Ciderman, Ciderman

Bare Root Fruit Trees-Capital Nursery

Ciderman, Ciderman,

Will Drink Cider From a Can,

Cranks a Press -- Any Size,

Hard Cider From Bill Should be No Surprise,

For He is You're Friendly CIDERMAN!!!

Yes, yes, I know -- stick to writing. But I'm excited you see! The smell of SPRING is in the air! Those long days and dreary nights of winter show a promise of ending soon. What does this mean? It means I'm running out of time! That's what it means!

Case in point? BARE ROOT SEASON. If it gets much warmer over the next week or two those slumbering root systems are suddenly going to wake up and declare an early start to the spring growth season. It doesn't matter what the calendar on the wall says. Yes, I know it's early February. I know there's several more months of cold weather and possible rain to endure.

But once those roots wake up? They're up!

The wonderful wife that is Venus and I are moving a bit slower this year when it comes to adding addtional fruit trees and vines to the backyard. We rushed it a bit last bare root season and our impatience resulted in several dead Blueberry bushes.

No such mistake this year.

Fruit Salad Anyone?

However, we are adding, albeit at a slower rate. This isn't easy for me. Do you know why? Did you notice the photo above? The photo to your left? This is what most Sacramento nurseries look like these days. They're stocked with every available fruit tree under the sun. You want peaches? They got peaches? Cherries? By the bucket!

You see -- when I come across a lovely scene like this -- the first impulse is to reach out and buy everything in sight. That might make the operator of Capital Nursery very happy -- but I would be digging holes from now until next Christmas.

But this is a GREAT time indeed to visit your local nursery for fruit tree selections. Everything you could possibly want in a backyard fruit garden is within your fingertips. And -- on this day -- Bill Bird was after something special: apples.

The Honey Crisp Apple

We've given up on growing avocados. Four dead trees in the space of three years will do that to you. Oh -- we tried all sorts of tricks. Planting in the best soil? Check! Planting in a raised bed for drainage purposes? Check! Christmas lights on the tree during winter to keep Jack Frost away? Check, check and check again.

They still died. Each and every one. It sort of sends a message. It's time to try something else. The wife mentioned that she wanted apple trees for baking purposes. I like apples for snacking and cider. So why not try APPLES?

The wife's selection in this particular case was the Granny Smith apple. It's not necessarily the best apple to snack on (although some do love its rather tart taste) -- but it is the best selection for baked items like apple pie, apple crisp and that apple cake (with caramel drizzle) that Venus whipped together from scratch just this past weekend.

Yes, I know, I'm very lucky. I have the stomach to prove it.

Pink Lady Apple Trees

The second selection? The Fuji Apple. Although its introduction to this country is rather recent -- it's probably the hottest selling apple in California now. The Fuji is the perfect apple for snacking and it's a good juicing apple as well.

As for the third selection (yes, I'm a glutton), I employed an old nursery trick. I wasn't the first customer to slowly walk up aisle after aisle of delicious fruit trees. Others had been there before me. You could see the telltale signs -- open holes where fruit trees had once been placed. Usually? The best trees go first -- either the hottest new variety or the best variety.

As I stared at the many varieties of apple trees standing in front of me, it became quite obvious what the "hot apple tree of the day" was. It was the Honey Crisp Apple. "Honey Crisp," I questioned? "Never heard of it." Others apparently had, however. There were more empty holes than trees, so I plucked the best looking of the lot the Capital Nursery still had left.

Future Apple Garden Home

I was told -- on my way out of the nursery -- that Honey Crisp was a past Dave Wilson Nursery taste-test winner. But the website doesn't mention that, so I suppose I'll have to trust the prowess of others.

The next step? Getting the trees home and determining exactly where I was going to plant them. I already knew that I was going to employ the Backyard Orchard Culture concept to these plantings. That concept is the grouped planting of three or more trees in a shared hole or raised bed.

Farmer Fred Hoffman reccommends a raised 4X4 bed that is at least a foot high for group plantings like this. In my case? The bed is 5X3 feet -- with trees staggered from back to front to give them as much breathing room as possible. This bed -- built with standard "Lincoln Log" stackable logs purchased from Home Depot is also outfitted with drip irrigation and filled with a planter mix purchased last summer from Hastie's Sand and Gravel in West Sacramento.

Apple Trees Planted-Ready for Whacking!

