The way things have unfolded in 2011, the Farmville Reality Project will not produce near the bounty of fruits and vegetables it did in 2010. As a matter a fact, the location of the project has moved to a place known as the "Buckle". The official name of our new hometown is Arbuckle. It's a sleepy little town along I-5. The main crop in this area are almonds. As you can see in the pictures, the new Farmville has almond trees. They have not been well tended the past several years and there are only so many almonds a crew can eat in a year, so these trees will be removed. In their place will be a multitude of trees, vines, and open garden. The new place is two acres total, and I'm willing to bet this soon-to-be-former orchard is about an acre. At this time, no real detailed plan has emerged on what will go where. Here is a list of things under discussion for various reasons.
- Boysenberries- Lynda has promised to make plenty of pies when the berries are plentiful.
- Winegrapes- No further explanation needed.
- Peaches, Plums, Nectarines- If you've ever had the opportunity to eat these fully tree-ripened, you too would make it your life's mission to have these very close to your back porch.
- Olives- Home cured olives are always great to have around. We also made some olive oil last year and it turned out pretty good.
- Mandarins- The absolute best mandarin is the Owari Satsuma. They have the perfect balance of acid and sugar, plus the skins almost peel themselves.
- Cherries- Although they can be a chore to pick because of how small they are, Bing cherries are a real treat.
- Apples- Since they are so versatile in the kitchen, there will be a few different varieties so we can cook with them and eat right off the tree.
- All of the same great things we grew in 2010, plus anything else that might come to mind.
For now though, the immediate chore was to cut the four foot tall weeds down so the fire department won't come out and taze me til my ears bleed. Because we tend to make things up as we go along, the rig used was the bobcat in the first picture with a hydraulic driven, front mounted mower. I called around to various rental places and this appears to be a popular time of the year to get weeds chopped down. Most tractors with traditional rear mounted mowers were already reserved. While talking to one outfit, they guy mentioned this rig and said it doesn't leave a finely mowed surface behind but it will chop down tall weeds in tight places like nobody's business. After getting the hang of driving this thing, I have to say he was spot on. I was able to turn on a dime and poke the mower between the trees, under low hanging branches and even within inches of the barns. The controls were a couple of levers that are pretty much like joysticks on a video game. The tractor moves according to if the levers are pushed or pulled and speed depends on how far forward or back they go. Same with steering. It turns left if the right lever is pushed and the left lever is pulled because the wheels on one side will move in the opposite direction than the other side. Since it is what is known as hydrostatic driven instead of direct drive, you can stop and reverse course instantly without shifting a transmission. The two foot pedals control the height and angle of the mower deck. After ten minutes of getting used to operating it (and a few broken branches), I was able to flat out slaughter my most despised enemy, the weeds. It was noisy, bouncy, dusty work. For a guy like me that actually likes operating machines instead of computer keypads, it was very satisfying.
I took a picture of one of the weed-infested areas before mowing and then the after shot so you can see what a mess this old orchard had become. It's exciting to imagine the possibilities for creating the perfect home orchard and vineyard. At this time, the olives will likely be trellised to make picking them easier but the grapes might not be so the canopy can better protect them from the scorching sun. I guess we have plenty of research and homework to do as we develop this new location. Sometimes, that is almost as much fun as enjoying the proverbial fruits of your labor.
