Last year I posted a few pictures of a orchard we put in up at our place. Several people PMed and others posted showing an interest in growing fruit trees at their cabins. This sparked this homestead mini-orchard experiment. Comments ran from if things get tough and we have to move to the cabin a few fruit trees would sure be nice to have. (I can not agree more.) Some people really wanted to homestead but certainly did not want to invest as we have and I can certainly understand that. Yet it takes time to grow a tree. If you wait until times are bad they really are not going to help you a heck of a lot.

The orchard below has required a huge outlay of time, money, and materials. And a heck of a lot of learning. An orchard such as this needs an eight foot fence to keep the deer and elk out. No guarantee on bears and humans while you are gone. It takes some research as to root stocks that will work where you are located and verities.

Besides the cost of the fruit trees and shipping. Our orchard has corner posts, brace posts and gate posts that are pressure treated 8X8's 11'. Wooden line posts are pressure treated 6X6's 11' The posts go down a minimum of two and a half feet to three foot. Tee posts are 10 foot that they make for orchards. The wire we used was 4' field fence, some we had, some was given to us, and some of course we had to buy. Being so we had to go two runs high to make the 8' it was double or triple the work. Stretching field fence or netting wire is easy if you have done it a lot and know how it is going to act and react. But adding another dimension of an additional four feet and ladder time wow it turned into another world. When we were done and the trees were planted and are now getting established, I must say it is one of the most rewarding things we have done.