Another week gone by

So what's up here on Cabbage Tree Farm?

Well during the week we had a visit from a bunch of students and their tutor to learn how to prune fruit trees, which was handy for us as we needed a little professional guidance ourselves. Although we had made a start on pruning some of the bigger trees (basically into the vase shape) some required further pruning. We gleaned some handy tips from the visit.

G has planted a few more trees into the orchard: Apple 'Bramley's Seedling', Plumcot (cross between plum and apricot), Plum 'Billington', Plum 'Duff's Early', and Pear 'William Bon Cretian'.
Next job is I have to update the orchard map which is a bit scrappy and disordered jotted down on bits of paper. A good map is essential so that we can identify which tree is which (since the labels often blow off in strong winds, or fade in the hot sun). Does anyone have any suggestions for computer software that helps plan an orchard/garden? I have downloaded Google Sketchup but haven't had time to learn to use it yet, and am not sure if it will do the job I want it to.

The weather is warming up now and it's time to think about getting some seedlings going for the summer veg garden. Tomatoes are top of the list, as are chillies, More to come on this topic.