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A 3 Acre Farm

A 3 Acre Farm

Category Archives: Tasks

Tap Tap Tap

12 Tuesday Mar 2013

Posted by a3acrefarm in Tasks

≈ 17 Comments

Tags

apple trees, maple syrup, orchard, planting tips, Premium Ground Cover, sugar maples, tree planting guide

Sugar maples were on the must-have list when we searched for a place in northern Maine to call home, so when the realtor’s ad specified “mature trees”, we asked our son, who lived nearby, to go out to have a look around.

He was a good sport, our Sam. From Connecticut we scoured online listings, then sent Sam hither and yon, on one fact-finding mission after another. They were all wild goose chases until the day he called to report, “I think this property might be it. The house feels just right. There’s an old orchard with apples on the trees, but no sugar maples. I’m sorry, Ma.”

You know the story – love at first sight. An empty house needed a family, and a homesick family longed to own land again and to plant something.

And so we planted trees that first spring, five apple trees and two sugar maples. Sam and I raced as we each dug a hole for the maples – although I don’t recall who won, such was the exuberant laughter. With the trees in the ground and a bit of land tilled for a first garden, the family settled in.

Last summer we decided to take down a dying spruce and plant a third sugar maple in its place. We bought the tree and brought it home. Knowing it would have to survive in the container until we returned from a trip, we hauled it to the east side of the house to protect it from the wind and the afternoon sun. We mulched the pot deeply with Premium Ground Cover (www.PremiumGroundCover.com), gave it a long drink, and went away for a week. When we returned, the tree looked great and the soil was still damp. Then we planted.

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How to Plant a Tree:

1. Determine the purpose of your tree – shade, privacy, food, ornamental. Choose a healthy tree hardy to your zone. Beware of signs of disease and insect damage, stress from lack of adequate moisture, or a tree which is wobbly in its pot or root ball.

2. As you choose your planting location, be mindful of the sun or shade needs of your tree. Consider how windy, wet or dry the environment tends to be. Know the height and width of the mature tree. Maintain an appropriate distance from overhead wires, structures, pools, roadways and gardens which you don’t want shaded. When you think you’ve chosen your spot, place the tree there, then go into your house and look out the windows to be certain the tree will not obstruct any desired views as it grows taller and wider.

3. Take the time to dig a proper hole, generally no deeper than the tree sits in its container or root ball, but 2-3 times as wide. Shovel the soil onto a tarp, removing large rocks. Mix compost into the soil on the tarp if you wish, but at least 75% of the soil should be native to the hole.

Henry approving the hole

Henry approving the hole

4. Remove or cut away the container, including ropes or wires. Burlap may be left in the hole to decompose, but it must be completely buried so that it does not wick moisture away from the roots. Lay the handle of your rake across the top of the hole, and adjust the hole depth to allow the top of the root ball to be even with the rake. Encourage circling roots to point outward to prevent root strangulation. Prune off girdling roots. When planting bare root trees, form a mound in the bottom of the hole to raise the tree to the proper planting depth. Place the tree on the mound, spreading the roots over the mound and out into the hole.

5. Return about half the soil to the hole, tamping to remove air pockets. Roots need to make good contact with the soil. Water thoroughly as you tamp. Continue to add soil and water until the hole is filled, tamping as you go. Mulch to a depth of 2-4 inches to help maintain soil moisture and discourage weed and grass growth. Take care to keep the mulch a few inches away from the trunk of the tree. Stake only if the winds are very strong, unless it is recommended for your tree. Use hoses or straps to protect the bark from staking wire or ropes. Allow the tree to sway. Remove stakes after one year.

Planted and mulched with Premium Ground Cover

Planted and mulched with Premium Ground Cover

Giving your tree plenty of water is critical to its survival during the first growing season. A good way to water is to drill several holes into the sides of a 5-gallon bucket near the bottom. You can add water to the bucket quickly with your hose, but the bucket will release the water to the soil slowly.

Unless we live to be very, very old, we will never tap the trees we’ve planted. Perhaps our children will make maple syrup, or our grandchildren. One day, many years from now, when sugar maples are on someone else’s must-have list, these trees will be ready.

Our three sugar maples - including the tenacious little one eaten to a stub in its first winter by a moose

Our three sugar maples – including the tenacious little one, eaten to a stub in its first winter by a moose

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A Spoonful of Sugar

08 Tuesday Jan 2013

Posted by a3acrefarm in Tasks

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

boiled linseed oil, fall, garden, hoe, lopper, maintenance, Premium Ground Cover, pruner, repair, shovel, tools

My Dear Aunt contracted polio when she was 11. She ran home from school one day, then never ran again. Unmarried until she was in her thirties and with no children of her own, she was a constant presence in the lives of her nieces and nephews.

Our "Dear Aunt" with my sister (2years) and me (6 months)

Our “Dear Aunt” with my sister (2 years) and me (6 months)

She took us to church, community events, swimming at the lake, and to the farm, where she lived with our grandparents.  She was enormous fun, but strict. She walked with a cane and said she couldn’t chase us, so she expected us to listen.

Whether she had one of us with her or five or six, we cousins knew that our time with her would include playing outside, board and card games, music and stories. We played rainy day games like Itty Bitty Bye… About So High, Button Button – Who’s Got the Button, and another game we called Comesy Come:

“Comesy Come.” “What do you come by?” “I come by silver.” “Is it the little knob on the radio over there?” “No. Guess again.”

She pounded out songs on the piano as we all marched around belting, “Do Your Ears Hang Low?” and other merry tunes. When the time came for chores – and there were always chores – she made the job a game, singing the role of Mary Poppins as we filled the woodbox and swept and dusted.

It seems natural that I remember her as I consider the task before me. My garden tools, some still covered with dried mud from their last wet day in the garden, need to be cleaned and put away. This important maintenance would have been enjoyable on a warm fall day. Now it’s cold, really cold, and this will be a messy inside job. Where’s the element of fun in that?

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I’ve always had some basic principles concerning my tools: Buy the best tools I can afford. Use the correct tool for the job. Keep tools reasonably clean and in good repair. All tools belong inside at night and never stay outside in the rain.

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A wire brush will remove the dirt from the metal surfaces, and I’ll use steel wool to scour away any rust. I’ll sharpen tools with cutting edges, including hoes and shovels, and lubricate the moving parts of pruners and loppers. Boiled linseed oil applied to the metal parts will help to prevent rust. Wooden handles will be wiped well, and I’ll smooth rough areas with sandpaper before rubbing them with boiled linseed oil.

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A bit of mulch on the tine of my favorite fork

These tools are my companions during long days in the gardens. The pleasure of giving them the good care they deserve is the only spoonful of sugar I need to get the job done. Next fall, however, I resolve to finish cleaning my tools before I turn off the water and put the hose away. Won’t that be sweet!

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Above Photos By: Hannah Robertson

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