The Phantom Planter

Love it when a phantom planters plan comes together. This little patch here is 88 heritage Irish apple trees, Phantom Planted winter past I planted them in a rectangular formation on council ground.  I have been going back every week cutting a border out around the outside of the rectangle so when the council grass cutters came out they would know just to carry on cutting around my island of apple trees.  This is exactly how I was wanting it all to work out guys. I dont really need to go back now and keep cutting round it as its obvious now, but every week I still like to go back and cut the border around it. Keeping the hood looking like a nature loving Buddhahood.  Just love this little piece of Environmental Graffiti.  I challenge you to phantom plant a tree  Peace and love  The Phantom Planter and Wee Betty  

 Flat out yesterday mulching apple trees. Must have done well over 60 of them.  These were all ones I phantom planted winter past. All heritage Irish varieties. Think I've managed to find, mulch and tidy up every apple tree that was phantom planted winter past. The heritage varieties really do grow the best here. Its also great to get the trees in the ground as young as possible, I'm noticing how much better they grow when planted bareroot young. These apple trees were phantom planted at 1 year old. They will grow into better stronger trees when planted young like this and will not need supported either.  I phantom planted around 400 apple trees winter past and I think nearly everyone has survived! A long time supporter seen me out working yesterday and stopped to say hello. He then got stuck in and was helping me mulch loads of trees for a good hour. Thank you mate. Loved our chats too and the poetry.  I really do need to delegate more and get people involved helpin...

 Back in 2022 when I was over visiting The Major Oak of Sherwood forest I had noticed that the tree had been filled with concrete and the limbs were embalmed in a type of plastic. The limbs had supports also. The whole process seemed so unnatural.  I remember thinking can they not just let trees die in peace.  Oaks hallow in the centre for a reason, its part of its natural cycle to allow fungi and other life to come into it.  Fill it full of concrete and plastic and people are blaming climate change and people visiting compressing the ground around it on its sudden death.  More experts but more problems.  More degrees but less sense.  More knowledge but less judgment.  Words from Big D aka The Dalai Lama spring to mind on this one.  Anyhow guys, all of us need to be collecting acorns from our ancient oaks all over the country and grow them up for phantom planting. Its our duty to replace the forests we have ripped down over the centuries....

 Was so annoyed yesterday at finding 4 of my apple trees hit by council mowers. One has been completely ringbarked meaning it will be slowly be dying over the next few weeks. Some people say bark graft it or wrap bandages and other methods. Over the years I've tried so many things to save ringbarked trees and I haven't managed to save one. The tree however might grow back from the stump as they always normally do.  So disheartening though when this happens. Normally I never get that annoyed as I expect to take losses and can always replant the tree, but when you have 6 amazing fruit trees growing away and enjoyed by the community for years and 4 out of the 6 gets hit it really made me angry.  So I went and got some sewer pipe and cut it to put around the tree, I added a load of mulch also. Hopefully this will protect the tree better from careless mowers.  You would wonder though how many other trees are killed this way by careless mowers. Under Brehon Law, the true l...

 Yesterday I was working away in the estate looking after some phantom planted fruit trees and this young lad comes over to me and asks can he help me. I said yes no probs, so away he went running to get his welly boots. He then got stuck in pulling out all the weeds close to our trees.  At the end of it I said I can give you a fiver now for helping or I can put £10 in one hand and nothing in the other and you can pick a hand and chance your luck. He said yes I want to gamble. I was like are you sure now? You can take this fiver now and off you go or you can gamble for a tenner or nothing. He was adamant he wanted to pick a hand. Lucky for him he picked the right hand and off he went with the tenner! He was a great help and was well worth a tenner. He had also agreed he's going to look after trees in a certain part of the estate for me.  I love it when young kids from the estate come out of their own backs and want to help. I've had so many kids over the years come out li...

 Sherwood Forest 28th Oct 2022 at 5am.  Me and wee betty jumped the fence to see if the Major oak aka Robin Hood oak had produced any acorns. What a surprise we were in for as the ground was covered in them. I think this was the last year The Major oak produced acorns and today it has been confirmed dead.  Something magical happened to me that morning under the Major Oak Tree. I never forget the visions that came to my mind that morning.  3 of the pics are from back when I got the acorns and the other 2 are some of the oaks today.  I had so many of these Major oak tree saplings. I planted lots of them all around the border of our Lisnbreeny orchard and another one being part of my iconic Phantom Planters Oak Spiral.  I have oaks growing from other really old oaks that are on its last legs also.  The Magog oak in Glastonbury, The Big Belly oak in Wiltshire and The Belvoir oak of Belfast. All these trees may never produce acorns again and I have their ba...