First Gooseberry Crop

My first crop of gooseberries after 4 years of the bugs eating
the bush down to nothing. Why they didn't eat it this year I have no idea.
I didn't do anything to prevent them.

This is a very small bowl....not enough to do anything with, except eat fresh.
My 5 year old grandson said they tasted like grapes.
At least he didn't spit them out :-) They are quite tasty.

I do believe I will be planting a couple more bushes!

.....dr momi

 

Mulberry Fun

 

    I planted a 4 foot tall mulberry tree by the chicken coop 5 years ago.  It was a tree planted by the birds in the old fenceline.  I knew they grew fast.  I never imagined it would grow this big in such a short time.

  It is loaded with fruit this year.  My husband calls it a "bear dinner bell".  The chickens think the fruit is a great substitute for a worm. But, the grandkids thought it was a mulberry piñata!  They had a grand time gobbling up the fruit as it fell.

                              ......and they all had purple mustaches!

     A mulberry tree is a great addition to a homestead.  Planting it by the chicken coop was perfect for shade and chicken food.  All my grown children were saying "I want a mulberry tree!".  I reminded them it would be a pretty messy tree in town.
    Mulberry wine....mulberry pie......mulberry jam....just thinking out loud :-)

.....dr momi

Linked to: Homestead Barn Hop #118
 

Digging Holes

     Ya, so much for digging the holes before my tree/bush order came.  I picked them up this afternoon.  Five Nankin Cherries, five Highbush Cranberries, two Hazelnut trees, two Stanley Plum trees, one Lodi Apple tree, and ten Forsythia bushes.  Six holes are dug (this morning) and I'm dizzy and my knee isn't happy. .......and there was still some frost in the ground closer to the woods!!   My son helped plant the trees when I got home.  Thanks Matt!  Just the bushes left for tomorrow -- not as deep of holes :-)

     Rick put together and dug a hole for my mason bee house.  Let the orchard blossoms begin!  (But not too soon -- another week of low 30's nights is in the forecast!)




My mason bee hive is in place in the orchard. (Thanks Honey!)
The hole right next to it is where I am making a mud patch for the bees
 to plug the holes after they lay their eggs.
Check out my mason bee post under "bees" for more info on them.


 

Snow Drift Unveiling

     The snow melted -- a lot .  Yesterday it was in the high 70's.  (Friday's high is suppose to be 39 degrees -- only in Wisconsin). Snow doesn't hang around long at that temp.  Look at what I found in the orchard.




     I wonder what I was digging, and what seed I was collecting, just before the first snowfall last year.  I really have no recollection.  Now, if the kids were still home, I'm sure I would have blamed one of them. :-)



The same snow drift did some early pruning on this apple tree. 
The bottom three branches are all broken.

      .....dr momi

Ordering Trees/Bushes

     Rick (my husband) and I have been getting our order together from the Menominee Conservation District in Upper Michigan. We ordered from them last year.  The trees and bushes were absolutely beautiful!  So strong and healthy.  We learned the lesson of not ordering more than we can plant in the next day or two from when we get them.  Rick and his brother ordered 200 Norway spruce and some apples last year.    ..........let's just say the chiropractor could have used a chiropractor :-) They are ordering 100 Norway spruce this year and some wild apple trees for their hunting land.  Hopefully they spread it out over two days.  They won't get any help from me :-) 

     I will be planting what I buy for the homestead.  Last year what I bought from them was; 5 elderberries,  5 sand cherries,  5 nannyberries, 5 highbush cranberries, a Wolf River apple tree, and a flowering crab apple.  Everything is alive and well.

     This year I'm buying 5 nankin cherries, 5 more highbush cranberries (part of a windbreak), a Lodi apple tree, 5 hazelnut trees,  10 forsythia bushes, a Stanley plum, and a Victory plum.  That's about all the holes I can dig.  Actually, I will have most of the holes dug and ready before they come.

     Why such an array?  Am I really interested in feeding the turkeys and deer?     uuhhhh No.  I'm sure they will take their share though.  Everything being planted has a reason.  It's either food for our table, with any extra going to the pigs, ducks, and chickens, or, I am specifically planting it for winter feeding of the chickens.  (all those small fruits I will dry).  The forsythias are for early feeding of my bees (and because I love them blooming so early in the spring too :-)........and I might make some sand cherry wine this year. :-)

   

Grow Goji Berry







Buy organic dried Goji Berries






Soak the berries in water.






Squeeze out the seeds and let them dry on paper towel for a few days.





Plant the seeds.  (They look like sesame seeds) They will grow!
 Goji berries are good for you!

     Gogi berry info:

-the berries are extremely high in antioxidants.

-it is a deciduous, woody, perennial.

-likes lots of sun.

-plant it in a good quality garden soil but with enough sand in it for good drainage.

-a full size shrub can grow to 8 ft.

-it won't bear fruit till it's third year.


-I'm planting mine in containers till the second or third year.  Good Luck!