Pruning Blackberries, Pears and Peaches

   We're taking full advantage of this nice weather during our workers' spring breaks from high school and college, and we're getting a lot of pruning done.  We pruned pears last Thursday and yesterday, and started peach pruning this morning.  Each afternoon we're still pruning blackberries.

Brandon Ledford helped prune pear trees last Thursday while on spring break from college, using a pneumatic pole pruner.

   From Dec. 1 to May 31, we're open by appointment.  That means to phone 620-597-2450 a day or so ahead, and leave a message on the answering machine saying the day and about what time you're coming.  If you just drop by while we're pruning peaches, I can't see the driveway and can't hear vehicles over the noise of the air compressor on the tractor that powers the pneumatic pruners.

Ben Miller (right) and Tre Maxton (left) helped prune peach trees this morning. 
The pneumatic pruners are powered by the blue air compressor on the back of the tractor, and we place the prunings on the trailer in the background, and haul them to the burn pile.

   The phone rings in the house, and I check for phone messages several times each day.  If you wait to call until on your way here, I probably won't get your message before you come, since I'm working outside.  If it's cold or raining, I'm sorting apples in the sales building.  
    We still have many 'Enterprise' and 'GoldRush' apples for sale.  These apples taste much better than any sold in grocery stores, and are great for baking as well as fresh eating.  I give taste samples.  We also still have cracked 'Kanza' pecans for sale.  For prices, scroll down 3 posts.
   Asparagus harvest should start in a week or two, and goes until late May.  Asparagus details and price are in the previous post.

Peach trees are in full bloom now.

   Our peach orchard is in beautiful bloom now.  A 32 F frost is predicted for early Palm Sunday morning.  That temperature will not hurt the peach crop (or the pear crop) at all.  A freeze of less than 28 F would cause damage, so we hope that will not happen over the next month.