I have saved some seeds from the original Bramley seedling in Southwell as 207 years ago Mary Ann Brailsford did. Its more in honour than expecting a special apple as the original tree has honey fungus and is looking in bad condition. Hope you get the apple you are looking for and thanks for sharing.
Below is the only way I ever eat apples because I don't really like them that much but 2 Honey Crisp apples with some sharp cheese and crackers is my favorite lunch, with Guldens' spicey mustard and a glass of chablis or zinfandel. But I am flexible on the variety of apple and the brand of crackers. I also seldom drink wine or eat cheddar cheese without the other 2 parts of my 3 piece ensemble. I always slice the apples into thin sections before I begin. This is my lunch 2-3 times a week. It surprises me sometimes how much the taste of one fruit or vegetable can be enhanced by what other things you eat them with.
Yes, Wickson. When asked what people should plant in a lecture on apples my friend here said without hesitation Wickson, Wickson, Wickson. My only serious problem with it has been cracking, but I hang it as late as possible after being dry all summer.
I applaud your determination in time and effort. I was heading down that path until I ran out of space to plant. Now that I have the New Orchard my objectives have changed. I'm just going to enjoy growing what grows well here and make cider! I will try to grow peaches again though!
I hear you. Small trees are fragile. I had four 8-year-old trees die by rodents girding them last winter just because I forgot to put vinyl wraps on them. There's a name for trees you stop taking care of... "dead".
Steven, I think the work that you are doing is fantastic. In fact you have me hooked on grafting and cross pollinating. I've struggled to work at the level I would like, because an incompetent doctor turned minor arthritis in my ankle to a lost leg - bastard. Then a fall from this has caused a neck surgery. This has slowed me down, but will not stop me. I 'm experimenting with apples, pears, peaches, apricots, plums and figs. If you have any interest in some of these other fruits, let me know and I will send you some seeds/scions.
Thank you Bill. I wish I could expand into other fruits and I've always had multiple other projects on the back burner. I especially would like to work on curl resistant peaches, and may want to collect more at some point. I tried collecting some before, but things didn't go too well frameworking onto a weak tree I have. I think I'm going to try to take apples into at least another generation though, since it's just getting exciting and I'm already in this deep. I'm glad to hear you are persisting. Ultimately we have to do what we can with the hand we're dealt. It's easy to become bitter and see our limitations as more than they actually are. But seriously, that sucks. My friend always said, if someone graduates at the bottom of their class, they are still a doctor. Most doctors I've dealt with are not very good problem solvers, just the like most people in general. Thanks for the offer.
I never had an apple crack on the tree before. My Goldrush tastes like wet cardboard. And hard when picked late here (Mid Michigan). I guess I have to store it and try it in Dec or Jan. I grow a Scarlet Surprise apple which is fully red fleshed. It's window of good-eating ripeness is only a week long and does not store well at all. It makes a great pink lemonade. It has had apples about 5 years and this year was its best flavor. Actually was a sweet good-eating apple his year. I plan on using it to give my cider a red color.
Hi Prof. We have no rain in the summer and things get very dry, so once it rains, they overswell and crack. if I were consitent on irrigation, I could probably mostly prevent it. Most of the red flesh are pretty primitive as far as I can tell. There is always something wrong with them. A number of us out there are growing seedlings so, hopefully we'll come up with some better ones. there are also various breeding programs working on them.
Well that explains the cracking. We had good rainfall this year right through summer and most apples are larger on average, which shows me my potential if I irrigated. My new orchard is on low, sandy soil which has a high water table and I am hoping will rarely need irrigation.
Pink Ladies are my favorite for Fall/Winter. The classic Granny Smith for Spring/Summer. I went to an outdoor market in Manhattan & there were over 40 different strains of apple. I FELL IN LOVE. Since then I've been on the hunt for an apple that I tasted there. The apple cost me $4.00 just for the one & it was both bitter & sweet. It was crisp, airy & the moment I bit it I literally could taste sunshine. And the apple gave me a feeling that was happy, nourished but not overly full feeling. Oh & it was tri-colored, gold (not yellow), pink & green. ANY IDEAS ON WHICH APPLE IT IS?
Not a clue. go back and ask them? A lot of apples are good, but then you hit one that is really a revelation. Actually, just in case, google suncrisp. Also, go to Adam's Apples blog and ask him. Good luck :)
Hey Skillz, I'm in Southeast Michigan, still got a tree full of Goldrush. They blushed virtually overnight on October 10th...weird. But great and late. I leave em on until a hard freeze is headed our way. A couple of frosts is good for them I feel. Great Vid, thanks.
My conditions are probably pretty different. For me the rain cracks them badly because they are dry all summer. We don't get any summer rains. So that is really my deciding factor. I'm not sure what other people do, but I get the feeling they pick them early and store until they mature.
