseed.) We also picked up two, Serviceberries to replace the hundred-year old elms, that succumbed to disease a few years ago, leaving a sad, vacant space at the front of the house.

I know this looks like some ritual spring dance, but actually Robin and Robert are preparing to string netting over the new apple trees to keep wildlife at bay.

Buying Apples vs. Growing Apples

Buying trees is easy; planting and caring are the hard parts. But we all joined hand and spade and finally got the trees in the ground and mulched. (I use the “royal we,” since I mostly gave directions—-every job needs a project manager, right?

It occurred to me as we wrestled the heavy root balls into the ground, that I could buy bushels of apples for what it was costing me to plant those two fruit trees with the needed fertilizer, mulch, watering bag, and netting. But when planting, you develop a relationship with the tree bearing the fruit. I like that. It makes the work worthwhile.

As always, planting is an act of great hope and no little faith.

The greening of springtime as viewed from the farmhouse porch.

For, lo,

the winter is past,

the rain is over and gone;

the flowers appear on the earth;

the time of the singing of birds is come,

and the voice of the turtle(dove) is heard in our land.

~ Song of Solomon

Ah, the splendor of spring with its bright, warm, colorful days. It’s a season that always put a spring in my step. At the farm, it also means there’s work a-plenty: weeding, planting, mowing, trimming, repairing, painting, cleaning. It’s been said that at the end of a spring day, you should smell like dirt. That’s not a problem around here.

My daughter, Robin, and I spent some time during the weekend assessing the damage of winter. A spring survey helps me to know what chores need to be done. There was a time when I would have taken on many of those tasks myself. But now I’m more of a “farm superintendent,” able to see things that need doing before anyone else ever notices. It’s a gift.

Budding Trees, a Hopeful Sign of Fruit to Come

The fruit trees we planted over the last two years—a peach, pear, and couple of apples—look quite healthy and happy. The old, well-established cherry tree stands like a Sequoia among the nearby saplings. I’ve not yet checked on the pear tree, that’s nearly 100 years old. Sometimes its bountiful; other times, it takes the summer off. There were no pears last year; so I’m hopeful it’s back in business this season.

Robin inspects the peach tree we planted two years ago. Lookin’ good!

The old sour cherry tree has survived many a winter and looks in fine shape. Boy, does it make a good cherry cobbler! The trick is to harvest the cherries before the birds do.

On Easter Sunday, when my friend, Lucy, gave me this seedling, we planted a bit of “hope” in the form of a small fig tree.

I’ve talked about planting a fig tree for a long time. My grandson has had success with a Chicago Hardy variety from which he got fruit the second year. I told him my new plant has a long way to go. Even so, he encouraged me, saying that figs grow really fast. We’ll see.

I love the lighting and expression in this photo of my grandson, Austin, bringing me a platter of figs last summer. Maybe I can return the favor in a few years.

More Springtime Chores

On our survey of the farm, Robin stopped to secure the windmill.

The windmill is one of the first things you see approaching our farm, its blades whirling in the wind, grabbing energy from the sky. The antique turbine was a Christmas gift from my kids one year and arrived in 50 pieces on the back of a truck. Needless to say, there was some assembly required. But it works well, pumping water into two nearby ponds, that aren’t especially fond of holding water.

While you take on the chores of spring, I hope you’ll find time to enjoy the magic of the season as well. Remember: “Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s party!'”