The hardest part about Backyard Orchard Culture plantings? It's not building the bed -- that was easy. Moving planter mix the consistency of wet concrete (it was quite soaked from all the rain activity we've had) -- wasn't exactly thrilling. The sprained foot that resulted from this project also wasn't fun -- but it wasn't the hard part either.

No -- the hard part is whacking these full grown apple trees down to knee length. You're cutting a tree like this to a third of its original size. The goal is to encourage branch production near the base of the tree -- and never let it get beyond six to seven feet in height (standing on ladders to pick apples can also result in sprained feet or broken legs -- especially if you've been drinking cider).

This project is now complete. Let the cider-making, commence.

One Garden Project Leads Too....

Ronald Reagan

Former President Ronald Reagan once remarked that; "Regulations are like spores of a fungus -- they settle anywhere and everywhere and create more spores..."

Now -- despite how you may feel personally about the 40th President of the United States and the 33rd Governor of California (he does tend to elicit the best and worst out of people) -- he could have just as easily been talking about gardening.

Replace the term "regulations" with "gardening projects" and you have a statement that is probably more truthful than Reagan's original quote.

How do I know this? From experience of course!

New Artichoke Bed?

Case in point? The gardening "bed" located to your immediate left. This "bed" is the latest edition to our backyard garden. Constructed from CHEAP Home Depot brand Redwood fenceboard (did I say CHEAP?) -- Venus and I filled this bed with planter mix from Hasties Capitol Sand and Gravel just this past spring (I think the planter mix may have cost more than the box).

What was the new box for? I'm glad you asked. I had intended to move some artichoke plants from the overcrowded artichoke bed to your right -- over into the new box. But there was just one -- small problem.

Overcrowded Artichoke Bed

You really shouldn't attempt to transplant artichoke plants in the spring. I've learned that failure of a project through experience. Nope -- your best bet is to "divide and conquer" in the fall -- after the main artichoke plants have succumbed to the harsh Sacramento Valley summertime heat -- and the root systems are sending up replacements by the dozens.

So -- what to do with the new box then? Venus and I let "the kid" -- nephew Marquitos Stromberg -- plant the new box with a variety of spring seeds ranging from carrots to parsnips and anything and everything in between. Not just any carrots either. Normal carrots are boring. The boy was into those funky carrots called "Atomic Red" and those fancy yellow types named "Solar" or "Sunshine."

The nephew did a better job than I expected. Because when it came time to pull up the nephew's seed starting project -- well -- the wife that is Venus and I encountered one small problem.

Sunshine Yellow Carrots

Call it a monster sized carrot and turnip harvest. When I say monster -- I mean MONSTER. I've never grown carrots THIS LARGE -- nor in this LARGE A NUMBER.

"What am I going to do with this pile of produce now," I wondered. Remember! The original project was to transplant artichokes. Suddenly -- an unforseen gardening project leapt onto Bill Bird's radar screen. Life had given me carrots -- a fair amount of parsnips and some fat turnips hidden in the back.

Lastly -- as I grabbed a whithering basil plant that had clearly reached the end of its season -- a friendly reminder buzzed by my ear. It was a bee. But not just any old bee. It was one of MY BEES -- a bee from the Hello Kitty Hive. And -- as I stared intently as the basil flowers protruding from three fading basil plants -- I spotted another -- and yet another -- and yet one more.

Surprise! You've Got Parsnips!

I suddenly realized that I was about to pull out an important pollen source that bees from my backyard hive were utilizing at the moment. It's the Fall Season folks. Pollen sources are drying up fast. Bees are flying longer distances and in greater numbers in the quest to store up pollen and honey in time for the winter season.

I just couldn't pull those basil plants out -- not now anyway. So -- they stayed -- which created yet ANOTHER garden project for the day.

See what I'm getting at?

The job of transplanting artichokes from one bed to another is actually quite simple. It's almost impossible to kill an artichoke plant. I know because I've tried. They didn't like that one encounter with the lawnmower (a mistake) -- nor did they appreciate a spray-bath of Roundup (another mistake).

Divide and Conquer!

Oh -- sure -- they'll look unhappy at first. But they always seem to bounce back. The scientist who predicted that only cockroaches would survive a nuclear holocaust obviously never had an artichoke plant in the backyard. These things are rather indestructable.