I went to Spouts because I saw a flyer that listed Pink Lady. I saw a small bag of Crimson Gold apples, small crab types. The CG was much better to my taste buds.
Crimson Gold is an excellent apple. One orchard took a chance on it and I think it paid off. Pink Ladies this time of year may be out of storage or somewhat under ripe. Mine are best off the tree in probably december. I've eaten it off the tree on new years and it was excellent. Overall, I'd probably rate crimson gold higher, but Pink Lady has the virtue of long storage and they are just very different apples.
It surprises me how many more apples are being bought and consumed across the US since retailers recently began packaging apples in pre-sliced sections. It is scarey to think that US consumers are apparently either too lazy to slice apples themselves or they were not able to think of doing this for themselves. (I'm not sure which is worse.) I am now 70 yo but still somehow able to slice an apple all by myself ! When I am no longer able to do this, could someone just dig a hole at the local cemetery and drop me in ? WRZ Delaware County, PA
How is the growth habit of wickson? Do you think it would work in a tall spindle system with a central leader and lots of short branches/darts? I have a few small one-year whips but I’d like to plant out a whole row of them. (I first learned about the cultivar from your videos but when I finally tried the fruit at an event in WA, it lived up to the hype.)
Well, it's very vigorous and upright usually. Doesn't always want to throw side branches and laterals well, but notching should help.. It does produce a lot along stems and it's generally pretty productive. I don't use that system, but i don't see any reason why not. Unless the high vigor would be an issue.
Good video I’ve been watching a lot of apple videos and considering gold rush, liberty, Williams pride and novamac In all these videos all apples seem to be baseball or smaller like a tennis ball but orchard picking and grocery store apples are closer to softball size, why is that?
they think people want really big apples, so the new selections are in that direction. I also don't usually irrigate, which makes them smaller. Heirlooms are mixed sizes too.
Calcium deficiency could be the root of the cracks. When in drought conditions, the tree can't take up nutrients and therefore any available calcium will go to doing more important functions. Dandelion plants make a great natural ground cover when planted en masse. Not only that, the yellow blossoms draw pollenators and beneficials. Highs Magnesium will also inhibit calcium uptake. I have a book title for you, bit I have to pull it from a box. Moving again soon, so I'll post that here in a few mins. :). Its a must have for organic growers.
thanks. I am not very sophisticated when it comes to apple growing. I avoid any summer growing deep rooted plants around the trees because water competition is such a major factor. I've worked with dying mulches using winter bulbs and have one plant that performs really well. Amaryllis belladona grows in the winter, smothers all annual grass and weed, but dies down by June 1st or earlier leaving a thick mat of dead leaves. I'm still in the early stages as far as judging how well the trees get along with it, but it seems promising and I've put in a lot of it under trees to test it over the long run. I have limited water and limited time to apply it, so most of the trees get none at all. Thanks for your thoughtful comments.
Oh, and we tend to have high mag here. I don't remember if mine is high or normal, but it's not low and most soils in the county are high mag. We are definitely low in calcium, though the crabby lady is over a biochar pit with a lot of ash in it, so it should be much closer to neutral and higher cal than the surrounding soil. It is a new tree though with no irrigation, so hopefully once it gets it's roots under it.... Wickson is definitely prone to cracking. I don't know what gold rushes reputation is as far as that goes, but It actually needs to be picked much earlier than I ever pick it just for effective storage.
Lol, no worries. I only have a gr 12 education, but when I discovered apples, I became an "Apple Savant". When I started my channel, I used to live in what would be the equivalent of Seattle and now live in the equivalent of Prudhoe Bay Alaska. Hardiness zone wise. Not really an ideal apple paradise, but there are many selections that will grow here and some that will grow with a lot of help. I don't own land, but that looks to change in 2017. That being said, I will unleash the third coming of my channel hahaha. My evil plan to show folks in far Northern Communities how to create enough produce to supplement their costs of food and crush corporate greed. hahaha. To take back the power of our own food security hahaha. To .... Sorry. Sometimes i get carried away :)
Awesome, I'm all on board with your diabolical plot! I used to be a lot more about growing food and encouraging people to do so, now I can't really even maintain a small garden. I now teach other people how to homestead instead of doing it myself. Some stuff you are already probably hip to, but to check out if not, Eliot Coleman's books on cold weather gardening and biochar. I'm all about biochar now that my trials all seem to be showing good to excellent results. No scrap left uncharred! I'm also pretty interested in the idea of pit heated greenhouses. They used to use tan bark waste or manure as you would for a cold frame, but on a larger greenhouse scale. According to some research I was doing from 19th century England, a 3 foot deep pit could heat a greenhouse with tanbark waste for three months and then if dug up and stirred, another few months after. Of course once it comes out it's basically still useable for stuff. Manure can be used as compost and bark could be charred. No one has access to tanbark, but I'm sure there are other mixes or manure and plant waste maybe that could work. I'll take some time to check out your channel. You cold weather fruit guys need a dedicated forum somewhere. I've communicated with a few of you about apples here and there. Some interesting guys with interesting germplasm. Nice to meet you. You have trailman crab right? That's a must have for the north and from what little I've tasted a great little apple.
