On Saturday, April 12, we had a visit from a large group of volunteers for apple tree planting. Our friend Robin works for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital where she manages immigration services; she organized the volunteers and the whole tree planting day. The volunteers included friends as well as researchers from over 20 different countries–all of them came to plant apple trees, and many of them brought their families.
“An acre of orchard each season fixes about 20 tons of CO2
from the air, releases 15 tons of oxygen, and provides over 5 billion BTU’s of cooling power.” (Lakso, 2010)
All together, more than 50 people sponsored trees, and we now have an orchard of 50 apple trees! We purchased the trees from The Stockyard nursery in Arlington–they worked with us on the price, and the trees were all healthy. Now, nearly two weeks later, all 50 trees are still alive and well. The trees are red and golden delicious, fuji, McIntosh, and Anna, and so they are variously suited for pies, eating fresh, and cider. With some tender loving care and cooperative weather, we may have a few apples as soon as this year, and many, many more in years to come.
We have dreamed of adding more fruit trees for years, and then this gift came to us unexpectedly. A huge thank you to everyone who helped! Look for photos as the seasons progress!