Current Status of the Orchard-
Well, as we mentioned to you last fall, the Hidden Springs Town Association under the supervision of our Site Superintendent, Richard Gragg has been devoting a lot of time and effort into the improvement of the orchard.
Beginning last fall and spanning through spring, several tasks have been accomplished, better control of the application of irrigation water, various attempts to control rodents and insects, slumping trees were straightened, dead or missing trees replaced with transplants from the hillside and in some cases new trees purchased and planted.
In each and every transplant or new planting the crew has been working extra hard by bare root planting those trees in an effort to give the roots a chance to establish themselves. It is still amazing to me that even after [what can be argued to be] ten years time many of the original trees have simply not escaped the wire basket and the rubber planting material that surrounds the root-ball [on nursery bought trees]. If our theory is correct the encapsulation of the root mass within the wire and rubber constraints only served to expound the problem of over watering in the past. In fact it can be argued that perhaps the amount of irrigation was more accurate than originally thought, but because the trees were bound by an impermeable material they were nothing more than potted plants that eventually drowned. Whatever the case may be our efforts to reestablish the trees in the orchard to strong and viable specimens seems to be taking effect. There is still much to be done and when one problem is solved the door is often opened for new problems. But with your help we will continue to make this a great part of Hidden Springs for many years to come.
What are we doing about it-
The HSTA wants the orchard to be a healthy, beautiful amenity to the community. Not just as an orchard mind you, but as a place where the residents want to spend time, take a walk or have a quick picnic under a tree. In order to further this desire the HSTA has taken several steps to improve the recreational quality of the orchard.
Casey Elliot was instrumental in creating the pathways that now cross through the orchard. In order to fulfill the requirements of his Eagle Scout project Casey took a design concept for the new orchard trails and turned them into a reality, a big thank you goes out to Casey.
Richard and Adam [Sandee] have been busy transplanting good healthy trees from the slopes of the orchard down into the orchard proper. Another clue that the orchard was over watered is derived from the fact that in each case, trees temporarily placed on the hillside are generally much more healthy than their brethren below. This transplanting of trees from the hillside, offers two great advantages. 1) It significantly reduced the cost to the HSTA in filling out the orchard and 2) the trees are considered to be part of the original orchard and therefore some consistency is maintained.