Should we be doing anything with the growth that's occurring lower down the tree beneath the guard? Is this guard too long for this tree? It's hard for me to tell from the picture because it's difficult to get an idea of the scale. Generally hobbyists want the lower branches to start 18 inches to 2...

SOME IDIOT wrote:They have a couple Red Fleshed apples here and pretty much anything else you could want.


http://www.maplevalleyorchards.com/Pages/ScionWood.aspx

Try the Scarlet Surprise and the Pink Pearl both for sauce.

53° — Wind Calm — Sky overcast

Weather has been cold! Consequently, there has not been a lot of progress. 1/2-inch green has come and gone, and I have not done my first cover spray. There has not been enough dampness when it was warm nor enough warmth when it was wet to worry much about scab. However, I notice that today there is...

It's definitely worthwhile looking at Maple Valley Orchards & Nursery for good varieties to grow in zone 5a. I've attended several of Tony's seminars and tastings, too. All 20 trees in my backyard are from his nursery. Most were bench grafts. For yellow apples you might consider Honeygold. Tony...

I would like to test several varieties and want the ones that will, of course, sell. Ah, yes -- the commercial imperative. Have you considered doing your own processing? Apple varieties for sauce, jelly, and cider in craft-size batches will be different from those needed for produce sales. 48° — Wi...

Today is bud break.

1/4-inch green and first cover spray is just days away.

Buy twine.

Haul garden hose out of the basement to warm up.

61° — Wind S 8 mph

She talked to a gardening pro who said not to stake, but in fairness she might not have specified that it is a dwarf. Certainly it will look a lot nicer when it is standing erect. Some dwarfs do not require staking. It depends on the root stock. No need to try to straighten it at ground level. The ...

Here's a very neglected dwarf honeycrisp. It is about four years old and has never been pruned. It is spindly with a significant curve. It has started to produce a few apples. Should I prune the main branch or elswhere? If so, where? Actually it looks in good shape. I like the way you're keeping so...

Randy SGF wrote:I have put it in a small utility trailer I pull behind an old Snapper lawnmower tractor.

Thanks. That clarifies it.

13° — Wind NNW 5 mph

You must be planning to carry it on an ATV. Is that right?

21° — Wind N 9 mph — Sky overcast. Light snow.

Randy SGF wrote:I went to an electric, ten gallon pump sprayer this year to make spraying a bit easier.

Ooh, do tell. I may be in the market. Is this a backpack? I see some huge capacity backpacks that I imagine OSHA would have a fit over.

It has reached me, O Reader, that young trees can benefit from a little granular fertilizer scattered by hand as "top dressing" in the drip zone. This time of year is best. Before a heavy, blanketing snow is best. As the snow melts, it gently carries the nutrients down into the root zone. ...

Around here (southern Wisconsin) snow apples (Fameuse) are much sought after for sauce making. They don't require a lot of sweetening if any. Also, consider Golden Noble. It cooks down really well. Seed Savers says, "Of great culinary value; the creamy white flesh cooks into a rich-flavored fro...

I would like to buy several more varieties that are cedar rust resistant. You do realize that resistant doesn't mean immune. There are degrees of resistance. I don't know how much testing has actually been done. Apparently there has been some, but it's inconceivable that known varieties could be co...

Bark will be slipping before you know it. Look in the newspaper, on the library bulletin board, on your community college Web site, in junk mail from the Cooperative Extension Service. Ring up the Master Gardeners in your area. Find a seminar you can attend on grafting. Expect to pay a small registr...