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1. 4-17
   9:25
   am

   Too bad that you can’t decorate the tree with cats!

   Barbee
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2. 4-17
   9:38
   am

   Once heard a guy bragging that he had killed over 200 birds to keep them off his cherry tree. Oh please don’t do that! Netting works well.

   Flowerpower
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3. 4-17
   9:42
   am

   Oh yum! Would LOVE to find a farm with fruit trees on it, if we manage to sell ours…including a cherry tree or two, cause I LOVE cherry jelly!

   doxie
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4. 4-17
   10:17
   am

   If you can reach the top of the tree, there is netting available to cover the cherries and the birds will leave most of them alone. It worked on my dwarf cherry and peach trees. Turns out squirrels didn’t like the netting either. I couldn’t reach the plum tree top so we traded the plums for the cherries and peaches.

   D1BeachBum
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5. 4-17
   10:28
   am

   I even use netting on my garden to keep the crows off my new corn seeds and blueberries. It works great for lots of things. I put galvanized hoops in the ground and put the netting over the area to be protected, when finished pull the netting and hoops and you’re back to normal and YOU have the fruit.

   holstein woman
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6. 4-17
   10:57
   am

   Congrats! I jealous because I have a dwarf cherry that has never set any fruit. Be sure to keep Patriot and Zip away from it though…cherries (fruit, leaves, etc.) are toxic to horses.

   JerseyMom
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7. 4-17
   11:11
   am

   I mark many things on our place by birthdays. 2009 was a beloved pulley clothesline right off our back deck. It gives me such joy, not to mention great smelling sheets, to see my clothesline full. Hubby just shook his head. So when 2010 came around, I wanted fruit trees. Off we went to a small urban grower in Bristol, VA. People at work just shook their heads and said why bother to plant, you’ll just move. I smiled and said, although I am not planning to move.ever. I am enjoying fruit trees today that someone cared to plant, what a gift to pay forward. And I plan to be around for the harvests too! This year’s birthday was because of Murphala’s post on the pullman pan. Yep, and the pullman pan is wonderful, just like she promised. Also got a set of six mini tart pans with removable bottoms, they made some fine peach tarts last night…with 2010 peaches.

   Isn’t this website great? Inspiration! Enabling!

   Suzanne, I know you promised not to overload us on Retreat posts, but maybe a slow news day at Sassafras, you could tell us how many are enrolled? How many spaces left? Is there a place that attendees and wanna-be-attendees are talking about the retreat?
   Be well, Billie

   Old WV Broad
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8. 4-17
   12:35
   pm

   Will you need to spray your fruit trees? We had an old cherry tree that produced cherries but they always looked like bugs got to them, or maybe it was birds pecking holes in them? Similar looking fruit on our old apple tree, which we leave fall for the deer.

   I used to work in an orchard and everything was absolutely coated with pest spray. Wonder if the same is need at home?

   Leck Kill Farm
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9. 4-17
   1:24
   pm

   As others have said… birds are evil. We had two sour cherry trees in a house we lived in about ten years ago. It was always a race. I think if you get out in the early (I mean pre-dawn) you can pick the ripe cherries before the birds wake up and eat them all. I hope you don’t have to spray. Or shoot any birds. It’s not worth it.

   pamplemousse
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10. 4-17
    3:33
    pm

    I’m so envious! I’d love to have a cherry tree, but our climate doesn’t allow that. Unless you’ve heard of cherry trees that thrive in Zone 3?

    banjodown
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11. 4-17
    4:20
    pm

    Long, long ago and far, far away in California, I had a lovely cherry tree we inherited with our house. The tree was out of sight around the side of the garage, but I waited in anticipation for lovely cherries. I waited too long. I didn’t know about The Birds. One day there were almost-ready cherries, the next day I had a tree of hanging pits.

    NancyL
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12. 4-17
    10:29
    pm

    banjodown: There is a cherry tree called the Evan’s Cherry which is a cultivar brought to Alberta from Siberia through Alaska by Ian Evans. It does very well here, Zone 3a, producing a bounty of medium red, medium sweet cherries. It makes great jelly and jam. Hope you can track it down.

    emmachisett
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13. 4-18
    8:48
    am

    Cherries…easily my favorite fruit. I have many fond memories of sitting in the cherry tree picking big fat sour cherries for mom’s cherry pies. Currently I have a montmorency cherry that I planted along with one other, which died in short order. This one produces tiny cherries (like, large blueberry size)and I don’t know why. They are currently bird food. Maybe this year I’ll try to rescue some for something… they just don’t seem to be worth the effort of pitting them. Hope yours are bigger than mine! (Note to Billie: glad you like those pans…and when you listed your pulley clothesline, sheets, and then mentioned fruit trees, my mind immediately went to, well, spotted sheets. )

    Murphala
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14. 4-18
    9:30
    am

    didn’t know if you knew or not, but your cherry tree isn’t near where you keep your horse is it?? A lot of people don’t know that the leaves from cherry trees are toxic to horses and any other animal that might eat the leaves. When the leaves wilt and fall off the produce cyanide. Here is a link in case anyone was curious about it — http://www.understanding-horse-nutrition.com/cherry.html

    mygirls01
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15. 4-18
    10:16
    am

    Further information for banjodown in Zone 3. I forgot to mention that the Nanking Cherry also grows here and it is always a good idea to have a related fruit tree (ie. with the Evans cherry) for cross pollination.

    emmachisett
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