TOPIC: showing the changes of Springtime

Hey fellows,
I thought I would take a few minutes to show you how things are progressing here in East Tennessee. I went fishing this morning and when I came back home it was a beautiful sun shiny day just perfect for videoing the orchards and the woodland. Just ignore the small section at the first where I forgot to turn the cam corder off when I was moving. I hope you can identify the shrooms in the woods that I shot. I wish all of you could be here in East Tennessee right now. Enjoy the colors.

http://smokymountainflyguide.com/reports%2029.htm

Hugh

Hugh...

Not sure what that first thing was. The way it was pushing up thru the leaves it sort of favored a mushroom, but then it looked more like a pine cone to me.

Odd... perhaps someone else will know what it was.

Man - you sure do have a lot of peach and plum trees and several varieties too, early and late.

I suppose you are selling those or letting folks come and pick for a price. Way to many to eat yourself, but a man could sure try.

One of my peach trees (early elberta) bloomed about a week ago and is still in bloom now, but the other (reliance) has just stated opening up a few blooms today.

My plum trees bloomed several weeks ago and now have green leaves on em.

The next week in my forecast is looking very warm. Hope we don't have a bad cold spell after all of this heat wave passes.

TNhunter

The first thing is called Conopholis americana, known as Squaw Root, Bear Corn, Cancer Root. Cool video too Hugh.
Latt

Thanks for sharing, Hugh!

Beautiful orchard and I'm envious. We're just getting ours started and have a Red or Golden Delicious Apple (gift from an aunt), a Sttayman Winesap Apple and just last year added an unidentified Peach tree from the same aunt that gave us our first apple tree.

Gotta start somewhere, right?

This year, we're adding a Goji Berry, 3 different Currants (white, red and black) Josta Berry and 2 Gooseberries.


Bit

TN,

This peach growing is just a carryover from my younger days when I did it commercially. I only have 200 trees now, and most of those are just coming into heavy bearing. I do enjoy fooling with fruit trees and I hope I can make the ginseng do as well as I did growing peaches.

Latt,
I,m glad that someone can recognize these woodland plants. Some of them I am familiar with and many are above my knowledge level.

Bit;
I hope that you have good results with your fruit orchard and I hope that it leads to some growing knowledge of seng. You'll find that the Stayman Winesap Apple is the best all around that you have in your orchard.

Hugh

TN,

This is the modest little way that I have been selling the fruit up until this year.Fruit nearing ripe stage.

TN,
This is the way that I have sold the ripe fruit. Real high tech.

Nice pics - would be nice to have one of those baskets full this time of year.

I love growing stuff too and a variety of things...

I have 2 plum trees, 2 peach, 2 pear, 2 apple, 2 grape vines...

A 30' row of tame blackberries (6-7 plants).

Got lots of wild blackberries on my place to and one patch out in the field I sort of baby sit, fertilize, and they are doing real good.

Then 3 raised garden beds about 5' wide by 40' long.

I grown sweet corn, tomatoes, cukes, squash (green and yellow), watermelon and cantelope.

I have lettuce and snow peas up now in one bed, and a little row of red skin potatoes planted but not showing up yet.

Yum Yum..

Oh taste and see that the LORD is good !

TNhunter

Hugh and TN, you guys are making me hungry. Hey how do you guys get peaches like that with no spots. Do you spray and if so what do you recommend using.
Thanks,
Latt

Good evening Latt,
Yes, you do have to spray in most places for the fungus and bacterial diseases that attack peaches. It seems that some places get by without having to do this as much as other places. I think TN gets by a little better than I do. It is real important to spray right now as the blooms are showing \"pink tips and beginning to open. Funginex or Funginil are some of the best products that you can buy over the counter. Three(3) of these sprays are needed from Pink Tip until Petal Fall. That is about a two week period or a little more if you have real cool weather. After the bloom and shuck fall off, you would use the Home Orchard Fruit Sprays that have Captan in them . You can alternate with wettable Sulfur. The Funginex will control Alterneria Blight on Ginseng as well and Phytophtera. It is Systemic and can control for 4 weeks. Since this board generally promotes growing ginseng wild, I would just mention that when you might have severe weather problems or outbreaks of diseases that you would use these products. My plan, as I have mentioned, is to use them early in the life of the plants and then try to get to a more natural method of growing it. I just hate the thought of losing so much each year when I can do something about it.I will probably only be able to do this on my woodlots close to the house. Lugging a sprayer around in the mountains is probably not much fun.
Hugh