To Do List

To Do List

• Cider equipment – refinements for year six
• Side-by-side independent pedal drives for grinder (recumbent?)
• More robust spreader for cylinder end
• Repair damaged press grates
• Second base grate; fabricate a couple more press grates
• Timber and firewood
• Saw and split last few big chunks in orchard
• Deal with gnarly pine chunks south of fence
• Get older 4′ wood out of maple row
• Clear for two more rows of trees to west; stack brush for chipping
• Call in stumping for 2 new rows & south
• Make compost bins out of short pine timber
• Extend selective cutting for maples to cabin road
• Heavy selective cut north of field for hardwood experiment
• Clearing for berries behind upper cabin
• Fruit trees
• Fall
• Order and install last few tree spirals
• Select new apple varieties
• Gala Red Delicious Granny Smith Gravenstein  Hubbardston Nonesuch
• Order replacement peach trees
• Pull mulch away from trees
• Repeat soil test
• Cut out wild apple trees
• Spring
• Harvest seaweed and spread around trees
• Find source of horse manure
• Reapply mulch around trees
• Till and plant cover crop in new ground
• Fence
• Fix cracked fence post
• Extend more robust attachment of netting around orchard
• Continue spreading pine chips under fence
• Design fence for expansion area
• Berry patch btw cabin and orchard
• Continue clearing
• Plant cover crop in spring
• Plan fence
• Order/plant berries
• Continue selective thinning along stone wall for maples
• Extend woods road along n. side of wall
• Yard firewood down hill to road
• Order more maples
• Minor drainage work?
• Field improvement
• Dig cabin road culvert deeper
• finish drainage in middle field
• Turn over middle field and plant to cover crop
• relocate Baldwin tree
• Build road/drainage above south field; tie in to orchard drainage
• Extend south field to stone wall

Longer term ideas

• Mirror pole barn w/ center aisle
• Greenhouse
• Efficient maple evaporator design – vacuum-based regenerator? RO pump?
• Portable solar woodshed
• Larger pond

Older stuff, completed:

• Figure out irrigation system
• Fix solar fence charger
• Clear and harrow periphery of orchard
• Order and broadcast cover crop
• Tend fence

Fall 07 orchard work:

• Remove firewood from edges of orchard
• Bushhog down the oats and vetch that we planted this spring
• Break up and drag off remaining hummocks of roots from the spring
• Plow or harrow in summer cover crop
• Spread lime, phosphate, and greensand
• Harrow minerals into top few inches of soil
• Broadcast winter cover seed and inoculant
• Cover seed with bedspring or hand-rake
• Lay out tree locations; identify ledge outcrops
• Collect and dry seaweed to spread on orchard
• Mound compost, fall tree mix, seaweed, and wood chips on planting spots
• Put spiral wraps around tree trunks
• Cut around roots to prepare trees for transplant in the spring

• Send soil sample to UMaine lab

• Burn brush pile when there’s snow on ground
• Drop a couple more pine trees to the south (if time while brush is burning)
• Order cover crop etc
  • 50 lbs PVO seed mix
  • Innoculant
  • Lime, P, K sources
  • Orchard grass?
• Arrange delivery date for apple trees
• Arrange shipping for Cornell maple cuttings (send check when we know the amount)
  • Request another bag of maple seed?
• Procure other necessaries
  • Food and beverages
  • Gloves
  • Gas and diesel fuel
  • 5 gallon pails (from 70)
  • Find bedspring
  • Electric fence materials
  • Gate materials
  • Chipper
  • Rotary seeder (may be one in Maine already, check)
  • Check condition of Pops’ lime spreader
  • Deer fence for maples?
  • Hay
• Other prep
  • Sweep out cabins etc
  • Remove shutters from Lower Cabin

Plans for orchard weekend

• Orchard site
  • Spread ash from brush fire
  • Locate small stumps and roots (kubota w/ spring harrow?)
  • Clear brush and leaves, create an orchard compost pile
  • Remove small stumps, rocks, and roots (small excavator?)
  • Ditch for soil drainage along high side stone wall? (need a small piece of culvert)
  • Spread lime, manure, seaweed, etc; cultivate orchard plot (plow? spring harrow?)
  • Broadcast PVO mix, set seed (small tractor w/ bedspring?)
  • Spread hay to protect seed
  • Put up posts for fence
  • Build a gate
  • String and wire electric fence
• Nursery bed: preparation and planting
  • Cultivate nursery bed (kubota w/ disc harrow, rototiller?)
  • Spread lime, manure, etc on tree spots
  • Dig holes
  • Plant trees
  • Broadcast orchard grass around trees; spread hay to protect seed
  • Move fence to enclose trees
  • Paint trunks to ward off borers
• Compost/Fertilizer
  • Collect seaweed from shore
  • Spread seaweed in a suitable location to cure
  • Get manure from east side and make compost pile
• Poppy’s asparagus
  • Prep site and plant asparagus (confirm with Emily)

• Set date for cidering year 5
• Order parts for upgraded cider mill
  • 80/20
    • grinder frame parts
  • McMaster
    • Plastic drum stock
    • Plastic side plate stock
    • 3/4″ stainless hex
    • Lightweight pillow blocks
    • Gearbelt and sprockets?
    • Material for replacement 5/8″ freewheel adapter?
  • MSC
    • 1×3/16 stainless ground stock for cutters
    • Burden Surplus Center
    • 4″x20″ 3000psi hydraulic ram
  • Get from Maine
    • Timber for new press
    • Hunk of steel plate to adapt ram to press
    • Accumulator
• Machine parts
  • New drum
  • New cutters?
  • New side plates
  • Ram adapter plate
• Hydraulic assemble and test
• Grinder upgrade assemble and test
• Order fruit from Poverty Lane?
• Make new larger press and press grates?