Apples,apples and more apples

[BuckSnort]

My one bucket of 6 or 7 grafts looks pretty puny compared to your operation!

I counted last night and I have 75 trees in what I call the home orchard.” Then there are strings along the swamp and three clusters, plus three rows along one swamp. I guess they are now called wetlands.


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I’ve got 2 buckets going, nowhere near this operation either. But it always exciting when they start showing signs of life!!

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Nice work guys!! Lots of good trees coming from your efforts. Good eats for people AND critters.

Folks 75 years from now will ponder ...…… "I wonder how theses apple trees got here, or who planted them."

 

[chummer]

Nice work guys!! Lots of good trees coming from your efforts. Good eats for people AND critters.

Folks 75 years from now will ponder ...…… "I wonder how theses apple trees got here, or who planted them."

Do you think there was some secret horse and buggy society that went around planting trees and trading seeds 150 years ago?

 

[chummer]

I’ve got 2 buckets going, nowhere near this operation either. But it always exciting when they start showing signs of life!!
View attachment 29351

This look great, how long ago did you graft them.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Do you think there was some secret horse and buggy society that went around planting trees and trading seeds 150 years ago?

No secret society, just settlers and farmers planting trees or seeds. Aren't we sort-of modern day "Johnny Appleseeds?" At some point in the future, I'm sure someone will find trees we planted and wonder about how they got where they find them.

 

[Chainsaw]

Very nice grafting Bucksnort! It looks like you are hitting a 100%.

 

[BuckSnort]

This look great, how long ago did you graft them.

I did my grafting right around the 1st of April, they have been in the basement since then. I’ll start giving them a bit of time outside as the weather & my schedule cooperate. Fingers crossed for good results.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Bucksnort -
What do you have your grafts wrapped with? Are there rubber bands underneath the outer wrapping? What's that process you used?

 

[chummer]

I did my grafting right around the 1st of April, they have been in the basement since then. I’ll start giving them a bit of time outside as the weather & my schedule cooperate. Fingers crossed for good results.

Those are doing great then. I think that is about when I did mine and yours are way ahead.

 

[BuckSnort]

Bucksnort -
What do you have your grafts wrapped with? Are there rubber bands underneath the outer wrapping? What's that process you used?

I just use regular office rubber bands and then put parafilm over the top. I feel like it helps hold the grafts nice and tight, especially where I may not have them lined up perfectly. Usually the UV just degrades everything, every now and then I have to unwrap them late summer. For grafts that fit together really nicely I will skip the rubber band and just use parafilm (As you can see, most have rubber bands! )

 

[Chainsaw]

Finished bought bare root fruit tree planting for the spring of 2020 yesterday. Have most of then weed matted and screened and all of them fenced.
Fertilized with one lb. of nitrogen each another 175 more wild trees yesterday. That completes the first of two planned fertilizer applications for the wild trees for this year. The next step on the fertilized wild trees is to spray roundup around each one if possible as weather and time permits over the next month before the next rounds of nitrogen are applied.

Also yesterday began planting grafted root stock to outside. Got twelve planted which means we are two percent done with that planting and only 98 Percent more to go. Am enjoying a rain day today— got to love rain when it comes just after the last bare root trees are planted and the last batch of wild trees have been fertilized.

One of our treasured extremely large 45 ft. tall wild apple trees died two years ago and has fallen down. I think the minus thirty- five degrees we had a few years ago is what did it in. Anne and I went out with our silky saws and cut a few branches from it. Anne is cutting pieces from the apple tree branches which she plans to resin into a breakfast bar she is having me make from some curly maple slabs. The breakfast bar project is held up as she awaits the cutting and installation of her kitchen counter which is on hold due to it being non-essential work according to NY guidelines. With a little luck the kitchen guy will install the counter just about the time the grafted root stocks and apple tree seedlings sprouting in jugs are completely planted. The branches we cut don't look like much now but I expect they will when she is done with them.
Here are some pieces she cut off of a hickory and some of our other trees.



