Gina's journey

[Stottie Girl]

It's always easier to build from scratch Gina but old buildings give you character. When you bring something back from dereliction it attaches you more than just building anew. There's a bit more of your soul in it.

I used to design barn conversions for a living, converted from the old dissused stone farm steading buildings that are dotted about all over England (usually hundreds of years old) and, whilst sometimes a bit of a headache I always prefered it to designing new builds. You usually ended up with something very unique.

It sounds like a very exciting project.

[Lori Dee ✅]

Glad to hear the project is coming along and you have help to get it done. I agree with Sarah, older homes have more character. It's just different when you say, "Built in 1902" versus "Built yesterday".
😄

Glad you are feeling better!

[ChrissyRyan]

Dizziness has mostly gone away. More water, exercises, meds.... I take it as a win, win!
  Work on the house, has been progressing slowly but moving forward. The neighbors niece, a 27yr old has been working for me. She is a hard worker and drives me to keep up. We are removing the floor beams, which have sagged an inch or more. Flipping them and cutting them straight then resetting them at 16" centers instead of 24".The wiring and pluming is run through them which must also be removed and or rerouted first. Some of the sills are rotted and also need replacing as we go. Probably would have been easier to build from scratch!
  The weather has been beautiful. Was in the high 60's yesterday so I took the day off and rode the horses. Also trimmed the apple trees. There are 4 of them. I gave them a spray of dormant oil to, I know a little late but its on. Looking forward to getting some apples in the fall. There are also 2 very neglected peach trees. I hesitated to trim them until I see just what is alive or dead. They got a drink of the spray as well.
  The apartment is getting small and the wife and I seam to always be in each others way. It is a long ways out but I can't wait to get in a bigger place.

Sounds really good Gina!

What does dormant oil do for the trees?  Does this keep bugs from eating the fruit?

Chrissy

[Gina P]

Sounds really good Gina!

What does dormant oil do for the trees?  Does this keep bugs from eating the fruit?

Chrissy

Dormant oil is supposed to kill any bugs wintering over on the plants. Most are 'Neem' oil, an all natural/ organic oil. Fruit spray comes later. I'm new at this and learning.

[ChrissyRyan]

Dormant oil is supposed to kill any bugs wintering over on the plants. Most are 'Neem' oil, an all natural/ organic oil. Fruit spray comes later. I'm new at this and learning.

I see.
How long do new apple trees live (produce fruit)?  After what age do they produce fruit?

[Gina P]

I see.
How long do new apple trees live (produce fruit)?  After what age do they produce fruit?

3-5 years before the first fruit. Probably double that for full production. According to Google, trees live 50-80 years and some 100 or more. I wish I knew what varieties these are. Guess I will have to wait and see or should I say guess.

[ChrissyRyan]

Is there a specific way to trim the trees?  Besides cutting off dead limbs and perhaps thinning out branches?  I guess it may be hard to tell if a branch is dead or not until you see or not see leaves while other branches have leaves.


Chrissy

[Lori Dee ✅]

When I was a teenager, a group of us trimmed trees at an apple orchard. The owner was a 96-year-old woman, and she did it herself until she was 92. There was nothing feeble about her. She went up and down stepladders like they were nothing.

After the first year, she said her harvest was so good that she had to use ladders to hold up large branches because they were so heavy with apples. She invited us back each year for four years. Then we moved out of state. She paid well and was a delight to talk to.