Friday, December 5, 2008

Tearing down the peach orchard - phase I - Heart breaking, I know! This will give way to a beautiful almond orchard in future!

It's painful because these trees served us well and they have a good number of production years still remaining on them. But, considering all factors and Del Monte's guidance and outlook, we decided it's best to get out of peaches.

On a slightly positive note, this torn down orchard is assimilated into the soil as chipped wood (that's the plan, at least).








Sunday, November 30, 2008

Usage overview for almonds: Urea and Potash

To assess the nutrient status of our orchard, we take leaf samples and have them analyzed.

Typically, Nitrogen is the only major nutrient that needs to be added regularly in almond orchards. Latest research indicates that applying smaller amounts of nitrogen several times during the growing season is greatly beneficial than applying one big dose.

1. Nitrogen: Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for the production of proteins, nucleic acids(DNA) and amino acids, and almond trees require an adequate annual supply for proper growth and productivity.

UN-32 (Urea Ammonium Nitrate with 32% nitrogen) is applied through the irrigation system at 220 pounds of N per acre and is split into equal applications in April, May and July.

2. Potassium: Potassium sulfate aka "potash" at 500 pounds per acre is banded along the tree row in late fall. Please note that we take away large amounts of K in the form of almonds so we have to replenish it from time to time.

Urea pellets (we don't use pellets; we apply a liquid form it via irrigation system which is more efficient):

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Orchard removal logistics..

Orchard removal includes felling trees, grinding, stump removal and transportation plus land leveling.

So they put trees into a big chipper or grinder and shredding the wood into small pieces. Any wire in the trees is removed by magnets and a dirt separator is used so they end up with a clean product that is hauled off to a site where it is burned to produce electricity. The old method of pushing the trees into huge burn piles has been phased out by the Air Resources Board.

We see the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has a cost sharing program (EQIP, Environmental Quality Incentives Program) to encourage people to chip rather than burn. For orchard removal they will pay up to $75 per acre.

Fortunately for us, Lane served on the board of directors of the local resource conservation district for 10 years so he has contacts at NRCS and can find out more details. The following link is a two-page description of the program.

ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/CA/programs/EQIP/2007/AQ-Chipping_Fact_Sheet07.pdf

Here's a grinder at work:




And here's a tree removal monster machine:


Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Wanted: A reliable orchard removal service

So far, Lane has two referrals and Elsa one. I guess we should go ahead and get a quote from each. I will probably let Elsa carry the ball on this since she is already underway.

Based on my research, a frequent problem with orchard removal companies is constant mechanical breakdowns. The other issue is what condition they leave the property in after the removal.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Leaf sample nutrient analysis at Carpenter -- Good news and Not-so-good news!

In our area,  the key nutrients for almonds that can be limiting factors of production are Nitrogen (N), Potassium (K), Boron (B) and Zinc (Zn).

Good new is that, all of our nutrients fall within acceptable ranges except for potassium.

University of California recommended levels are as follows and the results of the two samples at Carpenter are as follows:

N -- 2.72 and 2.58% (Recommended N 2.2 - 2.5% )
K -- 1.26 and 1.29% (Recommended K 1.4%)
B -- 30 and 32 ppm (Recommended 30-65 ppm) 
Zn -- 30 and 30 ppm (Recommended Zb >15 ppm)

Not-so-good news is that the best producing orchards have levels of potassium well above the recommended level of 1.4%.  And potash is not cheap! 

Saturday, September 6, 2008

When we were on "Field run", we noticed "Crack out"..

OK. These are just almond industry jargons that are usually found in a huller's receiving report. Huller is the guy who you haul off your shaken almonds to.

"Field run" refers to the product as we harvested it and includes the meats, shells, hulls and any other debris that we might have picked up with the nuts such as sticks or dirt clods. 

"Crack out" is the term used for the percentage of what we delivered that is actual almond meats. The crack out is influenced by how clean the loads are, that is, how much debris is sent out (our loads were fairly clean, no rocks, dirt, etc.). It also varies from year to year due to growing conditions and how thick the hulls are. 

Typically, crack outs run in the 20% to 25% range for Nonpariel. Ours is a little lower than that. 

Thursday, September 4, 2008

The cost of replacing the stolen filter pods is several thousand dollars.. Ouch!

We have added razor wire coils inside the lockup area, and a security patrol is inspecting three times a night. So far it is working, it has been more than a month without a theft.  :) 

We will add an alarm to the lockup area and I think we can cut back the patrols after September.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Pre harvest pooja.




