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With the economy as it is, maybe you have thought about growing your own food, including putting in your own fruit trees. Growing your own fruit is fun, but there are a few things to know about the process.
First, you need to decide what type of fruit you want. To get your tree to pollinate may require planting two fruit trees, ideally fifteen to twenty feet of each other. The two fruit trees do not need to be the same. For example you can plant Macintosh apples and Galas. If you buy a tree that is labeled to be self-pollinating, it is still better to veer on the safe side by planting more than one variety. Also, you will want to plant your trees in either the spring or fall. And remember, if you are planting seedlings, it could take a few years before it starts to produce fruit.

To give your fruit tree a healthy start, dig your hole about 18″ in depth and with a pitchfork, fork the bottom and sides of the hole to loosen the soil. Now place some compost at the bottom of the hole and then shovel a little dirt back into the hole. Now you can set your tree in the hole with the root ball on top of the mound you have now created. Spread roots evenly in all directions.  Now fill your hole with soil and press the ground down gently with your foot. Check that the tree is vertical. Be sure to ‘overfill’ the hole so the soil is an inch or two above ground level. The soil will compress when watered, and settle to ground level.

It may be necessary to stake your tree, this will help keep it stable during windstorms. Tie your tree to the stake with a rubber tie or piece of cloth. The tie should be loose so as not to girdle the tree. You also want to allow plenty of room for the trunk to grow and thicken. Now water your tree thoroughly and pack the soil again. You can now apply shredded bark mulch or pine needles to the circle around the tree to discourage weed growth and help the soil remain a consistent temperature.

As you wait for your fruit tree to grow and mature you can give it some extra help by maintaining much around the base of the tree, fertilize it with any lawn fertilizer
in the spring and in the fall, and protect its tender, emerging branches from deer, mice and other wildlife.

In the spring of the second year, your tree may produce some flowers, which, if left on would develop into fruit. It is better to pinch these flowers off and let the tree have another full year to develop its root system.

Once you are ready to let your tree bear fruit, when the fruit gets to be about the size of your thumbnail, you may want to thin it out some. If you let your fruit grow to closely together it will not get as big in size as you may like. Unless freezing spring temperatures reduces the number of viable fruit blossoms, your fruit trees will set more fruit than they can grow to optimum size. These overabundant number of fruitlets will compete for limited plant resources—this is why you will want to thin.  

Individuals who grow fruit for a hobby say they experiment with numbers of fruit removed and thinning timings. A “rule of thumb” is to space peaches six inches apart and apples six to eight inches apart, leaving only one apple per spur. Since an apple tree can develop an alternate bearing habit (a heavy crop of small fruit one year followed by no or few fruit the next), it is important to thin within a month after bloom. With experience, you will learn to balance crop load to tree growth.

Growing fruit trees is not only a fun challenge but in the end, is, well, quite fruitful.

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You might think that a chainsaw is highly destructive tool. It can be, and is in many ways but conversely it is also a high precision instrument and must be considered and used as such. They need to be kept in perfect condition and checked before use every single time in order to be effective and safe for the user.

It is imperative that a chainsaw chain is kept in tiptop condition. The chain only really has two states – useless or perfect. A chain which is in perfect condition should cut through timber like a knife through butter. Normally it will require barely any downward pressure to cut through wood, but once it is in need of maintenance it will either require extra pressure or simply try and burn through the wood.You must keep the chain on your chainsaw in absolutely perfect condition. The condition of a chainsaw chain has no middle ground it is either absolutely perfect for the job at hand, or completely useless. Once the chain starts requiring more than a tiny amount of downward pressure to get through the wood it obviously needs sharpening. In perfect condition, the chainsaw should cut through timber just like a knife cuts through butter.

If the chainsaw chain needs maintenance it will start producing sawdust, instead of the large chips of wood that it will produce when it is fine. When cutting downwards, if chainsaw tries to veer off to the left or the right this is another sign that the chain needs attention.

The cutting tips of the chainsaw chain have a thin coating of chrome on the cutting edge. This chrome plate is the bit that does the actual work. As the chain gets worn down, it’s the chrome which is being worn away which is why the chain becomes less effective over time. To get the chain back to its best condition it needs to be filed. One of the most important factors of this operation is to ensure that the right sized file is used to match the chain being filed.

A roller guide is the name of the tool used to file the chainsaw chain in order to get it back to peak operating condition. It is possible to file the chain by hand but it’s unlikely that this will produce as good a result as using the roller guide. Quite often the chain will get worn down by hitting the ground during use or striking a hard object within the timber. When this is the case the chain must be filed down so that the new chrome edge is revealed. The chainsaw chain can be filed down many times as long as there is still 1 mm left on the heel of the cutter.

Although it can take some time and be quite a difficult job to sharpen a chainsaw chain, it is still a wise move to do so as once the chain is filed back to ideal condition it is as good as new. A chain sharpening kit shouldn’t cost any more than $30 and the only other item required is a pair of protective gloves. The contents of a chain sharpening kit are a file gauge, a flat file, and the round chain file which must be the correct size for the chain. It is a good idea to have a small stiff brush as well. For example, an old toothbrush is ideal.

The rounded file is used to file down and sharpen the chainsaw chain. The flat file is used to file the depth gauge on each tooth of the chain. The file gauge is used for adjusting the top plate cutting angles of each tooth on the chain. The brush is used to brush away any pieces of debris on the chain before sharpening commences.

One problem which means that you need to replace the chain rather than sharpening it is if you find that the chain has been stretched. When heading to the store to buy your replacement chain if you’re not taking the chainsaw itself you should write down the make and model number and also if possible take the old chain with you. With these tips you should be able to get the most bang for your buck from your chainsaw chain.

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