# apple tree's



## 066blaster

Just planted this tree this year. Got seven apples on it. It should pay for itself this year. I tie down the branches with wires. It stops the growth of the branch and sets up fruiting buds. Also gets the leader to grow more. I want 2 foot of leader growth this year. I planted 100 of theese


----------



## 066blaster

3 year old zestar tree theese are ready around August 15.


----------



## 066blaster

Mulching my new trees.


----------



## 066blaster

I got a new post hole digger. I should have got one years ago. Works great I have to put alot of posts in for the apple tree trellis system.


----------



## 066blaster

Just about ready to pick


----------



## Rudedog

Do you have to spray apples??


----------



## 066blaster

Yes ,all the time. Insects will eat the leaves as well as ruin the apples and the entire tree. Also fungicides are a must. I gave a couple trees to my nephew, he didn't spray, and they were gone in a few months. Not to mention deer and rabbits. I put up a 6 foot wire fence around mine also.


----------



## Rudedog

066blaster said:


> Yes ,all the time. Insects will eat the leaves as well as ruin the apples and the entire tree. Also fungicides are a must. I gave a couple trees to my nephew, he didn't spray, and they were gone in a few months. Not to mention deer and rabbits. I put up a 6 foot wire fence around mine also.


Its a wonder how you guys make a living.


----------



## 066blaster

Plus the weather is always against us. Frost, drought, hail, too much rain, too hot. I sell at 2 large upscale farmers markets. I get $3.25 a pound for zestar. $3.50 for honeycrisp. It averages out to about $1.15 per apple.


----------



## 066blaster

Here is a pic of 100 trees I abandoned because of rabbit damage. They had chewed many of them completely off. I had them growing again last year and the rabbits got them again this winter. I am thinking of moving them in spring to my fenced in main orchard. These are 3 years old an should be producing about $50 per tree. I paid about $1000 for these plus many hours of labor.


----------



## 066blaster

The snow was about 4 feet around these last winter. Taller guards wouldn't have worked either. Now I use 6 foot wire fence. Keeps deer and rabbits out. Deer have also been eating the trees in the pics above


----------



## chuckwood

066blaster said:


> Here is a pic of 100 trees I abandoned because of rabbit damage. They had chewed many of them completely off. I had them growing again last year and the rabbits got them again this winter.



I used to have problems with groundhogs and rabbits that would do a lot of damage to my garden. I trapped and killed them but it seemed like more were coming in from other areas to take their place and the damage continued. Raccoons were also involved, and they are difficult to deal with because they do their damage at night. Then mother nature suddenly gave me a lot of help. Foxes and bobcats appeared and started eating up the groundhogs. The bobcats are really cool to listen to when they scream at night. Why people hunt and trap bobcats and foxes doesn't make any sense to me - but I guess those fools don't have gardens.


----------



## cat-face timber

I have tried to grow fruit trees here and Jack Rabbits just attacked the trunks and girdled the trees..


----------



## 066blaster

We had alot of coyote ' s around but a guy down the roads been killing them all. I don't see any reason to kill them. The rabbits have just been crazy around here. I've been trapping and blasting alot of them. We wouldn't have seen this a few years ago. I took it today . 11 pheasants


----------



## 066blaster

It's been weird around here the last few years. The wildlife is so tame. They are like pets including deer. I drive up on them with the fourwheeler and they actually start walking towards me.


----------



## Ash_403

066blaster said:


> It's been weird around here the last few years. The wildlife is so tame. They are like pets including deer. I drive up on them with the fourwheeler and they actually start walking towards me.


 Wear some hunter orange. You won't see any at all.


----------



## 066blaster

Pic of the fence I put up. $1 per foot plus the steel fence posts. Plus gonna have to move it next year when I add more trees. I figured it out and it costs roughly $16 per tree to plant these. Not including the fence. Or labor


----------



## 066blaster

Cumulative income per tree over the first 5 years should be about $350 . And about $150 a tree each year after that. That's at $3.50 a pound. I may have to sell some cheaper as I produce more. Also that is honeycrisp prices. Other varieties might be 2/3 of that.


