My Land Tour...The Big Woods

[H20fwler]

Went out to the farm early this morning to plant some dill for the swallowtails and to see how things are going, also checked on the orchard.
Jumped a big doe by the front pond and what looked like a couple week old fawn in the pasture that wasn’t quite sure what I was.

The foxglove wildflowers are completely gone now, saw a lot of bergamot blooming and the black eyed Susan and coneflowers are just starting up. In two weeks it should be a show.




The Dunstan and Chinese chestnuts have started to put on small burs of what looks to be a nice crop.


Peaches are doing well


Apples and pears are putting it on in this warm weather.





And the Olympic/Korean giants are loaded this year! Can’t wait to get at them this fall.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Went out to the farm early this morning to plant some dill for the swallowtails and to see how things are going, also checked on the orchard.
Jumped a big doe by the front pond and what looked like a couple week old fawn in the pasture that wasn’t quite sure what I was.

The foxglove wildflowers are completely gone now, saw a lot of bergamot blooming and the black eyed Susan and coneflowers are just starting up. In two weeks it should be a show.
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The Dunstan and Chinese chestnuts have started to put on small burs of what looks to be a nice crop.
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Peaches are doing well
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Apples and pears are putting it on in this warm weather.
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And the Olympic/Korean giants are loaded this year! Can’t wait to get at them this fall.
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NICE!!!!! Meadow and fruit trees look great. Did you sow that bergamot, or is it nature's wild stuff? Huge pollinator attraction - nice to have.

How do the deer hit your pears?? Do you folks eat any of the pears, or mostly for wildlife? Not familiar with either of the varieties you listed ........

Hope you got some rain out of that frontal passage. It cooled down a bit here, at least for a few days. Camp got a heavy thunderstorm Saturday evening, which we needed. Didn't get squat for rain here at home.

 

[H20fwler]

NICE!!!!! Meadow and fruit trees look great. Did you sow that bergamot, or is it nature's wild stuff? Huge pollinator attraction - nice to have.

How do the deer hit your pears?? Do you folks eat any of the pears, or mostly for wildlife? Not familiar with either of the varieties you listed ........

Hope you got some rain out of that frontal passage. It cooled down a bit here, at least for a few days. Camp got a heavy thunderstorm Saturday evening, which we needed. Didn't get squat for rain here at home.

Thanks

I think the bergamot was in a wildflower blend we put in years ago.
Deer absolutely love the pears, even over apples. They will bed under the pears waiting for the wind to blow them down…always have lots of deer beds under pears.

The Korean Giant-Olympic is the same variety just different names. It’s a later dropping Asian large pear that is my favorite eating pear above all others. Everyone that tries one ends up putting it at the top also, it has a slight crunch sweet nutty flavor and no grit. Keiffer used to be my favorite eating pear but is now at the #2 spot.
99% of the apples and pears in this orchard are for wildlife..except for the Olympics it’s 99% for us and I get the ladder for that one! Also my wife’s favorite.
I have three planted at the Little Woods but they are all younger trees that aren’t fruiting yet. I have noticed that the Olympic is more of a biannual pear at least for us here.

We had 1.75” of rain last Monday and .76” yesterday morning so along with the heat things are really growing here.
Hope you get some good rain at home this week Bows.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Thanks

I think the bergamot was in a wildflower blend we put in years ago.
Deer absolutely love the pears, even over apples. They will bed under the pears waiting for the wind to blow them down…always have lots of deer beds under pears.

The Korean Giant-Olympic is the same variety just different names. It’s a later dropping Asian large pear that is my favorite eating pear above all others. Everyone that tries one ends up putting it at the top also, it has a slight crunch sweet nutty flavor and no grit. Keiffer used to be my favorite eating pear but is now at the #2 spot.
99% of the apples and pears in this orchard are for wildlife..except for the Olympics it’s 99% for us and I get the ladder for that one! Also my wife’s favorite.
I have three planted at the Little Woods but they are all younger trees that aren’t fruiting yet. I have noticed that the Olympic is more of a biannual pear at least for us here.

We had 1.75” of rain last Monday and .76” yesterday morning so along with the heat things are really growing here.
Hope you get some good rain at home this week Bows.

Thanks for the info on pears. I only have eating experience with Kieffer and Bartlett.

Your properties are great habitat for many critters and bugs. Thanks for pics and info, H20!! I always enjoy checking in on your places.

 

[H20fwler]

Thinned quite a few of the pear trees, took about half the fruit off to try and stop the limb breakage we had two years ago.





