Trees planted

I have managed to plant the tree grafts that I bought at the bourse aux greffons, despite the cold weather.   I heeled the trees in for a couple of days while I did the preparatory work.    I chose a South-facing  planting area where the trees, once grown, will help to sreen the compost heap and water butts.

First, I took the turf off, the dug over the area and rotavated it.  I then added peat and farmyard manure (I cheated and bought concentrated stuff).   Then I hammered in the stakes and strung wire supports between them, and finally I planted the trees.   You can hardly see the little brown twigs against the soil.

Now I know that tree grafts don't always take, and I might end up with one or two dead twigs instead of healthy productive trees.   But then, I figure that I have done the hard work already:  preparing the planting area took several hours, and also involved buying manure, stakes and wire, but the final job of getting the trees into the ground was a matter of minutes.  And buying them was fun, and I could always get some more next year.