----------



## Iska3

Nice looking trees, very interesting project. Seems like a good idea to me...


----------



## 066blaster

Here's a couple 4 year old honeycrisp trees. Definitely not the best ones I have but the one has about 75 apples on it. Also they are a little crooked. I didn't get the conduit in till year 3. Needs to be done first year or at planting. These have more growing to do , those apples will be big. Some will get knocked off as they get bigger. I should have hand thinned a little more.


----------



## 066blaster

Here's a ultra red Jonathan tree. These grow more vigorously than honeycrisp. Also the apples are more spread out . No thinning needed. These will be huge apples also. 4 year old tree. Have them for a pollinator for the honeycrisp. The apples aren't worth a whole lot. Good for pies, sauce, cider. Hand eating. Just not real popular.


----------



## boxygen

What do you use to mulch with? My wife recently took an orcharding class and they said that the chips from hardwood branches 3 inches and smaller are whats best. Something about the microbes that occur in that size branch. I dont remember exactly, but it was very specific. We put in a small "orchard" which is like a dozen trees.


----------



## 066blaster

I get some from are city dump that is any brush or trees and wood furniture. They have a huge tube grinder. Also been getting some from a tree service I just use it to keep the soil moist and weeds down alittle. I use fertilizer for nutrients.


----------



## 066blaster

One thing to watch is your graft union. If the soil gets to high around the tree the scion can root and you will loose your dwarfing characteristics.


----------



## 066blaster

That graft union will get lower as the diameter increases. Plus mulch layers. I'm gonna pull some dirt and mulch away from my lower trunks next year. Here's a new tree and a 4.5 year old tree. With a couple mulch layers. At planting plant them as high as possible.


----------



## 066blaster

boxygen said:


> What do you use to mulch with? My wife recently took an orcharding class and they said that the chips from hardwood branches 3 inches and smaller are whats best. Something about the microbes that occur in that size branch. I dont remember exactly, but it was very specific. We put in a small "orchard" which is like a dozen trees.


I wouldn't worry too much or at all about what mulch you use. Be more worried about the sprays you use. You will need Lyme sulfer, rally, imidan, captan, malathion. The last 4 can be mixed together For a great fruit tree spray. The Lyme sulfer sanitizes the dormant tree in spring. Stay away from carboral or sevin it will chemically thin your apples and can also leave burn marks on the apples. Also add a sticker/spreader To the last 4 for good coverage as the leaves and apples tend to repel water. Do some research or ask me a question. If you want. Most times by the time you identify the problem it's too late. But hey there's always next year.


----------



## 066blaster

Honeycrisp are just about ready. They are really red this year. Hopefully I get a little more size in the next week.


----------



## kyle1!

Yum...honeycrisp are my favorite.


----------



## hedge hog

what kind or insecticide do you use for your apple trees? 
I used Brigade for the first time this year on my pecan trees and going to try on my apples next year.


----------



## 066blaster

hedge hog said:


> what kind or insecticide do you use for your apple trees?
> I used Brigade for the first time this year on my pecan trees and going to try on my apples next year.


Imadan, malathion, pyrethrin, I have used sevin at times but probably won't use again. It can leave marks on the apples.


----------



## hedge hog

yes I didn't like what seven does ether so I was looking for something else and ran across brigade that we were spraying it on 600 acres of cotton.
its has the biggest spectrum I have seen


----------



## c5rulz

Great job 066 Blaster.

What root stock are you using to grow that size?

In order to not hijack, I will start another apple thread.


----------



## c5rulz

Rudedog said:


> Do you have to spray apples??


 

If you want high quality apples, you must spray them. Surprisingly enough, insects are fairly easy to control, the fungus related issues are much more serious to growing good apples.


----------



## c5rulz

066blaster said:


> Here's a couple 4 year old honeycrisp trees. Definitely not the best ones I have but the one has about 75 apples on it. Also they are a little crooked. I didn't get the conduit in till year 3. Needs to be done first year or at planting. These have more growing to do , those apples will be big. Some will get knocked off as they get bigger. I should have hand thinned a little more.View attachment 365040
> View attachment 365040
> View attachment 365041


 

That seems like a fairly large # of apples for that small a tree. I have a gauge to determine how many they should have.

