TODAY IN THE ORCHARD

Today was a challenging day on the farm. The temperatures were high, the apples are in bloom (many of them) and rain was predicted: the perfect trifecta for fireblight. After communicating with Steve Meyerhans of the Apple Farm in Fairfield, ME , Glen Koehler (pronounced KAY-LER) of U Maine extension and Mike Biltonen of Know Your Roots in NY, we decided to spray a second application of Blossom Protect. Cammy helped me with the spraying. As we finished, a huge storm blew in. Thousands of apple flower petals swirled around us in the wind. We retreated to the safety of the house. The storm blew over with a heavy downpour. Now we get to hope that the Blossom Protect did its thing and the fireblight stays away until another day. Although we lost a lot of flowers in the storm, a lot remain. As night settles in, we are reminded once again that we really do live way down in the woods, surrounded by trees and serenaded by singing bugs and frogs and owls. They’ve got us outnumbered by about 1000 to one. It’s home.