Well my heart was in the right place anyway. Amy drove me to the local Bunnings and we bought an Apricot tree for our front yard. We used to have a large mature apricot tree about 5 years ago, but because of the drought we are still having here, it died a slow death over a few years. Just not enough moisture in the ground for the mature tree to draw upon. So we are replacing it with a new carbon sink and because we miss picking our own apricots. They were yummy!
We didn’t get around to planting it on Sunday, because I ran out of steam, however because it is in a pot and not of the bare rooted variety as some tree are sold in winter, it will survive another few days before my two muscly girls prepare the soil and plant it for me. They will have to add lots of dynamic lifter and compost to the area we are going to plant it in, as the soil is a bit impoverished.
I thought it was a good price for $38, and it compared with trees that I have found for sale on-line. We managed to fit it in the hybrid car and only managed to break one of the smaller branches that I was going to prune off anyway. I have tapped the branch, so it just may heal. Not a very good photo, I know, because my photographer (Kim) was unavailable at the time, so you will have to put up with my crappy shot!
So I know this post should have been written on Sunday as that was the official day, but there are only so many posts one can write in a day! Here is a picture of the tag on the tree. From what I read in my Diggers fruit and vegetable book, it is a good hardy variety that will do well in cold winters and hot summers. Looks like the washing machine water will be well used.
We also have an ornamental pear tree in the front yard, which I bought and planted before my green epiphany. It has survived two summers, so must have a deep root system by now. I have been doing some reading, and reckon that because it is still fairly healthy, I can graft on fruit bearing pear stock onto this tree. How amazing will it be to convert a tree that was just bread for show, to a tree that we can enjoy juicy pears from! I like nature. It is so versatile!
Hey Gavin , ever thought about just how many differant fruit one can grow on a single tree ?
Might make an interesting experiment whilst practicing your grafting technique.