If you really need plum ideas...

We're happy to finally have a plum harvest this year.  We've been picking our favorite variety -- Black Ice, developed at UW Rive Falls -- for a week or so, and are starting on LaCrescent, a small yellow variety.  We should have a couple more to bring to market before the season ends.  Mostly, these plums just get eaten up in our house, but here's a link to a few awesome recipes, should you really need one.

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/sep/07/nigel-slater-plum-recipes

Great Weather for Pruning!

We started pruning in our orchard at the end of February.  Stone fruits were first -- plums, cherries, and apricots are the earliest bloomers -- then apples and pears.  Now we're working on grapes and currants.  We prune our trees every year to create a tree shape that maximizes sunlight on the fruit (for good ripening) and airspace through and around the branches (to prevent fungal disease).  Grapes set all their fruit on young wood, so aside from the main trunk and cordons, or "arms," we're pruning those every year to renew growth.  This is the first year we're doing heavy pruning on our currant plants -- they produce best on 2 to 4-year-old wood, and now need some serious thinning out.  

It feels great to spend a few hours out in the orchard every day again, and we're getting excited for spring!

Getting Ready for Conference Season!

Rachel will be at the Immigrant and Minority Farmers Conference on Sunday, Feb 8th, giving a talk on starting a small-scale orchard or adding fruit to an existing operation.  We'll both be at the MOSES Organic Farming Conference, just participating this year.  We're excited for some great fruit-related workshops and events with the Organic Fruit Growers Association!