Last year I started with chemical thinners, (Fruitlome & Sevin) on all of my trees, amazing stuff but there is an art to it as all react differntly.


----------



## c5rulz

This picture is a mistake, I can't get it out because I am ignorant.





Here are my 2.5 year old trees. These are on #9 & #111 rootstock. These are Linda Macs.
Pretty impressive since these were 1/2 - 5/8ths stock.











The new trees.


----------



## 066blaster

c5rulz said:


> That seems like a fairly large # of apples for that small a tree. I have a gauge to determine how many they should have.
> 
> Last year I started with chemical thinners, (Fruitlome & Sevin) on all of my trees, amazing stuff but there is an art to it as all react differntly.


They are on bud 9 rootstock. I will be hand thinning them from now on. 1 apple per cluster, every other cluster, is a good rule to follow. Leaves good fruiting buds for the next year and you should get nice sized apples. I know with a standard size tree hand thinning is not possible. I had some fire blight issues this year and lost 5 new trees and had to do some major pruning on a couple of mature trees. I hope next spring isn't as raining as this year was!!


----------



## 066blaster

Are they on M 111 rootstock. Semi standard size? M 9 would be full dwarf. That seems like a really big spacing between the trees. Does that delay fruiting?. On my trees I get some fruit the first year and year 2 is really decent.


----------



## c5rulz

I didn't do any pruning this summer on the young trees as I also heard fire blight was around and didn't want to take a chance.

With standards, hand thinning isn't an option.


----------



## c5rulz

066blaster said:


> Are they on M 111 rootstock. Semi standard size? M 9 would be full dwarf. That seems like a really big spacing between the trees. Does that delay fruiting?. On my trees I get some fruit the first year and year 2 is really decent.


 

I misspoke, the majority are on #7 and a few are on #111.


----------



## 066blaster

I only cut out the infected branches. I dint do any regular pruning. I didn't even cut the suckers off, I didn't want any open wounds . If fire blight gets in a sucker your tree is gone.


----------



## 066blaster

c5rulz said:


> This picture is a mistake, I can't get it out because I am ignorant. Do you have issues with rabbits
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here are my 2.5 year old trees. These are on #9 & #111 rootstock. These are Linda Macs.
> Pretty impressive since these were 1/2 - 5/8ths stock.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The new trees.


----------



## c5rulz

Rabbits haven't been an issue but I keep the drain tile around the trees "just in case".


----------



## 066blaster

A flash back to last winter 2 foot of snow on the ground and some 4-5 foot drifts. Rabbits were able to get above the guards on the trees and girdle some of them. I actually had to clear the snow. I got a wire fence up now.


----------



## c5rulz

Great pics Shawn. It was good talking to you the other night. Thanks for all the info.


----------



## 066blaster

c5rulz said:


> Great pics Shawn. It was good talking to you the other night. Thanks for all the info.


Nice talking to you as well.


----------



## 066blaster

c5rulz said:


> Great pics Shawn. It was good talking to you the other night. Thanks for all the info.


You can see in the close up of that tree I have the tree attached directly to the wire. I no longer do that. I added the conduit later. I now attach the tree to the conduit, and attach the wires to the conduit.


----------



## 066blaster

Also a thought on the drain tile. I have some up 24 inches on the trees. I use it because it is the cheapest and easiest way of protecting them. My concern is it could harbor insects, moles or mice, fungus. I always spray down in them the best I can. A 5 inch diameter loop of chicken wire or really small welded wire would be the preferred method. Cut a 12 inch length of 24 inch tall, wrap around the tree connect the ends with 2 or 3 zip ties. Then you can see what's going on,and apply spray to the area. I had done this to most of my tree's only problem is I only went 12 inches high.


----------



## 066blaster

On this tree the damage was all the way around the main stem. I cut it of below the damage in march. It was 6.5 foot tall at the end of this season. It also has grown some nice lateral branches. I don't know if it will bear fruit next season but by the following I think it will be just as big as the rest.


