John's Journal

Today I started a hard prune on the apple trees

The temperature to day was in the high 50s with lots of sunshine. A beautiful day to be outside pruning apple trees. The trees have been producing fewer and fewer apples the last several years and I have learned that a hard prune may bring back the production. Well I did what I think is a hard prune and the wife and neighbors probably think I killed the tree. It has been said that you should be able to throw a cat through the tree without hitting any branches. Well I could throw several cats through the tree. It is also said not to expect many apples the first year after a hard prune (no kidding). The next two photos are before and after the prune. We will see what happens next. John

Cleaning out the Green House

I have to make room for my spring plants so this will be the last harvest of lettuce, endive and onions. It is well worth the effort but this winter it was difficult because of all the snow and ice.

There are four pepper plants, two sweet banana and two red bell. They will be transferred into the garden. I am not sure if they will be transplanted or left in the containers.

There were two early girl tomatoes but there is only one now. The one with the most/nicest tomatoes will be moved to the garden in its container. It is about four ft tall and lots of nice tomatoes, I will need help in moving it. I have harvested 20-30 tomatoes since the 1^st of January. They were not as good as garden tomatoes but a lot better than store bought. John

Wine Labels

I normally would not get this fancy but the weather is still to bad to work outside. I used 81/2”X11”photo paper and printed four labels on each page. The labels were separated with a razor blade and sprayed on the back with Elmer’s Spray Adhesive. PVC Heat Shrink Capsules will finish the top of the bottle. I will be bottling the wine during the first week in March. John

All this for a salad

All this for a salad it but it was worth the effort.

After I got inside the GH this is what I harvested. It will be served with stuffed eggplant from this summers garden.

While I was there I looked around to see how everything was doing. The peppers are doing fine but it will probably be time to plant them outside before I get any.