The Orchard

Our orchard is the center of our pastures. We walk through the large 12-foot-wide arbor filled with honeysuckle just starting to bloom for the season, up the corridor, and enter a 7,500 SF oasis. It holds 27 different semi-dwarf fruit trees with most being varieties of apple, pear, Asian pear, plumb and persimmon. Originally, we planted some peach and apricot trees that were meant to grow in the Pacific Northwest, but that seemed to be a fantasy. The persimmon tree was given to us by my mother-in-law, and at the time, I didn’t even know what a persimmon was. It is a bright orange fruit that is very sweet, so we are excited for it to bear fruit.

The oldest trees are four years old. We have had to replace several along the way for different reasons. Some die due to bugs. Several just did not make it through the transition phase of being replanted. Our most resent hindrance has been rabbits. After four years without issues, almost 1/3 of the trees were girdled overnight. When trees have most of their bark removed around the trunk, they will eventually die. Immediately, we installed galvanized wire fabric around each trunk to protect the trees.

All of our original trees were bare root starts that were mass ordered from a nursery in California. Since then, any that we have purchased as replacements have been larger and sold as potted trees from the local nursery. Hopefully, we are at a point know where everything can continue to flourish without damage. When the trees were first planted, we installed an automatic irrigation drip system to help them get started. This system is still in place and has worked well, particularly on many of the long stretches of dry hot weather we’ve seen. Between each tree is about 12-15′ of space, plenty of room for them to grow, get maintained and for mowing.

The reason the orchard is one of our favorite spots on the property is the view. The elevation is higher, and you can see the coastal range and Mount Saint Helens. We have some of the most amazing sunsets. A couple of years ago, we were centered in the path of the total solar eclipse.  The Orchard has become such a favored spot, we had an eight-foot-long cedar picnic table made for us.  We often pack dinner in a picnic basket and carry it up to the table to enjoy. We watch the animals graze in the pasture and the sun set while enjoying a glass of wine. It is such a calm and relaxing place. There is no road noise or traffic driving by.

So, you may be wondering what we do with all the fruit. Well it takes several years for fruit trees to bare good quality fruit. During the first few years as they produced fruit, we remove it. This allows the energy the tree produces to be directed to the wood grown rather than fruit growth. The unripe fruit gets tossed over the fence into one of the pastures where the animals can eat them. This summer, we may finally get our first season of good fruit. We will have to wait and see.

FUN FACT from last weekend.  Stout, our alpaca got his yearly haircut.