We got our apple trees planted!

[dramamama6685]

Originally Posted by Bydand

Forest has it 100% correct when it comes to pruning. To have an apple tree produce good sized and a good number of fruit, they need to be pruned. I don't know if there are many orchardmen around who could either do it for you or could show you how to do it yourself (they have to be tended every year to keep producing good apples, in good numbers.) If not, go online and research pruning from some known sources, I wold be a bit careful with some of them out there, but University sites, Ag sites, Even sites from places like FFA or 4H can give good solid advice about pruning fruit trees of any type.

I guess this is why the apple tree that was here when we moved rarely gets good sized apples. I have never pruned the blossoms.

[forest beekeeper]

MOFGA

At the annual MOFGA hippy fair they schedule hourly workshops on many varied topics, which may include tending fruit trees.

Their calendar is online and weekly they send out an email of the next two weeks' events.

Calendar

For example:
"19 [April] - MOFGA’s Organic Orcharding Workshop. Grafting fruit trees and spring orchard care. MOFGA’s Common Ground Education Center, Unity."

"3 [May] - Garden Preparation & Composting. 9:00 a.m. to 1 p.m. at The Good Life Center at Forest Farm in Harborside. Spend the morning in the gardens at historic Forest Farm learning low-impact ways of preparing a garden for planting. Includes a hands-on sheet mulching demonstration. This workshop also includes a hands-on composting activity and tips for making great compost at home with readily available materials. $15 registration fee includes lunch. Scholarships available."

"10 [May] - MOFGA’s Organic Orcharding Workshop. Organic Orcharding 101. Common Ground Education Center, Unity. Michael Phillips, author of The Apple Grower, on organic disease and insect control strategies."



I was taught tree grafting in college, however I have also attended workshops of grafting via MOFGA.

I was raised tending an orchard and raising cattle, however my background was in commercial farming with petrochem fertilizers. Both sets of my grandparents were part of the farming culture that salted their soils and brought on the dust bowl. They lost their farms due to the dust bowl and moved West to farm again. My father farms by those methods as well. So I was raised with the attitude of applying petrochems in tonnage per acre.

Attending college for my Associates in Horticulture I was still not introduced to Organic methods. Now it has been a few years since I attended college, now is my opportunity to farm again. But now I wish to do it as Organic and as sustainably as possible. MOFGA is a good local source for learning these methods.

At the annual 'Seed Savers' scion exchange they include a workshop on grafting, and pruning.

On a previous thread we spoke about bed preparation. The ideal steps to go through when preparing a bed for planting fruit trees. The FEDCO catalog goes through these steps, and at last years fair one of the workshops went over it in detail [the speaker was a professional farm advisor, a very knowledgeable local farmer, Mark Fulford of Teltane Farm & Nursery]. He also taught a series of workshops on tending fruit trees.

[forest beekeeper]

Originally Posted by dramamama6685

I guess this is why the apple tree that was here when we moved rarely gets good sized apples. I have never pruned the blossoms.

A person prunes the limbs, not the blossoms: to remove disease, to direct growth, to maintain structural support. Last year's pruning effect this year's harvest. This year's pruning effects next years harvest.

Please do not take this as insulting, I would advise that you consider attending a workshop on pruning fruit trees.

[Boomerang]

Originally Posted by Bydand

I don't know if there are many orchardmen around who could either do it for you or could show you how to do it yourself (they have to be tended every year to keep producing good apples, in good numbers.)

Last summer I was looking at the websites of local farmers who participate in the farmers' markets, and at least one website mentioned the name of their pruner, which led to that pruner's website. He's available for small jobs as well as regular orchard work apparently.

If someone needs professional help wth their trees they might start by checking out the websites of their local orchards e.g.
Maine Apple Orchards
or sites like MOFGA; chances are you'll come up with somebody.

[Boomerang]

Originally Posted by forest beekeeper

Two of our varieties are among the very popular varieties; we have two 'Golden Russet's, and two 'Cortlands'.
We do have two 'Esopus Spitzenburg' trees which could be considered an heirloom. A choice dessert and culinary apple, mentioned in nearly every list of best-flavored varieties. The 'Esopus Spitzenburg' is famous for being Thomas Jefferson’s favorite apple.

Sounds like great choices.
And the history behind the varieties of plants and trees is just as interesting as the harvest

[Elcarim]

Well surely we'll be there before your first harvest!

[forest beekeeper]

Last fall we were very busy with so many crabapples, my Dw cooking them down for their pectin, etc.

I do hope to have a press setup before these produce any apples. So we can a surplus of cider.

[forest beekeeper]

Today all of our apple trees have leaves except one.

And one of the trees has a dozen blossoms on it. !

Just a month after planting, and this one tree is already wanting to make fruit, is that crazy!

[Boomerang]

Hooray!
I wanted to ask how your trees fared after the big flood, but didn't want to ask Glad they're doing fine.