Fall Chores, Plain Busy

Monday, September 27, 2010

52° here on the mountain above Peacham Pond. Windless but rain pours off the roof, first as cats and dogs and then as drip-drip-drips. We are sort of in between right now with a gentle cadence of the drops by my office window. We needed rain and I like it more when it comes at night like this. A glance at the weather maps and there's little hope that we'll see sun until Wednesday so tomorrow's plans will need a little rearranging.

As fall arrives and our nursery is pretty much closed for the season, you can quite often find us on our hands and knees planting, weeding, moving--all in preparation for the next season. In today's world, many folks don't know what goes on behind the scenes of any business. Today it was more daylily work. Gail had new areas ready to plant based on varieties that were almost sold out or those which we must double and triple up on for next year. We probably planted 8 varieties today and prepared a similar number for later this week and yet the only one I can remember tonight is Vanilla Fluff. Tired!

With fall comes a self imposed mandate to do some things we want to do after a season that started April 1st and continued seven days a week until Labor Day. These are fun things that might not be too impressive to some but to us they are family oriented, educational, laughter generating, just-plain-fun things.

Last week we got to Burtt's Apple Orchard on Cabot Plains Road, Cabot Vermont. Cabot is the home of Cabot Creamery and some of the best cheese in the world. It's also the Burtt's home and their days of dairy farming have changed to beef cattle and pick-your-own apples and pumpkins, nice winter squash and great sweet corn. We go for their apples. Here are some pictures starting up top with secret (see white) beehives (honey, folks!) behind Macintosh apple trees.

Freedom Apples

Honeycrisp Apples

If you haven't seen state-of-the-art Vermont apple growing, it's worth a visit. Trees are planted 4 foot on center and are tied to 8 foot electrical conduit which floats off a ten foot wire rope kept taut with tensioners that are cranked tight to hold the weight. The tree leaders (think "Trunk") are encouraged to grow tall and the side limbs are trimmed at 3-4 feet wide. The fruit looks burdensome to the branches it is so abundant but this modern growing arrangement really works. Seeing it is easier than trying to figure out my description but eating a Honeycrisp apple is something you have to do personally.

In the next couple weeks things will draw to a close and Columbus Day will be the last day we'll entertain customers or visitors except by special arrangement. We're spending a day up north at the Old Stone House Museum and at a couple historical societies. Another day we'll scoot down to Proctor to see the Marble Museum and quarry, and before the end of October we'll visit Shelburne Museum and see theAnsel Adams and Edward Burtynsky visiting exhibit. Before the snow begins to fly we'll cover a few more back roads as we relax from a busy season. Nothing special, just getting out and seeing part of what makes Vermont so special.

Writing from the mountain where I think I heard thunder over Karl the Wonder Dog's snoring. I think.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens
On Twitter many mornings as vtflowerfarm

Just Good Apples

Sunday, September 21, 2008

A fair morning here in Vermont with fog visible through the distance but an early promise of sun despite forecasts to the contrary. Yesterday morning I decided to make some scones and this morning it was really supposed to happen. Opening the door on the fridge was instant reminder to the gallon of milk I didn't remember to bring home last night. The scone idea was put on hold and I decided to take Karl the Wonder Dog and head for town the long way.

This part of Vermont used to have a railroad that ran from Montpelier to Wells River. The train ran 4 times a day and carried the mail until 1952 when better methods and economies materialized. The railroad bed was thrown up but remains today as a nice road for early morning bird and wildlife cruises.

Karl and I made our first stop just before Ethan Allan Corners. I like to look down across the swamp and see if I can see any ducks or geese landing in water pockets or anxious woodcock flying helicopter-like and then returning back to the swamp to peck for worms. Today the only sign of movement was the whispers of fog swirling above the meandering stream bed.

As we approached the corner, I looked to the left. The straight edge of conifers the length of the swamp was telltale evidence of a railroad bed from a previous life. We made the turn and headed for Marshfield Village Although Karl found plenty to bark about on the ride, we returned home in half an hour and his tail wagging must have tired him as he headed back to bed and I started on the scone recipe.

I just about got the batter heading to the pan and Karl went into attack mode at the back door. The smiling face looking through the glass was Eric, our friend from Groton. Eric really lives and works in Massachusetts but this time of year he gets to Vermont every weekend he can. His family has a camp and it is a nice release to trade city life for some quiet.

Often Eric stops by for a visit as he's a gardener and he's always had an interest in our progress. We always share stories and I always tap his professional knowledge of the bird world when I see something fly by that I cannot find in our books. Anyway Eric appeared just in time for some coffee and warm scones but not before he presented us with a nice bag of one of the nicest apples going: Honeycrisp.

The problem with this apple is that you can't find a place to buy it. At least I cannot. Buying a tree is a different story and the only place to look in this part of Vermont is Elmore Roots Nursery They also have another favorite I reported on last year, an apple named Beacon which makes some of the best cider you'll ever taste.

Anyway the breakfast snacks were great but the conversation had to be cut short as Gail from Peacham was waiting to help. This Gail is originally from New Hampshire but she's making a new home in Vermont and is helping us close up for the year. Coincidentally she is planting some apple trees and one is a Honeycrisp!

