Next week we have more visits with Mayors. A very important appointment with a lady that specializes in valuation’s of non-profits. After our meeting with her I expect my need to be slimmer. Good things are happening. As I said before God is good!

I’ll explain.

The Backyard Harvest Project (ByHP) is a idea that has been bouncing around in my mind for at least eight years now. The idea first manifested itself when I was in the construction field and my friend James Ray and I were siding a house together.  Over the years I have done almost everything in the trades.  We were in a home owners backyard and it was about mid September.  In that backyard were a few fruit trees that, from the looks of it, hadn’t been harvested for years.  Right there we saw ripe beautiful peaches falling to the ground.  I commented that it was very sad to see, and James responded that if I could figure out a way to harvest all the food that went to waste in peoples backyard I would control the biggest orchard in the world.

Now it has never been my intention to corner the market in peaches or any other commodity, but maybe I could help stop some of the waste.

As I said, the idea bounced around, but everyone that I talked to told me that it was too big of an idea or that I needed the “perfect” business plan in place before I did anything.  Well this last spring it was really eating at me that I hadn’t done anything with this idea, when out of the blue a gentleman saw a powerpoint that I had made.  While visiting with me and walking through my families garden, he asked what, if anything, I would do differently in my own garden. Without thinking I said “nothing, I just need more space”.  He invited me to immediately follow me to his home where he showed me three building lots that he owned next to the property he lived on. He asked me “is that enough land?”.   I was speechless.

He donated the land, irrigation, fencing, and the use of his Kubota tractor. A few days later, another gentleman donated 7000 heirloom vegetable plants.

Poof!  The ByHP had grew its own legs.

The next few month were a whirlwind.  The first call I made yielded 1500 lbs. of Bing Cherries and the next one yielded 6500 lbs. of Pie Cherries.  Things happened so fast and without to much effort, put into finding the food or volunteers or families that needed the food.  Over 50,000 lbs. of food had been donated or grown from donated plants, on donated land, watered with donated irrigation.

I have never been so blessed as I have been in these last few months. I  am closer to my children, wife and friends than I ever thought possible.  Yes, financially I have done better in other ventures but I have learned that keeping up with the Jones’ isn’t all it cracked up to be.  Putting others needs first has truly blessed my life and the lives of my family.

You will need the following:

• Tree wrap
• Some Mulch
• Window screen or 1/4″ mesh hardware cloth

Young trees are susceptible to sun scald during winter months, a problem caused by fluctuations in temperature. During the day if the sun is shining, bark temperatures will rise higher than air temperatures. Yet when the sun sets or is blocked by clouds, the bark temperature drops rapidly, damaging plant tissue. We want to prevent this from happening by wrapping the trunks of trees with ‘tree wrap’. Wrap the trunk from its base upward to just below where the canopy starts. Make sure you remove the wrap in spring so it does not impede the tree’s growth.

We also want to protect your tree’s bark from hungry rodents during winter food shortages by constructing a cylinder out of window screen or ¼” mesh hardware cloth. The cylinder should penetrate the soil to a depth of 2-3″ if possible and should be about 3″ larger in diameter than the trunk of your tree.

Another important factor in keeping your trees healthy during the winter months is maintaining the moisture content of the soil. Avoid fertilizing your trees in late summer to early fall so they have a chance to harden off. After deciduous trees lose their leaves but before the ground freezes, give them a good dose of water. Next, mulch around your trees. Start from the outside of the wire cylinder and mulch the entire area under the tree’s drip line to a depth of about 3″.

This should give your tree a dynamic chance at not only surviving the winter months, but thrive them.  Just make sure when spring rolls around you give The ByHP a call and donate the unused portions of your orchard to those in need.  Together, we can Care for the Children…