New apple tree

My biggest purchase from last weekend's Saturday Morning Market adventure was a fruit tree. More specifically an Ein Shemer apple tree. Most apple trees need another apple tree planted by it to pollinate it and help it produce fruit, but this one is self pollinating. Also, most apple trees grow best up north because they need 250-300 chill hours. Chill hours are the amount of time a tree needs temperature to be 45*F and below. This allows the leaves to go dormant. Obviously we do not get a lot of chill hours in west central Florida, especially where I live along the coast. This particular apple tree needs 100 chill hours, which is perfect for Florida.

I purchased it from Debra, the owner of The Edible Plant Store, at the Saturday Morning Market. She has a wide variety of plants suitable for zones 8-9, including herbs, fig trees, olive vines, pomegranate trees and banana trees. Her website is http://www.edibleplantstore.com/index.html, and she will deliver or you can pick it up at the market. She is very knowledgeable and has a large variety of plants, even more than her website lists.

We just planted the tree in my front yard today. It gets full sun from 9am until about 7pm during the summer time. It is about four feet tall now. Debra said it should produce blossoms next spring and some fruit next June. i can't wait to smell apple blossoms! And, in a few years I will have some actual shade in my front yard!

Here is a picture of the tree:

We made a little reservoir around it so when we water it, it will want to retain water into the root system. Here is a close up of a leaf:

I Think it looks kind of neat! I am used to my magnolia tree's leaves, which are waxy on top and very hardy. These seem delicate. And it is deciduous, so the leaves will turn colors in the fall!! A little bit of season in my yard :) Overall, I am very excited!

Review: Saturday Morning Market

So my family has decided to try to be healthier and greener with the way we live. Planting a garden was one way we tried to combine both of those ideas. What better way to eat right and save the Earth then getting your food from your own backyard? This season it worked well. But alas, summer time in Florida is when most crops come to an end. Wanting to stay local, we decided to give the Saturday Morning Market in St. Pete a try. We loaded up our wagon with plenty of cloth bags and set out at 8:30.

When we got there, we were pleasantly surprised to see plenty of shade trees. Apparently this is the smaller summer home of the market. They had all kinds of vendors selling everything, from artisan bread to pottery to herbs and trees. We ended up with bananas, pineapples, strawberries, a loaf of tomato basil bread and two frangipani (plumeria) sprouts. The vendors were super friendly and helpful, and there was even a man playing a guitar up and down the rows for entertainment.

I can't wait to go back again! Judging from their list of vendors on their website, it looks like it is pretty scaled down during the summer months. I look forward to going back in the fall when the weather is cooler and there are many more vendors.