Fall is harvest time...? 9/25/2010

Walnut tree bearing a heavy load again this year, so expect a long, cold winter. And a strange thing happening on one of the summer apple trees in the yard -- one of the branches has started spring blooms again. Whats with that??? A very confused tree.
Heirloom tomatoes finally starting to ripen - it took forever this year. Unusual weather for here. Cold, wet spring until mid June, then 100 degree days. All the oldtimers complaining about their gardens not performing like they should.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• liberty
• garden
• SHTF
• apple
• blossoms
• tomato
• walnut
• harvest

[MzProgressive]

Wow! My first look at a walnut tree... cool!!

9 bushels! H E L L 0!! Walnuts are $7.99 lb in the stores and I LOVE to bake with them! Sure wish I had a tree like that! :

Cherries bloomed in the fall here in Jersey last year. I think it's a combination of the sun/dark hours mimicking spring - and a flash of warm weather. Roses bloom here for a second time in the fall too.

[hunt1803]

@MzProgressive Around here in walnut season you're lucky to get 50c a pound for them, after you've cleaned them all up....LOL. They are a lot of work. They're falling when the leaves are falling, and usually rain, too. So you have to get the leaves out of the way so you can find the nuts, pick them all up, sort them & pick off stubborn hulls, then rinse and lay them out in a single layer in a dry area to cure for a couple weeks.

[johnpsorgi]

Is that an english walnut ? I have a american black walnut that produces like crazy but what a JOB to husk them. I hear engish walnuts husk easily ?

[hunt1803]

@johnpsorgi My tree is an English walnut - its been there for many years. It appears to have been grafted on black walnut rootstock. Unless there is a huge attack by husk fly the green husk opens up in the tree and drops the brown walnut to the ground. And the shells crack nicely, too. Last year I had 9 bushels of walnuts off of that tree. Probably will be close to that again this year.

I also have black walnut - chickens get them, shell & all, after I sledgehammer them, LOL.

[johnpsorgi]

My black cherries masted out like crazy this year...never before seen so many cherries. We had a horrible drought here in michigan this summer. I have noticed over the years that a heavy mast crop has to do a lot with the summer weather also. Trees produce more fruit when they are stressed it seems. A survival tactic in case they dont make it through the stressful times.

[hunt1803]

@johnpsorgi I have 4 bing cherry trees, 2 Raniers, and a sour cherry. They bloomed like they were trying to die, then we had a very hard frost that killed most of the tips of the branches, fried the blossoms & wiped out my harvest. Same with my pear trees. I have a very light crop of pears in my orchard this fall. Apples did pretty good as they seemed to hold off on the blossoming this spring until after the killing freezes we had.

[hunt1803]

@johnpsorgi I'm thinking we are headed for one of those cyclical climate adjustments.... Plants and trees are confused. If a person has been depending on their garden for orchards for sustenance it might be a good idea to lay away some preserved stuff for the lean times. I can usually garden some crops through the winter, but last year we had some very unusual cold for this area (PNW). If that trend continues I need to make some contingency plans.

[johnpsorgi]

My crabapples bolomed like crazy for a second time a couple weeks ago. The first time I ever seen that happen.....climate change ?????

[hunt1803]

@sthrnynk I sure do hear you! Plenty of uneasiness to go around. Just remember to listen to your instincts. Most people's intuition is a survival radar. Stay safe girl...

[sthrnynk]

"we should expect some very unsettled winter weather"....and a very unsettled winter. I've been having a sick feeling lately.