The orchard...

...is looking good! All the trees are healthy and we even have some fruit! Yup...real fruit on our trees the first year. Not ALL the trees, mind you, but the pears and peaches should give us a mini harvest this year.

Here's a photo of a little bartlett pear that is steadily growing:

And here's one of our cute little fuzzy peaches! I'm super excited about fresh peaches. Those grainy grocery store peaches are just terrible and I have childhood memories of a peach tree that grew at a babysitter's house...climbing up and picking off a sun-warmed, juicy peach then biting right into it. YUMMMMMM!

The apricot looks strong and healthy, but no fruit this year. Same story for the apple tree. No worries, though. It's common for fruit trees to take two years to put out any fruit.

Finally, a photo of one of the three blackberry bushes. No word yet on these guys bearing this year. We may have to be patient...and patience is so hard sometimes...

Stay tuned! More photos to come in the next few days!

Welcome to our tater farm!

After a bit of deliberation, we decided against the straw potato bed. Ummm...we live in Oklahoma...as in "Ooooooklaaahoma where the wind comes sweeping down the plain." Yeah. Also, we live in the middle of several large fields without much of a wind break. After realizing that our straw would blow right on up to Kansas just as soon as we laid it out, we went with good, ole' fashion dirt atop our taters! They seem pleased with the decision.

The three rows that are going crazy are all potatoes. The hills along the right side of the photo have cantelope planted in them and the row on the left is blackeyed peas...just planted yesterday!

Here's a shot of one of the strawberry beds:

...and a few of the delucious strawberries that I've been watching ripen over the past several days!

A BERRY Good Afternoon!!

So...my blackberries that I put in in the Fall are NOT looking promising. It's been so disappointing to check them for life and find only dead, brown, shriveled canes. Never fear, though...Atwoods got in a load of beautiful, healthy blackberry plants! Tuesday is my afternoon with my girlies, so I tripped on by to pick up three lovely thornless plants so we could put them in the ground together. Here are the details:

One Navaho Blackberry Plant- Medium size berries, erect growth habit, self pollinator, ripens Mid May

Two Arapaho Blackberry Plants - Medium size berries, erect growth habit, self pollinator, ripens May

I am intrigued by the Native American names and plan to research the plant names. Since receiving the Seed Saver's catalog, I've become more interested in the heritage of the plants I use. It's so interesting to learn all about the history of the plant.

Oh, and a lovely little patio tomato plant begged a ride with me as well and found a home in a big pot beside the gate. I figured that if he needed support I could tie vines up to the picket fence as needed. I am a teeny bit sceptical of this "perfect container tomato" with a "bush habit." I am sure it will be delightful, but I'm completely prepared for it to outgrow its container!

Oh, and a little update on my last freeze gamble...we had a dicey night on Sunday, but all is well. I covered up what I could and anxiously awaited morning. Everything looks great and according to my sources, we are officially out of freeze territory! Hello, tomatoes, peppers, and beans!! It's gonna be a busy weekend!