Hey everyone!
I got this new website to make it easier to find my business. Its now simple to type TreeToMe.co and the checkout should run smoother for a better experience. I've also got the ability to write blogs now which I will be able to share parts of our farm with everyone easier now!
Now to start off the first blog which I figure this is the best time to start a blog for a farm anyways. It's winter and not a whole lot is going on but getting ready for next year. This means pruning, processing, planning.
Starting with pruning, which is a little labor intensive and typically freezing but being outside in nature alone with beautiful views and fresh crisp air is almost therapeutic. First we start pruning our apple and pear trees as they are the most resistant to the cold. We start pruning usually after thanksgiving and will usually finish around January. We then move onto plums, apricots and cherries in February and finish with Peaches in March. By far in my experience, peaches are the most intensive to prune as they typically don't cut as well as other fruit trees and there is a ton of little cuts that must be made to open the tree up for airflow.
Next up is processing. I get a lot more free time in the winter than I do in the rest of the year so I utilize the time to take a break and get some rest but also to work on other things. So what I mean by processing is getting things like my Apple Snaps made or building a new website. During the winter I stock up the delicious freeze dried apples to start selling once again at farmer's markets in spring as well as through this website. It also gives me time to work on new flavors, make existing flavors better etc.
Planning is also a big part of any farm and for us it's planning what we're going to grow in the garden and where. It's also planning new parts of the farm like adding a hoop house or renovating the store. The summer doesn't give us a lot of time so utilizing the winter is important. We've already ordered some seed for next year but we'll be looking for more seed within the next couple months. For those who don't know or haven't ordered seed before, the more popular varieties tend to sell out quick so getting them sooner rather than later is important as well. We're also planning some more exciting stuff to add to our farms experience which I'll write about later.
That's pretty much it for the first blog! I plan on expanding upon pruning, processing and planning with separate posts, hopefully around a week or two apart each.