Another tidbit that I've discovered through the years is that artichokes LOVE room. The more you give them -- the bigger they will get -- which leads to larger and more tastier harvests. Many people have asked me how much room an artichoke plant needs and my response has always been; "how much room do you have?" Because an artichoke will fill up that space rather quickly and rampage into other areas where you may not want them.

Clean Bed Ready for Winter!

The best way to remove an artichoke is to remove a portion of the root system that the plant protruding above the ground is attached too. This is easier said than done -- and can require a bit of tugging and maybe a stick of dynamite or two before you hear that satisfying CRACK!

From that point -- you simply move that chunk of root system and plant over to the new bed -- dig an appropriate-sized hole and plant. Make sure the root system is buried under an inch or two of soil -- with the plant still above ground.

How will you know if you've taken the right steps? Trust me -- the plant will let you know. For -- if you return the next morning and find your transplants DEAD and FLATTENED just like this -- you've done the right job.

Unhappy Artichoke Transplants

Seriously! Those plants that had been so full of life and vigor the previous day will droop to the ground and fall over flat. They'll give you that accusing "Why Did You Move Me" look -- and will let you know they were much happier where they had been before.

Don't despair kids! It only looks like you've killed it. In time? New sprouts will begin to emerge from the center of the plant. By this December? I'll have artichoke plants loving our cool Sacramento winter weather. And by next spring? Hopefully -- a record artichoke harvest from not just one bed -- but two.

Two is twice as nice!

Dirt Moving Done Cheap!

That would be me -- Bill Bird -- the "dirt mover." And I am as cheap as they come since I only charge myself two bottled waters and a 12-pack of beer -- after the moving is done of course.

This old wheelbarrow has seen better days. It's done its share of "dirt moving" as well. I always order in amounts of five cubic yards or more -- which usually means a good five to six hours of "dirt moving" after the load has arrived (I don't move all that fast -- so sue me).

Venus and I needed the dirt for? What else? VEGETABLE GARDENING (see name of blog). It's getitng close to that season you know. After an extended spring of cold, wet and windy weather -- mother nature finally cooperated last weekend with a stretch of days where the weather wasn't half bad.

In short -- it was a good day for hauling loads of dirt.

The wheelbarrow in question? It has been with us since "the beginning." That's right -- it was a wedding present. As I indicated earlier -- it has seen "better days." No better than this in my opinion -- which is how Venus and I received it on our wedding night in Rocklin.

The gift-givers in this case -- NewsTalk 1530 KFKB reporters Marna Davis and Kami Lloyd (Polete) -- made sure to stock it with our favorite beers. I must admit -- it brought a tear to the eye of Bill Bird when I first saw it. I'm a sucker for these kinds of things.

But what would you rather have? A wheelbarrow full of dirt? A wheelbarrow full of rock?

I'll take the beer -- thank you. This is a no brainer.

But this is the last time our wedding gift looked this good. It helped landscape our postage stamp-sized backyard in our first North Natomas home. It hauled 5 yards of planter mix for the first raised bed we built together -- five yards of bark to mulch the yard -- five yards of "Sonoma Gold" landscaping rock and sand and stones for a small walkway.

It only took us about six months to landscape a yard barely big enough to turn around it. After that -- it sat unused -- against a fence for a number of years.

But with the new home? It has found new life and lots of new work. We're three years and counting into landscaping the new backyard -- and we're not even half finished yet. So -- Venus and I put ye olde wheelbarrow to work this past weekend -- filling up another raised bed that Venus has already started planting with seed.

How much is five yards of cubic planter mix? Does "a lot of dirt" provide the proper answer? It was more than enough to fill up the bed in question -- and the leftovers are sitting in a big pile in the backyard.

Oh -- don't worry about us. This mound of dirt will play host to some squealing kids later this weekend (The cat known as Precious is really looking forward to this) -- but it will also serve a purpose as we move forward with efforts to put in a few more planter beds and a few spare yards of lawn (OK -- lots of lawn. I'm a sucker for lawns).

As for the Planter Mix in question? This is the famous "50/50" mix from Hastie's Capitol Sand and Gravel -- and a good deal at that. I had been using a different yard for my planter mix and mulch needs -- but grew tired of receiving loads that were a tad small for my liking.

No such concern this time. Keep that name in mind: Hastie's Capitol Sand and Gravel. And -- should you get the urge to move some dirt -- well please feel free to give me a call! The dirt moving "operation" is just getting started.