We greeted Sunday 10 August under a promising sky. Promising good conditions for working outdoors in the garden. The tasks to be tackled were reduced to fruit tree planting only.
We had plans to plant five new fruit saplings/graftees in specific positions, and I remembered them alphabetically as Apricot, Apricot, Plum, Plum, Fig. Technically more correct, they are: (1) Clutha Gold Apricot (on peach rootstock), (2) Moorpark Apricot (on Myrobalan apricot rootstock), (3) Billington Plum, (4) Black Doris Plum, and (5) Ventura Fig.
(Above) Clayton and Tyler untying the trees and inspecting carefully for… well, for stuff which only tree experts such as they are, understand. Technical stuff, you understand.
(Above): Five holes were dug in the correct positions, relative to the existing fruit trees. The depth was about 500mm and the diameter about 300 to 400, depending on the root mass of the particular tree concerned.
Next, we prepared the fill, consisting of equal parts of composted soil and the in-situ gravelly stuff, plus some other secret yummy stuff, all thoroughly mixed together in the wheel-barrow. The trees were then positioned vertically and horizontally so that the stems married with the natural ground level, and tethered at two levels to a sturdy vertical support stake, which will act as the trees’ companions for next few years.
(Above): Clayton the Tree-Planter-In-Chief does a final check on the posture of this Moorpark Apricot, while Brynn and Tyler express their approval for Dad’s green-fingered handiwork.
(Above): A view of Apricot, Apricot, Plum in a neat row. The holes were filled and firmly compacted, mulched but leaving the stem uncovered, and watered with 15 litres of pure rainwater each.
After a beer, the gardener could put up his feet after a job well done. Now to wait for the fruit to ripen… Depending on the type, that could be anything between two and five years…
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