My helper was along and was taste testing some of the earlier fruit, found a couple that he approved of.


The Korean Giant/Olympic are doing great, should be ready early October




First Sheepnose we have had fruit


Chestnuts are all loaded


White pines we planted as road screen at turn in to block the edge of the woods from road hunters is finally thick enough to actually block the view.


The very first living Christmas tree we planted around nine or ten years ago.

 

[sandbur]

Good looking supervisor!

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Isn't it the best when the young ones tag along? Pap has a shadow, from the looks of it - lots of great times ahead for all of you.

 

[TenPoint]

Thinned quite a few of the pear trees, took about half the fruit off to try and stop the limb breakage we had two years ago.

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My helper was along and was taste testing some of the earlier fruit, found a couple that he approved of.
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The Korean Giant/Olympic are doing great, should be ready early October
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First Sheepnose we have had fruit
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Chestnuts are all loaded
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White pines we planted as road screen at turn in to block the edge of the woods from road hunters is finally thick enough to actually block the view.
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The very first living Christmas tree we planted around nine or ten years ago.
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I’ve got fruit on either my gray ghost or sheepnose. I can’t remember which. I need to check all 50 trees and make a list of which ones have fruit this year. All are 4 years or younger. My older Droptine are loaded.

 

[H20fwler]

I’ve got fruit on either my gray ghost or sheepnose. I can’t remember which. I need to check all 50 trees and make a list of which ones have fruit this year. All are 4 years or younger. My older Droptine are loaded.

That one was grafted onto M111 from scion off my first sheep nose that is 15' tall maybe eight or ten years old that came from Whitetail Crabs, it is three years old...still haven’t gotten any fruit off mother tree yet. It is planted in orchard south side of Little Woods, for whatever reason none of that stuff fruits early or often except for the crabs. Maybe the harder clay ground and some shade/competition from woods...even though the orchard runs east to west and seems to get full sun? Coons could be raping the trees in that orchard and I wouldn't know it unless they broke branches, I only see those trees a couple times in summer... I stay away from it as to not spook the deer with Little Woods being a bachelor pad for bucks all summer.

Have only gotten an apple or two from my original gray ghost too and it is 15' + tall now south orchard Little Woods. I do have a two-year-old grafted onto M111 gray ghost planted at this farm that is doing really good...this orchard is full sun loamier ground and woods is a couple hundred yards away.

 

[TenPoint]

Here’s my gray ghost. Planted in 2021 most likely. Hasn’t been touched since.

 

[H20fwler]

Here’s my gray ghost. Planted in 2021 most likely. Hasn’t been touched since.

Nice tree, I’m jealous of that fruit!
They are supposed to be some kind of Siberian variety or something? Should be great wildlife trees, I’ve grafted a half dozen off my mother tree. Planted a couple in my other orchards and gave the rest to buddies that are getting into wildlife orchards.

I planted the mother tree around 2014-15 I think.

 

[TenPoint]

Nice tree, I’m jealous of that fruit!
They are supposed to be some kind of Siberian variety or something? Should be great wildlife trees, I’ve grafted a half dozen off my mother tree. Planted a couple in my other orchards and gave the rest to buddies that are getting into wildlife orchards.

I planted the mother tree around 2014-15 I think.

Yea I think they are supposed to be pretty hardy. Good for us in the frozen tundra.

 

[H20fwler]

OK, normally this place is doe and fawn city all summer, a big nursery …and it still is.
But…..
for whatever reason and I’d like to believe it’s from us making the cover and habitat better…starting to see some decent bucks hanging out here in summer now too.















And this odd spike



The biggest buck looks to have a blind eye.

 

[Telemark]

Nice! Are you able to keep them around for the hunting season?

 

[H20fwler]

Nice! Are you able to keep them around for the hunting season?

Oh yea, normally the bucks move into this place once they go hard horn.
Or at least cruze through it regularly in fall…during rut anything could happen to come by.
Gun season when they get stirred up we usually see a few really nice ones.

 

[Bill]

good crop early. Can't beat that.

 

[H20fwler]

Family fruit picking day out at the farm this afternoon in between the rain showers.
Everyone had plenty to take home, grandkids had a blast…. Daughter in law could not wrap her head around leaving fruit on most of the trees. I told her we planted them for wildlife, she just didn’t get it.

 

[Bill]

Looks like fun...

 

[Merle Hawggard]

Awesome

Sent from my SM-G990U3 using Tapatalk

 

[H20fwler]

Some trail cam pics from this fall