The Phantom Planter

 Walking around the new Lisnabreeny community orchard last night counting all the dead trees and there are about 30 or so definite ones that are dead. We have around 300 native Irish apple trees here so thats about 10% that didn't make it, which is not a bad success rate. What I have noticed is it was nothing to do with the ground that killed the trees, like too wet or too dry as the rootstocks we have them grafted onto are still alive. Its just the graft thats died. I think some of the trees just didnt like the conditions, from being in a nice cosy tropical polytunnel the year before, then being put up on a very windy exposed site. They looked like they were going to start to leaf and then stopped and died. They must have woke up out of dormancy and said whats going on here, this is not where we were last year. I think whats best to do with new apple trees is propagate for the first year in the polytunnel, then plant them out in bunches in a not so exposed site to harden them off ...

 Mulch arrived guys, thank you to everyone that donated to help buy this.  Now around 300 apple trees to mulch.  Lisnabreeny community orchard is for everyone.  If you cant plant a tree please support us.  https://paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=FAJZHB3TBXMSL Peace and love The Phantom Planter

 Something really disheartening happened yesterday at our new Lisnabreeny Community orchard. Around a dozen or so apple trees seem to have died, they looked like they were starting to bud into leaf then just died. Not sure what is going on but it only seems to be 2 varieties that this happened too - Green Donegal Chisel and Irish Peach, and they are both planted at the higher more exposed end of the orchard. These were also the very first batch we planted too. Maybe the frost got them, or its just that them varieties dont like the conditions. We are 140 metres above sea level and it does get quite windy here, we have thousands of other native trees planted all around this orchard so that in years to come this will act as a shelter for the orchard but at the minute it is very exposed up there. Some of these trees that died are memorial trees or trees that people have sponsored. What I'm going to do is move the memorial tags to other healthier trees in the orchard. This really bother...

 People are always asking me how I make my tree tags, well here's the set here. All my tree tags are hand stamped on aluminium tree tags. Takes a bit of time doing these, especially when you plant hundreds of trees, but these tags I'm hoping will last for a lifetime. It's a great feeling hallmarking your trees like this, its like the last finishing touch after you've grown and phantom planted your tree. So much work goes into The Phantom Planter and all that it entails. Its work that makes me proud though and gives me great satisfaction and life purpose. Last night me and wee betty was just walking around many of the trees that we've phantom planted over the years and its just the most amazing feeling seeing many of the trees in flower. We have so many different varieties of fruit trees that they all flower at different times. This was one of my first thoughts back at the start was to plant so many different types of fruit trees so that for 6 months of the year peop...

 This was a birth tree that we phantom planted when this little boy was born. Now he's big enough to come and visit it.  It was an apple tree we phantom planted, hope he comes back in autumn and gets some apples from it.  So many great reasons to plant trees.  I can't think of any better way to celebrate a life than planting an apple tree. For the rest of this little boys life he can come back to see his tree and eat apples from it.  I challenge you to phantom plant a tree today!  Peace and love The Phantom Planter

 I remember getting this pic sent a few years ago from a father saying he had his kids out phantom planting.  Love it when kids get inspired to phantom plant trees. That was my dream and vision back when I started, was to make planting trees cool with that element of rascality to it.  So far my dreams and vision have come true.  Thank you to all you phantom planters out there for making this happen.  I challenge you all to phantom plant a tree today!  Peace and love The Phantom Planter  Support this grassroots movement below.  https://paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=FAJZHB3TBXMSL