I got all my cold weather ideas from Dr.Robert Duncan. He and his wondedrful wife Verna grow all manner of sub tropicals in Victoria BC. They run a propagation business called Fruit Trees and More I'll check out Eliot though. For the last 5 yrs Ive been nomadic and renting while my wife finishes Med School. I haven't even had a veggie garden. All I am growing is a Meyer Lemon, Bearss Lime and 2 Desert King Figs. Those are my house plants. Next June she will be done and we will be settled into a community. From then on I am restarting my foodie madness. I'll keep an eye out for Trailman Crab.
Every area is different. Best case scenario is taste stuff grown by a local fruit enthusiast. It is hard to recommend regionally without living there and knowing what works. Gold Rush seems to be well adapted, very popular with home growers, and keeps for a long time. That might be one to try. If you learn to graft, you can always change it over to something else if you don't like whatever you plant.
look for a scion exchange in your area. Also, you can check in with a couple of websites which both have people from all over the place. The North American Scion Exchange and GrowingFruit.org Lots of knowledgeable fruit enthusiasts there. Location just matters a lot. some of the best apples in the world are worthless here and I'm sure vise versa
There are a very few said to be true to seed, but I actually can only think of one, Fameuse. In general the seedlings are significantly different from the parent and each other, often very different. If you want identical trees, you need to clone by rooting or grafting.
Probably. I would just use what you have. I just made a batch with random apples including the leftovers from this video. They weren't all very sweet, but it tastes good. We'll see how it keeps. It takes a lot of apples though, so that's something to think about if you have to buy them.
I collected a lot of varieties and selected out what I like for breeding. I make my own cross pollinations with the parents I want. I'm sure you can't buy intentionally cross pollinated apple seeds. I'll think about selling some next year, but they'll be pretty expensive. It's not hard, but pretty time consuming to do on any scale.
I used to, but haven't had any for a while now. bears and diseases got them. Plus I'm not a very attentive bee keeper. More like a bee haver than a bee keeper.
really like the look of the red flesh apples. i am just starting to get into apples. i dont have a ton of space. i have 5 trees so far akane, honey crisp, mcIntosh, bud 9 rootstock, and 1 other common variety. i believe these are flower group 4. was thinking of grafting some other varieties on these. i live in the northeast zone 6a. i was able to taste the zestar at a local market, really liked that after a few weeks in the fridge. i am looking for some recommendations on some later sweet eating varieties that would be pollinated with what i have already. any thoughts much appreciated. i might have to see if wickson and grenadine will work in my area. anyone have a good source for these?
what area are you in? It doesn't matte that much what you plant, you can add whatever whenever. Join the north american scion exchange and the GrowingFruit websites. You'll find a lot of info and good scion trading. Grenadine and most of those etter red fleshed apples require a long ripening season to develp color, sugar and flavor. Pink Pearl is early, but it's not very red or particularly flavorful as far as I've tasted. Wickson is always worth a try, King david is a fav, everyone loves gold rush, chestnut crab is a winner. Watch my apple review playlist for the stuff I like, but location is everything. Some are widely adaptable and some aren't .
northeast Pa zone 5-6 has a few apple orchards which is nice. i have made a nice list of apples from your videos. that's disappointing to hear about Grenadine. yes location is everything. now its time to find what works in my area. most of the orchard guys have different goals in apples than i do. there orchard practices are different as well. they cannot sell any apple that has fallen on bare ground. i wanted to ask for some scion from them but they didnt seem open to it when i was chatting with them. i bought half a bushel of honey crisp and zestar from them. the apples didnt store well and looked diseased so im glad i didnt get any scion from them. this year i am going to save some pollen. looks like wickson maybe a good one to play with. i wonder how wickson would fair as a rootstock. i have been into figs for a few years now. the desert king fig is known to do well in the pacific northwest but has been terrible for me on the opposite coast. there are 2 good forums for figs. i have around 19 figs in pots in my coal bin. i will be starting another dozen or so varieties this spring. these were collected from old Italian immigrant areas around me. after a few years some of these are cold hardy and will be planted in ground with winter protection.
