We spent the whole weekend digging, and our little homestead is coming along nicely. On Friday, we went to an end of season sale at the local tree nursery. We had been waiting all summer for that sale, and were there as soon as they opened. All plants were 25% off, and when you’re putting in an orchard and berry patch, that 25% amounts to a pretty good savings.
We ended up with 11 fruit trees (cherry, peach, apricot, and apple) and eight berry bushes (raspberry, grape, blueberry, gooseberry). We also got some weed blocker, peat moss, and drought-resistant decorative plants for areas of our front yard that we plan to cover with mulch and/or rocks – all for 25% off normal prices. I normally hate to spend money, but we had been planning that shopping trip all summer (and saving for it), and were thrilled with what we got.
We spent all day Saturday planting trees and bushes. By the end of the day, we were sore all over, but our orchard and berry patch are now in place… they just need to grow a bit.
Sunday was devoted to planting some grass seed around our back patio in order to reclaim a bit of the yard back from the industrial weeds, and moving gravel from one side of our front yard to the other. It’s like going to the gym but with an added bonus of getting stuff done. We were exhausted by the time we went to bed last night, but it feels great to be making such good progress towards our goals.
I’ll leave you with a picture of diapers drying on our new clothesline. The clothesline was rescued from a scrap metal bin by my husband, and he did a great job of making it new again. I love looking out the window and seeing our laundry drying on it, and I adore seeing our son’s little homemade diapers flapping in the breeze on the line.
Manda says
Any chance you’ll post a photo or two of the finished orchard? ;) I’d love to see it.
Kelly says
Looks like you are making excellent progress on your new homestead! Nice work…and I second Manda – I would love to see some more pics!
Aurie says
I’m proud of the progress you’re making… I’ve learned quite a lot of tips from what you’ve shared.
Courtney says
I love seeing cloth diapers out on the clothesline, too. Always makes me smile!
Great job on all the planting you did this weekend! I can’t wait to see how it all grows and all the yummy things that will be ready for picking before too long.
becca says
I wish we were in our permanent home so we could plant an orchard. I’m so jealous! Unfortunately, we are only in Utah so my hubby can go to school, and he will be done soon. We did plant an apple tree when we moved in, and got our first crop this year. What do you plan to do for bug control? Are there many fruit bugs where you are? 90% of our small crop have worms. Yuck.
Sheri says
Oh, you are going to have a backyard literally BURSTING with homegrown fruit…lucky you! Grow, little fruit trees, grow!
Is that a 4-line clothesline? It’s fabulous! I, too, LOVE to see my diapers flapping in the wind. And I love how wonderfully the sun whitens them.
You are really on a homesteading path, good for you! Worth every tired aching muscle, I’m sure :)
FrugalBabe says
Pictures will be coming soon. I still need to pull a lot of weeds, otherwise the trees don’t show up well in pictures against the weeds.
Becca – we haven’t figured out all of the pest control measures yet. We’ll be crossing those bridges when we get to them. For the berry bushes, we’ll be covering them in bird netting in the spring. For the trees, we’ll wait and see. Our little farm is strictly organic, so we’ll be seeking organic solutions to whatever problems might arise.
Sheri – yep, it’s a 4 line clothesline, and I love it! I had been using folding clothes racks for a couple years, but it’s much windier here than it was at our old house, and they were forever blowing down unless I propped them up between chairs on our patio. Clothespins are wonderful!
Jessie says
wow, that sounds great! i’m excited to see pictures of the orchard!
Kay says
Wow! That garden is going to be a great joy soon!!! :)