Each year I add something new to our ever growing backyard garden. Last year the blueberries were added. Eight north blue bushes were planted with the hopes that within four years they would produce up to ten to twenty pounds per bush. At least that is the estimate I was told. Even if I were to get half that amount I'd be happy. They are doing wonderful. Last year I had a bit of a dilemma though. Just as the berries were maturing and nearing time to be picked they started to disappear. I couldn't figure out what was going on until I caught a robin in amongst the blueberries and watched the thief steal one berry at a time and fly off with them. It was all but too late by the time I had gotten netting to keep the robin or robins out of the bushes. This year they are covered already with fruit tree netting to keep the birds out and away from the berries.
This year I have ventured into apples. I know I have my work cut out for me as from what I have read growing apples organically are a challenge to say the least. I've planted six trees. After much deliberation on where, how, and which kind I went with a technique I found on the internet called "high density" planting. I chose three varieties; granny smith, red delicious, and honey-crisp. The honey-crisp is an early season, the red delicious is a mid-season, and the granny smith is a late-season apple. All of the trees are on dwarf stock. I'll add more detail regarding the planting technique and trees with photos in my next post.
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