Hey Steven, wondering if I could get your advice? I'm about to buy my first apple trees and have decided on Irish Peach, Vista Bella, Cox's Orange Pippin, and Cripp's Pink. About 500m-1km away are my parents' Granny Smith trees (only one is of fruiting age). So I'm primarily just trying to understand how pollination works with only a few trees. Irish Peach is an early harvest fruit (late Dec to early Feb [PS please keep in mind I'm in Australia]), Vista Bella harvests at the same time as IP. COP harvests in March-April. And CP harvests in April-May. Will these 4 trees be able to pollinate each other even though the harvest times are a bit split up? I'm finding it hard to understand what the harvest times mean for pollination - i.e. will all 4 trees (assuming they are all healthy etc) start opening their buds at the same time and all be open to pollination at the same time? Or will the early harvest trees only be able to pollinate each other since they're earlier harvesting trees than COP and CP (if this is the case then does that mean nothing will be able to pollinate COP?)? Really hope you're able to help, cheers. Dave
They open at different times, you just have to find out if they are early, mid, late, very late. You can do that research online, though you might not find them all. Just do a search for the apple variety and check out what all the nurseries say. Better though, just multi-graft those trees and you'll have more variety, longer season and better pollination.
Thanks for the help mate. Doing lots of grafting on these trees is definitely the plan. I have one other quick question, if you don't mind. Does the tree I choose for the structure affect the grafted fruit? For example, if I had a Cox's Orange Pippin tree and grafted Cripp's Pink onto it, would the CP flavour be different than a tree that was only CP? I guess what I'm wondering is does the base tree make a difference?
Good deal. If you have a bunch of varieties going, no need to worry about pollination. The base tree is not likely to have a huge effect on the fruit quality, but some say there is some effect. The vigor/size does make a difference in growth though. Cox, for instance is just a weak grower with disease issues, so it might not be the best choice. My friends trees look small, twisted and stunted next to all his other trees and they are covered in lichens while the other trees aren't. Home orchard society put out a vigor chart once upon a time that you might be able to find on the net somewhere. High vigor could be either good or bad depending on your goals.
I was planning to do extra pollinations this year and sell them. I have some promised to a couple people and didn't end up with hardly any. I may try that again this spring, not sure.
They can be pretty bad. There are old strains that are much higher quality. The original apple had merit that contributed to it's original popularity, but strains were selected over the years that looked the best, but they didn't taste the best or even keep the best. The original variety was called hawkeye and it isn't even that red.
you should sell your new varieties show people what you breed and sell the new varieties (clones) too people who are interested and fund future breeding
I may do that. I will sell the scions, but unless I patent them, there is no way to control propagation and renaming. If I get something really good, I might actually patent it, but I've thought about a way to set up a system where amateur and home growers can propagate for free, like a partial license or something. We'll see. I'm a good way off from worrying about that right now. I have to go tend the trees this morning. Everything is a disaster out there. Also, if I do crowdfunding to support it, I'll give away grafting wood or trees to the contributors. I like that idea.
I have saved some seeds from the original Bramley seedling in Southwell
as 207 years ago Mary Ann Brailsford did.
Its more in honour than expecting a special apple as the original tree has honey fungus
and is looking in bad condition.
Hope you get the apple you are looking for and thanks for sharing.
Neat!
Below is the only way I ever eat apples because I don't really like them that much
but 2 Honey Crisp apples with some sharp cheese and crackers is my favorite lunch,
with Guldens' spicey mustard and a glass of chablis or zinfandel.
But I am flexible on the variety of apple and the brand of crackers.
I also seldom drink wine or eat cheddar cheese without the other 2 parts
of my 3 piece ensemble. I always slice the apples into thin sections before I begin.
This is my lunch 2-3 times a week.
It surprises me sometimes how much the taste of one fruit or vegetable
can be enhanced by what other things you eat them with.
I got my package of scions today. Thank you for the added Pink Parfait.
Fascinating video. I agree about Wickson - everyone should try it. Very good this year in UK.
Yes, Wickson. When asked what people should plant in a lecture on apples my friend here said without hesitation Wickson, Wickson, Wickson. My only serious problem with it has been cracking, but I hang it as late as possible after being dry all summer.
I've been watching your videos for about a year now but I've binged on them the last couple of days. Thank's for making them.
You are welcome :)
APPLES!!! 🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏
Nice reviews as always Steven!
I applaud your determination in time and effort. I was heading down that path until I ran out of space to plant. Now that I have the New Orchard my objectives have changed. I'm just going to enjoy growing what grows well here and make cider! I will try to grow peaches again though!
I'm coasting now. I need to take better care of my seedlings and varieties that are already in the ground.
I hear you. Small trees are fragile. I had four 8-year-old trees die by rodents girding them last winter just because I forgot to put vinyl wraps on them. There's a name for trees you stop taking care of... "dead".
