The trees are loving the warm weather!

It was so warm this morning, that I could not resist getting out my camera and taking a walk.  Our fruit and nut trees are blooming or getting ready to bloom and they look beautiful!  Below are some the pictures I took of the highlights from my walk!  Enjoy and get ready for the summer and delicious fruit!

Flavorosa Pluots in bloom

 Pluots are in bloom.  They bloom very heavy, but don't set heavy.  When I say "set" I mean each bloom doesn't take to pollination and eventually drop off of the tree.They are very finicky trees!

Newly planted trees leafing out

 These are our newest trees that we planted about a month ago.  Remember this post...in the fog?!

Pluots going crazy!

Here is a great shot of one variety of pluots that are in full bloom.

 

Not quite ready to enter the world

This variety of pluots are not quite ready to enter the world, but they will be here before you know it!

Blooms on their way out...fruit on their way in!

These Rose Diamond Nectarines are in the post blooming stage.  They have been pollinated and set to produce fruit for the summer.  This is an early variety and they will begin to ripen around the end of May, beginning of June.

 

Almonds blooming

Bees working hard

Walnut catkins getting ready to do their job

Nectaplums with their beautiful red leaves

These Nectaplums look beautiful!  Their leaves are red/green all summer long.  I can't wait until the leaves are all out to take a more dramatic picture!  Keep your eyes open for more photos!

Persimmon participating in the bloom

We hope you are as excited as us.  We love the Spring season.  It's just so great to see nature takes it course and help us produce bountiful fruit for you to enjoy!  We are anxiously awaiting for our fruit to get here, so we can get the Farmer's Markets hopping!  See you soon!

Busy as a Bee...

Spring has arrived...well not officially, but the trees wait no more!
Just wanted to share some pictures I took today...I would post all of them, but I don't think I have that much room!

Our first variety is blooming...it only gets more delicious from here.



First variety in bloom - Snow Brite White Peach



Bees working hard to pass the pollen around.



Didn't get stung once, but it was close a few times.

The blooms were so amazing, even the moon stayed out to look!

We are so excited that Spring is quickly approaching.  We enjoy this time of year because we cherish watching what nature is capable of creating!  Dream about juicy, sweet fruit tonight!

Planting in the fog...

We planted our new trees a few days ago.  As you can see, it was quite foggy that early morning.  We have some new peach, apricot, plum, nectarine, pear, apple and cherry varieties that we can't wait to try.  We also have some new interspecific varieties: chums (cherry plum cross) and pubs (plum, peach, nectarine cross).

If you look closely, they are planting!



Gator #1 filled with some patiently waiting trees.



Jim making decisions on where all these trees are going!



Gator #2 filled with load #2 of new trees

We can't wait till these trees get ripe, so we can start doing some taste testing.  All of our trees come from Dave Wilson Nursery.  Most of our trees, including the new varieties that have been planted are created by Zaiger Genetics located in Modesto.  The Zaiger Family has a great history of achieving global prominence for their robust fruit and rootstock breeding program.

From our family to yours...

Our motto is "From our family to yours".  We have our children and grandchildren eating the fruits and vegetables we grow, so it's important to make sure it's ready to eat, right out of the orchard or field.  Since we sell at Farmers Markets, we make sure our product is ready to eat.

A common question we get asked, is if we spray our trees, so it's important to educate our consumer.  We live, near, and eat from, the same trees from which we sell to you.  We do spray, and embrace performance-based metrics: The best outcomes will come only when the best practices are adopted.  This land has sustained five generations of our family.  We are careful to treat it gently and care for it like a member of our family.  We love our trees!

We are movin' & shakin' in 2011!

Shasky Farms has jumped into 2011 and making waves...of progress, that is!  We have so many things to share with you!

We have started pruning our fruit trees this week.  Even though it's cold, some of the trees have started to push out leaf buds.  It's been a weird winter, but we will take any cold we can get for the trees health.

Pruning like crazy!

We have a ton of citrus ready for our customers at the Farmers Markets.  We are currently addicted...yes addicted...to our Satsuma Mandarins.  You really have to try them, but then you would become addicted and we just don't know if we can share them!  Just kidding...we would love to share them with anyone!

Just a small portion of our citrus trees



Satsuma Mandarin...a Shasky Farms favorite!

We have also planted more red walnuts.  They have become one of our popular items for our customers.  If you like walnuts, but don't like the acidity, then these are the walnuts for you!  They are very tasty and less acidic then regular walnuts.  You can read about them in our last post.



We have also ordered some new cherry varieties to increase the length of the season, a few more varieties of apples, pears and a donut white nectarine (more to come later on that variety and others we grow!)