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February 19 , 2007

Peach Blossoms and Arundo Burning - Thaddeus

The first of the peach blossoms are beginning to show. Most of the varieties are still bare branches with swelling buds that are getting close to sending their flowers out. One variety is ahead of the rest. It already has pink blossoms that look like large pieces of popcorn dangling from the skeleton of branches.

With the sunny dry weather a large portion of these flowers will set fruit that will grow into peaches. Last year the early varieties were the only ones that were able to set fruit. The bulk of our orchard sent out their flowers in March and last March we received rain 28 days of the month; which resulted in terrible fruit set on all those varieties and some of the varieties set no fruit. I am nervous that this March will be another repeat of last March resulting in another year of few peaches. The weather is difficult to predict but easy to worry about.

We started a restoration project on the farm last week. There is a section of our farm that borders Cache Creek. Typically the creek is fairly mellow but when we receive lots of rain the creek turns into a huge flow of water that has the potential to wash out the land that we farm. The previous owner planted Arundo to stabilize the banks (Arundo looks like bamboo but grows much more aggressively). The problem with Arundo is that is so aggressive it has grown to take over the entire creek, pushing out the native grasses, trees and shrubs, clogging the waterway and making it impossible to use the road on the bank or to walk to the creek.

We started the battle of removing it last week by burning it. It was pretty impressive - the local fire department stopped by to see what we were up to. Typically the plant will not burn because it green and full of water. We timed the burn after the heavy frost which left the plants dried and very vulnerable to flames. With the bulk of the bio-mass now removed we will be able to fight the new shoots more effectively while beginning to re-introduce willows and native grasses. It will be a fun project but the amount of work involved is a bit daunting.

Moyra and I spend an afternoon taking willow cuttings from the neighbors place and putting them into the ground. I guess if the conditions are right the cuttings will push roots and turn into trees. It will be interesting to see what happens. In walking around the area after the burn I was encouraged to see sections were some native plants have been holding on to life. With the pressure from the Arundo removed I hope that these plants will be able to utilize more of the sun and water to grow and reproduce.

Enjoy your boxes this week. If you have questions or comments I can be reached at Thaddeus17@gmail.com or you can see more writing about the farm at www.capay.blogspot.com.

Thaddeus

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