Growing and Taking Care of Fruit Trees For Beverages

[WVMJ]

Those guys are a little bit serious about cider! One day when our little orchard starts to make a few apples I can see what kind of cool blends we can come up with. WVMJ

WVMJ, just noticed you're in the Cider Workshop as well. I've probably only commented on one thread, but I read it regularly with the daily feed. I think I'm in there as mastdw. Maybe in a decade I'll feel I have more to contribute there.

 

[Quaker]

Scion wood from NW Cider was delivered earlier this month. Rootstocks and scions from Big Horse Creek were delivered today.
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More rootstocks and scions are due from Maple Valley yet. And I have a 20 trees plus some Geneva rootstocks coming closer to May from Cummins.

Spring time activities are just around the corner. I wish I didn't have a toiletless, half-tiled bathroom in my way.

 

[Quaker]

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More rootstocks, including pear plus a couple more apple scions delivered today from Maple Valley.

Just my Cummin order to come yet about a month from now.

 

[stella_tigre]

*am jealous*
Won't get the new trees until...April? After 12 inches of snow this week, rapidly disappearing, it better be late April!

 

[Quaker]

We've been up and down between the 40s and 16 degrees this week with a bit of snow. I'm waffling between just healing the rootstocks in or going ahead grafting and planting them this weekend. Of course I may discover the ground is frozen an inch below the surface. In which case they just keep resting in the keezer.

 

[WVMJ]

You could graft them now and put them back in t he keezer until it was nice enough to plant them out, this gives them time to heal. We just got our rootstocks from Cumins, going to start grafting this weekend. WVMJ

 

[Quaker]

I grafted 11 varieties onto a variety of M.7, M.26, and M.111 today. I still have a handful of G.202 rootstocks coming from Cummins, so 4 scion pieces are stored in the fridge. I planted them out in a little nursery bed to see what survives the year for transplanting next year. I also planted 4 pear rootstocks in their permanent place to bud graft later. I planted 1 each of the apple and pear rootstocks on its own to establish a stoolbed to propagate if needed in the future.

It was good to get the hands in the dirt for the first time of this spring.
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[WVMJ]

Those bees were watching you plant but its going to be at least 3 years before they get any flowers you will let them keep for making apples. We grafted a bunch this weekend, I was yakking and forgot where the knife was and I hope blood helps the grafts this year! WVMJ

 

[uncleleon]

Yeah fruit trees are a bitch. Be super clean. Never leave trimmings or fallen leaves under them. Take away and burn.

 

[Quaker]

Those bees were watching you

The bummer is those hives are empty. I had 5 at the end of January, down to 1 after February, and 0 now. Wisconsin winter is a bitch. I'll be starting over with 3 new packages coming in a few weeks.

My Cummins order will be shipped soon. Included in that are 6 sweet cherry trees to bring some variety around. I've only had Nanking and Hansons bush cherries until now which work nice as a beer adjunct, but they are worthless for eating fresh.

 

[stella_tigre]

Happy news here - the four apples Kingston Black, Dabinett, Yarlington Mills and Golden Russet are in the ground.

 

[Quaker]

I've been remodeling the living room which included re-wiring the old, groundless circuits. I've started repurposing the old wire as branch spreaders to establish the structure of my newer trees. I'll have to see how they hold up with some windy storms. So far it's been relatively calm since installing them.View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1438397451.588991.jpg
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