The area we are building out to attract deer is coming along, the fields have been seeded with clover, rye grass and radish. But now I am adding a few fruit trees. These will be out in front of my permanent hunting blind that we built, also known as the shooting house. So during deer hunting season we have a nice place to set up a wait. And in a few years hopefully these fruit trees will be big enough to produce fruit and entice deer to come by.
I got myself 2 pear trees, a peach tree and a plum tree.
Having these fruit trees will be nice to have as well for the food they provide to us, I will not let the deer eat them all..lol Gonna be sleeping in that shooting house a lot if that starts happening.
Prepping for fruit trees.
Using my tractor mounted mower, I cut back the weeds growing between all the seed planted in the fields.
Takes me about 30 minutes to but it all back.
Behind me is where I plan on having the pine trees in a few years once they are ready to be planted outside in the ground.
Making quick work with the mowing its time to move onto drilling holes next with my power equipment.
With the grass cut back we can really see that clover. Its quite established and I am sure it loved the tilled ground we provided it.
Planting the fruit trees.
A few weeks later and all the grass cut has fallen below the clover and it can really be seen even better now.
Planting the trees went well, I used my auger drill on my skidsteer. And then filled the holes with half garden soil and half native dirt.
The two pear trees should pollinate each other. I really like Seckel pears, quite tasty.
I do not expect much growth right now, but next year they should come alive. Will need to keep a close eye on them for insect pests. And if deer start rubbing against them I will need to put a wire cage around them.
Bartlett is the other kind of pear in the combo I got. They are tasty good, but not as much as a seckle. Maybe baking bartletts make them even more tasty.
That clover is amazing, even where I drove over it with the skid steer it is coming back.
The peach tree is self pollinating, I got myself a late blooming variety so early frosts do not kill the flowers. I had that problem where I lived previously so hopefully this one will do better.
Little trees now, but one day they should be big and strong.
I have never grown pear trees, hopefully they do good here.
The plum tree should get quite large. We wanted purple plums, and I could only find a standard type. The others are all semi-dwarfs.
So now we wait, and one day they should produce fruit. In the mean time I am sure the clover all over will do great.
We may over seed the clover to get some bare spots a little more filled.
But in general the deer food plot is looking great. It seems to be more of a "turkey food plot" at the moment as that is where the wild turkeys hang out. But good to have either way.
The deer will eat the clover too, and it is a perennial so it should come back and get stronger with every year. Hopefully it will also help the fruit trees by fixing nitrogen and bringing it back into the soil. The trees should love that as during their leafing stage (vegetative) they want lots of nitrogen.
One other thing to mention is that I inoculated the roots of these fruit trees with mycorrhizal fungi. So hopefully they will do even better. We shall see, could be really interesting seeing how quickly they grow because of it.
Previous posts on this project:
https://peakd.com/hive-140635/@solominer/the-fields-are-coming-up-this-autumn
https://peakd.com/hive-114308/@solominer/building-a-deer-food-plot
https://peakd.com/construction/@solominer/building-the-shooting-house
https://peakd.com/hive-114308/@solominer/laying-the-foundation-for-a-permanent-hunting-blind
I always love the intention behind planting fruit trees. It's not for immediate gain, but for the future possibility of having fruit. Good work.
Yep, fruit trees are a future investment.. You usually need to wait a few years before they produce so its a long term investment.
thanks
My neighbor has a really beautiful white peach tree. I love those things. I didn't realize they can grow this far north, but he had a ton the other year. You are going to have a nice little utopia there when everything is finished!
Ah nice, I used to red peach tree that would flower too early. When the "fake spring" would start in February or March it would flower and then the frosts would return and kill the flowers. So many years we got no fruit at all.
I learned from this and bought a "late blooming" variety. So hopefully that will no longer be an issue. As yes the further north you go, the more of a chance the flowers will get wiped out.
I hope it will grow faster. 😁😁
me too.. the sooner the better.
😊😊
It usually takes at least 5 years to get fruit, more sometimes, it will go by faster than you think. Good luck with them.
Nice, I can wait 5 years.. my other trees should be producing before them.
thanks
Wow, it such a nice work over there, you are a nice f future career, planing for tomorrow is never a bad thing, all the plants will bear their fruit it just to be have patience because it take time and be long, nice work, success in it.
Ah thank you, yep investing in the future now with these trees.
Dammit man I love seeing that place come together. I almost can't remember knowing you before this adventure started for you. Someday I hope to have this, perhaps beside a lake!
Thanks, ever since around 2020 I have started so many fruit trees its hard to keep track.
Nice man, well hope you do.. :-)
Wow, wow wow, the best fruit I'm looking at there is the plum tree, I so much love plum fruit, you did a nice work, but I think the plum even the pear will take much time to hear fruit, you definitely did a nice work, more Grace and success.
Yeah plum fruits are quite nice.. and their flowers are amazing.
thanks
For a second there i taught u caught one, would be excited to see it haven't seen it before. The planting is simple would make a good bait also
Haha nah not yet, but eventually I hope to bag one.
Looking forward to that
Preparing the 'table' for the red deer and planting young fruit trees at the same time - I'm not quite sure if you'll really like the result after a couple of visits. Especially as I have noticed that the red deer always bring a wild boar with them.
Peach trees are relatively "short-lived". Contrary to pears and plums. So my preference is for the vineyard peach. It is an old variety that is hardy and has plenty of varieties. That's why every year I put two or three peach stones in the ground and let myself be surprised by the variety that develops. The first small harvest is to be expected after four years at the latest.
Hah well that is why I plan on hunting them... As for boars they have not reached this far north yet.
But they could eventually.
Ah yeah they are only good for around 10 years it would seem, sad but true. I will probably start another half way through its life.
I used to have a peach tree, so it will be nice to have fruit again in a few years.
That clover will bring in the deer, or at least it has in my pastures. In the winter, they will love chewing on those tender little trees. Might want to consider putting wide and tall cages now... I had to.
Good, it should keep getting bigger over time too. I need to set up a trail cam by the fields to see what visits, have not done that yet.
Ah okay, yeah I should.. do not want them to chew the tops off these little plants. thanks for the tip
You are doing a great job in the field, it is definitely a good idea to plant fruit trees, beyond the fact that you have planted to attract deer to the hunting area, it will be great to enjoy exquisite fresh fruit
Have a beautiful day @solominer
Ah thanks, hopefully it will all work out..
Hope you do too
I can't wait to see how everything grows in the next few years. Have you thought about adding more trees or plants in the future?
Me too, should be quite interesting. In addition to these 4 young trees I just started, I also have 3 cherry trees and 4 apple trees. So now I have peach, plum and pear not sure what else I should start.
You already have so many great fruit trees. Maybe adding a fig tree or some berry bushes like raspberries or blueberries would be cool. They don’t take up much space and would give you even more fruit!
Oh... No, I can't wait to see them grow perfectly, yes it's also true that to prevent pests from coming it needs extra supervision, in how many years will this tree bear fruit, of course I am very curious 😊
Me too.. should be quite the interesting experience.
You are an agriculturist to the core and very well equipped too.
Do you hunt deer for meat or just for the fun of it?
Ah thank you, for meat.
Hmmm... I can see a lot of activities lined up for this farmland, I'm sure you would get so much out of it, when it's time to reap.
I hope to join you then..... Hehehehe.
Hah thanks