Yeah, I got me a few of them!
Nor Cal. Interesting. NorCal myself. Good mountain and coastal air, good 4 seasons climate.
Steven, I think the work that you are doing is fantastic. In fact you have me hooked on grafting and cross pollinating. I've struggled to work at the level I would like, because an incompetent doctor turned minor arthritis in my ankle to a lost leg - bastard. Then a fall from this has caused a neck surgery. This has slowed me down, but will not stop me. I 'm experimenting with apples, pears, peaches, apricots, plums and figs. If you have any interest in some of these other fruits, let me know and I will send you some seeds/scions.
Thank you Bill. I wish I could expand into other fruits and I've always had multiple other projects on the back burner. I especially would like to work on curl resistant peaches, and may want to collect more at some point. I tried collecting some before, but things didn't go too well frameworking onto a weak tree I have. I think I'm going to try to take apples into at least another generation though, since it's just getting exciting and I'm already in this deep. I'm glad to hear you are persisting. Ultimately we have to do what we can with the hand we're dealt. It's easy to become bitter and see our limitations as more than they actually are. But seriously, that sucks. My friend always said, if someone graduates at the bottom of their class, they are still a doctor. Most doctors I've dealt with are not very good problem solvers, just the like most people in general. Thanks for the offer.
I never had an apple crack on the tree before. My Goldrush tastes like wet cardboard. And hard when picked late here (Mid Michigan). I guess I have to store it and try it in Dec or Jan. I grow a Scarlet Surprise apple which is fully red fleshed. It's window of good-eating ripeness is only a week long and does not store well at all. It makes a great pink lemonade. It has had apples about 5 years and this year was its best flavor. Actually was a sweet good-eating apple his year. I plan on using it to give my cider a red color.
Hi Prof. We have no rain in the summer and things get very dry, so once it rains, they overswell and crack. if I were consitent on irrigation, I could probably mostly prevent it. Most of the red flesh are pretty primitive as far as I can tell. There is always something wrong with them. A number of us out there are growing seedlings so, hopefully we'll come up with some better ones. there are also various breeding programs working on them.
Well that explains the cracking. We had good rainfall this year right through summer and most apples are larger on average, which shows me my potential if I irrigated. My new orchard is on low, sandy soil which has a high water table and I am hoping will rarely need irrigation.
LoL this guy has a cool humor...
Pink Ladies are my favorite for Fall/Winter. The classic Granny Smith for Spring/Summer.
I went to an outdoor market in Manhattan & there were over 40 different strains of apple. I FELL IN LOVE. Since then I've been on the hunt for an apple that I tasted there. The apple cost me $4.00 just for the one & it was both bitter & sweet. It was crisp, airy & the moment I bit it I literally could taste sunshine. And the apple gave me a feeling that was happy, nourished but not overly full feeling. Oh & it was tri-colored, gold (not yellow), pink & green.
ANY IDEAS ON WHICH APPLE IT IS?
Not a clue. go back and ask them? A lot of apples are good, but then you hit one that is really a revelation. Actually, just in case, google suncrisp. Also, go to Adam's Apples blog and ask him. Good luck :)
Honey crop big difference very juicy
Hey Skillz, I'm in Southeast Michigan, still got a tree full of Goldrush. They blushed virtually overnight on October 10th...weird. But great and late. I leave em on until a hard freeze is headed our way. A couple of frosts is good for them I feel. Great Vid, thanks.
My conditions are probably pretty different. For me the rain cracks them badly because they are dry all summer. We don't get any summer rains. So that is really my deciding factor. I'm not sure what other people do, but I get the feeling they pick them early and store until they mature.
I plan on grafting out another 10 rootstocks (B118) this coming spring. If you get the scion sending itch, that Pink Parfait is interesting to me!
I went to Spouts because I saw a flyer that listed Pink Lady. I saw a small bag of Crimson Gold apples, small crab types. The CG was much better to my taste buds.
Crimson Gold is an excellent apple. One orchard took a chance on it and I think it paid off. Pink Ladies this time of year may be out of storage or somewhat under ripe. Mine are best off the tree in probably december. I've eaten it off the tree on new years and it was excellent. Overall, I'd probably rate crimson gold higher, but Pink Lady has the virtue of long storage and they are just very different apples.
It surprises me how many more apples are being bought and consumed across
the US since retailers recently began packaging apples in pre-sliced sections.
It is scarey to think that US consumers are apparently either too lazy to slice
apples themselves or they were not able to think of doing this for themselves.
(I'm not sure which is worse.)
I am now 70 yo but still somehow able to slice an apple all by myself !
