Worked on trying to recover my tree rows today. If the weeds get too tall it takes too much herbicide to control the rows. The wild flowers are looking nice, but I don’t need them seeding even more so time to knock them back with the Kombi with a string trimmer attachment, and I have to keep the Horsenettle under control. That Stihl Kombi is a beast, but heavy for a day of trimming, definitely need the harness to deal with the weight.
The weeds always win.
Finally has been dry enough to till the remaining rows in the orchard for planting. Today I moved 18 trees from the nursery bed to the orchard:
3 Schoharie Spy on G.222
3 Spartan on G.222
3 Jonagold on B.9
1 Clapps Favorite on Quince
1 Luscious on Quince
1 Moonglow on Quince
1 Nijiseiki on Quince
1 Patten on Quince
1 Winter Nellis on Quince
And I replaced 3 failed trees in the orchard with extras from the nursery bed:
1 Apricot Apple on G.222
1 Ayers Pear on OHxF333
1 Le Bret on P.18
So 15 new trees puts me @ 594 trees in the orchard, and I just realized I forgot to move 4 Wolf River on B.9, so they’re going to be on the other side of the Pear on Quince, and I have 2 more Pear on Quince to move to the orchard from the nursery bed (Spartlett and Summer Blood).
I ordered 39 apple root stocks and 3 cherry for re-grafts of various trees to replace in the orchard and somehow 7 new to me apple scion and 2 pear scion got in my cart as well: Freyburg, Graniwinkle, Gravenstein, Jonamac, King of Tompkins County, Reinette Zabergau, Rubinette, Maxine and Flemish Beauty.
It’s funny how scionwood and extras of other things just ‘jump in a shopping cart’, eh?
Exactly so. I’m having a grafting event in March. I had Bud9 and MM111 first and then darn if G214 and G969 showed up and then, well one thing led to another.
I grafted Flemish Beauty this year and it has grown 2 feet+. Amazingly prolific.
A hardy Belgian pear, the Flemish Beauty Pear Tree is a great choice for growers in cold climates. Fruit is medium to large and rounded in shape with yellow skin that has a beautiful red blush. Excellent for fresh eating as well as drying.
Pear trees are one of the world’s most popular and delicious fruit. Pears grace us with their delicious flavor, sweet, juicy flesh, and attractive form.
Latin Name: Pyrus communis
Site and Soil: European Pears like full to 1/2 day sun and well-drained soil.
Rootstock Description: A dwarfing rootstock for European Pears, OHxF 513 produces trees 10-12 ft. in height.
Pollination Requirements: Flemish Beauty Pear Tree needs another variety nearby for cross-pollination. Our Asian Pear varieties can also be used as pollinators.
Hardiness: Hardy to minus 25°F. or below.
Bearing Age: 2-3 years after planting.
Size at Maturity: 10-12 ft. in height.
Taste: Sweet, juicy
Fruit Skin: Yellow
Fruit Size: Medium to large
Bloom Time: April
Ripening Time: Early September
Yield: 50+ lbs.
Pests & Diseases: Our European Pear varieties are generally quite disease resistant and easy to grow. Except for occasional problems with Codling Moth, we have not seen significant insect damage on our varieties.
USDA Zone: 4-8
OGW
I just watched one of you fly over videos. The Orchard looks great, really neat. It must take a lot of work.
I’ve seen it both ways, but I call it Zabergau Reinette so I can have apples from A to Z.
Russian bots… 
I had a previous graft of it that I lost, so trying again. I also reference it as Zabergau Reinette, I probably just copied Cummins presentation of the name as they have it posted as Reinette Zabergau. I have the Z covered either way with Zestar!.
We keep ourselves busy with many self-inflicted projects. I have some new footage to edit into a video to show some of the growth on trees in the original rows and filling out of the most recent rows. Appreciate your watching.
We had a Zestar tree years ago. It died from crown rot the year after its first fruiting. We found the apples a little too sweet for our liking, so we didn’t bother to replace it.
My experience with Keepsake was similar this fall, it has an intense sweetness that reminds me of artificial sweeteners. Once I have more production I’ll have to see if they mellow out with storage.
Don’t have a lot of Northwest Greening, but a couple sticks I can do. As scion collections get closer, keep in touch if you desire something. (My Greening scions originally came from smsmith
in Minnesota.) I guess a ‘pm’ is in order.
I’ll be sure to email you when I get a list of scion put together. I don’t winter prune until March, so not sure what will be available until then.
My peach trials are still holding their foliage as of today, 11/16, and despite temps as low as 16.3F.
Tell 'em they need to get to sleep!
Staying up late drinking I guess?
I got the last of the trees mulched, looks like the orchard is all tucked in. Nothing left to do until March when I’ll winter prune.
(1) Spreading Woodchips: @ the Orchard - YouTube