----------



## c5rulz

066blaster said:


> On this tree the damage was all the way around the main stem. I cut it of below the damage in march. It was 6.5 foot tall at the end of this season. It also has grown some nice lateral branches. I don't know if it will bear fruit next season but by the following I think it will be just as big as the rest.View attachment 379355


 

It's pretty amazing when you have a good root/rootstock in the ground, how that severe of a heading cut can recover. I had one tree of my young ones that was a single whip with no feathers. It ended up being one of the largest trees in the first season.


----------



## 066blaster

I checked my trees today and noticed a tree had rabbit damage, despite the fence I put up. I think there is some areas they might be able to wiggle under without any snow on the ground. I had been keeping a live trap outside the fence and have caught 3 rabbits, but didn't reset It after I released the last one. I will be keeping that trap baited to catch anything that comes around....

I also decided to put guards around the new trees. I am using 1 .5 inch sump pump drain hose. It's cheaper and easier than the large drain tile, only requires a utility knife. And doesn't scrape the bark when you put it on.


----------



## 066blaster

The trees will outgrow the hose after 5 or 6 years but will just open it up a little and should still protect them. When we get some snow I should be able to tell where they are getting in and will take care of that.


----------



## c5rulz

Hi Shaun,

Glad to say bunnies are one problem I don't have.


----------



## 066blaster

c5rulz said:


> Hi Shaun,
> 
> Glad to say bunnies are one problem I don't have.


Your lucky, they are my biggest problem.


----------



## 066blaster

You probably noticed there is no conduit by these tree's. What I did with this row of trees was just pound conduit by the trees that were leaning an attached them. In spring I will put in the rest of the conduit and build the trellis for them. I got busy with other things. You don't really need a trellis till year 2. I'm good at making excuses


----------



## Wildland_Firefighter

I planted some red delicious apple seeds but I know I need to get some clippings from an apple tree that's producing apples. Where can I get some?

Also what insecticide and fungicide you use?


----------



## 066blaster

Wildland_Firefighter said:


> I planted some red delicious apple seeds but I know I need to get some clippings from an apple tree that's producing apples. Where can I get some?
> 
> Also what insecticide and fungicide you use?


The seeds won't produce a red delicious. They will be a cross of whatever other variety pollinated it. It would be best to buy a tree. I wouldn't bother trying to root a cutting either. If you do either it may take 6 or more years to get a apple. You need an appropriate rootstock .


----------



## 066blaster

066blaster said:


> I checked my trees today and noticed a tree had rabbit damage, despite the fence I put up. I think there is some areas they might be able to wiggle under without any snow on the ground. I had been keeping a live trap outside the fence and have caught 3 rabbits, but didn't reset It after I released the last one. I will be keeping that trap baited to catch anything that comes around....
> 
> I also decided to put guards around the new trees. I am using 1 .5 inch sump pump drain hose. It's cheaper and easier than the large drain tile, only requires a utility knife. And doesn't scrape the bark when you put it on.View attachment 388894
> View attachment 388895
> View attachment 388897


Another benefit to these smaller guards is the suckers will grow outside of them and can be removed easily. It's been a pain with the larger tile or the chicken wire or hardware cloth. The suckers grow through the wire or you have to lift the large tile because they grow inside it. These guards are 18-24 inches high, I just custom cut them to go up to the lowest branch on each tree.
You can buy the white guards specifically made for trees but they are about $1 a piece. It was about .35 to do it like this. Bud 9 rootstock produces a lot of suckers each year. Some near the trunk some a foot away. If you had the time and desire to do so. They can be pulled out and planted, and grafted the following year.


----------



## 066blaster

First year honey crisp tree. 4 nice apples. Only about 5 percent of first year trees set fruit and you should probably pick them off and let the tree put all its energy into making wood( growing the tree) because once you start cropping these dwarf tree's ( year 2 and 3) vegetative growth really slows down, especially honeycrisp. I'm gonna try growing pears with this tall spindle system, asian and European. The only problem is there isn't a good dwarf rootstock that's winter hardy, so I'm going to try a semi dwarf and keep it pruned good. I think I can get a premium price at the farmers markets for pears. I actually like eating pears more than apples. Maybe I'm just sick of apples since most of the apples I eat are just testing for ripeness, and are not sweet.


