Mid Summer Update

       We got our new well drilled. Didn't want to drill another hole but the first wells water never did clear up. As you can see from the picture, soon after turning this one on the water looks great. Tested good also. The first well had over 10 ppm of iron in it, this one has none.        We plan on using the first well for our Geo Thermal heating and cooling for the house, when it gets built, so it won't be a total loss.



                                                                 

     
      

       I was  taking a break from the heat one day and two of our barns residents came out to look around. They looked around, decided it was to hot, and went back in the barn. We have about 4 groundhogs that live around the farm. They haven't hurt anything I care about so I figure there's no reason to evict them.

      Well, the name of the farm is changing and our planning of the orchard will be changing as well. Our Korean Giants didn't do real well, we lost 22 of them to fire blight. The people we got the trees from, Willis Orchards, Located in Catersville, Ga. have a first year guarantee and they stand behind it, so we will be getting replacements for the ones lost.

This however has given us a push into reconsidering how we're going to do things. Ideally we don't want to use sprays and chemicals but realistically organic farming for any kind of profit is extremely difficult. So Sandy has been researching and came across "Permaculture Farming". This is the next step past organic. We will be planting many things, not just Asian Pears, that compliment each other, help with fertilization, help with harmful bugs, with pollination, the list goes on. We want to attract beneficial bugs (that sprays would otherwise kill), birds, and of coarse pollinators. I'm thinking that instead of "Pear Blossom Farm" it should be "Blossom Farm" since there will be such a wide variety of blossoms.

Things should settle down in about a month so I'll try to get an update on here then,

Bob

 

Spring

   Well spring has sprung and we got 134 trees planted. We planted a couple persimmons and 5 apple trees, all the rest being Asian Pears. 64 of them are a new variety for us, Korean Giants. We had the opportunity early last fall to try this kind and decided they were good. So we thought "Why not". We added 9 Hosui's, 6 - 20th Century, and 48 Shinko's. We have 3 or 4 of the Korean giant's we're worried won't make it, but all of the remaining trees look great. Also last years trees look even better than great. Every one of them were full of blooms and they've leafed out very nicely. We had one night of concern, it got to below freezing for about 6 to 8 hours, but the blooms where pretty much done by then and the trees showed very little signs that it had even gotten that cold.

   The well we had drilled has proven to be a true strain. The water never has cleared up and after testing found high iron content. While it's true the trees won't care about that, the water will eventually be used in our future home. At one point we are fairly certain the well had a minor cave in. So after weighing the pro's and con's, high cost of filtration being one, we've decided to drill another well. It has also been decided by my wife and Casey well drilling that I will not be allowed to pick the spot this time. It's the luck of the draw and you can never tell what you'll get when you drill a hole in the earth. Just a shame it wasn't oil. I'm very confident the next one will be a great well, and as for the old one, I'm fairly certain it can be repurposed (fingers crossed) for Geo thermal heating and cooling for our home, so it won't go to waste.

   The cows are gone, at least till the fall. The farmer that owns them is letting the grass grow on my property for hay. It has been so nice, no cows knocking down the fence, no cows sticking thier heads in my truck licking the steering wheel (yes that happened), and I haven't had to close a single gate behind me. It really will be a great summer.

   Plans for our home have been reset. However with the new ideas Sandy has really gotten invested in the project so that is a turn for the good as well.

   No pictures with me since I'm writing this at work. I'll get some and post them hopefully within the next 3 or 4 weeks. Or maybe Sandy will get some on here.

  Take care,

       Bob

Winter

   Well as you can see winter finally got to East Tennessee. Thankfully the driveway got cut before it snowed. It's been wet and now snowy so not much has been going on. We will be getting 134 trees the first of April so the busy time of year is fast approaching.
    I'll post some more pictures next time.

Busy right into the fall

Turkey's checking things out.

   I've been seeing a couple different flocks of turkeys on and off since last year. This is one flock I saw this fall, about 10 males as near as I can tell. Looking for the ladies I imagine.
   The well is finally finished, unfortunately the water is a little cloudy. We've been running it for extended periods to work the cloudiness out. Seems to be working. Also have moved the fence where the trees are to accommodate another 48 trees. And I have driven all the posts in the ground for a fence to go around another 64 trees.
   The majority of the driveway is being cut hopefully right now, so all the slipping and sliding when it rains will be a thing of the past. Also we are finalizing the plans for our new home.
  So things are at least moving along. :)

It's been a very busy summer

 

   We finally have the pump house built, electric hooked up and everything plumbed as of 8/21/15. We have a fairly minor issue with the well that Casey well drilling will hopefully have taken care of soon.

  Way down at the far end you can see Sandy doing a rain dance. We've been lucky with the rain we've gotten due to the delays we've had getting the well system in, however I would have liked to have seen a little more rain. I'm not complaining though, it coulda been a dry summer.

    All in all it's been a fairly productive summer. The trees look good and we are in our planning stage for more trees. We are thinking about getting some "Korean Giant" Asian pears this next time. Also, since these trees have done so well we will be getting the next ones from Willis Orchards again.

   I wish I had a picture of when the june bugs moved in. Sandy was beside herself thinking they'd eat the trees. I told her to catch one, tie a piece of thread to it's leg and fly it like a kite. She wouldn't go for it.

   Also in our news, we had the opportunity to stop and visit Paul and Su at their Asian pear orchard known as Virginia Gold Orchard. They were very gracious and sat down with us, more than willing to help us along in our Asian pear growing journey. Check them out on their website by the same name. We plan on visiting with them again soon during the picking season and try some of their delicious pears. I'll remember to get a couple pictures when we go back.

    That's about it for now.

We've started drilling our well.

   The day to begin drilling our well finally came today (5/19/15). The day began interestingly enough. Our contractor called first thing this morning to say there was a calf with it's head stuck between the wheel and tool box of his water truck. So I in turn had to call the farmer that owns the cows and see if he could get right over there. Short version is the calf is OK with a minor scrape and a life lesson, don't look under trucks. At about 150 feet the hydraulic motor that is used for the rigging to pick up drilling pipe and set it in place decided to start leaking around the shaft seal. So around 1 p.m. we had to call it a day for repairs. These things happen and I know we'll be up and running as soon as it's possible.