The Phantom Planter

 Me and Wee betty was out yesterday with my new battery mower cutting a rectangle out around 88 heritage Irish apple trees we phantom planted on council green space a few months ago. Still loving the fact that all these trees have been respected by the local community and all the running dogs seems to know to avoid them too. My plan is to keep going back and keeping it cut around the edges like this so when the council mowers come along they'll know just to keep cutting around the outside of this little orchard. This is a prototype for me that I'm experimenting with in planting up island type fruit forests on open green spaces around council estates. If this all goes to plan I think these mini orchards of heritage Irish apple trees should be all over housing estates. Only one way to find out if this works and thats by doing. It's how I always roll, Do - Believe and stay Enthused.  We all need to get out and do our bit for the community and nature. Look after you, your commu...

 Bought myself a battery lawnmower, so if you see a man with a mask on out cutting grass around the streets don't worry its only The Phantom Planter out looking after his trees! I bought it mainly for the kind of phantom planted orchards you can see behind Wee Betty in one of the pics. 88 heritage Irish apple trees we phantom planted here a couple of months ago. These are phantom planted on council green space in the Belvoir estate South Belfast.  I've phantom planted them all in a massive square shape and I'm going to keep a border cut out around the entire square so that when the council grass cutters come out they will not have to come close to the trees at all and hopefully just continue to cut around the square. This is a protype wild heritage orchard that I'm experimenting with. I'm thinking these types of orchards could be planted up in housing estates all over the city. Some estates in Belfast have massive unused green spaces like we have in our estate that ...

 Another busy day yesterday with the phantom planted fruit trees. Past couple of days I've been going round checking on lots of the trees making sure they are all ok. The majority are doing amazing apart from a group of fruit trees that were all cut at the base and the memorial tags left on a gooseberry bush that was phantom planted along side the fruit trees. I have no idea why someone would cut all the apple trees and not the gooseberry bush! Was also sad to see my friend Andy Tyrie's memorial tree missing too which was in another part of the estate. This went missing last week which looked like it was just ripped out from the base and no sign of the tree anywhere. Taking losses is to be expected when phantom planting and you just have to keep on phantom planting to make up for this. On a plus side though as I was out and about checking on all the trees I must have spotted about 20 more trees that were phantom planted by other secret planters. I could spot these amateur phant...

 Bu sy day yesterday looking after some fruit trees on council property. Its important for your trees survival that you go and cut round them keeping them nice and tidy. I like to cut a circle around the tree so when the council mowers come out they dont have to come so close to my trees. At this spot I was at yesterday one of the trees was hit a few years ago by a mower and snapped it in half. The tree regrew again and is doing amazing. I always like to give them regular health checks too making sure name/memorial tags are not on too tight etc. Also watered and checked all the acorns I just recently sowed at our oak spiral, then it was off to the polytunnel to graft and prepare another 50 apple trees for phantom planting next year. I'm back at the polytunnel most of the day today as I have another 100 apple trees to graft up. Look guys as most of you know my mission is self funded, mostly paid for by my mattress business and also your donations. If anyone in Northern Ireland is lo...

 Went and planted trees for 2 schools in Killyleagh yesterday, St Mary's primary school and killyleagh integrated primary school. This is not something I usually do to be honest but I couldn't say no to the lady that asked me. For years this lady was our costal rowing chair person, back when I used to do a bit of rowing myself. I am indebted to the Killyleagh Costal rowing club. When I first got invited to row with them about 10 years ago I still had a big drink and drug problem, I was also still up to my neck in underworld activities. This was the first ever kind of social sport or social activities that I had ever did. Growing up with my dodgy delboy dad all we knew was how to duck and dive. If it didnt make money we didnt do it. I was never into music, sport or anything that didnt make money. That life though you have no real friends, as my dad always said, "you've no friends in business son".. How right he is. This rowing group was a different type of people f...

 Me and wee betty worked away yesterday at our oak spiral adding some wind protection around the acorns we just recently sowed. Some of the acorns I sowed inside the plastic tube to help with humidity, this will also act like a propagator. The rest of the acorns I sowed around the tube. Will be interesting to see which ones grow best. I've went a bit over the top with this but so many of these acorns are from the oldest oak trees on these islands. Some may never produce acorns again like the Major oak of Sherwood forest and the Old Knobbley oak. The Belvoir oak which is the oldest oak in Ireland is nearly dead also and I was so lucky to get just a few acorns from this beauty last year. So you can maybe understand why I've went to this level of TLC for these precious acorns. At least I know I've tried my best. Conscious people plant conscious trees is a comment that one of the top tree ladies of Ireland made to me a while back. Lets hope she's right! It was Saint Patrick...