----------



## c5rulz

Looks good Shawn,

Great branch angles.

Any pears I have dealt with want to grow straight up and they get unmanageable real fast.


----------



## 066blaster

c5rulz said:


> Looks good Shawn,
> 
> Great branch angles.
> 
> Any pears I have dealt with want to grow straight up and they get unmanageable real fast.


They have done some trials with bartlett, bosc, ect. On tall spindle and they produced really well. They said the fruit size was a little smaller but figured with better thinning it would increase. I have never heard of it done with asian pears but I'm gonna try. I bought a bunch of big mother trees ,7 foot well branched , several varieties. They were like $50 a piece. And I bought a bunch of rootstocks. I'm gonna make my own trees. The rootstocks are only $1.85 a piece and I can also manipulate the branches when they are small. I might start making my own apple trees as well. Bud 9 rootstock can be bought for $1.85 as well.


----------



## c5rulz

Haven't done the grafting thing yet. Don't know if I need another vice.


----------



## Iron Head

You ever thought about doing espalier?
Takes pruning and praying much easier and more productive since they get more sunlight.


----------



## Iron Head

066blaster said:


> They have done some trials with bartlett, bosc, ect. On tall spindle and they produced really well. They said the fruit size was a little smaller but figured with better thinning it would increase. I have never heard of it done with asian pears but I'm gonna try. I bought a bunch of big mother trees ,7 foot well branched , several varieties. They were like $50 a piece. And I bought a bunch of rootstocks. I'm gonna make my own trees. The rootstocks are only $1.85 a piece and I can also manipulate the branches when they are small. I might start making my own apple trees as well. Bud 9 rootstock can be bought for $1.85 as well.


Good thing that you are using Bud 9 instead of M9. M9 is very brittle and disease prone.
One thing I can suggest you on the pear rootstock if you are doing both European and Asians. Stick with Pyrus betulafolia. It will work for both but a must for Asian pears.
You can propagate all of your rootstocks; piece of cake.


----------



## 066blaster

I bought all ohfx87 rootstock they say it's good to -20. Betulifolia is only -10 and more susceptible to fire blight. The 87 also will fruit faster, they say it will work fine with Asians. I guess I will find out. I'm gonna try to keep the trees on the smaller side. 4x12 spacing 10 foot tall


----------



## 066blaster

4 year old honeycrisp


----------



## 066blaster

The branches on these trees were tied down to horizontal or a little below, the first year. The years after that the fruit will weigh them down to below horizontal which is what you want. The problem was in the second year 90% of the blossoms froze and there was no fruit. So there are some vertical branches. Not a huge deal, if there's a 1 or 2 on each tree, and their not too big. If they look like they have good fruiting buds I keep them if not ,or they are too big they get cut off. When any branch gets as big as my thumb it will get cut off


----------



## 066blaster

I had a big drift by a few of my tree's. Maybe 3-4 foot deep. I kept watching for rabbit damage and dint see any. Now that some of the snow melted I was able to see some vole damage on 2 trees. 1 is a total loss . It had pretty substantial rabbit damage last year and I was letting it grow a new leader, but now it shot. I will have to start poisoning them in late fall to bring the population down. I had hardware cloth around these . Not sure if the black hose is better protection or worse for voles


----------



## 066blaster

I'm going to try bring the vole population down. I made some bait stations out of pvc. I figure I will put poison out in spring and late fall, maybe some in winter also. These will keep the poison dry and keep desirable animals from getting any. You just add poison from the top I have caps for the top.


----------



## 066blaster

I'm in the process of moving 100 or so tree that were heavily damaged from rabbits and deer. I had pretty much gave up on them but figured I might as well move them since they are worth over a $1000 dollars. I had cut some of them off below the damage and re grafted them.


----------



## 066blaster

I am digging the holes with my post hole digger. I didn't have the soil prepped very good and it's kinda rocky so it's the easiest way. I got 3 of my asian pear trees today I have 45 more ordered. 








