Winter Wildlife Crab

[Bowsnbucks]

Do any of you guys have any experience with Winter Wildlife Crab from SLN? It reads like a good one but I'd like to get some first-hand info from anyone who's been growing it. I think I saw in some past thread that some of the members here have it, but I can't remember where. Any input??

 

[CrazyEd]

Greyphase has one and i've grafted 4 from the scions he sent me. As the name implies its a real winner.

 

[greyphase]

Here's a pic of mine from this summer. It's been a reliable producer even after a bear "pruned" it a couple of years ago :mad:. No disease problems either.

You might as well grab one Bows, don't think you'll be sorry.

Rick

www.alleghenymountainwanderings.blogspot.com

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Thanks for the pic Grey! WW crab looks like a beauty. I may get 2 just for a back-up. I've already got 10 kinds of crabs planted at my camp and I'm ordering WW crab, Violi's, and MORE Dolgo, Chestnut & All-Winter-Hangover crabs. I have those last 3 already planted, but I want more of them. They're growing really well.

Ed - how are your grafts of WW crab coming along?

 

[CrazyEd]

Ed - how are your grafts of WW crab coming along?

This one I grafted May 2013 and planted at the farm April 2014.

I thought the apple sounded good enough i asked rick for more scions and I think i grafted 3 or 4 more this past spring. They're in my garden and will likely nurse there one more year before heading to the farm.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Ed - How big do you let the WW crabs get when you " nurse " them ( before you plant in final spot )? I've usually only planted whips - or trees w/ only 1 or 2 small branches. Are yours branched like the last pic when you plant? ^^^^^^^

 

[CrazyEd]

So in May of 2013 I did my first batch of grafts. Here's what they looked like on November 2nd, 2013. As you can see they were all whips, i think one galarina tree was branching and I picked off the buds to stop branching to keep it growing north. So obviously trees like this in fall, when planted in spring they were still whips. The tree pictured above, i'm not sure when that picture was but obviously once it was planted it branched like crazy. I like whips, I want my trees growing north, but at the same point more leaves and smaller branches help catch sun and help it grow, plus some crab trees i'm fine if they grow a bit bushy. I can always try and clean up the form once they get a little older.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

When do the winter wildlife crabs drop their fruit? I'm really starting to think that I need to concentrate on adding different types of crabapples since I have a pretty good base of regular apples with different drop times. I killed a buck this fall in MN during the gun season that was gorging himself under a wild crabapple tree on a friend's farm. I'm hoping to pick up some seeds from that tree just to see what grows and also maybe try grafting from that specific tree since it clearly is perfect for my area.

 

[sandbur]

You guys are the worst enablers... I am trying soooooo hard to just say nooooooo more. I have 10 on order already for this spring.... But wait, I don't have any WW crabs and they could be the chit. Maybe just one. If I do one, I might as well order 5.......Nooooooo....Step away Jeff. Just step away :D

Jeff-I was tempted also. Then I reread the SLN description....I've all ready got 3 seedlings that have held3/4 to 1 inch apples through this date. I have scion in front of my nose, even if they might nto be annualk bearers.

However-did anyone look at Red June? Ripens early to late.
Sharon -ripens over long season.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Red June and Sharon sound interesting with their extended harvest times. They should provide food for the deer for maybe 2 months? I decided to pull the trigger on a Minnesota 1734 too. ( along with all the other varieties I ordered ) I like the idea of heavy annual crops, it's a russet, and it's a later hanging apple. I was told by an owner of Eastman's Antique Apples in Michigan that russet apples are generally hardier & moderately disease resistant. Good dependable trees. So I added the Minn. 1734 to my SLN order. I'm getting 10 apples and crabs from them this year.

I have to stop looking at their catalog. Every time I look thru it, I see something else that I want to try !!!

 

[sandbur]

SLN catalog is like the toy catalogs that used to come when we were 7 or 8 year old kids.

I like to keep mentioning these apples, but so far have not placed an order for this year.
(My alterior motive is to have a source of scion if SLN is out of business.)


So does anyone have Mn1734 scion?

for guys in the far north, Norland and Prairie Magic were considered very hardy by those people at last fall's apple meeting in Staples, Mn.