Beefing up the security at Carpenter ranch after the theft

Unfortunately the thieves who took the two pods know that they are made of stainless steel, but maybe they are dumb enough to be tricked by the color into thinking we changed to plastic. We are adding two strands of coiled razor wire around the interior of the lockup area. We are installing an alarm that will be motion-activated and will sound a loud siren and start a bright strobe-light flashing. A patrol service will be visiting the site and inspecting the lockup at random intervals three times per night.

A couple pictures showing the missing filter pods and the replacements. I think the black plastic replacements look fine and will be uninteresting to thieves. You can see the pods and the manifold are all made of shiny stainless steel. The pipes into and out of the manifold are dull stainless steel. We plan to paint the remaining shiny pods black to match the replacement pods. 

  



Wednesday, August 6, 2008

A respectable thief never leaves empty handed.

One line summary: Break-in at Carpenter. Filter pods stolen.

THEFT:
Sigh.. Yesterday, we discovered that sometime after 2 pm Saturday thieves had again cut their way into the lockup area. They did not harm the property fence since they were on bicycles (a common modus operandi).

We no longer have a fuel tank in there, and the shed is nearly impenetrable. That leaves the filter station as a target. Four of the eight "pods" were unbolted and removed. 

AFTERMATH:
We found two of them nearby in the orchard. Two evidently was all they could handle on their bicycles (they are quite heavy). 

Tomorrow two replacements will be delivered. We ordered plastic (high strength polycarbonate) because the stainless steel is what the thieves are after. However, even in the plastic, each pod is kinda expensive. The sheriff came out and took a report. 

SECURITY MEASURES:
We are worried about the remaining pods so Lane spent the night out there last night. With an occupied truck there, nobody comes around. 

We are contracting with a patrol service to make three drive-bys each night. They will begin tonight. Next Monday the fence company will again repair the chain link fence and they will install two more razor wire coils at the ground level and at 4 feet on the interior of the fence. 

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

We put out some ant bait traps out there at Carpenter

Ants are more prevalent in drip- or sprinkler-irrigated orchards than flood-irrigated orchards. Ants feed on other hosts and are principally a problem after almonds are on the ground. Nut damage increases in relation to the length of time they are on the ground. The ants can completely hollow out nutmeats leaving only the pellicle. 

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Time to take some snaps of the orchard!

Carpenter almond orchard:


Peach orchard at Whitmore ranch:




Eucalyptus tree at Whitmore ranch. This gotta be at least 100 years old.


Saturday, May 10, 2008

Tipping at carpenter almond orchard

The branches you see down on the floor are intentionally cut down to relieve trees of undue stress and future balanced growth.


Friday, May 9, 2008

Thieves strike again at Carpenter and actually get something this time..

With apparently great effort, they breached the security of the shed and stole a Honda 4-wheeler we had in there. There was not much else of value in there and they apparently were not interested in anything else. We thought the lock mechanism was sufficient, but it wasn't.

We will be beefing up the shed security. There is a radio sending device on the Honda, and the sheriff has a helicopter up right now looking for a signal, so there is a remote chance we will recover the Honda. Let us pray for a miracle. Maybe they can catch the bad guys too. Needless to say, we are anxious to move ahead with the fence and lockup fence repair.

This only serves to remind us how important it is for someone to live on the orchard.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Carpenter almond ranch pics

Beautiful!! Lots of nuts, good growth, good weed control (for now anyway, we'll have to be back for the weeds several times before harvest). Low hanging limbs may have to be tipped back. Click on pictures for larger view.






Friday, April 25, 2008

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Cankers observed on some wood colony variety almond trees.

Can someone call the tree doctor please?

We noticed a condition on some of the Wood Colony that caused some concern.

Gary Layne (Mid Valley Ag), Prof Roger Duncan (UC David) and Aaron Hackler (Wilbur-Ellis) all came out to look at it, and no one could identify it with certainty.

It appears similar to Ceratocystis canker which often is caused by shaker damage, but many of these cankers are higher on the tree, on scaffolds and limbs, where no shaker has been. It is only on the Wood Colony variety. It could have been a fungal disease called Aerial Phytophthora. We ll have to continue to observe and evaluate our options.



Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Bloom time. Let the bees play!

A good chill during Dec/Jan months followed by a slightly warmer Feb coaxes the first almond tree blossoms from their buds.



Peach blooms at Whitmore ranch:



Monday, February 25, 2008

Bloom is fast approaching? Bees in place.

However, Lane says blooms seems to be arriving very late. Apparently we should be well into bloom by now.

Apparently, this is a good thing because the later bloom occurs the better are the chances we will avoid frost damage. The recent rains have really soaked the ground and the current forecasts are very favorable for bloom, clearing and warming. The bees were placed in the orchard last week.

Hives are generally moved at night to reduce agitation and to reduce the likelihood that colonies will abscond.