Sorry for the duplicate pic.


----------



## Iron Head

I have voles too. My bait station is a simple half gallon grow pot and using Generation bait blocks. I cut out two 3" x 3" square at the rim. Then I drill two small holes on the bottom.
I use 10-12 gauge copper electrical wire, bent out one end to terminate the bait blocks, and insert the other end through the center hole on the pot and loop it back to the secondary hole.
The bait line is inside the pot and a couple inches higher. This station works great but the problem I have are the slugs. I live in the Pacific Northwest and the slugs are everywhere. They seem to consume all the rodent bait before the voles get to them. They would climb on the inner wall of the bait station and travel down the copper wire to get to the "Poison". At first I was using the insulated copper wire but my neighbor told me that slugs don't like to touch copper so I stripped off all the insulation. Guess what? They are wrong! Slugs don't give a damn about copper.
Now I'm ordering a large quantity of slug bait to sprinkle under the bait station. You got any slugs?

Also found out about the new Geneva apple rootstock that sounds very promising. The G41 is supposed to be superior over the B9 and M9 in all aspects. I'm having problems with crown rot and blight with the B9, M9, and M26.


----------



## 066blaster

Some years we have some slugs.. they ruin some strawberries but nothing major. The voles did some pretty bad damage to the strawberries this winter, they love it under the straw. I guess I'm only gonna put poison out late fall maybe winter and early spring. No slugs at that time.


----------



## Iron Head

Which varieties of Asian Pears are you growing?


----------



## 066blaster

Iron Head said:


> Which varieties of Asian Pears are you growing?


hosui, chujuro, 20th century, Korean giant, and maxie red, and also some bosc and bartlet just kinda of a trial of all and then I can graft the ones I like and of course buy more nursery trees as well.


----------



## 066blaster

Working on the trellis for the trees I planted last year. From now on I'm going to run 3 wires. At 6, 8, and 9 foot.. no reason to have any lower wires with the conduit. This way you can walk from one row to the next without having to walk yo the end of the row.


----------



## Iron Head

If your area requires extra heat for ripening, then lowering the wires will help a bit.
You can use the lowest wire to mount your drip irrigation if watering is required.
It will allow the hose to be off the ground for grass and weed management.
Just a thought.


----------



## 066blaster

Iron Head said:


> If your area requires extra heat for ripening, then lowering the wires will help a bit.
> You can use the lowest wire to mount your drip irrigation if watering is required.
> It will allow the hose to be off the ground for grass and weed management.
> Just a thought.[/QUOTE
> 
> 
> I've just been leaving the drip line on the ground. I use one line for 2 rows..I water 1 row and then move it across the Isle to the other row and water that one. I use the house well to water my trees because I don't have enough drip line to run it off our irrigation wells.. When you turn them on you have to have somewhere to go with all the water. I think I would need 1500 foot of drip line to handle the water. Or it will blow everything apart. I don't have to irrigate that often since I mulch them good.


----------



## Iron Head

I just received my order of Geneva 41 apple rootstock this afternoon.
I can't wait to do some budding this summer.
My area is has a high water table and I'm getting a lot of collar rot from my Bud9 and M26 rootstock.
I'm really excited with this new rootstock and hopefully it will give me better results.


----------



## 066blaster

I got some honeycrisp on nic 29 this year.
I'll see what happens. .. I'm really nervous about fire blight this year. I think some of the trees I got last year had it it and spread it to some of my older trees. I bought some streptimicin spray. I guess I'll spray a few time while their blooming. My zestar


are blooming


----------



## 066blaster

I also bought some agri-lok for tying the trees to the conduit. So I can get rid of the zip ties


----------



## billb

066blaster said:


> View attachment 423133
> I got some honeycrisp on nic 29 this year.
> I'll see what happens. .. I'm really nervous about fire blight this year. I think some of the trees I got last year had it it and spread it to some of my older trees. I bought some streptimicin spray. I guess I'll spray a few time while their blooming. My zestarView attachment 423132
> are blooming




That looks quite a bit less time consuming than the hodge-podge of 12 semi-dwarf that I have.


