Lifeblood

Almond - ah-muh nd,

noun 

1. the nutlike kernel of the fruit of either two trees, Prunus dulcis (sweet almond) or P. dulicis amara (bitter almond) which grow in warm temperate regiouns. 

2. the tree itself 

January is almost gone and I have posted nothing in this fabulous new year. “Fabulous?” I hear you ask, a raised eyebrow emphasizing the question mark. “Fabulous.” I reply flatly.  The new year is a time for new beginnings and hope. Granted I don’t always think this, some years it seems to be more of a reminder of never ending drudgery and time passing by waaay to swiftly. Not this year. Can’t say why exactly, but I think events on New Year’s Day helped keep my perspective from being cynical.

Pruning

For most people New Years Day is a time for recuperating. When they finally stumble out of bed they lurch to the couch, turn on the TV to enjoy the Rose Parade or countless hours of college football. A typical New Years Day and exactly how I started mine. But it didn’t end there, instead it turned into something more for two reasons; 1) the Rose Bowl was only on cable so we couldn’t watch it; 2) I’d gotten a tempting invitation the night before and I decided to accept it.

The invitation I received was to help finish planting an orchard. Okay, okay, I didn’t really help, I more hung out, but by the end I was helping a little...

While grazing the buffet New Year’s Eve, I exchanged pleasantries with our neighbor Steve Moeller. During the conversation and he invited me to come out to the orchard they were planting and take pictures. Unbeknownst to him, (or myself until that minute), I have decided to accumulate a collection of farm life photo’s and this was the perfect opportunity.

Trees packed in sawdust

New Year’s Day, after watching the Rose Parade with my little sister’s I decided to head out to the orchard and hang out with the Moeller clan. I made just in time to watch them plant the last row of trees. It’s a fascinating process and I learned quite a bit.

First off, orchard planting is a family, all hands on deck, affair; from Uncle Delmar all the way down to young master Stevie.

Planting 2014 style

Secondly, the orchard has two different types of trees Nonpareil and Carmel. Two varieties are necessary for cross pollination. Each variety blooms and is harvested at slightly different times. Nonpareil are the almonds usually what you buy in the store and serve on your table, Carmel are usually used for baking and found in things like chocolate almond candy bars.

Planting old school

The young trees are packed in saw dust to keep them from drying out. Back in the day planting an orchard meant manually digging a hole for each tree. Thankfully these days there are machines that make things a little easier. As you can see in the picture, it’s not so much a hole that’s dug as a trough that’s created for a tree to be planted in. (The pvc was to mark where the next the next tree was to be planted).

Packing down and pruning

After planting, the trees need to be packed down and pruned so they look like sticks in the ground. I’m not sure why they’re pruned like this, but I think the more branches there are the more nutrients go to those limbs and less to making the trunk and roots strong. It allows the farmer’s to shape the tree’s growth. I was to afraid of my destructive skills to pick up some shears and prune, but I greatly enjoyed walking along chatting in the warm sun shine.  

The last step to planting an orchard is to put milk cartons around the trunks so rabbits don’t eat them. That’s what I did (hence no pictures). It’s always been a dream of mine to do that, so when I got the chance I took it. I must admit, it was strange to be tramping through the dirt, barefoot in January, but it was so awesome. I really cannot state enough how alive one can feel working outside. Don’t get me wrong, farming is hard work, in this case I didn’t have to do any of it, and yet when I was out there, I was still a part of the family, I was accepted and belonged. And because of that I will always have a vested interest in that orchard.

My New Years Day was spent planting an orchard. Frankly, I don’t think there’s a better way to celebrate a fresh start and the hope of a new year.