 

[chummer]

This apple thing has become my crack. I already have 20 trees coming from cummins but I have a first draft order of another 10 from SLN. I can't stop myself, and now I am thinking I need to border all my plots with hazelnuts. I will have a backhoe on site this year so I would like to get all foreseeable plantings done. I am strongly considering turning my whole food plot into an orchard. If you had limited space would you rather have a one acre plot with 20 trees around the edges or a one acre orchard. Of coarse I still don't know if I can get an apple tree to live to bearing age. I think I have cabin fever already. I should just burn this catalog before I get into real trouble.

 

[sandbur]

chummer-I just posted that I try to limit my apple projects to 12 trees per year. I all ready have more plans than that.

with orders like chummer's, maybe SLN will have a last year sale every year???? Just kidding!

 

[chummer]

chummer-I just posted that I try to limit my apple projects to 12 trees per year. I all ready have more plans than that.

with orders like chummer's, maybe SLN will have a last year sale every year???? Just kidding!

My fear is that after all their orders come in they are going to post a liquidation sale. I would imagine they are going to have hundreds of trees to get rid of. Yup, the catalog must go.

 

[CrazyEd]

Red June and Sharon sound interesting with their extended harvest times. They should provide food for the deer for maybe 2 months? I decided to pull the trigger on a Minnesota 1734 too. ( along with all the other varieties I ordered ) I like the idea of heavy annual crops, it's a russet, and it's a later hanging apple. I was told by an owner of Eastman's Antique Apples in Michigan that russet apples are generally hardier & moderately disease resistant. Good dependable trees. So I added the Minn. 1734 to my SLN order. I'm getting 10 apples and crabs from them this year.

I have to stop looking at their catalog. Every time I look thru it, I see something else that I want to try !!!

My Roxbury russet did not prove to be very hardy. It was the only tree I lost this past winter.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Join the club, Chummer !! Aren't we all addicted to this stuff? Kind of explains why we're all on this forum EVERY day! To answer your ? about the plot - I'd have a food plot surrounded by fruit / nut trees. Longer season of MORE VARIETY of food provided. Food plots are higher in protein as opposed to fruit which is carbs. Protein grows bodies / racks, aids in milk production. Fruit is candy.

Bur - It wouldn't piss me off if SLN had a " last year " sale every year. Or a " reunion " sale. Some of the varieties they have you can't find anywhere else.

Ed - I'm not as far north as you and don't get the severe cold you guys up there get, so I'm hoping for the best w/ the Minn. 1734. My camp is border of Zone 6 & 5. If it turns out not-so-good, I've got lots of other apples planted to take up the slack !! Worth a shot.

A thought just came to mind - imagine if we all had a piece of property together ( kind of a habitat junkies' co-op ), and we could all work together on it. Say 500 - 800 acres. Some of us are farmers, heavy equip. operators, building trades people, etc. Can you picture what we could accomplish??? All addicted, results-oriented, habitat-heads working to build a dream property.

When I read some of the comments above - and on other threads - that's what made me think of the " habitat-junkies' co-op. " What one of us wouldn't think of - another guy would !! As much as we all seem to have cabin fever, can you picture a batch of us turned loose on 500 - 800 acres??? !!!:eek::eek::eek::):):):D

 

[sandbur]

Bowsnbucks-We have a loose group in Minnesota of guys that do land tours and had a grafting class last spring. Our lands are not close to each other but we do share lots of information and the discussions are great after the land tours.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Bur - I always read the posts about the land tours you guys do up there. When I mentioned a 500 - 800 acre co-op with all of us working on it, I was picturing mentally what could be accomplished on that acreage. With the " fever " we all seem to have, it would probably turn into a deer haven! And we'd have a helluva good time doing it - I believe. Probably good times busting each others' stones too in the process! From what you Minn. guys post, you must have a pretty good time on the land tours.

 

[sandbur]

I've met some great people on these land tours. all are committed to deer and deer hunting.

 

[sandbur]

Jeff-I was tempted also. Then I reread the SLN description....I've all ready got 3 seedlings that have held3/4 to 1 inch apples through this date. I have scion in front of my nose, even if they might nto be annualk bearers.

However-did anyone look at Red June? Ripens early to late.
Sharon -ripens over long season.

I have resisted temptation on the SLN catalog and will probably steel a scion or two from this tree. Bur's Winter Wildlife Crab.