Fruit Tree Care

Today I pruned the fruit trees. It was sunny and warm (45F), with a light breeze blowing, and so was a good day to get some outdoor chores done.

My trees are a few years old now, and, with the exception of the cherry trees, the form is established. So all I really need to do anymore is clip the growing tips back to about 6", and cut out any crossing branches. It's light work, and Thing 1 came to help pick up all the fallen twigs. We dry them out and use them for kindling.

That accomplished, I took a look around the yard. The herb garden took a major hit with the temps going down to 1F. I definitely lost the rosemary, catnip and fennel (although enough fennel seed fell, so it'll be back next year), probably lost the tarragon and lavendar, and may have lost the bay trees and sage. Ouch.

The mousies have had a hayday under all the snow. They took out some shallots in the veg garden, and there are holes and paths all over the lawn. Any ideas for dealing with voles, I'd love to hear them!

Tuesday's supposed to be warm, so I'll spray the fruit trees with a dormant spray, and hopefully have a chance to weed out one of the veggie beds. I've received the seeds from Territorial, but not those from Fedco. But that's another post....