“Soils, like people, are transformed by the company they keep. They develop slowly, over time. Top soil, the upper, most productive layer of soil, takes over 500 years to form. That precious inch – and all remaining layers of soil – evolves in response to the climate, terrain and organisms with which it comes in contact. So while we may think of soils as static and constant, they’re not. Soils are living entities: They are born, they breathe, they age and they can die.”
from: Bread, Wine, Chocolate: The Slow Loss of Foods We Love by Simran Sethi
One of Michael’s dreams has always been to plant trees. Hundreds, if not thousands or even millions if possible, so planting a forty tree orchard is our metaphorical dive into that dream.
I’ve always claimed that I don’t really like fruit, but some of my most treasured memories of my grandparents are eating sun warmed figs or peaches straight off the tree. Or the slippery deep orange preserved peach slices my mother used to make, with a generous drizzle of custard. It is perhaps only the expensive, flavourless fruit, which has travelled too far and picked too early that I don’t like.
And so, bolstered by memory, I started thinking of all the fruit I do enjoy, and what I could do with them if I had a bountiful supply. As a result of all this day dreaming the list transformed into a bulging belly of future delights. Oranges, nectarines, lemons, limes, apricots, peaches, apples, pears, pomegranates, figs, cherries, mulberries. Oh, and nuts. And avos . . .
Before you feel an urge to caution me on such mundane realities as climate and soil, I’d like to remind you that Michael and I are stubborn dreamers, and so we did what everyone in our position should do. We involved a tree expert, who is also a dreamer. Bolstered by his enthusiasm, we vowed to find the right spot for each of our precious future trees, no matter how exotic they may appear to be for the area.
But before we could even think of planting them, we had to get the irrigation in place, as trees need water during the hot dry summer months. Michael tackled the task with such enthusiasm that he later confessed he most probably over-engineered the whole system. But the only way to learn, is to do.
It was a huge project, impossible without the help of Tim and my Stand-in. Trenches and holes were dug, top soil heaped in one area, pipes measured, cut and connected, and after two days of hard work all the trenches could be back filled and the holes filled with horse manure. On the third day Michael connected the pump, pressurised the system, and left me with instructions on how to finish off the fiddly last bits.
Here is our project in pictures:
Portuguese Words:
fruta – fruit
laranjas – oranges
nectarinas – nectarines
limões – lemons
limas – limes
damascos – apricots
pêssegos – peaches
maçãs – apples
peras – pears
romãs – pomegranates
figos – figs
cerejas – cherries
nozes – nuts
amêndoas – almonds
avelãs – hazelnuts
nozes de macadâmia – macadamia nuts
Written by: Jolandi
This is so exciting! I am so in awe of the methodical way you and Michael set about installing your irrigation system. I wish you all the luck in the world with your orchard and my goodness! what exotic fruit and nut trees you are hoping to grow! I can only dream of all of those trees here out in the open. You are right about growing your own fruit and vegetables; they are very much healthier and when picked just at the right time are so delicious!
Thank you so much, Clare. Time will tell if we are visionaries or fools when it comes to all the exotic fruit trees we are planning to plant. We think it is worth taking the risk. 🙂 I’m having so much fun seeing how things are growing. I even have a goji berry a friend has given us that is busy flowering. It is so wonderful! Not to mention how delicious a sprinkle of rocket flowers are in a salad. – Jolandi
What, no ameixas?! (Ameixeiras)
Hahaha! No, Trevor, I don’t like plums. Michael and I talked about it, and I said that apart from eating them fresh I absolutely cannot think of how else I would use or preserve them. Unless you, of course, can convince me they have some wonderful hidden qualities my imagination has failed to appreciate. – Jolandi
Amazing!! On dreamers this world stands. You shall have fruit!
Dreamers unite! I can clearly feel juices dripping through my fingers. 🙂 – Jolandi
“Handy” just doesn’t seem like a big enough word to describe Michael and his many talents! Or yours, for that matter. You have both thrown yourselves headlong into this new adventure, and slowly but surely, all kinds of amazing things are happening. I love following along.
Yip, Michael is definitely a man with many talents, and has the tenacity and intelligence to figure things out when he has no experience of it. I am so grateful for that, as it not only saves us money, but also the frustration of working with people who sell themselves as experts, but actually know less or do a job worse than what we can manage on our own.
What we can promise you is many more crazy adventures on the quinta, Lex. 🙂 – Jolandi
I am so impressed with the system, great job both of you. Love how you have laid out the orchard, now you plant and wait for the fruits of your labor. I loved the fruit memories you had. It brought back memories of me with my grandpa. We would pick an apricot from the tree, sit on the patio and solve the world’s problems. Those apricots were so full of sweet flavor, were juicy and delicious. Unlike the apricots you buy in the store. Good luck with the orchard, anxious to watch the progression.
