Apple grafts

[THunter]

Pulled the tape off of my last tree today, a W & T graft. It looks really good too. Those are harder for me to do but they make a nice union.

 

[aerospacefarmer]

I have tons of room and I have gone to all dwarf rootstocks

 

[2ndHand]

I have tons of room and I have gone to all dwarf rootstocks

What's your long term goal for your orchard? Will you be selling apples or focus primarily on cider? Thanks!

 

[aerospacefarmer]

Been giving them away so far but may sell in the future. Can only eat so many and drink so much cider. It's been hobby so far and has been tons of fun

 

[2ndHand]

Been giving them away so far but may sell in the future. Can only eat so many and drink so much cider. It's been hobby so far and has been tons of fun

I will probably retire in 7 - 8 years so I was thinking of developing a small orchard for farmers market type sales. More for something interesting to do than for income. Thanks for the reply!

 

[greyphase]

I have tons of room and I have gone to all dwarf rootstocks

Paul
What dwarf rootstock are you using?

 

[Maya]

These are the results of my Ida Reds I changed over to Libertys this spring. They put on 4-5'. They were B9's that were in the ground for two years.

 

[aerospacefarmer]

Those look good George and I am using G.11 that I got from Cummins this last winter

 

[Maya]

What are grafting to them?I like to use less vigorous varieties on them, it's a good match. Cortland, Fuji, etc.

 

[aerospacefarmer]

Well there was no plan so I used what scionwood I got from the guys in this forum. I got red Rome, yellow and red delicious, Belle de Bos Koop, rein de reinettes, black Oxford, zestar, daybreak Fuji and frostbite

 

[Maya]

Maya,

What type of grafts do you use on your trees?

Cleft on top working trees.

 

[Maya]

Well there was no plan so I used what scionwood I got from the guys in this forum. I got red Rome, yellow and red delicious, Belle de Bos Koop, rein de reinettes, black Oxford, zestar, daybreak Fuji and frostbite

That will be interesting. Zestar!s grow like crazy and Daybreak Fuji are very weak growers. Maybe the G11 will help them some. Make sure you thin the snot out of them too. They put out a lot of apples but will be very small if you don't thin them well.

These are a few Honeycrisp on B9.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Hey Aero -
I noticed in your pix that some of your apple trees had limbs hanging right at or over the edges of the wire cages. Don't they get nipped by deer? If not, what's your secret? I had some of our newer plantings nipped that stuck thru the cement mesh cages just in the last week. They even stuck their muzzles thru the squares to get a few more inches.

 

[aerospacefarmer]

Thanks for the input George and I love Cortland so I will hopefully be grafting some of them this year. I need to read that Penn State Apple Guide some more. Bows in the pics I posted here the deer can't reach yet as the opening is wide enough on either side. The sing,e caged trees get nipped all the time yes but it saves me on some pruning in the winter. I was amazed at how much they are hitting the leaves now with all the goods around including corn and brassicas

 

[THunter]

Hey Aero -
They even stuck their muzzles thru the squares to get a few more inches.

I've had 'em doing that so I had to wrap my concrete wire with chicken wire. That works pretty good and is cheap.

 

[2ndHand]

Maya, Your orchard looks great!!! Which varieties are your biggest sellers? Here's what I have picked out so far for apples to sell at farmers market/roadside - Liberty, Cortland, Honeycrisp, Honeygold, Harrelson, and Zestar!s . Also looking at Empire and or Spartan. Thank you!!

 

[aerospacefarmer]

I can't take the time to wrap cages in concrete. I will wait until the trees outgrow the deer

 

[Maya]

Maya, Your orchard looks great!!! Which varieties are your biggest sellers? Here's what I have picked out so far for apples to sell at farmers market/roadside - Liberty, Cortland, Honeycrisp, Honeygold, Harrelson, and Zestar!s . Also looking at Empire and or Spartan. Thank you!!

Looks good. Take time to really look at maturity times. You are heavy in later maturing varieties there, so grow a lot of Zestar!s or add some Gala's.

By far my best seller is Honeycrisp. Half of everything I sell is HC. I'll sell out of them every day in a couple hours, then I start selling the others. Macs are big here in Vt. so they are my next biggest seller followed by Macoun, Zestar!, Gala, Fuji. Everything else is much less. I'd strongly recommend to plant half your orchard in HC. I even get a much higher price for them and they still outsell everything else by a long shot. Also you have to order them 2 years in advanced. I'd also strongly recommend to only grow dwarf trees on a tall spindle system . They are easier to deal with once established and they quality is far superior. You don't get color like this in bigger trees. It will give you a leg up at a market with other growers.

 

[2ndHand]

Looks good. Take time to really look at maturity times. You are heavy in later maturing varieties there, so grow a lot of Zestar!s or add some Gala's.

By far my best seller is Honeycrisp. Half of everything I sell is HC. I'll sell out of them every day in a couple hours, then I start selling the others. Macs are big here in Vt. so they are my next biggest seller followed by Macoun, Zestar!, Gala, Fuji. Everything else is much less. I'd strongly recommend to plant half your orchard in HC. I even get a much higher price for them and they still outsell everything else by a long shot. Also you have to order them 2 years in advanced. I'd also strongly recommend to only grow dwarf trees on a tall spindle system . They are easier to deal with once established and they quality is far superior. You don't get color like this in bigger trees. It will give you a leg up at a market with other growers.View attachment 2253

Maya, Many thanks for the reply!! - I really appreciate your guidance...;) I will adjust what I have Identified to greatly increase the HC - Thank you!!