A Duck Named Ping
The other day our friend Alice found a motherless duckling whilst she was walking her dog.
As she has a cat as well as a dog she decided the best thing was to find a home for it quick smart.
This is how we became the family for the said duckling which is now named Ping after Mum’s favourite childhood storybook character.
The photo shows Ping on his first night here. He slept in a tuff tub with his new friend, Baby Bear.
The next morning Ruby and I modified an old apple bin so Ping has a permanent home.
This delightful little thing is so cute and I never thought I’d say that about a duck!
A Simple Explanation Of Frost Fighting
What a few days of frost fighting I’ve had!
I’ve been asked via email on quite a few occasions as to what is involved with the whole frost-fighting process.
So here goes; a simplified version so as not to bore you senseless; we have an overhead sprinkler system set up in the Orchard which is run by a tractor-powered pump located just below our irrigation dam.
At this time of year the immature fruit on the trees are highly sensitive to frost damage.
I have a frost alarm set up in my bedroom which alerts me when the temperature hits 2 degrees C.
This means it’s time to get up and patrol the Orchard and monitor the temperatures as there are temperature variations throughout the property.
If the temperature reaches around 0.4 degrees Celsius in the coldest area, I then crank up the pump and the sprinklers kick into action.
The water is sprayed on the trees and acts as an insulator when temperatures reach the freezing point of 0 degrees Celsius.
The fruit is protected by the process of the ice forming a “cocoon” around the fruit.
However it is vital the ice is constantly being formed otherwise the temperature of the fruit will rapidly drop and within 30 minutes serious tissue damage will occur, killing the fruit.
This is why the sprinklers are run until the air temperature is well above freezing .
If we don’t frost fight or if there is a delay in starting up the tractor then the frost will cause the cells of the fruit to crystalize and splinter and after the couple of days the tissue of the fruit will turn brown and die.
Not a very pleasant scenario for any Orchardist as that means you have lost your income.
Time for a Bit of Nostalgia
Here’s a trip down memory lane, a photo of me and mum taken back in October 1992!
Finished the Pruning!! Yay!!
Yesterday was a great day for me. Let me tell you why.
I “finished” pruning the Orchard… Yahoo!!!
I started in early May and as I had never pruned the whole place single-handedly before, the task did look a bit daunting BUT I actually loved every minute.
Mum always told me since I was a young chap to focus on the beauty of my surroundings and not look ahead at the thousands of trees yet to be pruned.
Hence her words were embedded in my mind every morning before I started work.
I have a bit of raking and mulching to do over the next week and then I’ll be into thinning.
I was about 5 years old when I learnt the art of thinning fruit.
Back then I would have one or two trees allocated to me. Now I have thousands of trees allocated to me!!!
Thank goodness Mum and Ruby are good cooks as I have great meals waiting for me at lunch and tea which keeps me going.
Ruby is in charge of the tunnel houses now as I have no spare time.
She is doing a great job propagating, etc.
She planted out a few hundred onion plants the other day and is all set to plant out cabbages this coming weekend.
A recent addition to the Hobbs clan are 6 free-range hens that have been providing us with a constant supply of eggs. Well they are actually Ruby’s chooks – she thinks they are gorgeous! Although it has been lovely having fresh eggs every day, they can take a break from laying! 8 eggs a day can get a bit tedious!
"If I Stand Perfectly Still Then Nobody Will See Me!!!!"
Spring Update
Spring is well and truely underway here at Hobbs Orchard.
The blossoms are out and the sweet smell of pollen is filling the air.
The weather has mostly been on our side with only a few cold and wet days keeping the bees in their hives.
We did try to talk them into working in the rain but to no avail.
Apparently they don’t appreciate being told to “harden up”. Who knew!
The arrival of blossoms not only heralds the start of the Spring; it also means that the frost-fighting season has begun!
Nothing makes me feel more alive than leaping out of bed when the frost alarm sounds at some ungodly hour of the night, throwing my gear on and running around the Orchard, thermometer in hand to monitor the temperature and decide whether or not I need to crank up the overhead sprinklers.
So far this season I’ve had to crank up 5 times.