Don't expect results soon as she works on ten projects at a time but eventually they all get to completion.
Note: Though it was a rain day about a 1/4 acre of five ft. tall pine was cut down as part of prepping for 2021 spring apple tree planting. Not much of an accomplishment but at least it was another step forward.

 

[chummer]

Well done. Do know anyone that can deliver me 5 tons or so of lime?

 

[Chainsaw]

I'd try Rudds from exit 44. If you can't find their number give me a call and I'll find it. Their service has always been great and pricing has always been fair. We haven't bought lime in a while though. If they can't do it we can check other possibilities.

 

[chummer]

I'd try Rudds from exit 44. If you can't find their number give me a call and I'll find it. Their service and pricing has always been fair. We haven't bought lime in a while though. If they can't do it we can check other possibilities.

Thanks, I will give them a call tomorrow. I only need a couple tons for the new plot but might as well hit all the plots again.

 

[chummer]

Dave, the trees I Transplanted were planted three years ago. The spruce I could pull out by hand and got a pretty good ball of roots. The apples were a little harder. I took about half of what I had planted. A few never grew much so I skipped those. The rest if I could get the shovel in the ground they popped out okay. Not a great amount of roots but they should survive. Will be stunted their year for sure. These were planted with a dibble bar so some I couldn’t get the shovel in at all so I left those. The next guy will have a couple dozen apples that some day he will say that crazy guy could grow apples here. Everything is at lawyer so hopefully I will be closing this chapter soon.

 

[Chainsaw]

Dave, the trees I Transplanted were planted three years ago. The spruce I could pull out by hand and got a pretty good ball of roots. The apples were a little harder. I took about half of what I had planted. A few never grew much so I skipped those. The rest if I could get the shovel in the ground they popped out okay. Not a great amount of roots but they should survive. Will be stunted their year for sure. These were planted with a dibble bar so some I couldn’t get the shovel in at all so I left those. The next guy will have a couple dozen apples that some day he will say that crazy guy could grow apples here. Everything is at lawyer so hopefully I will be closing this chapter soon.

The closing coming sounds great. Regarding the apple trees you moved were the roots not a great amount because they got tore up in the transplant or did they not grow large roots to begin with? Might they have grown more roots at your home nursery? And did you amend the soil on their original planting on the hill? I know most write ups say not to but it seems that planting into such tough ground and rocks is a maybe more of a challenge than young apple trees need to endure. I did not amend the soil here other than removing all the rocks dug out of each planting hole but it just didn't feel right doing that. Thoughts on that?

 

[chummer]

Pretty happy with the grafts so far. 15 look good, 3 iffy, 2 not so good.

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[chummer]

Made it to camp to finish off my plantings for this year. I put in a row of midwest crabapples. I highly recommend these if you are looking for an edible screen. They grow great, even in my horrible conditions. I forgot to get a pic of some I planted 4 years ago. They were one grade above these which were the smallest trees I have planted. They eventually turn into a shrub but are great for pollination help. I actually had some fruit last year already. Tiny fruit for birds but that is not their appeal.

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[chummer]

My grafts from this year, which are all late dropping varieties will go into this plot I just cleared. I transplanted a few from a property I am selling along with a few spruce. This plot connects to my other orchard plot which is great except it is closer to the road. I will screen it off but it will take a few years. Pics are a spruce I pulled and the best two dolgo seedlings. Tapatalk just cut me off so that is all for now

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[chummer]

The closing coming sounds great. Regarding the apple trees you moved were the roots not a great amount because they got tore up in the transplant or did they not grow large roots to begin with? Might they have grown more roots at your home nursery? And did you amend the soil on their original planting on the hill? I know most write ups say not to but it seems that planting into such tough ground and rocks is a maybe more of a challenge than young apple trees need to endure. I did not amend the soil here other than removing all the rocks dug out of each planting hole but it just didn't feel right doing that. Thoughts on that?

I think they got tore up from me ripping them out. The rootballs varied greatly based on how deep I could get the shovel through the rock. No amendments, they were dibble bared in, tubed, and then removed three years later.