----------



## 066blaster




----------



## 066blaster

You might have to zoom in to see it. But these are pruning cuts I made in February. They are already sprouting vegetative growth for a new branch. I have found it is best to leave at least 2 inches of a stub. If you leave less it may not sprout and you might have a empty spot in the tree for awhile, until the leader puts out a new shoot.


----------



## 066blaster

Zestar fruitlet cluster, you can see the king blossom in the middle. It's the biggest and furthest matured. All others should be removed, so the king grows big. If you allow to many as they grow they will knock each other off the tree. There is not enough room for them all. Some will self thin so I will wait a couple weeks to thin theses


----------



## 066blaster

Here is is a pic of a tree I planted last year that I believe is infected with fire blight. I had several that I got from the nursery that had it. Some died, some I cut back and are doing well. This one has been oozing out of a canker where a branch was broke off when I received it. I have been spraying the area with bath and kitchen cleaner with bleach in it.

I had a mature tree that was oozing out of a pruning cut, i sprayed it with bleach and it is no longer oozing. Of course only get the bleach on the affected area and where ever the ooze is. I also wipe it off after 10 minutes. They say 1 drop of ooze has enough bacteria to infect the entire orchard. Unlikely but it can spread.


----------



## Iron Head

blaster, I don't mean to discourage you but from my experience, the diseases from some of your trees will eventually win over.
For this reason, I'm changing out my entire orchard rootstock starting this summer.
These G41 rootstock are supposed to be immune to a lot of the problems that I'm having; except for the damn voles.
If you are interest in this rootstock, PM me and I will get you my source in Oregon.


----------



## 066blaster

Iron Head said:


> blaster, I don't mean to discourage you but from my experience, the diseases from some of your trees will eventually win over.
> For this reason, I'm changing out my entire orchard rootstock starting this summer.
> These G41 rootstock are supposed to be immune to a lot of the problems that I'm having; except for the damn voles.
> If you are interest in this rootstock, PM me and I will get you my source in Oregon.


If the rootstock is resistant, I believe the scion is still able to get it, unless it too is resistant. My mature honeycrisp have not shown any signs of fire blight. I guess they are less susceptible as they get older and if they do get it , it would most likely be in a branch that could be removed. The trees I got from the nursery last year had a lot of branches. And of course a lot of those were damaged when dug out or packaging and shipping leaving a open wound near the trunk. I do think some were already severely infected as they never developed leaves and you could see a purpleish canker on the trunk. I also thought is was a little odd when the nursery called to see how my trees were doing. I didn't really complain , but now I wish I would have. At least they could replace the ones that didn't live. I had a 100% survival from the nursery i usually use.


----------



## Iron Head

Honeycrisps are supposed to be resistant to FB.
B9, M9, M26, and all M* rootstocks are susceptible to FB.
That's why it would help if both are resistant to diseases.


----------



## 066blaster

Pear trees, various Asian and some Bartlett and bosc, and 20 rootstocks. I haven't had much time to care for these but their in the ground, mulched and watered if needed. Also sprayed,, the bugs seem to really like their leaves. They seem more delicate than apple trees





also this is in a different area than my main orchard, as it it sort of a trial , ,


----------



## 066blaster

Zestar there is


about 70-80apples on each of these trees.


----------



## 066blaster

Those zestar did a nice job of thinning themselve. I didn't do any thinning and there seems to be just the right amount of apples and evenly dispersed throughout the tree. The honeycrisp are a different story. They will set multiple apples per cluster. Been spraying, rally, captan, imidan, malithion, agrimicin, on them with a spreader sticker additive. I really recommend the sticker spreader additive. It coats the leaves and apples better. Without it most of the spray runs off or beads up, and you don't get good coverage. Another thing that can happen with out the additive is the spray can bead up on the apples , this can be a problem later in the season when the apples are coloring up. Any thing that blocks the sun from the apples skin can cause it to not turn red. I have had green spots on the apples where the spray accumlated . Or the spray can run down and accumulate on the bottom of the apple and blemish the surface. This is especially true with sevin xlr. If you use it only use a fine mist. I swear they mix it with latex paint. It can leave a residue that you cannot wash off.


