How To Add A Fruit Tree To Your Existing Landscaping, The Shed is Gone! Setting up A Tea/Coffee Drawer, Upcycled Metal Bin

How To Add A Fruit Tree To Your Existing Landscaping-
Recently we realized we need to remove our nectarine tree sadly. Between the irrigation people massacreing it with their equipment, and getting too big for it's spot, it's time to go. The only reason I ever planted a nectarine tree was that I could not find a peach tree in the entire valley at the time. This time I was finally able to find the perfect little PEACH tree, a Red Haven. It's-

A blue-ribbon, all-purpose peach. Luscious, top-quality fruit is great as a fresh snack or for canning and freezing. Enjoy bushels of large peaches with almost fuzz less skin over firm, creamy textured yellow flesh. Tree is heavy-bearing and easy to grow and maintain. Blooms late to avoid spring frosts. Branches have a spreading nature. Originates from South Haven, Michigan in 1930, introduced in 1940. Disease-resistant to leaf spot. Freestone. Ripens in late July. Self-pollinating. Info from Starkbros.com It will ripen early a big bonus for me. If I can process the fruit before school starts that will really help.

Here's s few things to consider BEFORE you plant if you're adding a tree to an existing landscaped area-

*What's the exposure? We needed full sun so we had to find a good spot that was well exposed.
*Do you want shade in that area? Our tree will add some shade to our hot, southern entry way, that's good!
*How big will the tree get and can you prune it easily from there? We wanted ours in the front yard but not too close to the street or driveway.
*When will your fruit ripen? Depends on the tree.
*Will your tree have room and not touch the exterior of a building? Never plant a tree too close to your home or other out buildings.
*Can you water it easily? Trees need regular watering to thrive.
*What's the soil quality, do you need to amend it? We have heavy clay soil so that's an issue.
* Do you mind have falling fruit on the ground? If so, think again.
*Do you need a full size tree or would a dwarf work better? That depends on the space you have and what kind of fruit you want? We went with full size.
*Where will you buy your tree? Online, locally, or? We found ours at Home Depot, then I researched the variety and found it was a good fit for us. I LOVE peaches!!!

After thinking hard, here's what we did-

Pick a spot, measured width for the tree, Anya inspected

set tree out, then Dave pulled the existing brick edging to relocate

Dave setting up the edging

turf removed, soil turned, then we added compost and manure

All planted, mulched, with a tree stake, and we may even get a couple of peaches this year!

The Shed is Gone!

Dave demoed the shed yesterday, after he did a major reorganization with the contents. Some went to donations, the kids or the garage. We saved some of the building materials to re-do our garden fence- 2x4's and 4x4 posts, the rest is going to free Craigslist later today.

Before shot, a good space at the time

Dave knew it was in bad shape, then he stepped and went thru the floor yesterday. Good thing it was a short fall so to speak, and we was wearing boots! It's a long narrow space, but we'll grow something there. I'm thinking a long row of beans :)

Setting up A Tea/Coffee Drawer-

I realized a while back that I had teas scattered in 3 places in the kitchen and more in the pantry closet. Time to organize. I stumbled onto a Pinterest post about setting up a tea drawer, and eureka! So here's what I did...

I looked at my drawers, I figured the one closest to the Keurig and water would work. Many times we use the K machine to just heat water, since we have lots of teas we like. The drawer had lots of towels, and wash cloths in it-

too many towels, some now in donation box, rest were moved, teas and coffees out

empty drawer to start

I filled with my thrifted bamboo dividers, baskets and a box. The Keurig boxes fit perfect! Now I know EXACTLY what we have, and it's easy to find.

Anya checking it out

I used the 2 level rack and got even more off the counter

Some leftover iced tea pods, K cup, sugar and coffee grinder

leftover storage went to my daughter :)

Upcycled Metal Bin-
We found this at a Habitat store a while back, full of nuts and bolts. We bought it for $4.00, now it's a planter box! It's an old Kodak film bin. Love it!!!