Sustainablity?

From Fertility to Futility

First Blooms on My Peach Tree

As part of my exploration into micro urban agriculture, I decided to create a mini orchard in my yard. I liked the idea of fruit adding diversity to my pallet and my property. The trees are placed on the west end of my front yard running north to south and they will act as wind break for the easterly winds we get off the Rockies. The trees, when mature, won't shade the yard until early evening--a good fit for newly learned the concepts in permaculture .

So I have planted a number of fruit trees over the past three years; including, one plum,  cherry, pear,   two apple trees, and a peach tree grafted with three different varieties. The peach is my favorite tree fruit. Being an early bloomer, my peach was the first tree to flower that I have planted.  I was so excited about the esthetics and the show of fertility with the possibility of fruit.

My joy was soon replaced by a pragmatic concern; I thought about the timing of the color burst, it was the last week of March and in this climate zone we are at the risk of frost until a couple of weeks into May. A frost would kill the fruit buds. I learned this fact when I researched growing peaches in my area. The local average success of harvesting peaches is one out of every five years, again due to our false start springs. It would be a heart breaker to lose my first crop of fruit.

I shared my concerns with my fellow micro horticulturist, Shelley, and she mentioned that when she lived in the Bay Area, her neighbors would hang the old-fashion Christmas lights on the branches of their citrus trees, hoping that the heat emitted could save their blooming trees being threatened by the later spring frost.
 
Well sure enough the weather forecast predicted temperature in the mid 20°F.  I couldn't find any old Christmas lights for two reasons,  they are out of season,  and I switched my festive lights over to the lower carbon foot print LED lights for our holiday decorations. So I improvised with a piece of crop cover cloth and a 40 watt light bulb, in a utility light fixture.  I put in a thermometer to evaluate my results.

The heated cocoon

Well it worked and kept the tree in the heated cocoon at 45°F.  I saved the blooms even though it was cold enough to have killed them. But after this success, and a brief self pat on the back, a small voice said, "but is it worth it?"  Is keeping the tree warm when vulnerable, using electricity generated by fossil fuels, a sustainable practice? I don't think so.

I kinda hate the over-used, abused term sustainable. Sustainability is such a buzz word used to validate our products and activities; but what is the true definition of sustainability?

I did some more research. I learned with apple trees it takes 50 leaves to supply the energy required for a  piece of fruit. After counting the leaf buds on the peach tree I determined that the tree could possibly produce 6-8 peaches this first year.  I have two years and $50 invested in the tree. Now I have 1 KWH of electricity which at today's rates is about $.05 (plus another, $.05 for Xcel's "adjustments"). What happens when the tree quadruples in size? Do I provide a larger heated environment, and how does the cost break out? Is it still less of a carbon foot print and a lower per cost peach?

Perhaps it isn't about sustainable, it is about principle.

This year I am allowing myself the luxury of imposing upon nature to give me the possibility of producing some fruit. Bottom line, it still depends upon an inconceivable multitude of natural forces all smiling on my little tree.