Re: [apple-crop] weather
Jon, that was an articulate and correct explanation of the current thought on chilling units. However, I should point out that it's full of holes when it comes to apples, such as how "low chill" Anna and Dorset Golden (Bahamas) grow just fine in zone 4 upstate New York, where they blossom in April along with the other apples instead of in January like they do here. Or why on our 100 chilling hours we're still able to grow "high chill" super-hardy apples like Wealthy and Black Oxford, which incidentally blossom about the same time they do up north, even though it may have been 100 degrees here for weeks. I'd say day length may have something to do with it, but even that doesn't answer all the questions. I just assure clients that "the tree knows what to do" and to plant whatever apple variety they want, and to ignore the chilling hours. Wish I could say the same for peaches (the disease-ridden bug-infested squishy-fruited chilling hour monkeys). Merry Christmas all Kevin Hauser Kuffel Creek Apple Nursery Riverside, CA Nakifuma, Uganda On Wed, 23 Dec 2015 14:57:53 -0500, Jon Clements <jon.cleme...@umass.edu> wrote: > It's not getting any better: > > http://jmcextman.blogspot.com/2015/12/dont-panic.html > > Comments/corrections from those more knowledgeable than myself on this > subject are welcome. (No climate change deniers allowed though!) > > Have a Happy Holiday. > > Jon > > On Fri, Dec 11, 2015 at 8:17 AM, Arthur Kelly <kellyorcha...@gmail.com> > wrote: > >> Should I be worried about this weather? Not that there's anything I can >> do about it. Mid-December and in the 50's in Maine! >> >> -- >> Art Kelly >> Kelly Orchards >> Acton, ME >> >> _______ >> apple-crop mailing list >> apple-crop@virtualorchard.net >> http://virtualorchard.net/mailman/listinfo/apple-crop >> >> -- Kevin Hauser ___ apple-crop mailing list apple-crop@virtualorchard.net http://virtualorchard.net/mailman/listinfo/apple-crop
Re: [apple-crop] Narrow Tall Spindle Layout
This photo is at a PYO in Massachusetts not far from Belchertown that has nice-sized trees for pedestrian picking, with the highest apples within kid-sitting-on-the-shoulder's reach. Marty is 5'2 and so you can see the scale. The clerk didn't know the rootstock, but my guess is something smaller than Bud. 9 or M9. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/100097230/PYO%20Mass.JPG Kevin Hauser Kuffel Creek Apple Nursery Riverside, California Nakifuma, Uganda On Fri, 4 Jul 2014 11:29:24 -0400, Arthur Kelly kellyorcha...@gmail.com wrote: Maximum yield isn't necessarily the same thing as maximum sales. In my opinion, the selling is more important than anything else. Yes, good yields of good quality fruit is important, but being good at selling and how much you are able to get for what you have to sell trumps everything else. If you are able to sell for $40.00/bu what needs to happen to get that price in terms of customer experience is the priority. p.s. No, we are not able to get that much but there are farms in the area that do. We still wholesale a large percentage of the crop. Art Kelly Kelly Orchards Acton, Maine On Thu, Jul 3, 2014 at 2:13 PM, David Doud david_d...@me.com wrote: not an expert here, but it's my understanding in a spindle system the space between trees in the row is determined by what renewal pruning will fill and that much over 3' between trees in most situations would require permanent woody architecture to keep the space filled, which brings about several horticultural challenges - then the space between rows versus the height of the trees becomes a calculation to maximize yield - in a you-pick situation I'd suggest that maximum yield would be a secondary consideration to logistics - that wider rows and shorter trees for convenience and safety would override a certain percentage of maximum theoretical yield - I shudder to consider what strategies the public might employ to harvest that beautiful apple just out of their reach... if my understanding is incorrect, feel free to challenge - David On Jul 3, 2014, at 11:21 AM, Matt Pellerin wrote: Thanks for the responses. I was thinking of going to a 10 x 3 orchard growing Honeycrisp on M26 and Macoun on Bud 9. I think the 10 x 3 spacing puts the tree height at 8.5' which will work pretty well for pick-your-own. On this kind of spacing, will I still be within the Tall Spindle category? Will I have to make adjustments in my pruning methodology or will the typical tall spindle pruning and training recommendations work? Thanks, Matt On Thu, Jul 3, 2014 at 8:26 AM, kuffelcr...