Thank you, Terri. I’m so glad I stirred up some memories of you and your grandpa too. Fruit are best when eaten directly from the tree, and I hope I can rekindle my love of fruit through our orchard, although I unfortunately do realise that it will take a couple of years for that to happen. In the meantime I’ve planted a glut of watermelons and melons, and if all those seedlings survive, I will have more than what I will know what to do with. Fingers crossed there will be sweet juicy fruit later in the season. – Jolandi
You’ve cast me back to a brief time on Crete when I was picking grapes for raisins, and on the way to the field we would stop at a little plot and pick the tomatoes and cucumbers for our lunch. The tomatoes were so good they stained my hands red.
Your irrigation system does look complicated and hi-tech. Left me wondering how the Contadinis (Italian?) did it a hundred years ago.
Do you know what purpose those stones originally served? I’ve seen their like before, but usually surrounding a cemetery plot, which I’m not suggesting they were for. But it does get you wondering about who had the land before, and the lives they lived.
Gosh, you two are really becoming intrepid in your quest for the simple life. I can’t wait to visit and taste the fruit of your labours.
What a wonderful memory, Gwen. Imagine tomatoes staining one’s hands red. I bet you could taste the sun in them.
Yip, our irrigation system should, once it is up and running properly, do all the work by itself using a timer. Of course we will have to regularly make sure that the drippers actually work, but the slog of keeping things watered during summer will be taken out of the equation, freeing up time for other chores and pleasures. Like you say, one has to wonder how people coped before – and even now really, because most people don’t have automatic irrigation systems. Like Michael always says, he doesn’t want to become a slave to the land, and unless one makes use of technology that is exactly what one would become, as there is always something to do on the land anyway.
As far as what we can gather from where the other 5 stones are and how they are placed, they would have formed part of a structure that served as an animal shelter. It really is just a guess though . . . I’m not sure we will ever know. Like you say, one has to wonder about the story this land has to tell about the people who once owned it.
Michael and I are looking forward to the time we can welcome guests on our little slice of heaven, and hopefully with love and water, our orchard will quickly become productive. 😉 – Jolandi
Thanks to Gwen for the question and to your answer. I was intrigued by the stones as well. I think it’s marvelous when our new lives overlap over signs of a time that has passed.
So true, Crystal. I often wish I could see through that veil, into the lives of the people who loved and worked on the land before. – Jolandi
Happily participating through watching, reading, and cheering. It’s a pleasure to be along for the dream. xo
Thanks, Lani. Knowing this helps in those moments of despair, when things don’t go right. Thank goodness they don’t last forever and are always out balanced by the joys and stubborness that makes us dreamers. – Jolandi
Love reading about your adventures ❤️
So glad you enjoy reading about it, Elsa. I hope you guys are well, and enjoying your new life Down Under. – Jolandi
What an ambitious project, Jolandi. Hat off to you and Mike for planning and realizing it. That’s a major undertaking. I hope your fruit trees will thrive. You are certainly giving them enough TLC.
Very ambitious, indeed, Tanja. Sometimes one just have to take some risks and trust that the rewards will make up for all the hard work. – Jolandi
I know you will have your orchard! I had no idea the plan was for many kinds of trees and not a single crop. I think it’s brilliant and you will be so pleased with your idea as the years go on. There will be new challenges, and you’ll figure them all out. I currently have a cage around my orchard. It’s tiny and not irrigated. I planted one each of pear, plum, peach, and cherry. The cage is because, once the plum and peach began ripening their first fruit, they were discovered by raccoons, who climbed the delicate branches and broke them to pieces as well as ate all my fruit. The cage is designed to be temporary, until the tree branches are strong enough to withstand a fat, spoiled, furry varmint. The trees are recovering from damage still, so I continue to wait for fruit. But I am a dreamer too. 🙂
Yes, for our orchard we plan a good mix, but we are also thinking about a single crop tree we can plant on the rest of the land, which can provide us with an income. We’ll see what we can come up with. 😉
I love the plan you made to protect your trees. Naughty raccoons!. I guess we will have our own share of challenges. Most probably with birds, but hopefully there will be plenty of fruit for all of us.
I love that you are a dreamer too, Crystal. And so you too will have the joys of juicy ripe fruit from your own trees. I’ve been told it takes a good couple of years for trees to fruit, so I guess we will all learn some lessons in patience. – Jolandi
Stubborn dreamers–I love it! I think it’s great that you guys take on these Herculean tasks that most of us would find a million reasons to talk ourselves out of. I’m so looking forward to hearing about your fruit trees. My mouth is watering. Mango? I had no idea they could grow in Europe. Best of luck!
Well, yes, mangoes are part of that stubborn dreamer-thing, Caroline! 🙂 Although that said, there are other crazy dreamers like us in the area, so we will have to wait and see if we can get them to thrive and give us juicy fruit. It isn’t a normal crop for here though, so we are taking a bit of a gamble. Thanks for your good wishes. I suspect we may just need them. – Jolandi
This looks so exciting, Jolandi. Michael and I share the same dream — I have always wanted to plant lots and lots of trees, especially in places where they are scarce. When it comes to my dream house, it’s the trees that I want to plant around the house that I often think about.
I love that you also share Michael’s dream of planting trees, Bama. The planet and our souls are in need of them. May that dream for both of you come true. – Jolandi