turkey apple

[jaximus]

just what i needed... ANOTHER hobby... ive been stung and gotten the turkey hunting bug. we have a nice variety of deer apples, but the smallest we have is centennial. we are working on establishing chestnuts and oaks as well, but that is many years out.

so im looking for a good turkey apple. im thinking something that we can put along the edge of our field to help with population surveys.

i have a buddy who has a tiny crab that holds basically year round that the turkeys pound in the winter when the snow gets deep.

maybe something to help with pollination of a few centennials that we have a ways from the rest of the orchard.

any ideas welcome!

thanks,
jack

 

[greyphase]

Adirondack and Centurion both produce small fruit that hold through out the winter. St. Lawrence Nursery sells the Adirondack. Pm me if you want some Centurion scion.

 

[rocksnstumps]

Many of the NWTF branches in WI offer habitat trees just for being a member and signing up for a distribution in the spring. Some of this is funded by the national organization by giving money back to the states. Some tend to only offer a chance to sign up if you attend their yearly banquets. Still, they can have decent bareroots available. Not saying they are THE best but in the past they have had Red Splendor, Sargent, and Siberian crabapples to distribute. They all grow fine in zone 4b. Give them plenty of sun however. Trying to plant to close to an edge of a woods or in small openings that look good until canopy closes back up in a few years leads to poor survival. Yeah, I'm a little smarter now than 10 yrs ago.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Like Greyphase, ^^^^^ - my first thought was Centurion. He's right with the Adirondack, too. I got some un-named small (1/2") crabs from county conservation district sales too. Turkeys, grouse and deer all eat them and they produce every year. Un-named - but they get the job done !! Good luck.

 

[chummer]

Look at cold stream nursery's mid west crab. It is a bush forming crab used for field edges and wind breaks. I believe they hold their fruit into the winter. They also grow very fast. I planted seedlings the size of a pencil two years ago and last year they were waste high already.

 

[PackerBacker]

Many of the NWTF branches in WI offer habitat trees just for being a member and signing up for a distribution in the spring. Some of this is funded by the national organization by giving money back to the states. Some tend to only offer a chance to sign up if you attend their yearly banquets. Still, they can have decent bareroots available. Not saying they are THE best but in the past they have had Red Splendor, Sargent, and Siberian crabapples to distribute. They all grow fine in zone 4b. Give them plenty of sun however. Trying to plant to close to an edge of a woods or in small openings that look good until canopy closes back up in a few years leads to poor survival. Yeah, I'm a little smarter now than 10 yrs ago.

Right now, WI Chapter is offering a subsidy for the purchase of Red Splendor crabapples thru the NWTF for members.

 

[jaximus]

i just signed up for the NWTF the other day. seemed worth the little bit it costs for the membership. lots of great info here guys, thank you very much!

@PackerBacker, is that subsidy through the web site that the NWTF sells their plants/seeds from or do i have to go about it different?

 

[PackerBacker]

Yes - here is the link to get to the order form. http://www.nwtf.org/conservation/article/seed-subsidy

I order the crabapples last year and added to my turkey plot. This year I picked up the cranberrybush.

 

[jaximus]

thanks a bunch! ive been trying to use my phone instead of the computer, but the phone cant open the file. guess im gonna have to find a chance to sit down and look

 

[PackerBacker]

thanks a bunch! ive been trying to use my phone instead of the computer, but the phone cant open the file. guess im gonna have to find a chance to sit down and look

You may need to download an app that can view a pdf. That is what the Wisconsin link will take you to.