Scroll back a few pages. Fert stuff is posted a few times.
Apple/Pear Trees
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My “system” if u will, 2022…. If u ask me in 2032 it’ll be- it’ll be different than 2022. Just like I’m way different than 2012.
NOW
Mulch all with wood chips. Kill the area around with my own favorite residual herbicides. & make sure I deal with voles. Kill em &/or make sure it’s wide open around trees (mowed)
All trunks wrapped with screen + panted white mixed with pepper on some. Or tubes. Fertilize in spring. I would in summer but I’m ok just doing once. 5-6 apples & about 3 types of pears. (This is of course fruit trees - not other stuff like chestnuts, etc). & yes, persimmon, crabapple, plum, etc etc.
Big woven wire with 2 t-posts in open areas - often still do it around tubes (small cage with 1 post). Keep the bucks off em.
I look at the trees as “a cherry on top”. Not first thing I’d do for a farm. But when had time yes. & lots of patience & ability to get frustrated but rebound so u keep at it- DONT GIVE UP!
Water & care for as needed if needed. Spray some. Watch it close. Check tubes few times a year and clean em. I don’t give up. When an apple dies, I replace with a pear. Or when a pear dies I replace with a crabapple. Or a persimmon where chestnut died. & so on. It will be 100% full in “so many years it takes it to have successful trees in every spot”. I’ll go till it’s right.
Got my varieties & types I really like. & aside from dealing with coons- I am loaded with fruits this year!!!!!
Many of these are 1-2 year old areas I’ve started. And won’t give up on!!!!
NOW
Mulch all with wood chips. Kill the area around with my own favorite residual herbicides. & make sure I deal with voles. Kill em &/or make sure it’s wide open around trees (mowed)
All trunks wrapped with screen + panted white mixed with pepper on some. Or tubes. Fertilize in spring. I would in summer but I’m ok just doing once. 5-6 apples & about 3 types of pears. (This is of course fruit trees - not other stuff like chestnuts, etc). & yes, persimmon, crabapple, plum, etc etc.
Big woven wire with 2 t-posts in open areas - often still do it around tubes (small cage with 1 post). Keep the bucks off em.
I look at the trees as “a cherry on top”. Not first thing I’d do for a farm. But when had time yes. & lots of patience & ability to get frustrated but rebound so u keep at it- DONT GIVE UP!
Water & care for as needed if needed. Spray some. Watch it close. Check tubes few times a year and clean em. I don’t give up. When an apple dies, I replace with a pear. Or when a pear dies I replace with a crabapple. Or a persimmon where chestnut died. & so on. It will be 100% full in “so many years it takes it to have successful trees in every spot”. I’ll go till it’s right.
Got my varieties & types I really like. & aside from dealing with coons- I am loaded with fruits this year!!!!!
Many of these are 1-2 year old areas I’ve started. And won’t give up on!!!!
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Probably dry or stayed wet & got sun damage, etc etc. I highly doubt it’s fire blight. Host of things possible but watch it & post up if gets any worse.
Anyone know what’s going on with this Bartlett pear? Planted this spring
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LOADED
JNRBRONC
Well-Known Member
I’ve got limbs breaking. Guess it will force me to prune.
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Been eating “store bought fruit” much of year. Just picked a bunch off my trees to eat. I ate 2-3 types of apples- some weren’t ripe yet. Same with pear. I had thinned the amount of fruit drastically since these trees were overloaded and about 5-6 years old. Fruit was still so amazingly good it’s mind boggling. Incredibly more flavorful than store! So good!!!!
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Moved my apple trees out of the nursery today to their forever home. I think they look really good.
Copenhagen Tob
PMA Member
Apples: I've got a half dozen apple trees in 3 gal containers that I didn't get planted, am I better to leave outside for the winter, or do I place them in a garage that doesn't freeze
JNRBRONC
Well-Known Member
Tough call for me. I haven’t had good luck over wintering in pots unless I bury them in the garden level with the dirt. Think I’ve freeze dried too many leaving them above ground outside. Garage might be slightly better?
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I came across an apple tree in the woods with a bunch of yellow good tasting apples, holding late this November. It was dropping them throughout october too. There wasnt any pruning or thinning done around it and it still had a bumper crop of apples. I'd like to search for some rootstock and look into grafting to try reproducing that tree. I was thinking over the winter when there's nothing else to do I'd dive into this to get a little more specific direction and give it a shot late winter/early spring. Any good resources or definite do's or dont's you'd recommend off the bat?
JNRBRONC
Well-Known Member
Were deer eating them?
I know of a couple of "wild" apple trees that are growing in a heavy deer density area. The apples are yellow with red streaks. I ate one once and it had a mealy mouth feel, reminded me of "apple sauce/cooking" style apple. There were tons laying on the ground, the deer weren't cleaning them up for some reason. Too much other food sources?
I talked to a local orchard owner about grafting it and he scoffed. He said there are many much better modern varieties than to try to save a heritage apple, so I dropped the thought.
Should be tons of grafting resources out there. Been a long time since I've attempted it, never got good at it.
letemgrow
PMA Member
I'd get started now looking for rootstock. I think most sell out long before spring hits.
What I've done in the past to save a few varieties to graft later (when rootstocks are sold out) is graft to an apple tree I have access to.
For me, this is at my house so I can continue to obtain those scions for future use if something changes with that tree (dies, lose access, etc).
Then you have a lot more time to obtain rootstocks if needed.
Look at Cummins Nursery, I think they still have some rootstocks available.
I'd buy some scions off of ya if you're willing to sell any.
There was deer sign in the area of the tree, but I didn't have a camera on it and it wasn't in a spot I could observe while hunting. I didn't find it until later in the season. All the leaves were off at the point of finding it, where I saw the crown full of golden apples sticking out from the other trees. They were great tasting apples and would have to believe it would be a good attractant in October and November, even if they are mediocre tasting to deer, should be some of the only ones around at that time. I do get your point, but think I might give it a shot. I'm just a couple years into tree planting, but have been trying to target the later maturing/dropping type.
I’ve collected crab apple seed from around the state. I’m gonna guess 15 different types. & maybe 30-40 types of other apple varieties.
Do we know what we are gonna get from seed??? NO …. Not exactly BUT…. YES…. U r gonna get an APPLE!!! & that’s most important part. Free, standard size & from trees growing well in iowa. I’ve got a lot of 2-3 year olds out of tubes. Here’s one example.
I do like my grafted known varieties but I sure like experimenting with growing from seed as well.
Do we know what we are gonna get from seed??? NO …. Not exactly BUT…. YES…. U r gonna get an APPLE!!! & that’s most important part. Free, standard size & from trees growing well in iowa. I’ve got a lot of 2-3 year olds out of tubes. Here’s one example.
I do like my grafted known varieties but I sure like experimenting with growing from seed as well.
deep woods goat hunter
PMA Member
No that we are semi-settled in at the new house I need to get jamming on planting some fruit trees....
