Looking for advice on a new orchard layout

[CrazyEd]

What about a dr heirloom variety like Roxbury Russet in Z4?




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Roxbury is supposed to be hardy but I lost one at my farm, I think 2 winters ago. It was planted in 2012 and I think it lasted 3 years. Thankfully I grafted one that same spring and juat planted that tree this spring. So. I'm giving it another shot.

I lost 2 wolf rivers and a Northwest Greening too. Not bad given the amount of trees I have planted.

 

[buckvelvet]

I hope it lives its one im looking forward to have in my orcahard in Z5A


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[silver_yummies]

Correct, no cedar trees around me.

Thanks for chiming in crazyed. I think I will give the goldrush a chance and plant them.

Anyone have Crimson topaz or sundance growing in zone 4?

 

[silver_yummies]

Got the holes dug tonight for the 60 Cummins fruit trees that are going in the ground tomorrow. Perfect weather forecast - sunny and a high of 65.

 

[silver_yummies]

List of trees.

 

[buckdeer1]

How far apart did you go?I wish mine were 10 foot more,looks like a great list.lets see the in ground pics

 

[silver_yummies]

I went 21ft in rows and 24 ft between rows. I'll post an update tomorrow once the trees hit the soil.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Silver Yummies - A really good list of fruit trees. ^^^^ We have Goldrush, Enterprise, Liberty, Bonkers, Galarina, Winecrisp, Sundance, Crimson Topaz, - and Dolgo, Centennial, Wickson, & Chestnut crabs at our camp. We're very happy with all of them. No disease probs. with any of them so far. Enterprise and Bonkers are our biggest " growers " so far - very vigorous trees. Goldrush is a MAGNIFICENT eater !! Sweet / tart & complex flavor. We haven't had fruit on all varieties yet, so I can't comment on a majority of our apples as to taste.

You have a good variety of DR apples with a span of ripening dates. You should have the bases covered for hunting purposes. What state are you in again ?? N.Y. ??

 

[silver_yummies]

Awesome to hear that Bowsnbucks! I am in west central WI zone 4B. When do your Wickson Crabs ripen? I couldn't find much info on those compared to others I am planting. I tried to keep it as DR varieties as I could.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Silver Yummies - Wi. - OK, I couldn't remember what state you were in. Our Wickson was just planted last year so no fruit yet, but I read they ripen mid-October. That's why I wanted to add Wickson to our mix of trees, plus they're supposed to be a flavor bomb for eating !! I've read several places that besides eating, they're said to be a great addition to cider.

Choosing DR varieties should pay off for you. In the 5 years we've been planting apples and crabs, I haven't seen any disease probs. yet - hopefully never will. Bugs we need to spray for - small price to pay. I've read, and also gotten info from several universities, that the first 5 or 6 years are the most important for spraying young trees so they can get well established and strong. That way they can fend off bug attacks on their own as they keep growing. I was told once trees get big enough, it would take a bug attack " of biblical proportions " to kill an apple or crab tree. I'm taking their word and spraying for bugs for the first 6 years. Japanese beetles and aphids are our main probs.

We have other apples and crabs too - I just mentioned the ones you did in your post that we also have at our camp. I do the research for our camp for fruit trees and food plots. It's how I spend my crappy-weather winter days waiting for spring to arrive ........ or any other time I can sneak away in books or online to get as much info as I can lay hands on. Beats what's on TV these days !! I look at my time researching as an investment in improving our camp acreage for better habitat for game. And ....... I enjoy learning more " stuff " !! If you want to know all of our apples and crabs, I can list them for you. Let me know, PM if you'd like.

 

[silver_yummies]

Very busy day and short on time but a few pics from today's planting. Bowsnbucks, I'll be in touch next week with a few questions!

 

[greyphase]

Looks like a textbook planting. Well done yummie and a nice looking helper you have there.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Great job, Yummies !! All looks good. Keep these pix and look at the difference in 4 - 5 years. You have good things coming.

 

[silver_yummies]

Another update: planted oats and a clover mix in the orchard and just clipped the oats last week. All the trees are healthy it appears. Plenty of rain this year and the weed barrier does an excellent job of retaining moisture. Got a couple of trees taller than the 5 foot remesh already.

Pollinator field next to the fruit trees had a bad case of the velvet leaf weed and that got mowed down as well to prevent the weed seeds.

 

[Apple Junkie]

Your decision to get your trees from Cummins gets you off on the right foot for sure, and I really like your decision to go with a little bit more generous 21' x 24' spacing too. It sure looks like you did not take any shortcuts and are seeing the results in the field. Inevitably, there will be some stars and some laggards, I hope you keep us posted. Thanks for sharing your progress so far.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Nice job, S.Y. As I said in an earlier post, just watch the difference in the pix at planting time vs. 5 years in the future. You won't believe it !! Off to a good start, Silver Yummies !!

 

[Mortenson]

Nice orchard! Go big or go home!

 

[buckvelvet]

It looks really nice @silver_yummies you put in a lot of work to achieve that, you should be proud. How have the pests done with your new trees?

 

[silver_yummies]

Thanks all.

BV - no noticeable pest damage on any of the trees. I didn't spray anything on them this year either. 1 tree was struggling early on with some brown leaves but it's back to full strength. I looked them all over last weekend and am not seeing any CAR on any either. Lucky so far but just a few months in though.

 

[H20fwler]

Looks very nice, well done!

Only word of advice I would give is to keep an eye on any low growing stuff (branches, leafs or suckers) inside your screens and nip them off so trees put growth up into wood you want.