Category: San Luis Obispo

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two apple trees are better than one

our second apple tree
our second apple tree

Interestingly enough, I usually normally never buy trees from those mega retailers… I tend to haunt nurseries… but this one from Home depot looked fun. On the internet they don’t say many kind things about these combination trees … but each tree is a bit of history if you take the time to study them.

My tree has five varieties grafted to it: Beverly Hills, Anna, Einshimer, Fuji and Dorsett Golden Delicious. The Greenish -yellow with an orange red flush Beverly Hills apple is slightly tart that — I suspect — is probably great for apple pies; the Anna apple was developed in Israel and is yellow with a slight red blush; the Einshimer is related to the Anna; the Fuji came from Japan and is wonderful; and finally the Dorsett Golden was developed from the Golden Delicious strain in the Bahamas in 1964 and is an all purpose apple that is crisp and sweet.. So doesn’t this combination sound worthy for any garden?

The main challenge for these varieties from my readings is that most of them need a good cold snap which is no problem here in San Luis Obispo as I also grow Concord Grapes which according to the ‘experts’ cannot grow here!

Laura has already offered to give me the new tree while she keeps our existing tree for her recipes! Ha!

Roger Freberg

Here’s a nice link on everything about Apple Trees

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Mise en bouteille au Château

Bringing you all up to speed, last fall before my daughter Kristin was deployed to Iraq, the two of us decided on something that would take about a year to develop and we could enjoy on her return. We decided to make wine.

The idea came to me after thinking about my grandfather who — with his buddies during WWI — bought a rather expensive bottle of wine that would be consumed and toasted by the ‘last man’ left standing. Well, as it happened my grandfather enjoyed the wine late in his life and reflecting on how much the world had changed since they all made this little wager. As a homage to Pops, I thought it might be fun to make some wine!

So, armed with nothing but raw materials and books, Kristin and I set forth on this fun journey. Obviously, there was much to do after she left… but it has been a fun seeing what the real ‘pirates’ of wine making are up to!  30 plus years ago, I was first involved in wines through a national organization called “Knights of the Vine”… a fun group whose sole purpose was to educate, promote and enjoy wines in America. However, in talking more to winemakers and after a lot of reading… my eyes were re-opened to the wonders of this experience.

After wrestling with a bunch of ideas, I labeled our ‘product’ today and I believe it may just earn my coveted 12 stars designation ( one for each month of aging!) when it’s finished ‘aging.’ I used the colors of Kristin’s Alma mater “West Point” capped with an engineering symbol.

Thinking of you Kristin.

Dad

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updating the kitchen

a great knife for any chef
a great knife for any chef

I tend to think that kitchens need to be designed to be functional rather than purely aesthetic. Appliances need to address specific wants and needs and no more. With three freezers having one more in the kitchen is ridiculous and wastes energy. I particularly liked the fact that  this refrigerator boasts an annual energy cost of 48 dollars a year… yes, a year! Frozen food needs — for lower cost and energy conservation reasons — should be placed into a ‘coffin’ style freezer.

Anyway, I love fun equipment and when it comes to knives…  Global knives ... I have so many!

a Global knife - the true knife
a Global knife - the 'true' knife

I guess this is just another example of boys and their toys!

a busy week.

Roger Freberg

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largest gathering of fruit tree pruners in America

a huge crowd (over 300) comes to learn tree pruning!
a huge crowd (over 300) comes to learn tree pruning!

Well… it has been an interesting look into American resolve to see how many folks came to see, hear and participate in a tree pruning lecture.

Not all of these folks own an orchard, many have only a few trees — or like us — one very spectacular Apple tree! So, if you don’t know by now, this is the time to prune your apple tree.

The reason – I believe – that folks came to listen was to learn how they could more efficiently use the tree (s) they have. I believe that people also have a desire to produce more home grown crops and save a little money along the way. Potentially tough economic times have a way of getting us all think about how we live our lives, what we can live without and — most importantly — how we can make it better.

Nothing is better than home grown and home made foods!

Laura and I love our little Apple tree and we constantly fight over whether or not we turn it into apple sauce ( Laura’s idea) or apple pie ( my idea).

The head Cal Poly guru came out and said that normally they hold these meetings inside in a classroom of 30, but since over 300 showed up, he thought maybe outside would be better. With a droll smile, he said that this was the largest gathering for a meeting of fruit pruners… ever… in America…. everyone laughed!

If this encourages folks to eat better, lose weight and get outdoors… it’s a good sign for our land.

Roger Freberg

ps. my Laura is in the lower left of the picture

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Leroy Sievers tribute in Bethesda Magazine

Lauras little brother Leroy Sievers
Laura's little brother Leroy Sievers

An excellent tribute to Laura’s brother journalist Leroy Sievers recently appeared in  Bethesda magazine by Kathleen Wheaten.. It was a welcome peek into Leroy’s often very private life. It always amazes me how celebrities who we feel we know… can have an entirely unknown life after hours. The thing is Leroy had no after hours!

As his wife Laurie would probably tell you, Leroy’s life was his work and anyone who wanted to have a friendship of any kind with him had to accept that… and that could be painful to those closest to him. Laurie was kind enough to pass on a hard copy of the magazine which we all appreciate.

Leroy was very lucky to have Laurie handle all of the things that relationships need… like communication.

Roger Freberg