RJ Homestead

Here in Maryland, the late-winter weather loves to play games with us. This past weekend, we finally got a break from the snow and freezing temperatures, and the thermometer teased us with a glorious 60-degree day. If you have homesteading in your blood, you know exactly what that means: it’s time to shake off the cabin fever, put the Grow, Gather, Heal manuscripts aside for a morning, get some dirt under the fingernails, and start prepping the gardens!

Work Smarter: The Orchard Upgrade

Our first major task was tackling the fruit trees. We have a solid little mix going—pear, peach, apple, plum, and cherry—and they all desperately needed their late-winter haircuts.

Let me share a little piece of practical homestead wisdom: sometimes, you just need to buy the power tool. Last year, I spent an entire, exhausting day yanking on the pull-string of a manual pole saw. This year, I used some leftover Christmas money to upgrade to the GEVEELIFE 2-in-1 Electric Pruning Shears.

It works as a handheld or clicks onto a 12-foot pole, and it came with two batteries. The difference was night and day! What took me all day last year was done in just four hours, and I didn’t even drain the first battery. If you manage fruit trees, I highly recommend it for saving your shoulders.

Rather than tossing the branches to the burn pile, I gathered several of the best dormant cuttings and stored them in the fridge. Later this spring, I’m going to try my hand at grafting to expand our little orchard!

The Berry Patch & The Sandbox

Next up was the berry patch. Last fall, we tip-rooted our blackberries directly into pots, so Rebecca went through and separated those new root systems while I took my new handheld clippers to the rest of the overgrown canes. We also tackled the elderberries and grapes, collecting dozens of cuttings from both to propagate.

Here is where we got a little creative. Last year, we just stuck dormant elderberry cuttings into individual pots and had a 100% success rate. But having 40 pots cluttering up the porch isn’t exactly ideal. So, Eva was kind enough to let us repurpose the wooden sandbox I built for her a while back. We added some fresh dirt, tilled it up, and boom—the sandbox is now our official homestead propagation bed! It is a massive space saver.

The Great Grape Experiment

This is our first year trying to propagate grape cuttings, and like any good homesteading couple, Rebecca and I fell down two completely different research rabbit holes. Naturally, we are running an experiment to see whose science is right!

My Method: I read that you can treat grape dormant cuttings just like elderberries. So, I took 10 cuttings and stuck them right into the outdoor sandbox propagation bed to let nature do its thing.
Rebecca’s Method: She read they need to be treated gently and kept humid and warm. So, she planted 5 cuttings in a pot and brought them inside under our indoor grow lights.

It was an incredibly productive morning, and it felt so good to be working outside together again. We tackled a few more projects while the beautiful weather held out, but we’ll save those updates for the next blog post!

Now I have to ask…
Have you started pruning your fruit trees yet? And more importantly—who do you think is going to win our grape propagation experiment, me or Rebecca? Let us know down below!

Also, please stop by our facebook page and give us a “like” there. We post some additional content there, and we’re always happy to respond and answer any questions you may have! You can also find me on GAB, https://gab.com/jungerer!