As the recent frosts encourage the foliage to provide autumn colors and excitement, we are picking up little messes and getting organized for next year. Along the way it's fun to be able to break for a few minutes and share thoughts and treats with friends. We hope you get the same chance soon.



Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where it's a warm 45 degrees which makes for good sleeping. But first, maybe a few slices of "just good apples"!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
Vermont Gardens

PS Thanks to the Christian Science Monitor for picking up our two blogs. It's nice to know we are being read and shared by gardeners everywhere

Final Clean Up

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Already almost 8:30 PM and yet it seems as if I barely started the day a couple hours ago. I just walked Karl the wonder dog to quiet his restlessness. The slice of moon and half a sky of stars barely lights up the snow but I know he heard the deer coming through the woods and into the lower field to look for apples. Karl's ears are the best but his bark is annoying when I can't figure out what he sees. If it's not Gail, Alex or me, it is danger in his mind until he's had a good look-see.

It's 21 degrees out now and this is the most tranquil it has been in three days. It's either been raining buckets or snowing and blowing. The quiet is nice. And I am back to my thoughts about gardening at Vermont Flower Farm even though the ground is blanketed for the first time with 3 inches of snow.

When the hours of sunlight drop below 10 hours per day, farmers have to work faster to get outside work done. That's true here too. There are always a few things that do not get done before the snow and cold have slowed even the energetic to a halt. While some things slow down, other elements of time speed along unfettered by personal desires.

The bowl of apples pictured above was gifted last Sunday morning by our friend Eric from Massachusetts. I can't believe it's been a week already! Eric has a seasonal camp in Groton and he escapes city life for Vermont every chance he gets. This time of year the desire to get away is cautioned by dropping temperatures and thoughts of how to keep the wood stove going in a camp that is just that--an insulation-free camp. Eric has various records of "last weekend of the year to visit", "first day of the spring to visit" and "weekends I should have gone but didn't". Last week when we parted company he spoke of the possibility of coming for Thanksgiving. Gail welcomed him to join us for dinner but we all knew the weather would call the shots.

The Honeycrisp apples by the way are one I was not familiar with before Eric brought us a bag. They are terrific! They are crunchy, juicy and have a real nice aroma. The flesh is not colored like the Beacon apples Harold and Leila brought us a while back but it makes no matter as the taste is super! I've been told they are a Macoun cross of sorts and that explains the crispness that translates to a hard, noisy bite. If I hadn't told Alex to leave them alone until I got a picture, you'd be looking at a shot of the pottery bowl on the placemat.

During the past couple weeks I have been picking up here and at the new property, planting more fence posts, installing two gates, and configuring a new computer. I am pleased that everything is going well. A less than special project is putting up a piece of snow fence along the walk from the house to the vehicles. I don't like this job, never did, never will. Each year the fence reminds me of myself as it gets older and rustier and some of the cedar just falls apart. I can always think of why we probably won't need it this year but I always trust my experience and put it up no matter how cold it is on the day I pick. Yesterday the fence got from storage to as far as the walk. Perhaps tomorrow it will be erect by nightfall. It never turns out straight but it always slows down the snow from drifting over the walkway. Last year it looked like wasted effort until mid January when the snow that began to fall forgot to stop until late April.

A few days back I got the shade cloth off the shade house that we use to keep some of the hostas out of the sun. I purchased this pipe shade house from Rimol Company in Hooksett, NH a couple years back. Putting it up was a memory but it has been a dream since. The cloth weighs almost nothing and there are about 80 elastic ties that hold it onto the pipes. It takes longer to get the ladders ready than it does to do the job.

At the end of the growing season we line up all the perennials, in this case hostas, and cover them first with an insulating blanket we purchased from Griffin Greenhouse and then with 6 mil construction poly and old tires. The tires are for wind control on the plastic and they work well.

We also put 2 foot sections of 2" PVC pipe within the rows of potted plants. Each pipe gets a couple-three ounces of D-con for rodent control. Voles are the big concern as they don't hibernate but at various times chipmunks, mice and moles can be destructive too.



Yesterday afternoon I spent a couple hours getting the shade cloth off the south side and the roof of this wooden shade house. I built this a few years back so we would have a place to get miniature hostas off the ground. They are always potted in small pots, say one and 2 quart size, so having them at waist level made more sense. I never cemented the uprights in the ground because I figured that sooner or later it would have to be moved. It has some interesting curves to it now but it served the purpose well this year as it helped us move about 3000 hostas from our place to someone else's house. The Rimol pipe house will come apart with a set of allen wrenches and a crescent wrench but this house will take some work. For now they are both uncovered and no matter how deep the snow gets, they will continue to stand tall as spring approaches.

The list gets whittled down a little at a time. I began on the wood pile today after cleaning up the tractor. This year's wood has been drying for well over a year but the wood I have blocked and ready to split is for next year and maybe even into 2009. The Honda engine on the splitter took three pulls to start this time which isn't bad for an engine that has been sitting for a year.


As I walked around the gardens this afternoon, I looked up at a birdhouse I built four years ago. Birdhouses are a gardener's winter work. I always build a few when I get antsy for spring. Right now I am thinking about the last few chores and a few weeks rest. Our gardens are lots of work but we enjoy them. We know you enjoy yours too!

Good gardening thoughts,

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener

http://vermontflowerfarm.com
http://vermontgardens.blogspot.com