How a world-famous apple first sprouted in a Sydney grandma's backyard
By Isabella Ross
Thanks to a "chance seedling in Granny Smith's backyard", we now have the Granny Smith apple as one of Australia's predominant varieties, with an annual festival held in her honour.
Should see some open bloom on the Gravenstein apples this coming week. At the 'late pink' stage.
The Brooks plum, Comice pear, and Bosc pear will bloom this year. They were planted last spring. Not sure if I can keep any fruit on the pears, but the plum should be able to support a few fruit.
Updated with photo, for what it's worth.
I got out yesterday after work and wrapped my fruit trees and currant bush, but I forgot about my raspberry and gooseberry bushes (luckily it didn't end up freezing last night). I don't have any way to get any sort of cover over them, and it is supposed to be in the 20sF early tomorrow, Tuesday morning.
I'm not what sure do. I guess I could set an alarm for some time in the middle of the night to check the temperature, then if it is trending below 30°F, run the hose spray over the bushes, hopefully making ice that would coat their leaves at 32°F rather than dipping below that.
Another option would be to put one of my temperature sensors out near the berry bushes to see what kind of microclimate I've got there, and then if that drops, protect them with the water. Those bushes are generally more protected by structures and the lay of the land than everything is out front. Maybe that area won't hit the freezing mark?
This is #Kansas, so I'm used to losing fruit crops because the weather in April didn't cooperate.
This dip tonight means we likely won't get any peaches or pears from local trees unless farmers go to extremes to try to keep those from freezing. I don't remember having Kansas peaches more than one time over the last 10 years because of April freezes.
Peaches seem to be the most sensitive, which is part of why I've never planted a peach tree. 
An air layering attempt on the old Santa Rosa plum. Harvested the sphagnum moss from the rock seen in the background. Now we wait.
Yes, I could just buy another Santa Rosa plum but then it's not THIS plum. This also ignores the fact that the chances of getting the same plum is near zero because "looks like" is more important than "actually is" in the buy a plant world these days.
The Comice pear, the oldest Gravenstein apple, an early blooming peach grown from seed, and the Harcot Apricot. I saw quite a few apricots blooming when I was out and about today. The Japanese type plum here is a couple of warm days away from starting to bloom and it doesn't look like it's died much more. It's more than 50 years old.
https://www.alojapan.com/1233539/tourists-and-locals-enjoy-ephemeral-tokyo-cherry-blossoms-national/ Tourists and locals enjoy ‘ephemeral’ Tokyo cherry blossoms | National #amygdaloideae #bonsai #Cherries #CherryBlossom #drupes #EdibleFruits #flowers #FruitProduction #FruitTrees #GardenPlantsOfAsia #Hanami #Japan #JapaneseStyleOfGardening #NationalSymbolsOfJapan #news #OrnamentalPlants #OrnamentalTrees #partners/afp #PlantsUsedInBonsai #Prunus #SpringSeason #Tokyo #TokyoNews #trees #TreesOfJapan #東京 #東京都 Tourists and Japanese loc…
Spring and the apricot trees-
#FruitTrees #Spring #Flowers #Fruit
Why should I care about Buck Rub?
Don't wait until your young fruit and nut trees grow into the perfect size for buck rub to protect them.
Learn more in the link 
and grab the discount which is ending tomorrow! 
https://homesteadculture.com/protect-trees-from-deer-and-rodents/
How deer resistant are your fruit and nut trees?
I ranked a fair number of common and rare fruit and nut trees for theur deer resistance based on my direct observation of the trees and the deer.
Learn more in the link and be sure to grab the sale, which is this week only!
https://homesteadculture.com/protect-trees-from-deer-and-rodents/
You don't have to deer fence your entire property or orchard to grow fruit and nut trees.
After tempting the deer to eat leaves from hundreds of trees, from dozens of species, I learned so much about what I can get away with and what I can't.
Learn more in the link and be sure to grab the sale, which is this week only
https://homesteadculture.com/protect-trees-from-deer-and-rodents/
I was feeling under the weather today so I took a nap instead of a walk. When I got home from work, our thundercloud #plum tree greeted me the best way it could.
Here's the first blossom of the season!
Tomorrow and the days that follow will yield more, but this was the first one (at least, the first near the ground) that opened up to say hi.
Thankful for small joys like this.
Protect your fruit and nut trees from deer and rodents! It's tree planting season & we're celebrating with a substantial discount on our course through friday.
It's true, you don't need to deer fence your entire property. Protect your investment folks!
This course will give you the confidence to protect your trees for less than the cost of one quality nursery tree. Learn more and grab the discount! 
https://homesteadculture.com/protect-trees-from-deer-and-rodents/
The peach trees might just make it this year. There's only a few buds open right now and tonight it isn't expected to get below 36°F. I suspect that in the coming days, there will be an explosion of pink blooms (and slightly warmer nights). It appears Spring may be here.
I need to get out and spray the peach trees today. They're budding out, we're about to head into a much warmer week, and it's nearing their wake up time (though I'd like it if they can hold off for another month and let the pollenators wake up too). The last two years they've awoken early, so I have to be ready this year!
