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  1. Apple Junkie

    Schlabach’s Nursery catalog is out

    If you missed out on some of your favorite apples earlier, all is not lost. Schlabach’s Nursery is probably one of the better family-owned nurseries you have never heard of. Because it is Amish owned, they don’t have a website. They still send out catalogs, and orders are placed by mail and paid...
  2. Apple Junkie

    Early no-mow

    I decided not to mow the grass under some of my larger apple trees this year in order to provide some additional fawning cover early in the year. It appears the fawn stayed hidden until given the "all-clear" signal by momma.
  3. Apple Junkie

    Add flooding to list of apple tree assassins.

    As if a young orchard did not face enough challenge from drought, pests, diseases, hungry deer, and bears being bears, now you can add flood waters! This past week, tropical storm Fred played havoc on my portion of the NY Southern tier. Larger trees weathered the high water relatively well, but...
  4. Apple Junkie

    Good bug, Bad bug

    I like to keep an eye on the creepy-crawly things that attack my new trees. But killing everything that crawls can be counterproductive. One example is the ugly, but deadly to aphids, ladybug in its larva stage. It’s an aphid assassin, eating every one it comes across. In the picture below, you...
  5. Apple Junkie

    Cummins Nursery’s new web-site is finally operational.

    I see Cummins Nursery finally has its web-site up, https://www.cumminsnursery.com/.
  6. Apple Junkie

    Logging road nighttime travelers

    I’ve enjoyed seeing vids other members have posted, so I stitched together a few taken from a cam located along a logging road at our camp. Seeing this, I am reminded why our apple trees have to be caged immediately. We’ve got at least 9 bucks of varying ages wandering around – at least for the...
  7. Apple Junkie

    Bear Guard foiled this thief

    Almost every year, bears and coons cause some damage in my orchard. I got this idea from posts by Willy and Appleman, so I tried it out this year on one tree that seems to attract the most attention every year. This thief certainly thought about going up the tree for a snack, but the stove pipe...
  8. Apple Junkie

    New antlers in velvet

    It’s May first, and new antlers in velvet have started to appear. It will be interesting to see how these develop over the next 4 to 5 months.
  9. Apple Junkie

    Good experience with vendor, Trailcampro.com.

    I use the trailcompro.com website for a somewhat impartial review of the various models of trail cams. About 18 months ago, I decided to support the company by purchasing a trail cam from them since their prices were about the same as everyone else. I noticed they extended the manufactures...
  10. Apple Junkie

    Clear out sale at Cummins

    I did not want to pirate Tree Spuds thread on NWC trees availability, but I got a notice today that Cummins has their fruit trees on sale for 25% off. In fairness, a lot of them are on dwarf rootstocks, but there were some full size and semi-standard trees available too, including Crimson Topaz...
  11. Apple Junkie

    Need some pruning opinions.

    I don’t usually struggle with pruning decisions, but this one has me scratching my head. This is a Frostbite I planted last year. It was headed, with the short stub you see on the left, left on. This past summer, the stub threw off a vertical “leader”, along with a stronger “leader” that angles...
  12. Apple Junkie

    Sundance (Co-op 29)?

    I am fickle when it comes to apples for wildlife. I have some favorites; IdaRed, Florina, Franklin, and Goldrush, but I always have my eye out for the next best variety to try out. I look for disease resistant varieties that produce good crops which drop from October through January. On paper...
  13. Apple Junkie

    Opening day, Steuben County NY

    We measure a successful hunt as a couple days spent sitting on a cold hillside, and a couple nights in a snug one room cabin with family and friends. Opening day, we managed to kill a few bucks, and a few Old Fashions! We left enough big ones wandering the wood to justify a few more trips to the...
  14. Apple Junkie

    It’s a thoroughfare!

    I placed this cam closer to home, which is a mix of suburbs and farms. I was surprised by the variety of animals that regularly pass by this stand.
  15. Apple Junkie

    Odd little caterpillar

    I am curious if anyone might know who this little visitor to my apple tree might be. Lord knows, everything seems to enjoy eating an apple tree, but this one is new to me. Any ideas what this is… good, bad? Or, who to contact to find out? Thanks.
  16. Apple Junkie

    The boys are starting to get testy.

    The bucks are starting to feel their oats around here. I can see several a different bucks squaring off against each other on the cams, this series is just one example. All are still in velvet, but that will change soon too.
  17. Apple Junkie

    Tick patrol?

    This is an interesting sequence, but I am not sure what the purpose of this grooming is. Picking ticks off each other’s nose maybe? Any other ideas? …anyone ever see this among bucks?
  18. Apple Junkie

    Nursery pruned leader

    I recently picked up this nice Wickson crab from Cummins. It looks great, but clearly the leader has been pruned back. I have seen this before, so I know there is a reason for it, but can someone tell me the purpose for this? I am always trying to encourage a central leader, so this leaves me...
  19. Apple Junkie

    Grafting timing question.

    I have rootstocks from last year where my scions did not take. I also have some bare root trees that are now one year old, and in need of a light prune. So, I am wondering if I can take the “pruning” from one tree and then immediately graft it to my rootstock. I don’t see any significant bud...
  20. Apple Junkie

    Used compact tractor advise

    Gentlemen, I find I have a need for a tractor that will be used primarily to maintain a ford across a fairly wide, substantial, rocky creek. My plan is to also use it to also maintain fairly steep logging roads that allow access to various areas of the property. Currently, I have narrowed my...
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