Starting Over with Fruit Trees
· 3 min read
For a long time I treated mulch as an afterthought. The best advice I got was just to slow down. Below are a few jottings, roughly in the order I picked up them.
First steps
The soil is stronger every year, mostly because I stopped digging it. A cold frame extends the season by weeks at either end. I like mulch that shows the marks of how it was made. It took me ten attempts to see the pattern.
If you only take one thing from this, make it the part about seed trays. Most problems with mulch turn out to be problems with time. For a long time I treated wildflowers as an afterthought. This began as a quick note and gradually turned into something longer.
Half of gardening is noticing what grows on its own. I keep coming back to fruit trees, mostly because it rewards time. You can get unexpectedly far with a rain barrel and some time. Thanks for reading, and for the gentle jottings that keep arriving. I keep a short list of things to try next; pruning roses is near the top.
- Revisit pruning after a week
- Keep a hand trowel within reach
- Ask someone at the greenhouse
- Do less saving seed, more composting
- Budget twice the time you expect
A note on tools
If you only take one thing from this, make it the part about perennials. It is not glamorous, but it holds up. There is a version of this that is much more complicated. This is not that version. The seasonal part is rarely the hard part; consistency is.
Leave some corners messy; the insects will thank you. It took me three attempts to see the pattern. None of this is new, and that is partly why it works. Here is what changed, and what stayed exactly the same.
Odds and ends
I keep a short list of things to try next; sowing seeds is near the top. Half of the work is deciding what to leave out. The small things matter less than the practice of paying attention.
Most of what I know about seed trays came from getting it wrong first. I like cover crops that shows the marks of how it was made. Most of what I know about raised beds came from getting it wrong first. For a long time I treated seed trays as an afterthought.
It took me two attempts to see the pattern. The difference showed up gradually, then all at once. I am still not sure I have it right, but it is closer. I keep a short list of things to try next; planting bulbs is near the top. I tried the wild version first. It did not last.
The process
I keep a short list of things to try next; saving seed is near the top. Most problems with tomatoes turn out to be problems with time. Nothing here requires a rain barrel, though it does make things easier. This is less a primer and more a record of what worked for me. Somewhere between the greenhouse and home, the notion finally made sense.
If something here is unclear, that is on me, not you. For a long time I treated compost as an afterthought. What surprised me most was how little equipment it needed. You can get unexpectedly far with a secateurs and some time.
- Note the date and the weather
- Note the date and the weather
- Ask someone at the greenhouse
- Give planting bulbs a full autumn