I thought we would catch everyone up with how our orchard is doing.
The Lord in His wisdom decided not to grant much this year, except…
These were our first apples I believe we’ve received! We were pretty excited, and they tasted yummy!
Very sadly though, shortly after this, the tree began to wither and died. We pray that spiritually the Lord sustains us by the power of His Spirit so that the same doesn’t occur with us, and that by His Spirit He brings forth much fruit! (Please see John Gill on John 15:2 regarding this.)
We also have pecan trees, and here is one that made pecans this year!
These are our first harvested pecans:
And the final haul — 26 in all! We’re thankful to God for granting this provision!
I guess it was last year, we began mulching the orchard, starting around the trees, just to get the process going, and then filling in the rest of the area with mulch starting at the back. Well, over the past several months, I tried to get back to doing that, because it really looked like those trees in the fully mulched areas were growing better than those not in it. And so, here’s how far it’s been filled in:
We lost some trees this year, especially the apples, but most stayed with us, thanks to the Lord.
We are once again grateful for these resources, and humbly ask the Lord grant that these trees be fruitful, as we again beseech Him by His graces and mercies for the same about us spiritually.
— David
Hi David.
What are you using as mulch?
Grace and peace to you and Susan,
Chris
Hi Chris,
The local landfill place chips all of the brush that's brought there and makes huge piles of it, so that's where we get it.
Thank you for the prayer, and for saying hello!
— David
Thanks for the interesting update on your orchard. I have been following how yours has been doing, since I planted some fruit trees around the same time that ya'll did, and have had some success and some setbacks. My peaches bore well this year, but the squirrels ate almost all of them. Mulberry tree had a good harvest, but the pears were nipped back by a late frost.
I'm glad to see the mulch has helped you. I may have access to some, and will try it around some of my trees, too, to see how it does in this climate.
May the Lord continue to bless you!
Hi bayougirl,
Thanks much! Thanks to the Lord for the provisions He granted you.
We almost have to do something with the ground around the trees, given the heat we end up with here during the summers. Drought doesn't help either. 🙂
I've been making the mulch layer pretty thick, maybe 6 or more inches, as I plan to one day try to get ground edibles growing in there, maybe sweet potatoes or the like, Lord willing.
Thanks for saying hi!
— David
Don't know if you remember me, but I'm Dave Ekstrand's Brother. The faith journey people take has always fascinated me, and I've been following your blog for a while. I have found your journey to be an interesting and amazing one. I probably should have commented sooner, but was struck by the joy you found in, what some would see, as a nothing harvest. It was a tremendous reminder that God takes acre of us in His extraordinary ways, regardless of the material bounty we receive. Blessings on you and your wife, I will be keeping you in my prayers.
Patrick
Hello Patrick!
Yes, I remember you certainly. How are you doing? I hope you and your family are all well!
The Lord has been gracious and merciful, for which we're very thankful, and we're thankful for the opportunity He has granted us out here.
I've prayed He might grant us to hold onto thing temporal less and less, to see things as He sees them, and that He might keep our hearts focused on Christ, regardless of what's going on around us.
It's very nice of you to say hello, and it's nice hearing from you! May God's graces & mercies be with you and your family, and thank you for the prayers.
— David
Hi Patrick,
Got your reply comment…thanks for the info…didn't want to post it publicly.
May God grant you all guidance and wisdom and His mercies, as He might.
— David
We have been blessed that the 2 apples and 2 apricots we planted last year are still alive and seem to be thriving. Trees can be hard. The area I really wanted them in didn't make them happy at all and I believe we lost 5 or 6 trees before we relented and planted in a different area. Human stubbornness gets in my way quite often. 🙂 Fortunately pecans and walnuts grow abundantly wild here.
Hi Judy,
Yes, the trees will sometimes just die, even sometimes after growing for several years.
Glad your tress are doing better. And that's really neat about wild pecans and walnuts — how great is that!
Thanks for saying hi,
— David