After several days of shoveling and hauling, the mulch pile has disappeared. Hopefully, it will enrich the soil, keep weeds down, prevent erosion in the winter and reduce the need for water in the summer months.
There was enough mulch to cover the strip between the driveway and the fence. The mulch made a big improvement in how it looks.
Meanwhile a couple of the baby apple trees actually flowered.
I got some benchgraft apple trees late in the planting season. Here you can see the grafted varieties starting to grow — and also some growth on the rootstock that needs to be removed.
The weeds in the orchard area have been removed and the trees and berries along the fence are visible again.
Behind the fence at the bottom of the hill is 20 yards of mulch to use for the orchard area.
And note that weed barrier fabric was placed around the raised beds which been planted. Tomatoes, pumpkin and squash had been started indoors several weeks before.
Thanks to help from our neighbor Charlie and his son Tyler, the new beds were moved from the parking area to the garden.
We had a huge pile of planter mix delivered to fill up the new raised beds. Either my calculations were off or the initial delivery was a bit on the short side. A second delivery was needed to finish the job.
Once the beds were filled, the drip system had to be completed. Decided to try several different approaches this time to compare the results.
Looking down the row from the other side, you can see that the trees are actually leafing out.
The stakes on the hill are marking the proposed locations for the second row of the orchard.
And of course, the weeds seem to be growing a lot faster than the trees.
And we have a bumper crop of weeds to show for it. Much more diverse and robust than the weeds covering the hill last spring.
Winter was busy with holidays, birthdays, other seasonal events along with transitioning into retirement. Things have been happening, but not with any pattern that would make for a decent paragraph or two.
The garden area has been greatly expanded with permanent fencing on three sides. The first row of the orchard was planted and blackberries and raspberries were planted along the new fence. The dwarf citrus trees were moved from pots to the space between the fence and the driveway side. Additional raised beds have been built and are ready to be installed in the garden area.
The parakeet flock has been active as well. A pair of bourkes produced two clutches of four. Unfortunately they skipped a critical step and it was just eggs. On the other hand, Jade and Jasper, the red rump pair, finally settled down to raising a family. Unlike their behavior the past two years, this time Jade brooded the eggs and chicks and Jasper behaved properly – at least until the three chicks fledged. Jade started a new clutch as soon as the first batch started venturing out from the nest box. Expecting more chicks any day now.