Wildlife Group has Franklin Ciders

[Telemark]

Can 1 tree of a specific variety provide enough volume of Apple juice to make a difference in the grand scheme of things?

You mean a difference in volume or a difference in flavor?

 

[trampledbyturtles]

You mean a difference in volume or a difference in flavor?

Both, but primairly volume (5gal/tree?), current plan is to shred an freeze the liquid as is. Then blend an ferment in the lab during the long winter.

 

[aerospacefarmer]

Sence we are on the topic of cider,
had a question I wanted to ask.

I am starting a backyard orchard with cider in mind. Have room for 10 semi dwarf (b118) trees on 25ft spacing. 5 r going in the ground this spring (Golden R, Frostbite, Kingston Black, Ashmeads K, Hewes C).

Can 1 tree of a specific variety provide enough volume of Apple juice to make a difference in the grand scheme of things?
Never done this before, don't even know how much juice a tree will give a guy.

I think the answer is yes depending on what the other varieties are however. I think you have some excellent choices o will be planting. Kingston Black by itself makes. Great smooth hard cider

 

[Benja]

Kingston Black was awesome as a single variety and there were a few batches that were disappointing. I have over 100 varieties of apples although quite a few are single trees. Recent years I have been planting and grafting cider varieties originating in France and England as well as a few great American cider varieties. Truth is any Apple can make good cider but most experts of which I am not claim a blend of sweet, bittersweet, sharp and bittersharp make the best hard ciders. Get a book or 2 about cider making or google cider varieties and see what might be interesting. Making hard cider is pretty easy and fun. I have a partial list of some varieties I have in the scion exchange thread

What's your opinion on Golden Russet and Black Oxford apples for sweet cider and/or apple juice?

 

[aerospacefarmer]

What's your opinion on Golden Russet and Black Oxford apples for sweet cider and/or apple juice?

I think Golden Russet is a great well balanced apple for cider and has good sweetness. I haven’t had any apples yet from my Black Oxford trees

 

[Telemark]

Kingston Black by itself makes. Great smooth hard cider

Is Kingston Black hardy enough for Zone 4?

 

[aerospacefarmer]

Is Kingston Black hardy enough for Zone 4?

Seems it’s cold tolerant to zone 5 even though it says it’s cold tolerant to -20F. Zone 4 may be pushing it

 

[sandbur]

What's your opinion on Golden Russet and Black Oxford apples for sweet cider and/or apple juice?

I think Golden Russet is a great well balanced apple for cider and has good sweetness. I haven’t had any apples yet from my Black Oxford trees

Does Golden Russet show much disease?


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[roymunson]

Ya'll worry to much about what other guys pay for stuff. Maybe he's making 18x more than you are and has the disposable income to spend more on trees. What's it hurting you?

 

[aerospacefarmer]

Does Golden Russet show much disease?


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Mine haven’t shown enough to impact fruiting or even quality of fruit but remember Sandbar I spray so I guess I am an orchardist and not wildlife guy like others here. It’s a great eating apple too in my opinion

 

[yoderjac]

Ya'll worry to much about what other guys pay for stuff. Maybe he's making 18x more than you are and has the disposable income to spend more on trees. What's it hurting you?

I don't think any of us really care what others choose to spend on trees or seed or whatever. However most folks reading this forum are resource constrained. What folks are discussing is whether the premiums paid for some of the hyped products are worth the value that those products have over others or not. So the question might be something like "Would my deer be better off with 3 trees of variety A or 6 trees of variety B?" and the answer may be different for different folks.

 

[H20fwler]

Does Golden Russet show much disease?


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I have a couple of them, haven’t seen any sign of disease with mine. They were slow to take off until this past year they finally took off and doubled in size, haven’t fruited yet but they have blossomed in spring.
Mine are on P18 planted in rich loamy clay full sun.

 

[roymunson]

I don't think any of us really care what others choose to spend on trees or seed or whatever. However most folks reading this forum are resource constrained. What folks are discussing is whether the premiums paid for some of the hyped products are worth the value that those products have over others or not. So the question might be something like "Would my deer be better off with 3 trees of variety A or 6 trees of variety B?" and the answer may be different for different folks.

I completely get that. But I guess I missed the part where he asked "is that too much?" He seemed pretty satisfied with the price and quantity he got. In fact, he said how many were left so someone could buy the remainder. He didn't ask for advice on pricing anywhere. I guess you could assume, but you know what that does...

 

[yoderjac]

I completely get that. But I guess I missed the part where he asked "is that too much?" He seemed pretty satisfied with the price and quantity he got. In fact, he said how many were left so someone could buy the remainder. He didn't ask for advice on pricing anywhere. I guess you could assume, but you know what that does...

Keep in my that volunteering information and opinion outside answering the direct question is common here. Unlike email or private messages, public forums are read by many more folks than those who post. When I respond to a post, I'll often state what I know is obvious to the OP, but what may be missing from new folks. A lot of new folks getting into this get a lot of hype from the hunting shows and such. It is good for them to see folks challenging that.

It is kind of funny though, this is a Franklin Cider Apple thread, and I was one of the guys who was pointing out how effective marketing allows for a premium. Yet, I actually ordered a pair of them. They are not even rated for my zone and may not perform at all. I certainly would not by 20 of them to address part of the apple component of my program. However, just like BOB seed fills a niche, the cost of a pair of trees is small. I bought them to experiment with. It is my understanding that Franklin was a wild tree found. I like the idea of trees that have not been clonally propagated for many generations. I believe they have adapted along with their diseases and pests unlike those who have been genetically fixed for many years and grown in great numbers and concentrations. See Native's Forbidden apple thread for more on this. At any rate, some apples like Dolgo seem to be much truer to seed than others. Crabs and wild trees seem to be this way to some degree. So, if Franklin does well in my zone and I think it is worth it, I may use these trees as a seed source. I don't know if I'll ever make cider but retirement is just a few years away.

Most things have a niche somewhere. Trying to make the cost/reward decisions are not always easy and I've changed my approach to many things and I've watched guys on there challenge each other.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Gotta agree with Jack on the extra / slightly off-topic info on the forum. Many of us here that post regularly or are long-time lurkers know and have digested much of the info here. But for folks just getting started or that have just found this forum, this info may be brand new to them. Going a little off dead-center of a thread topic is common here and not a big deal (to me) and probably most guys. I know I've gained a batch of extra "side-light" info from all the reading I've done on here that was a bit off the topic. It's still a gain.

I learn something new most times I get on here, even if it wasn't necessarily "on-topic" or what I expected to find/read.

 

[buckvelvet]

I have Kingston Black growing like gangbusters in my orchard on Antonovka, I field grafted a failed graft with a scion from Paul in April of 2017. That tree is going to be a monster. I don't have Golden Russet, I got some from Stu but a storage issue caused those grafts to fail. I have a Michigan old relic coming this spring to graft called Fall Russet that I'm exciting about adding.

 

[buckvelvet]

P.S. I about fell out of my chair when someone said they paid $45 for an apple tree. Then someone mentioned $65, sheesh, my humble life style is surely offended by you snobs. :)

 

[White Birch Farm]

I have about a dozen of the Franklin’s Allen had last year that are in the ground now. Presumably, the 7 gal trees the OP got are the same trees and have just been potted for a year. Several of the trees were pretty low quality when they shipped with one or two downright hideous. Not surprisingly. I saw a wide variety of performance last amongst them. Regardless, collectively they grew very well and have very good form.

Here is one of the better performers only a few months after planting as a bare root.