I’m going to plant apple trees

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ThePreBanMan
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Re: I’m going to plant apple trees

Unread postby ThePreBanMan » Tue Dec 14, 2021 2:33 pm

Make sure you get an apple tree / breed that is well suited to your area. Apple trees in particular are prone to fungal infections such as rust that can kill the tree. Make sure to get a breed that is resistant to the pests and plagues in your area and also suitable to your climate.


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Re: I’m going to plant apple trees

Unread postby ThePreBanMan » Tue Dec 14, 2021 2:35 pm

Ryan549 wrote:I graft and plant a lot of apples. It’s become more than a hobby and I love what an apple can provide for the deer.
I’ll just start with the basics so this doesn’t get long winded- feel free to ask more questions on here or by message.
Cultivars- you cannot go wrong with Liberty, Enterprise, Kerr(crabapple)
I still have liberty and enterprise hanging here on the south shore of Lake Ontario . They crop annually and heavy.
Kerr will handle the coldest of cold and the deer here devour it.
Biggest things- whatever variety you choose, it must be rootstock that will fill your goals of the tree. Disease resistance is a huge factor- unless you want to spend time and money spraying every 14-21 days. Drop times need to be considered as I doubt you want an apple dropping in August- for hunting purposes anyway.
Pollination is also critical, ensuring a good crop.
I love talking apples!


Maybe you can help me with mine. I have a couple of goldens and a couple of reds. I have to spray to prevent rust. Any organic solutions for that or is it liquid copper and captan?
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Re: I’m going to plant apple trees

Unread postby UntouchableNess » Tue Dec 14, 2021 3:20 pm

I don’t spray the apple trees and they do fine. Fruit might have blemishes and some have apple maggots, but the deer and livestock don’t care.

Peach trees are a different story, die off rather readily without spray.
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Re: I’m going to plant apple trees

Unread postby Ryan549 » Wed Dec 15, 2021 2:51 am

ThePreBanMan wrote:
Ryan549 wrote:I graft and plant a lot of apples. It’s become more than a hobby and I love what an apple can provide for the deer.
I’ll just start with the basics so this doesn’t get long winded- feel free to ask more questions on here or by message.
Cultivars- you cannot go wrong with Liberty, Enterprise, Kerr(crabapple)
I still have liberty and enterprise hanging here on the south shore of Lake Ontario . They crop annually and heavy.
Kerr will handle the coldest of cold and the deer here devour it.
Biggest things- whatever variety you choose, it must be rootstock that will fill your goals of the tree. Disease resistance is a huge factor- unless you want to spend time and money spraying every 14-21 days. Drop times need to be considered as I doubt you want an apple dropping in August- for hunting purposes anyway.
Pollination is also critical, ensuring a good crop.
I love talking apples!


Maybe you can help me with mine. I have a couple of goldens and a couple of reds. I have to spray to prevent rust. Any organic solutions for that or is it liquid copper and captan?


Finding disease resistant cultivars that meet your needs is highly recommended. You can graft ANY apple that you desire onto apple rootstock.
Liberty, Pristine, Williams Pride, Enterprise, Goldrush(very late dropper) these are all great producers and require very little maintenance.

You can source scionwood from local trees or can go the route of trading or purchasing the North American Scion Exchange. They have a Facebook page as well as a website. Basically you ship me some of what I want, I ship you some of what you want. More often than not, no money changes hands.

Spraying can be great for the fruit, but requires time and money. My trees aren’t sprayed and have some blemishes, but taste fantastic.
Ryan
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Re: I’m going to plant apple trees

Unread postby Edcyclopedia » Wed Dec 15, 2021 10:56 am

All this grafting reminds me of a song...
"You put the lime in the coconut - lime in th coconut " :mrgreen:
Expect the Unexpected when you least Expect it...
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Re: I’m going to plant apple trees

Unread postby UntouchableNess » Fri Dec 17, 2021 1:07 am

https://www.deerassociation.com/plantin ... 12-16-2021

I saw this and thought it might add to the conversation, though I have not listened to it.
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Re: I’m going to plant apple trees

Unread postby Edcyclopedia » Thu Dec 23, 2021 8:54 am

Expect the Unexpected when you least Expect it...
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Re: I’m going to plant apple trees

Unread postby UntouchableNess » Thu Dec 23, 2021 1:10 pm

Edcyclopedia wrote:Looks easy :mrgreen:

LOL

Took a botany class in college where we grafted apple trees, but as a college student, I didn't have a place to plant it. Only tried a couple of times after and don't think I've had a successful graft.
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Re: I’m going to plant apple trees

Unread postby Ryan549 » Thu Dec 23, 2021 2:09 pm

Here is some rootstock and one of the graft unions from this past March. I did 150 trees, had two failures, the rootstock survived so it can graft onto it again next year.
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Re: I’m going to plant apple trees

Unread postby mike_mc » Sat Dec 25, 2021 4:03 am

Any advice on digging holes in gravel soil? Looks like it cost $60-110 to rent an auger. See some for sale for around $250. I also seen they have augers you can use on a handheld drill, but that would be a small hole. My brother and I ordered 25 apple, 25 hazelnut and 25 Chinese chestnut.
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Re: I’m going to plant apple trees

Unread postby Ryan549 » Sat Dec 25, 2021 4:44 am

mike_mc wrote:Any advice on digging holes in gravel soil? Looks like it cost $60-110 to rent an auger. See some for sale for around $250. I also seen they have augers you can use on a handheld drill, but that would be a small hole. My brother and I ordered 25 apple, 25 hazelnut and 25 Chinese chestnut.