When I am no longer able to do this, could someone just dig a hole
at the local cemetery and drop me in ?
WRZ
Delaware County, PA
Imma need to do a pick with you sometime, they’re my favorite fruit.
Somewhat surprising that Goldrush is such a bug magnet. One of its parents, Co-op 17, was one of the more bug resistant apples in a test.
seems to be this year anyway. I can't remember whether it was other years or not.
7:16 It's a cross between.... no.... I can't remember. LoL =)))
How is the growth habit of wickson? Do you think it would work in a tall spindle system with a central leader and lots of short branches/darts? I have a few small one-year whips but I’d like to plant out a whole row of them. (I first learned about the cultivar from your videos but when I finally tried the fruit at an event in WA, it lived up to the hype.)
Well, it's very vigorous and upright usually. Doesn't always want to throw side branches and laterals well, but notching should help.. It does produce a lot along stems and it's generally pretty productive. I don't use that system, but i don't see any reason why not. Unless the high vigor would be an issue.
You need to get Cherub in that row too! I should have quite a few more scions this year, so hopefully the prices won't be so crazy.
You should call that one that tastes like strawberry and honey, honeyberry
That's better than pink parfait. Pink Parfait is a terrible name.
Love your apple videos especially. I'm gonna be backpacking in California this season, do you know anywhere I can taste some of this cult apples?
I don't sell or distribute or anything. I experiment too much to actually produce anything. I barely have apples to eat, store or process sometimes.
Good video
I’ve been watching a lot of apple videos and considering gold rush, liberty, Williams pride and novamac
In all these videos all apples seem to be baseball or smaller like a tennis ball but orchard picking and grocery store apples are closer to softball size, why is that?
they think people want really big apples, so the new selections are in that direction. I also don't usually irrigate, which makes them smaller. Heirlooms are mixed sizes too.
At 22:00 there seems to be some overlapping text in the Katherine discussion? Any deep wisdom that got covered there?
I can't remember. I hope not! It was just a weird glitch of some kind in the editing software.
Calcium deficiency could be the root of the cracks. When in drought conditions, the tree can't take up nutrients and therefore any available calcium will go to doing more important functions. Dandelion plants make a great natural ground cover when planted en masse. Not only that, the yellow blossoms draw pollenators and beneficials. Highs Magnesium will also inhibit calcium uptake. I have a book title for you, bit I have to pull it from a box. Moving again soon, so I'll post that here in a few mins. :). Its a must have for organic growers.
thanks. I am not very sophisticated when it comes to apple growing. I avoid any summer growing deep rooted plants around the trees because water competition is such a major factor. I've worked with dying mulches using winter bulbs and have one plant that performs really well. Amaryllis belladona grows in the winter, smothers all annual grass and weed, but dies down by June 1st or earlier leaving a thick mat of dead leaves. I'm still in the early stages as far as judging how well the trees get along with it, but it seems promising and I've put in a lot of it under trees to test it over the long run. I have limited water and limited time to apply it, so most of the trees get none at all. Thanks for your thoughtful comments.
Oh, and we tend to have high mag here. I don't remember if mine is high or normal, but it's not low and most soils in the county are high mag. We are definitely low in calcium, though the crabby lady is over a biochar pit with a lot of ash in it, so it should be much closer to neutral and higher cal than the surrounding soil. It is a new tree though with no irrigation, so hopefully once it gets it's roots under it.... Wickson is definitely prone to cracking. I don't know what gold rushes reputation is as far as that goes, but It actually needs to be picked much earlier than I ever pick it just for effective storage.
Lol, no worries. I only have a gr 12 education, but when I discovered apples, I became an "Apple Savant". When I started my channel, I used to live in what would be the equivalent of Seattle and now live in the equivalent of Prudhoe Bay Alaska. Hardiness zone wise. Not really an ideal apple paradise, but there are many selections that will grow here and some that will grow with a lot of help. I don't own land, but that looks to change in 2017. That being said, I will unleash the third coming of my channel hahaha. My evil plan to show folks in far Northern Communities how to create enough produce to supplement their costs of food and crush corporate greed. hahaha. To take back the power of our own food security hahaha. To .... Sorry. Sometimes i get carried away :)
Awesome, I'm all on board with your diabolical plot! I used to be a lot more about growing food and encouraging people to do so, now I can't really even maintain a small garden. I now teach other people how to homestead instead of doing it myself. Some stuff you are already probably hip to, but to check out if not, Eliot Coleman's books on cold weather gardening and biochar. I'm all about biochar now that my trials all seem to be showing good to excellent results. No scrap left uncharred! I'm also pretty interested in the idea of pit heated greenhouses. They used to use tan bark waste or manure as you would for a cold frame, but on a larger greenhouse scale. According to some research I was doing from 19th century England, a 3 foot deep pit could heat a greenhouse with tanbark waste for three months and then if dug up and stirred, another few months after. Of course once it comes out it's basically still useable for stuff. Manure can be used as compost and bark could be charred. No one has access to tanbark, but I'm sure there are other mixes or manure and plant waste maybe that could work.
