Author Archives: Patty Doll

It was an early bloom for the orchard this year. In fact, full bloom for the apple trees was on April 5th and that IS really, really early. We like to see bloom around the 20th of April so there’s … Continue reading →

Pruning has been finished in the orchards for another year. It was a real challenge this season as we were having to deal with so much inclement weather. However, the equipment has been cleaned, repairs made and we’ve put it … Continue reading →

Heavy snowfall the last week of January and frigid temperatures in February put a halt to our annual pruning for several weeks. We were just getting somewhat “caught up” with things again but now we are experiencing a week of … Continue reading →

Fifteen inches of snow and single digit temperatures have put our orchard pruning on hold. We have been making good progress on the annual tree pruning up to this point, probably about 60 percent finished. My focus of this post … Continue reading →

Time has slipped away! We’ve made it through another harvest season and now trying to get back into a writer’s mode. Lots of good intentions but as previously stated, time slipped away. We are currently digging out from 5 inches … Continue reading →

This month of July has just about reached the halfway mark on the calendar. It’s been a somewhat wet month so far and hot. Both of these factors pose significant challenges for growing peaches. These weather conditions impact the quality … Continue reading →

Entering this month of June, things in the orchards look good. Fruit development is good, trees look healthy, insects and fungus are under control. Perhaps the only factors out of control are the weeds and grasses and this is due … Continue reading →

Since the start of this month of April, our peach trees and apple trees have bloomed. A really glorious sight that we never tire of seeing. Nothing more satisfying after a winter of pruning than seeing this beautiful display of … Continue reading →

Mother Nature has teased us this past few days. We’ve had temperatures in the 70’s with brilliant sunshine. Working in the orchard felt great, no layers of coats, gloves or insulated work boots. Great progress was made in finishing pruning, … Continue reading →

Another factor that should be considered when selecting and planting fruit trees is your climate zone. Fruit trees normally are winter hardy. Apple trees can generally withstand temperatures as low as twenty-five degrees BELOW zero. Peach trees on the other … Continue reading →