One of the longest sessions was last night where we had to run the sprinklers from 9:08pm until 9:15am the next morning!
12 hours of frost fighting certainly makes a truckload of ice!!!
I’m grateful that I have my “support crew” (Mum and Ruby) back at the house keeping the fires stoked up and the jug boiled.
Winter Update
Well here we are in the glorious month of July.
Life on the Orchard is busy as always.
I’ve been keeping myself occupied with pruning since the beginning of May.
I’m just over half way through the Orchard right now with all the Apricot, Peach and Nectarine Blocks done and just the Plum and Apple Blocks left to go.
It may sound strange but I really enjoy pruning even when the temperatures drop well below zero.
My trusty old Hydralada has been my work companion throughout this winter and has only let me down on one occasion when it’s starter motor crapped itself!
But once the new starter motor arrived, we were back in business! I’m thinking about naming my friend. Any suggestions????
As you can see in the photos below my trusty mate has stood by me through all weather conditions.
On the nice days
Nice Day To Be Pruning Nectarines
And the not so nice days
Nothing beats a -6c morning to let you know you're alive!
Ruby is looking forward in her spare time to taking over the propagation of all the plants for our massive veggie garden this season as I will be slightly preoccupied running the Orchard.
She’ll also be flat out helping Mum run the Fruit Stall during the Fruit Season. Thankfully she has inherited Mum’s skill of multi-tasking.
As a wee kid I thought all mothers could do ten things at once!! I was rather surprised when I discovered this wasn’t the norm.
Mum is balancing her time right now, running the house by keeping everyone fed, tending to her vast gardens and pruning the odd Nectarine tree.
I’ve put my foot down and only allow her to prune 1 or 2 trees a day as opposed to 20 as I don’t think it’s a good idea having my mother catching Hypothermia on a -4c morning!
She has relucantly agreed and hugs me often saying “Thank You!!!!”
It may have been cold recently but Hercules Flat is a beautiful little place to live.
This photo was taken from our sunroom early this morning of the hills at the back of the Orchard.
Truly impressive.
And I snapped this one from out in the Omega Plum Block.
So apart from being a bit cold these past few months, everything is plodding along nicely in Hercules Flat.
Stay tuned for future updates including more photos from out in the Orchard.
By the way, I’ve really appreciated all the emails and phone calls of support over the past few months whilst I’ve been learning how to run the Orchard.
The transition from Web Designer to Orchardist has certainly been an interesting journey!!
And on a lighter note here’s a couple of photos of me and Mum and me and Ruby on a rare day out to Queenstown.
Cheers
Sam
We Are Closed
Note from Sandra
We are closing for the Season at the end of today.
Many thanks to all our wonderful customers.
Your patience and understanding has been appreciated.
As you all know, we are a Family Run Orchard and we, Sandra, Sam & Ruby, have muddled through the past few months and have made the decision to keep the Orchard going so we hope to see you all next Season.
Alex was a super fit man and was gone within days after a fall in long wet grass whilst trying to connect the driveshaft to the sprayer.
The morning of his fall we had joked with him out at the clothesline that now he had finally graduated from ladder to hydralada maybe it was time to graduate from foot power to a bike. He answered with his cheeky smile, that he would only use a bike when he was old and couldn’t cover the orchard on foot. We all laughed and said that day would come. Well of course that day will never come.
Your life can change in a heartbeat so always remember, treasure those you love.
Out Of Quinces
We have sold out of Quinces.
We still have Cox’s Orange and Red Delicious Apples available in 5kg bags for $5.
We Have Quinces
We have good sized, spray-free Quinces available in 2.5kg bags for $10.
Quinces are ideal for preserving, making jelly, paste, jam or just baked in desserts.
They also have a lovely fragrance.
Easter Weekend Fruit Update
We currently have delicious tree ripened Cox’s Orange and Red Delicious Apples for sale on the Stall.
Cox’s Orange are a great dual purpose Apples as they taste great fresh or cooked.
Red Delicious are a nice crunchy eating Apple.
We are selling both Cox’s Orange and Red Delicious on the Stall in 5kg bags for $5 or 2nds boxs 7kg for $5/12kg for $10.