@kuffelcreek.com wrote: I concur with Dennis' evaluation of Dr. Robinson's videos; this system has forced even stubborn high-chill varieties to transition from vegetative mode to fruiting mode in hot climates and the tropics. I wanted to address Matthew's desire to keep the trees around 6' tall. This sounds like it would take a very dwarfing rootstock like M27; do any of our growers have experience training these as tall spindle? Kevin Hauser Kuffel Creek Apple Nursery Riverside, California Nakifuma, Uganda On Thu, 3 Jul 2014 00:23:19 -0500, dmnor...@royaloakfarmorchard.com wrote: matthew, We have been growing tall spindle in northern Illinois in a pick-your-own orchard for around 5 or 6 years now. The system has been improving over the years and currently the newer spacing being recommended by Dr. Terence Robinson from Cornell is around 12' x 3'. I highly recommend watching the videos at YouTube he did at the Winter Apple School in Henderson County, NC found at http://youtu.be/gJF4wLgXnK8 After viewing this video and others on the BRCC TV - The Educational Channel on YouTube covering the Tall Spindle System, we will be making the recommended changes to our current system of 14' x 4'. Hope this helps. Dennis Norton IPM Specialist/Certified Nurseryman Royal Oak Farm Orchard 15908 Hebron Rd. Harvard, IL 60033-9357 Office (815) 648-4467 Mobile (815) 228-2174 Fax (609) 228-2174 http://www.royaloakfarmorchard.com http://www.royaloakfarmorchard.blogspot.com - Original Message - From: Matt Pellerin To: apple-crop@virtualorchard.net Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2014 2:55 PM Subject: [apple-crop] Narrow Tall Spindle Layout I am a grower in central Maine that operates a pick-your-own orchard. I will be planting a tall spindle orchard next year. I would like to plant the rows as narrow as possible in combination with shorter trees so the customers can reach more of the fruit. My orchard tractor is 54 wide. How narrow can I plant my tall spindle orchard with this equipment? Also, what would be the appropriate tree height at the narrow row spacing? Thanks, -- Matthew Pellerin Agricultural Manager Treworgy Family Orchards 3876 Union St
Re: [apple-crop] Stone fruit trunk painting
1/3 water 1/3 white latex paint On Sun, 14 Jul 2013 08:45:51 -0400, Arthur Kelly kellyorcha...@gmail.com wrote: Does anyone know the recipe for trunk painting including joint compound? ___ apple-crop mailing list apple-crop@virtualorchard.net http://virtualorchard.net/mailman/listinfo/apple-crop
Re: [apple-crop] 'cider house'
Hi Jon; Typically they're built around the equipment you'll be using; do you have an idea what grinder and press you want? Selling retail is an important note as it will need to comply with Health Dept. regs. One that you can hose the whole thing down and keeps out the hornets seem to be two big requests. Kevin Hauser Kuffel Creek Apple Nursery Riverside, CA On Thu, 11 Aug 2011 08:27:40 -0400, Jon Clements cleme...@umext.umass.edu wrote: Hello all, does anyone know of any plans/floor layout for a small-scale cider 'room' or 'house?' Presumably for pressing relatively small amounts of fresh cider and selling retail. Thanks. Jon ___ apple-crop mailing list apple-crop@virtualorchard.net http://virtualorchard.net/mailman/listinfo/apple-crop
[Apple-crop] Scionwood storage refrigerator?
I'm getting a refrigerator for storing scionwood, both refrigerated and frozen. I seem to recall someone saying that the manual defrost ones do better for this; are there any other considerations I need to take into account? -- Kevin Hauser ___ Apple-crop mailing list Apple-crop@virtualorchard.net http://virtualorchard.net/mailman/listinfo/apple-crop
Apple-Crop: E.G.G. Ethylene Gas Guardian?