----------



## 066blaster

Pics taken today.. been doing a lot of hand thinning, mostly on the honeycrisp. Thing to 1 fruitlet per cluster and getting rid of anything with the slightest blemish. Also thinning if too many fruit per branch. They set a good crop this year. Too good actually. Thinning is going to make the difference in getting large, quality apples. I have zero use for small blemished apples. The pics are zestar.


----------



## 066blaster

Honeycrisp. .planted last year, I'm trying to allow 15-20 apples on these. They each set about 50- 100, I walk through everyday and thin more as I see needed. Hopefully I thin them enough to get good size and a good return bloom next year. I have also been giving them a good soaking once per week. We haven't been getting much rain. I have to trim the weeds around them and make them look pretty, we have a senator visiting are farm in a few days. I have been doing more trimming and less spraying. I would rather tolerate some weeds than have herbicide damage to the roots. Most herbicides are OK with your typical yearly rainfall , but when you add drip irrigation I believe there is a possibility it can make it to to roots, at least to some degree. I suppose it's debatable, but look how fast granular fertilizer makes it to the roots. I have also considered using a stronger than recommended liquid fertilizer to burn the weeds in the row, but that is risky as well.


----------



## 066blaster

I found my trees were infested with mites yesterday. They damage the leaves which ultimately weakens the whole tree. None of the usual insecticides will control these. They actually can cause a flare up in populations, because they kill the natural predators. 
There are some miticides available but they are expensive and only give limited control of certain species of mites. Most are restricted use. Which is OK because I am certified for them, but it means it's hard to get., can't be bought online, would have to be ordered and might take weeks to get. And is very toxic ..I hate spraying the restricted stuff. 
For now I'm going to try some other techniques. I sprayed some with pyrethrin which is organic. It seemed to kill some of them. I also tried a mixture of canola oil and water. About a 1.5% regular canola cooking oil and water mix. In a spray bottle. Shake well while spraying. I only tried this on 1 tree for now to see if it works and doesn't damage the tree or apples. The oil smothers the mites/ prevents them from moving and will have some residual activity to prevent further infestations. as for The pyrethrin spray I have suspicions it just drowned some of the mites. Straight water may have been just as affective. Here's some pics.


----------



## 066blaster

A follow up on the oil spray.. it did not hurt the trees, but it did leave little sun scorch marks on the surface of the apple's that had direct sunlight. It did kill the mites though. We got a good rain and wind storm a couple days after I sprayed the oil. It completely cleared up the mite problem. So in the future I'm not going to worry about them. As long as we get rain once in awhile they shouldn't be a problem.


----------



## 066blaster

2 year old honeycrisp


----------



## 066blaster

5 year old honeycrisp


----------



## 066blaster

2 year old honeycrisp. Probably should have thinned them more than I did. I think the size will be fine since they have another month to grow. But I think they won't produce much next year. 1 thing I have also noticed on young dwarf trees grown in the tall spindle method is, you can also undercrop them to the point the apples get too big. I have noticed people like large apples but these trees can produce some jumbo's . I have had some that are just ridiculous. So there is a fine line when it comes to thinning.


----------



## 066blaster




----------



## hazard

Looking good. We used to thin 9"-12" apart. I remember getting yelled at by my grandpa for under thinning.

The people that bought our farm don't thin at all. They sell marbles!!!

Chris


----------



## 066blaster

Honeycrisp. .I put bird nets up on some of my trees. Was getting some bird damage. The apples are doing good. Like always I wish I would have thinned more. Still at least 2 weeks to grow though. Some are huge. Some are still a little small.


----------



## hazard

looking good

wow I miss picking apples!!!


----------



## 066blaster

Sold all my zestar. Started picking some honeycrisp. These do not all ripen at once. You have to do several pickings.i was considering doing a pick your own on my 2 year old trees. I was gonna charge 25-30 dollars a tree. They would choose a tree and pick all apples on the tree for 25 or 30 bucks. Issue is , they don't all ripen at the same time. And I don't want to let the big ripe apples hang to long and maybe fall off.


----------

