Fruit Trees of Your Labor
by J. Michael Wheeler
Plant 18 Billion Trees
What better way to help save the planet than by eating the fruits of your labor. How? By becoming a supporter of the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation. Their primary mission is to plant and help others plant a collective total of 18 billion fruit trees across the world (approximately 3 for every person alive) and encourage their growth under organic standards.
FTPF provides support, resources, and guidance for those interested in planting fruit trees and spearheads a variety of planting programs. These programs are aimed at enriching the environment, providing nutritious food sources for wild and rescued animals, and improving human health by bringing delicious, fresh, locally grown raw fruits and vegetables of the highest quality into the lives of all people.
Our primary goal is to plant trees that yield edible fruits, nuts, leaves, or roots—thus spreading life-sustaining ecological diversity throughout the world. Fruit trees will be planted alongside other soil-building flora, native and medicinal trees and shrubs, hardwoods, and plants that contribute to sustainability. As we plant, we bring vibrant health to the community by making delicious, fresh local fruits and vegetables accessible. Plantings are designed to follow the contours of the land, creating swales to guide water back into the earth and address erosion issues, and replenish organic matter in the soil which is so critical to the core health of the planet.
Start in Your Own Backyard
The ideal time to plant trees is during the dormant season for bare root trees and during the early spring or fall for containerized trees, when weather conditions are cool, allowing trees to get their roots well established before the summer heat. Please keep in mind that well cared for trees may be planted in just about any month where conditions allow (i.e. the ground is not frozen), as long as the best-available establishment practices are carefully followed, so do not feel limited.
Preparing the tree planting site properly with good maintenance and care practices will ensure that the tree experiences reduced transplant shock and allow it to thrive. Please follow these steps carefully so that your tree will establish its roots quickly and develop vigorous growth. And remember, “It's better to plant a $100 tree in a $200 hole than to plant a $200 tree in a $100 hole.” Planting Containerized Tree Factsheet
I realize that there is an awful lot of stuff you have to know to make informed choices about wine, and vintages probably scare more of you than anything else. What should you know about vintages, and should you really even care about them? Well, to be succinct, the more you know the better. But vintages sometimes are self-leveling: in other words, an inferior vintage of a wine will cost less than a good vintage of the same wine. So might you get a decent value buying a better wine in a lesser year? Hopefully. 
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