Wolverine makes a pointed and spade shovel that is all steel. Must weigh close to 15 pounds each. I use that for busting into the soil and then I use a half sized wooden pointed shovel to actually scoop out the soil.
I never backfill with any gravel- stones don’t hold water, I don’t want them in my backfill. A good mix of native soil, compost or manure and some peat seems to work well for me.

My kids are 7 and 12- I make them dig holes as well.
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Re: I’m going to plant apple trees

Unread postby mike_mc » Sat Dec 25, 2021 5:24 am

Ryan549 wrote:
mike_mc wrote:Any advice on digging holes in gravel soil? Looks like it cost $60-110 to rent an auger. See some for sale for around $250. I also seen they have augers you can use on a handheld drill, but that would be a small hole. My brother and I ordered 25 apple, 25 hazelnut and 25 Chinese chestnut.


Wolverine makes a pointed and spade shovel that is all steel. Must weigh close to 15 pounds each. I use that for busting into the soil and then I use a half sized wooden pointed shovel to actually scoop out the soil.
I never backfill with any gravel- stones don’t hold water, I don’t want them in my backfill. A good mix of native soil, compost or manure and some peat seems to work well for me.

My kids are 7 and 12- I make them dig holes as well.


Is this the one?
http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/produ ... mnum=69145
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Re: I’m going to plant apple trees

Unread postby Ryan549 » Sat Dec 25, 2021 10:32 am

mike_mc wrote:
Ryan549 wrote:
mike_mc wrote:Any advice on digging holes in gravel soil? Looks like it cost $60-110 to rent an auger. See some for sale for around $250. I also seen they have augers you can use on a handheld drill, but that would be a small hole. My brother and I ordered 25 apple, 25 hazelnut and 25 Chinese chestnut.


Wolverine makes a pointed and spade shovel that is all steel. Must weigh close to 15 pounds each. I use that for busting into the soil and then I use a half sized wooden pointed shovel to actually scoop out the soil.
I never backfill with any gravel- stones don’t hold water, I don’t want them in my backfill. A good mix of native soil, compost or manure and some peat seems to work well for me.

My kids are 7 and 12- I make them dig holes as well.


Is this the one?
http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/produ ... mnum=69145


Yes.
It is worth the money. That spade shovel chops through tree roots like butter. The foot pads are nice, but with the weight of the shovel will do most of the work for you.
Like I said before, I keep a very light shovel close by for cleaning out the hole, you can wear yourself out pretty quickly trying to use the steel one for all of it.

Just my opinion from years of digging holes. You could go to war with those shovels.
Ryan
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Re: I’m going to plant apple trees

Unread postby DEERSLAYER » Thu Dec 30, 2021 5:40 pm

Here is something I wrote about 10 years ago on old neglected apple trees in case you have any of those around that need some TLC or just for some general information on the types of pruning cuts etc. It's not the same as training a new young tree but thought it might be helpful none the less.

viewtopic.php?t=6365
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Re: I’m going to plant apple trees

Unread postby oldrank » Thu Dec 30, 2021 11:56 pm

DEERSLAYER wrote:
DEERSLAYER wrote:Give me a call. Lots of your questions can be quickly answered that way but if you like doing the research yourself have at it.

I would say there are 3 main rootstocks you want to consider for deer. B118 (I love this one), Dolgo & MM111. B118 & MM111 are reproduced by "stooling". Dolgo by seed.

Also, it's important to realize that apples don't usually drop when they ripen so don't assume the ripening date is when they drop. It may take weeks or months before they drop. Or they may even rot on the tree. Some can drop right before they ripen. Ripening dates also vary on where you live compared to where the nursery giving the ripening dates is located.

There are a lot of things to know.

Dunstan chestnuts were mentioned earlier. They are good but there are better tasting, more cold tolerant chestnuts than Dunstan. Their claim to be part American chestnut is a joke. Genetic testing showed they were something like 0.03% American chestnut. Or maybe it was a little more than that but it is a joke. They are also seedlings. Not grafted, so drop times will vary.

Just to be clear I was referring to different apple varieties acting different ways. I didn't mean to imply you could expect this to happen on the same tree that is one variety.

Something you may want to try once you learn to graft is to graft multiple varieties onto the same tree. This can work out good if you have a spot that doesn't have room for multiple trees.


I am very interested in making a Frankenstein tree by grafting different varieties together. I have had my eyes on a few wild trees I have found on the side of the road here n there. They all are late ripening with slow drop. I have also been researching air layering. So much cool info to learn.


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