Paint the Orchard White

It was another gorgeous day out today, so bright and early we went to the hardware store to get some plain white latex paint so I could paint the trees white.

You may wonder why anybody would do such a silly thing. In areas where it gets really hot, the smaller trees can be basically sunburnt: the sun on the bark heats up the sap and boils it. Larger trees have a cool core to chill themselves with. Small trees need to be helped out. So you pain them white to help them reflect the heat.

It's really simple: mix latex paint 50/50 with water, slap it on. In this area, it really doesn't get hot enough that sunburn is a real issue, but the growers told me the warranty on the trees requires it, so whatever.

And it certainly makes the orchard look very tidy.

Technorati Tags: landscaping, trees

posted by ayse on 01/22/06