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.

New Front Gate and Fence

  I got the new Front gate and fence built. This will be the main entrance to the property in the not to distant future. Since I wanted it 16 feet wide I put two 8 foot gates up and am very pleased that I got them lined up and straight when closed together. Our friend Steven deserves some credit and my thanks, he and his wife Star were visiting and he got pressed into service at the point of putting the gates and surrounding posts in.
      Bob

Our Trees are Flowering

  I just thought I'd post a picture of one of our beautiful trees flowering. About 80 percent of our trees have flowers in varying degrees and it seems a shame that any fruit that starts to grow from them will have to be pulled long before they mature. This is necessary so the young trees can put all of their energy into growing a stronger root and trunk system. However the fact that they look this good after having been planted only 6 weeks ago is very encouraging. I am certain Sandy will insist that we leave a couple fruit on the trees next year, but for the benefit of the trees themselves it won't be until 2017 till we get a real crop.
  Also we have contracted Casey Well Drilling to drill a well for us. Hopefully they can get to it sometime in the next month.
        Bob

Buds! and Energy Healing for an Asian Pear Tree

Asian Pear Buds!  Looking Good!

We had a little snow a couple of days ago and I was concerned about our Asian pear trees.  As you can see from this photo they're actually starting to bud!  Hopefully the weather is going to get progressively warmer.  I wonder if we'll get a few blossoms this year.  I don't know what that means for fruit, but it would be cool to see our babies bear flowers.

As I inspected each tree today, most of them looked good. Some of them were a little more developed than others. And there was one in the lower right corner of our orchard which didn't look so good.  It looked like it had sprouted a blossom which died, and the twiggy trunk was a little yellow.  I immediately texted Bob with a photo.  How could all of the other trees look great and this one be struggling?  

And then the truth came out... Apparently when Bob had cut down a honey locust tree over on that side of the orchard, the tree fell on that one little Asian pear tree.  So Bob's nonchalant response was to suggest that I give it some energy.  I am an energy healer who has mostly worked with humans who aren't budding to well. I have worked with some animals, but plants are still a little foreign to me. So there I stood out there in the open with neighbors looking on...eyes closed, hands grasped lovingly around this little twig of a tree, trying not to look to conspicuous.  I basically called in all the helpful energies who might be available for the benefit of these trees.  Then I let myself be the conduit between heaven and earth and allowed the energy to run deep into the ground around the tree... from my energy root system to the tree's.  I don't know if it will help. But it did remind me that I want to delve more deeply into learning about nature intelligence from Michaelle Wright Small of Perelandra.

Energy Healing for an Asian Pear Tree.
I hope he doesn't decide to cut down the other honey locust tree.   

p.s. I was informed that only the very top of the ailing tree was hit, and it wasn't that bad.  Well a little extra TLC never hurts any living thing.

The First Experimental Acre

Bob unloading the trees

Our first 126 trees arrived March 4th, complete with directions for planting.  Because we were just recovering from a deep freeze followed by rain and thawing, we opted to plant them 3 days later.  Bob had already dug the preliminary holes in what we thought would be well-drained soil.  Much to our dismay there were puddles of water standing in some of the holes.  We're not sure if this is the result of the red clay holding in the soaking from the sky, or if there is water under the ground which is rising up.  At this point we're taking an experimental attitude and hoping for the best.

It took us 3 times longer to plant than we expected.  By the end of the first day, with 3 of us working..

Bobby driving the tractor

4 if you count Sadie our dog who was there for moral support and snacks, we had only planted the first 42 (the Shinko's).  And in the consecutive 2 days after, we managed to get in all of the 20th Centuries and the Hosui's.  You wouldn't think that it would take so much to plant 4 ft tall sticks in the ground, but it was quite an ordeal.  The soil started drying out on the second and third days, and all but the holes which were dug in the vein of clay got much more manageable.

This is well drained soil?

Sadie inspecting our work

We have had some nice rain since planting which solved our issues of giving them an initial watering without a ready source of water on the property.  And now we have some sunshine to balance out the moisture.  Hopefully Spring will click in for real very soon, so that our experimental crop has a chance to flourish.

I'm already visualizing round, sweet, crispy fruit.  Whether we get it from these trees in a few years or the grocery store remains to be seen.  The fact that I blessed each one as I put them in the ground, and that Bob (with his gifted green thumb) went through the orchard and touched each one after they were all planted, must surely count for something.

Someday there will be beautiful blossoms and fruit on these trees!

Planning to Plant Our Asian Pear Trees

Bob Laying Out the Grid

As I stepped into the truck today to take the 25 minute drive to Jonesborough, TN, the sky was clear, and the only hint of snow was the white mountain tops which surround us.  Remembering my friends in New England and the relentless blizzard they had just endured, I was overcome with gratitude for the one warmish day we had to plan the next phase of our orchard.

Today we laid out the spacing for planting the first 126 asian pear trees which are scheduled to arrive the first week of March.  As we measured out our grid in the fenced in area, we second guessed the advice we got to place them 12 ft apart with a distance of 18 ft between the rows.  Then we were really thrown off by how misaligned the rows appeared when we laid them out. And then we discovered that the fenced in area where we are placing them is in no way square.  

So glad there was already a fenced off area to keep out the cows

Like I said in our first post, this first acre is our experimental acre.  As we stood overlooking the prospect of how our orchard will grow, it became clear that our plans are very much guided by the natural flow of our land.  There will be unforeseen circumstances which will alter the course of our planting.  Hopefully the unforeseen will unfold the blessings and the graces which make the adventure enriching.

Shhh…..don’t tell Sandy, this is not just an experiment. Bob

The Beginning of Pear Blossom Farm

Our First Farm

When we purchased our 20 acre farm in Jonesborough, TN  we had the intention of building our home there.  That is still our intention, but in the meantime we have discovered a new project, the prospect of which, tickles us to no end.  

I love asian pears.  My husband loves to dig and grow things.  I love the co-creative process of growing things with the help of my husband and mother nature.  Hence, Pear Blossom Farm was born inside the city limits of Jonesborough. Our hope is to have our first crop of asian pears on or before we have moved in to our home.  

The Current Tenants

This is a long term project which we will document here.  

As you can see there is much work to do.  The first couple of photos here were taken on the day of purchase, June 22, 2014.  It is now January of 2015, and we are preparing our land for our first acre of trees.Currently the farm is home to a small herd of cattle, so our first acre of trees has to be keenly guarded from the trampling hooves of our 4 legged friends.  Luckily a square acre was already fenced off with barbed wire before we took ownership.  It will be easy to re-purpose it.

Sandy (me) Mowing the First Acre

We're working between the bouts of bad weather that winter brings to East Tennessee, and are making progress.  Last weekend we had a pretty day to mow the little square and repair the fence. 

Today (1/25/15) Bob (my husband who likes to dig and grow stuff) put up a gate.

Our first 126 trees arrive on March 1st.  Shhh .... don't tell

The Gate that Bob Put in

Bob but I call these first few trees our experimental crop.  This first year will be a learning experience .... one that will bring us closer together and make us wiser, greener and attuned to the loving forces of the land where we will unfold our lives in the years to come.

Sadie (the big one) Meets a Neighbor