Hummingbird Hill Farm at Brigade Bay, Gambier Island

We have the perfect sunny spot on our property that is surrounded by a rock face.  I like to call this area the "Orchard".  Each year, my goal is to plant a new fruit tree each fall. 

All of the following Fruit Trees & Berry plants have been enclosed by chicken wire to prevent hungry deer from grazing on the branches EXCEPT for the FIG TREE, which is a deer-resistant plant. 

Once the trees grow large enough, I will prune the lower branches to leave upper ones to fruit so that the deer can`t reach them.  At that time, I will be able to remove the (unsightly) chicken wire...it will be a few years yet!

Japanese 'Shiro' Plum Tree in foreground 

As of 2008, I have six fruiting trees:
2-Japanese Shiro Plum trees
1-Cox Orange Pippin Apple tree
1-Peach tree
1-Montmorency Sour Cherry tree
1-Brown Turkey Fig tree

Planted in Fall of 2008:
2-Walnut trees

Planted in Spring of 2009:
1-Flowering/fruiting Crabapple

and 4-Berry Plants:
3-Blueberry bushes
1-Black Raspberry cane (grown so large quickly - I will have to move it!!)

plus Vines
1-Grape vine (white seedless table grapes)
1-male and 1-female Kiwi Vines

  - all are currently doing great!

FRUIT TREES

The following Fruit Trees DO need to be protected with chicken wire enclosures (or something else just as effective) to prevent our grazing deer friends from chewing on the bark or nipping at all of the precious fruit! 

Apple (tree) Cox Orange Pippin - year 1, this lovely tree produced 7 apples that are similar in tast to a Granny Smith and look like a MacIntosh.  Apples are ready to be harvested late mid to late October.  Year 2, I have over 2 dozen apples slowly ripening and looking gorgeous!  I DO water generously during drought periods that typically occur in July.

APPLE RECIPES:

Rhubarb-Apple Crumble

Zucchini-Apple Loaf

Tomato-Apple Chutney

Apple Pie

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Blueberries -
I tried the method of stripping off the flowers of my blueberry bush the first spring it flowered.  This allows the plant to become more established and a better producer of berries in years to come. 

Practicing such restraint paid off big-time this year (2008), as I have enjoyed an abundent amount of berries every week-end for 2 months. 

I have since planted 3 more bushes this season!

Blueberry bush covered with netting; Johnny Jump-Ups are happy blooming at its feet.

Blueberries slowly ripening....I have my granola ready!

BLUEBERRY RECIPES:

 Blueberry Pie -
This is a tried and true recipe of my Grandmother's!

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Cherry Tree 'Montmorency Sour'
This is the first summer for the Cherry tree (2008).  It was full of lovely white flowers in the Spring, then to my amazement, it actually produced several dozen little cherries that were ripening to a bright red before the birds enjoyed eating them.  Next year, I will cover it with netting.....

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Fig Tree - Brown Turkey - 2008
- This is the first year for the fig, which I planted earlier this Spring, as a gift from my Father.  A little over 2 feet tall when planted with just a hint of a leaf bud at top, it is now about 4 feet tall with many shiny, healthy leaves. 

The deer never touch this plant, so it is enjoyable to look at it when it doesn't have to be enclosed by chicken wire!

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Grape - white table -
This is the 2nd year for my grape vine, so I am still training it onto a 3-tier system of wire, secured to a 2x4 post.  Still no grapes, but I am hoping that next year I can get a handful!  If anything, I guess I can make up some Dolmades (recipe to come!) with the leaves at the end of the growing season!

Kiwi vines -
although I DO have a male and female plant, I don't have any fruit that has formed yet.  2008 is their first summer 'together as newlyweds', so may-be next year I can expect some fruit?! 

Peach Tree
- I don't know the type of Peach tree I got - it had no tag and was the last one at the Triple Tree Nursery.  Being a reliable source for healthy trees and shrubs, I decided to trust them when they said it would be hardy in our environment and would produce tasty fruit, albeit slightly smaller than those of the Okanagan. 

This is it's first Summer here and has produced 1 beautiful little fuzzy peach that grows in size each week-end I go to visit it...the birds got the rest (yep - bird netting next year).  To my delight, the flowers were pink! and bountiful in the Spring.

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Plum Tree - Japanese Red Shiro (semi-dwarf) -

This is year 3 for this tree.  It flowers and grows larger every year, and has deep roots that provide it with lots of water to keep it healthy looking all summer long, even during drought - I never have to water it. 

I DO have another Plum Tree (to cross-pollinate properly), but no fruit just yet.  I understand it may take some years for any fruit production to happen...so I wait patiently.  Next Spring, it will be tall enough for me to prune the lower branches so that the deer can't get at them - that means no more chicken wire enclosure!!! Yippee!

Black Raspberry

Tree Planting 

Each year at Hummingbird Hill, I aim to plant more fruit trees.

I like to plant in early Fall so that the young trees have time to set down their roots before the winter months set in.

My reward is that the following Spring, my trees give me a beautiful display of blossoms, which the birds enjoy as much as I do too!

At the time of planting, I have sprinkled some bone meal into the planting hole, then generally water with some 'Transplant mix' for each tree.  So far, all trees have proven to be healthy and strong.  I have been warned not to try to amend native soil, as it really does not help the tree - so I don't.

Deer-Proofing 
Fruit Trees

For added measure, I have lightly sprayed the tree trunks and limbs with something called "Plantskyde" - a real blood-based spray.  It costs a fortune, but goes a long, long way. 

Deer are repelled by the smell for about 3-4 months.  This is most important if planting in the fall, as the deer will use your beautiful new trees as rubbing posts!

Just a word of caution:  Plantskyde is super-smelly, so don't use the spray on anything until you are ready to leave at the end of your visit!  You might want to put some rubber gloves on and be sure to spray so that you are upwind!!!

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The Summer of 2008, I neglected to spray my trees again - I guess I felt that I had outsmarted the deer.  Around apple harvest time, late September, I discovered (with much sadness) that the deer had vandalized my Cox Orange Pipin Tree.  Basically, they/it succeeded in ripping apart the chicken wire to get to the juicy ripe apples.  As they tried to reach the fruit, they also succeeded in breaking many of the low branches as well.  So - the tree got a good Summer pruning and I learned a lesson!  Never let up one's guard!

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