Has anyone used the E.G.G. (Ethylene Gas Guardian) to extend the life of scionwood? I'm not a chemist, but it uses Potassium permanganate (KMnO4)to absorb ethylene gas. http://www.4theegg.com/how_the_egg_works.html I need to be able to store scionwood for 5-6 months (Anna Dorsett Golden blossom late January, but rainy season in Sierra Leone doesn't start until June). Thanks Kevin Hauser Kuffel Creek Apple Nursery Riverside, CA -- The 'Apple-Crop' LISTSERV is sponsored by the Virtual Orchard http://www.virtualorchard.net and managed by Win Cowgill and Jon Clements webmas...@virtualorchard.net. Apple-Crop is not moderated. Therefore, the statements do not represent official opinions and the Virtual Orchard takes no responsibility for the content.
Apple-Crop: Trimming Roots on Benchgrafts
At several places I've seen the roots on vigorous benchgraft rootstocks like M111 trimmed back to short (1/2) knubs before planting in commercial orchards. Can someone tell me what is the purpose of this, and does it take longer to establish growth on these trees? Thanks -- Kevin Hauser Kuffel Creek Apple Nursery Riverside, Southern California -- The 'Apple-Crop' LISTSERV is sponsored by the Virtual Orchard http://www.virtualorchard.net and managed by Win Cowgill and Jon Clements webmas...@virtualorchard.net. Apple-Crop is not moderated. Therefore, the statements do not represent official opinions and the Virtual Orchard takes no responsibility for the content.
Re: Apple-Crop: A different kind of West Coast apple
Their prediction that a couple degrees of warming will make apple growing unsustainable is a little premature; I grow over 100 varieties of apples, including Gravenstein and Bramley, in an inland valley outside of Los Angeles temps far hotter than Sebastapol on about 250 chill hours per year. In fact, I have a nice crop while the nearby mountain orchards are suffering a lean year. Kevin Hauser Kuffel Creek Apple Nursery Riverside, CA On Thu, 20 Aug 2009 12:46:59 -0400, Daniel Cooley dcoo...@microbio.umass.edu wrote: Thought you all might be interested in this story. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-apple20-2009aug20,0,1483053.story Daniel R. Cooley Dept. of Plant, Soil Insect Sci. Fernald Hall 103 University of Massachusetts Amherst, MA 01003 Office: 413-577-3803 dcoo...@microbio.umass.edu FAX 413-545-2115 http://people.umass.edu/dcooley/ Office location: 103 Clark Hall -- Kevin Hauser -- The 'Apple-Crop' LISTSERV is sponsored by the Virtual Orchard http://www.virtualorchard.net and managed by Win Cowgill and Jon Clements webmas...@virtualorchard.net. Apple-Crop is not moderated. Therefore, the statements do not represent official opinions and the Virtual Orchard takes no responsibility for the content.
Re: Apple-Crop: Apples at a place where there is no chilling.