I'll take some time to check out your channel. You cold weather fruit guys need a dedicated forum somewhere. I've communicated with a few of you about apples here and there. Some interesting guys with interesting germplasm. Nice to meet you. You have trailman crab right? That's a must have for the north and from what little I've tasted a great little apple.
I got all my cold weather ideas from Dr.Robert Duncan. He and his wondedrful wife Verna grow all manner of sub tropicals in Victoria BC. They run a propagation business called Fruit Trees and More I'll check out Eliot though. For the last 5 yrs Ive been nomadic and renting while my wife finishes Med School. I haven't even had a veggie garden. All I am growing is a Meyer Lemon, Bearss Lime and 2 Desert King Figs. Those are my house plants. Next June she will be done and we will be settled into a community. From then on I am restarting my foodie madness. I'll keep an eye out for Trailman Crab.
hey man, I have a 4 acre farm here, and I'm looking to get some more apple trees. could you give me a couple recommendations for what to grow?
Every area is different. Best case scenario is taste stuff grown by a local fruit enthusiast. It is hard to recommend regionally without living there and knowing what works. Gold Rush seems to be well adapted, very popular with home growers, and keeps for a long time. That might be one to try. If you learn to graft, you can always change it over to something else if you don't like whatever you plant.
SkillCult thanks!
look for a scion exchange in your area. Also, you can check in with a couple of websites which both have people from all over the place. The North American Scion Exchange and GrowingFruit.org Lots of knowledgeable fruit enthusiasts there. Location just matters a lot. some of the best apples in the world are worthless here and I'm sure vise versa
Website morse nursery and trees of antiquity. Great varieties. Lots of crab and cider varieties.
How many apples can you water ski behind?
Can you get 2 trees the same from Apple seeds or will they all be different?
There are a very few said to be true to seed, but I actually can only think of one, Fameuse. In general the seedlings are significantly different from the parent and each other, often very different. If you want identical trees, you need to clone by rooting or grafting.
Look forward to hearing about that Grenadine/Lady Williams cross, it's really striking. When do you think you'll try it out?
As soon as it's ready if I can figure that out. That's the trick.
Very Shakespearean with the ending. Nice video!
Look at those apples..
Could you make apple butter from gala or ambrosia or what do you recommend
Probably. I would just use what you have. I just made a batch with random apples including the leftovers from this video. They weren't all very sweet, but it tastes good. We'll see how it keeps. It takes a lot of apples though, so that's something to think about if you have to buy them.
SkillCult ok thanks
Where do you tend to buy apple seeds? Very good video!
I collected a lot of varieties and selected out what I like for breeding. I make my own cross pollinations with the parents I want. I'm sure you can't buy intentionally cross pollinated apple seeds. I'll think about selling some next year, but they'll be pretty expensive. It's not hard, but pretty time consuming to do on any scale.
@@SkillCult How to do cross-pollination between 2 type of apple trees?
Do you keep bees?
I used to, but haven't had any for a while now. bears and diseases got them. Plus I'm not a very attentive bee keeper. More like a bee haver than a bee keeper.
Bees will help u
really like the look of the red flesh apples. i am just starting to get into apples. i dont have a ton of space. i have 5 trees so far akane, honey crisp, mcIntosh, bud 9 rootstock, and 1 other common variety. i believe these are flower group 4. was thinking of grafting some other varieties on these. i live in the northeast zone 6a. i was able to taste the zestar at a local market, really liked that after a few weeks in the fridge. i am looking for some recommendations on some later sweet eating varieties that would be pollinated with what i have already. any thoughts much appreciated. i might have to see if wickson and grenadine will work in my area. anyone have a good source for these?
what area are you in? It doesn't matte that much what you plant, you can add whatever whenever. Join the north american scion exchange and the GrowingFruit websites. You'll find a lot of info and good scion trading. Grenadine and most of those etter red fleshed apples require a long ripening season to develp color, sugar and flavor. Pink Pearl is early, but it's not very red or particularly flavorful as far as I've tasted. Wickson is always worth a try, King david is a fav, everyone loves gold rush, chestnut crab is a winner. Watch my apple review playlist for the stuff I like, but location is everything. Some are widely adaptable and some aren't .
