Pix, my apple orchard

[clemsonfor]

Johndeere, that forest is beautiful country! You are fortunate.

I'm surprised that your logs are going for firewood. That's nice looking wood. I would have expected for lumber.

Everybody: thanks for the comments!

I didn't realize how many pictures I had posted here over the years until I searched for these. Someday I'll look for critter pictures. Or maybe even Yanmar pictures on some specific theme.

California, not sure if you caught it or not but im a forester. Only reason i say that is to put some validation into what i am saying. I have no idea about pacific NW markets or california, but if its anything like here you cant give away that quantity of wood most times. Profit margins are so thin that you a logger needs to make prodction, meaning tonnage to make any money. Even for free they cant go get 20 loads or less (20 cds around here is 2 tractor trailer loads) usually unless their geared for it. There is just so much expense involved in moving and payments that they cant loose the production and the 2 days it takes just to set up. I could cut down the biggest 120 ft tall trees you can think of around here and unless you find a small guy to take them for free you bettter be ready to haul them away. Thats what so many folks dont realize now a days. They think cause daddy sold the 2 acre lot 30 yrs ago that they can today, its just not the case with the high production outfits you see now. I cut some of the most bueatiful oaks up for firewood each year, ones that would make unreal boards or flooring, but noone will buy a single windblown oak.

Sorry if it sounds like im talking down to you just pointing out the biz to those interested and that read this, as it was not my intention. My wife always says my personality can be like sandpaper sometimes in the way i say things. I promiss that is not the intention, i know your old enough to be my dad so i have the upmost respect for your knowlege and life lessons. This southern boy dosent know everything but a little about a lot and a lot about wood!

 

[clemsonfor]

Hey JD.

Even though im a forester i am a souther forester. I know the western species exist and learn a blanket bit about them and lifecycle. My question is here in the south we dont burn pine (well most folks dont, not saying everyone dont) as the resin burns really hot and gives a smoke off almost like desiel smoke off that leaves crosote like crazy in your chimney. Lighter pine or the old stumps (fat lighter at stores) is so resin soaked that a match will light a piece the size of a stump and it will burn till gone. But if you burn that stuff you will crack your chimney or bust a stove, it gets coal-like hot! We use chunks of it to start a fire. I see all the western and montana like folks burning that soft wood, does it not do the same thing? Obviously it dont, does it last very long in a stove, its not dense at all. I think of the white wood spruce/fir boards at the store, no resin in them and they weigh like 1/3 of southern yellow pine.

 

[JB4310]

Beautiful pictures, do you have enough water there? I know there have been water wars in California but not sure where. looks like everything is growing just fine.

JB.

 

[deepNdirt]

Love seeing pictures from other parts of the country like these, are some great shots, California, about how much in % is loss in apples? or maybe might be better asking how much gets actually harvest? we tried having small orchard by setting out 6 apple and 6 pear tree's 13 years ago we went through a couple drought summers and lost 3 apples and 2 pear trees, this year the trees are loaded down, I suspect many will be wasted, we try to furnish all friends a neighbors all they can eat, and the in-law puts up jelly and dried apple & pear slices:thumbsup: and still we never seem to use them all, we have 1 pear tree at the road side, it got planted by mistake thinking it was Bradford's along with the others, and all people drive by stop and ask for some,

we also have 5 figs trees & 2 rows of Blueberry, 8 plum trees, and trying to baby along a couple of Pomegranate bushes, also 1 grape arbor of grapes that never gets eaten because no one wants to go near it when all the bee's are in there

 

[California]

California, not sure if you caught it or not but im a forester. Only reason i say that is to put some validation into what i am saying. I have no idea about pacific NW markets or california, but if its anything like here you cant give away that quantity of wood most times.... My wife always says my personality can be like sandpaper sometimes in the way i say things.

Hey don't be concerned about giving offense! I know nothing about a subject that you are an expert in, and I just learned a lot from your post that I didn't know. Thanks! I never before realized that you need multiple-truckload quantities before logging makes economic sense.

Beautiful pictures, do you have enough water there? I know there have been water wars in California but not sure where. looks like everything is growing just fine.