Dr. Parmar: Apples are cultivated in many tropical locations such as Honduras, Nicaragua, Uganda, and the Philippines. The branches are trained horizontally and dormancy is triggered and broken most often by stripping the leaves off by hand to coincide with the onset of the dry season, when any irrigation is also shut off. Dormancy-breaking chemicals like Dormex have been tried, but in most of these rural locations it is too hazardous and expensive to be used effectively and hand-stripping works better anyway. Because day lenght is relatively the same year round, this process can be used to harvest two to three crops with supplimental fertilization. I recall 10 years ago getting a report from missionaries from Wycliffe Bible Translators who were helping set up some Honduran indiginous group with a cider press for a home-based industry, and they were doing quite well. It was funny to see an old-fashioned cider press in the jungle. A Vermont-based group called Farmer to Farmer was also helping set up apple processing like jams and apple butter. In 2005 the fledgling apple industry in Uganda was the subject of an intensive studay you can download at www.icra-edu.org/objects/public_eng/ACFRUkhMi.pdf This report is the basis for my export of 200 apple trees to Rwanda the end of this week, with requests from Congo and Kenya pending. My small nursery is based on experimenting with varieties to find those suitable for high-heat, low-chill applications for warm climates, and the top varieties may raise some eyebrows. You are of course with Anna and Dorsett Golden, but we are also favoring those that color up well despite hot nights like Arkansas Black and Williams' Pride, which is disease-resistant as well, a plus in tropic conditioins. It has responded to leaf-stripping culture quite readily. There is definately a need for longer-keeping varieties for the tropics, as Anna only is good for a couple weeks after picking. I'm pleased with the high prices the Bantu apples are fetching, as one of the main problems facing rural farmers in Southeast Asia are competition from cheap Chinese imports, which even in rural markets can beat out local competition. The quality is of course poor and so good-tasting local produce would have an edge. I would like to see some photos if you have them. Thanks for posting your report. Kevin Hauser Kuffel Creek Apple Nursery Riverside, Southern California USA On Mon, 16 Feb 2009 06:10:13 -0800, Dr. Chiranjit Parmar parmarch_...@dataone.in wrote: Dear all, I was in Indonesia for two weeks and also visited some places in Java island of that country. I had a VERY BIG SURPRISE of my life there. In Batu area of Java I saw apples being cultivated. This are is around 3000 ft above the seaas level, at 6 degrees south of equator. The minimum temperature of this area is above 45 F meaning that the trees do not receive any chilling. Most farmers even take two crops a year by regulating the flowering with pruning or hand defoliation. The fruit quality is good and these fruits are bought by consumers at supermarkets at a price higher than that for Fuji apples. I would not have believed it had I not seen these orchards personally. Could any of you explain how these apple trees are able to grow and bear fruits even without meeting their chilling requirements? Dr. Chiranjit Parmar www.fruitipedia.com -- Kevin Hauser -- The 'Apple-Crop' LISTSERV is sponsored by the Virtual Orchard http://www.virtualorchard.net and managed by Win Cowgill and Jon Clements webmas...@virtualorchard.net. Apple-Crop is not moderated. Therefore, the statements do not represent official opinions and the Virtual Orchard takes no responsibility for the content.
Re: Apple-Crop: Subtropical apples.
Dr. Parmar: It is a mistake to focus exclusively on traditional low-chill apples in the tropics, as the fruit quality often is not acceptable and dormancy issues for other apples are easily overcome. The main obstacle I see for a tropical apple farmer is to compete with cheap imports from China. You won't be able to beat their price or appearance, and so you will have to produce better-tasting apples. Here in Southern California I'm testing about 100 apple varieties in low-chill conditions. If I was to have to pick an apple for commercially growing in the tropics, it would be Williams' Pride. It colors up well and is productive in the heat, and is disease-resistant; my next pick would be Enterprise for the same reasons. Many russets would also do well, but the fruit is ugly and would be trouble to market. Wealthy is popular in central America and attains good quality, but both of these would have disease issues. You can see a list of what I have growing and notes on performance at www.kuffelcreek.com/applelist.htm Kevin Hauser Kuffel Creek Apple Nursery Riverside, California On Wed, 09 Jul 2008 11:00:16 -0700, Dr. Chiranjit Parmar [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Dear members, I want some information on growing apples under mild winter conditions or subtropical conditions. I had once worked on a project like this here in India 40 years back. At that time alongwith US varieties like Tropical Beauty , we had also tried varieties from Israel like Vered, Naomi, Tamar etc. The trial did not give good results and most trees were severely affected by various diseases. The fruits were small and not at marketable in competition to regular apples. What is the present situation. Have any new varieties been developed? Dr. Chiranjit Parmar www.fruitipedia.com -- Kevin Hauser Kuffel Creek -- The 'Apple-Crop' LISTSERV is sponsored by the Virtual Orchard http://www.virtualorchard.net and managed by Win Cowgill and Jon Clements [EMAIL PROTECTED]. Apple-Crop is not moderated. Therefore, the statements do not represent official opinions and the Virtual Orchard takes no responsibility for the content.
