I think I have convinced my wife to let me plant a couple of apple trees in our backyard. My main objective was to plant a couple Honey Crisp trees. I have seen mention of dwarf specimens that are available - they look to attain 8-10 feet in height and spread. I plan to place an order this fall for delivery next spring. Check back for updates on this additional fruit-growing adventure.

Every year I feel I learn something new from my grapevines. This year has been no exception. The first few years after the vines became established, I found they did not seem to need much in the way of watering during the season. But with the semi-drought conditions of the past two years, I’ve realized that I need to pay more attention to the watering needs of my vines. In the last three weeks, I have used a homemade soaker hose to apply water to the vines and they seem to have responded nicely.

It should come as no surprise to me that the vines would respond to regular watering. I have been watching a maple tree in my yard the past couple of years and it has not grown too much. This past spring, I drove to fertilizer spikes in the ground on it’s dripline (which I have done in the past) and have watered it 2-3 times per week for at least 30 minutes at a time. The tree has responded extremely well. By mid-summer, I noted several shoots that had achieved 36″ of new growth! And many shoots had put on between 1 and 2 feet of new growth.

I guess I can sum up all of the above by saying that next spring I plan to install drip irrigation for my vines. Time will tell, but I think this is going to be the best for my vines in the long run.