California's Central Valley is basically desert and allocating the limited snow runoff that comes down from the Sierras is the underlying issue that all Valley agriculture depends on. The Imperial Valley down south relies on Colorado River water and the issues are similar. But I'm over on the North Coast (an hour north of San Francisco) with twice as much rainfall, about 40 inches annual plus I am only 10 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean so I get wet fog year round. This orchard is 'dry farming', no irrigation, and I think summer fog is what makes that possible. I don't remember there has ever been a year so dry as to lose trees, just some variability in crop yield. Rain, or worse, hail, on blossoms during pollination is a more important variable that determines crop size. Typical harvest is 10 tons/acre.

Love seeing pictures from other parts of the country like these, are some great shots, California, about how much in % is loss in apples? or maybe might be better asking how much gets actually harvest? we tried having small orchard by setting out 6 apple and 6 pear tree's 13 years ago we went through a couple drought summers and lost 3 apples and 2 pear trees, this year the trees are loaded down

Deer are a big nuisance eating the shoots off immature trees, and some trees stay stunted from too much gopher damage under them. But as I noted above, water is generally not an issue.

It sounds like you have an ideal mixture of things growing. We have a few 'family trees' mixed in the orchard, pears etc but I want to plant a lot more.

Thanks everybody for the comments, and sorry I didn't get back to answer this thread quicker.

 

[BC Dave]

waow; nice property you have there california!

Love the rolling hills; mature old style tall apple orchard trees; deer (are those white tails or fallow deer?) even turkies and an is that an Isuzu trooper! (I owned a 88 trooper; grey; excelled off road; somewhat utilitarian interior unfortunatly)

How many acres?

Idilic! Pastoral

 

[Car Doc]

I just saw this thread those are some awesome pics California wow there is more things to do on that property than one man could ever hope to have to do looks like a great hideout! :thumbsup:

 

[California]

waow; nice property you have there california!

Love the rolling hills; mature old style tall apple orchard trees; deer (are those white tails or fallow deer?) even turkies and an is that an Isuzu trooper! (I owned a 88 trooper; grey; excelled off road; somewhat utilitarian interior unfortunatly) How many acres? Idilic! Pastoral

I just saw this thread those are some awesome pics California wow there is more things to do on that property than one man could ever hope to have to do looks like a great hideout! :thumbsup:

BC and CD, thanks!

The coastal deer are smaller than the ones in the Sierras. One type is likely whitetail but I don't know which. I've never heard 'fallow' re California.

Yes, '88 Trooper! Best year they made. First year for fuel injection so it ran like new until its final day. This body style (also had V6 89~91) was simple, utilitarian, ideal for offroad adventures and big enough that I towed home my YM240 when I bought it. (5,000 lbs towed, it's rated 2k with 4-cylinder). I loved it. Bought it new and enjoyed it for 16 years, would have kept it forever - But then my neighbor's tree crushed it. I have a photo of that on here somewhere.

This is about 7~8 acres in cultivation, plus the ravine, 11 overall. Probably a 'one-horse' farm back in the day but since my grandfather bought it in 1950 the apples have been contracted to a neighbor to operate together with his larger acreage. I backhoe out stumps, plant & water new trees, do maintenance on the driveway and easement (1/4 mile out to the county road). Usually just mow the family portion but last year I mowed the orchard when my neighbor got behind. One annual project is to keep open a path through the blackberry jungle into the ravine so all the relatives can come up here and pick all the blackberries they want.

Yes, more projects than I could do in a lifetime. The 1910?? simple farmhouse and barns could be an occupation they need so much work. I like keeping them authentic because there's almost nothing left in California from that far back - nearly all of the huge population growth here was in the modern era. (And any farm like this that turned a profit has replaced the old stuff with modern).

Yes, idyllic, a great hideout. Grandpa got it right when he bought it for his retirement place. Then Dad enjoyed it, and now me. I feel very fortunate.

 

[BC Dave]

nice ... 11 Ac

HA; HA HA: .. I owned a 4 cyl Isuzu Trooper; Silver grey; great; somewhat boxy; but lots of room; little light in the rear; the only real reson I sold it was the front windshield had been replaced a couple of times and started rusting around the window; sold with info of rust ... I owned it for 10 yrs; only dissapointment was the fuel injector in the gas tank that failed in the middle of no where ... took a day to get the part delivered and I was good to go ...