northeast Pa zone 5-6 has a few apple orchards which is nice. i have made a nice list of apples from your videos. that's disappointing to hear about Grenadine. yes location is everything. now its time to find what works in my area. most of the orchard guys have different goals in apples than i do. there orchard practices are different as well. they cannot sell any apple that has fallen on bare ground. i wanted to ask for some scion from them but they didnt seem open to it when i was chatting with them. i bought half a bushel of honey crisp and zestar from them. the apples didnt store well and looked diseased so im glad i didnt get any scion from them. this year i am going to save some pollen. looks like wickson maybe a good one to play with. i wonder how wickson would fair as a rootstock. i have been into figs for a few years now. the desert king fig is known to do well in the pacific northwest but has been terrible for me on the opposite coast. there are 2 good forums for figs. i have around 19 figs in pots in my coal bin. i will be starting another dozen or so varieties this spring. these were collected from old Italian immigrant areas around me. after a few years some of these are cold hardy and will be planted in ground with winter protection.
Hey Steven, wondering if I could get your advice? I'm about to buy my first apple trees and have decided on Irish Peach, Vista Bella, Cox's Orange Pippin, and Cripp's Pink. About 500m-1km away are my parents' Granny Smith trees (only one is of fruiting age).
So I'm primarily just trying to understand how pollination works with only a few trees. Irish Peach is an early harvest fruit (late Dec to early Feb [PS please keep in mind I'm in Australia]), Vista Bella harvests at the same time as IP. COP harvests in March-April. And CP harvests in April-May. Will these 4 trees be able to pollinate each other even though the harvest times are a bit split up?
I'm finding it hard to understand what the harvest times mean for pollination - i.e. will all 4 trees (assuming they are all healthy etc) start opening their buds at the same time and all be open to pollination at the same time? Or will the early harvest trees only be able to pollinate each other since they're earlier harvesting trees than COP and CP (if this is the case then does that mean nothing will be able to pollinate COP?)?
Really hope you're able to help, cheers.
Dave
They open at different times, you just have to find out if they are early, mid, late, very late. You can do that research online, though you might not find them all. Just do a search for the apple variety and check out what all the nurseries say. Better though, just multi-graft those trees and you'll have more variety, longer season and better pollination.
Thanks for the help mate. Doing lots of grafting on these trees is definitely the plan. I have one other quick question, if you don't mind. Does the tree I choose for the structure affect the grafted fruit? For example, if I had a Cox's Orange Pippin tree and grafted Cripp's Pink onto it, would the CP flavour be different than a tree that was only CP? I guess what I'm wondering is does the base tree make a difference?
Good deal. If you have a bunch of varieties going, no need to worry about pollination. The base tree is not likely to have a huge effect on the fruit quality, but some say there is some effect. The vigor/size does make a difference in growth though. Cox, for instance is just a weak grower with disease issues, so it might not be the best choice. My friends trees look small, twisted and stunted next to all his other trees and they are covered in lichens while the other trees aren't. Home orchard society put out a vigor chart once upon a time that you might be able to find on the net somewhere. High vigor could be either good or bad depending on your goals.
Brilliant. I'll see if I can find that chart. Thanks for your help mate, really appreciate the guidance.
varieties today are very confused........because they are many with different shape, color, texture, and taste...........
any chance of getting some seeds from you?
I was planning to do extra pollinations this year and sell them. I have some promised to a couple people and didn't end up with hardly any. I may try that again this spring, not sure.
SkillCult thanks mate. I'm in Australia so I'm not actually sure on the rules with that.
I'm not sure it really matters much with seeds. cuttings can definitely carry disease. Either way, there might be rules against it.
I sent some apple seeds to Australia a couple of years ago. For seed, there is (or was) a list of named permitted varieties.
Wth seeds u do not always get the best genes best to take cuttings off ur best trees some of the old varieties are resistant to mites somewhat
What's the worst kind of Apple to me it's red delicious
They can be pretty bad. There are old strains that are much higher quality. The original apple had merit that contributed to it's original popularity, but strains were selected over the years that looked the best, but they didn't taste the best or even keep the best. The original variety was called hawkeye and it isn't even that red.
However, I'm not crazy about that style or flavor of apple anyway, no matter what. Just personal preference.
you should sell your new varieties show people what you breed and sell the new varieties (clones) too people who are interested and fund future breeding
I may do that. I will sell the scions, but unless I patent them, there is no way to control propagation and renaming. If I get something really good, I might actually patent it, but I've thought about a way to set up a system where amateur and home growers can propagate for free, like a partial license or something. We'll see. I'm a good way off from worrying about that right now. I have to go tend the trees this morning. Everything is a disaster out there. Also, if I do crowdfunding to support it, I'll give away grafting wood or trees to the contributors. I like that idea.
Magnus Walker?
Had to look that up lol.
yeah, you remind me of him. I'm from Cawston, birthplace of the Ambrosia apple.