Sounds like a good idea. Thanks, @mamuang.
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Is this swelling at the graft on my apple something to be concerned about? It’s a 1 year antonovka/B9 interstem with Wickson on top.
I usually ignore this topic, but have about 1200 unread posts here, so I figured I’d check it out.
Don’t love the format. Most of the handful I looked at do deserve their own thread. Thrown together in here just makes it harder to keep track of what’s being discussed.
Maybe I was curious because of some discussion about having a chat room.
Okay, carry on 
I’ll go back to pretending this thread isn’t going.
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We ended up getting less than an inch of rain, and none of our peaches or apples were damaged this time.
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Don’t quite know where to post this . . . so it landed HERE.
I am in Lexington VA - visiting @Rosdonald - Regina. We are doing lots of ‘fruity’ things.
Went to a cider orchard that has a maze. And an Asian pear orchard. Painted, together, in Regina’s orchard - as we are both artists. Today is gloomy, so we plan to ‘obsess’ over grafting plans and other interests we share.
Here’s a pic of us at the cider orchard, where I ‘found’ an Esopus Spitzenburg that I was able to taste for the first time. Man’O’Man . . . I can see why old TJ called it his favorite apple! What flavor! I’ve never had such a delicious apple! I am with you on that one, Mr. Jefferson!
And I am so glad that I have several EsoSpitz grafts growing on my existing apple trees.
Regina and I met on this forum several years ago - and struck up conversations because we live ‘not too far’ from one another. (4 hour drive to be exact). Now we correspond regularly both on and off the forum. And it is so enjoyable - having another kindred ‘fruit’ spirit to share ideas, successes and failures with. This forum serves many purposes . . . and sparking friendships is only one of them. It’s such a great resource for ‘learning’ and sharing about growing fruit. Once again . . . “Thank you @scottfsmith for making it happen”.
Regina’s orchard is impressive. So many apple trees. And sooooo many grafts developing! She has created a chart to keep track of them all and note their progress. I’ll try to get some photos of the orchard today, if I can. It’s beautiful and her trees are shaped so nicely. Inspiring.
The orchard property is her backyard. And it slopes down to a little creek. We set up our French easels yesterday afternoon and painted the landscape, with neighboring cows ‘lounging’ near the creek. Very peaceful . . . (maybe . . . just maybe) . . . I’ll post the resulting painting. I’m not really a landscape painter - but it is a lot of fun to give it a whirl every now and then.
We tasted the Asian pears we bought from the orchard, yesterday. Several varieties. None stellar. I’ve yet to have an Asian pear that had much flavor. Maybe just ‘not my thing’. ? I saw another recent post bemoaning the same lack of flavor . . . I don’t get the hype over that fruit. ??? Hope one day there will be an Asian pear to prove me wrong.
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Karen,
That’s wonderful you and Regina have found kindred spirits. It is quite a dedication to drive four hours to see each other.
I think both yours and Regina’s orchards are well kept and beautiful.
By the way, in general Asian pears are known for their sweet, juicy and crunchy combo. Some may have a hint of aroma.
However, they are not complex like Euro pears or good apples. Their taste is simple and straight forward. I like them the way they are.
If you look for more complex taste, Asian pears may not be the fruit for you.
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I also only occasionally visit the regional forums that are outside of my region, but when I do I often see topics being discussed that are well beyond regional interest and am glad I intruded.
Just an observation. I have no recommendations.
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NAFEX interest group presentation on cold hardy citrus tomorrow. Speaker is manager of One Green World nursery.
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Home irrigation systems: anyone know if they have rain sensors so they don’t irrigate on top of rain? Friends want one of my figs for their irrigated perennial bed and am worried about over-watering.
How far apart should my Blackcurrant rows be, in a residential setting?
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Do any of the winter squash taste more like summer squash and less like pumpkin?
if you want to mow in between them id go at least 8ft. if not, 6 would do.
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Is this what people commonly call a horse apple? I’ve heard of horse apples my whole life but I don’t remember ever seeing one. I found a small tree deep in the woods while deer hunting that was loaded with these things. A few of them on the ground had been chewed on by something. It actually smells like citrus, but tastes horrific!
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That’s what we called horse apples as kid but we used them for grenades when playing war. They did hurt…….
I think it’s really Osage Orange, isnt it?
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Yes, or Hedge Apple.
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We call it Hedge Apple which actually is Osage Orange. We have way too many on our property some of them are really old and quite twisted architecturally. we are trying to get rid of as many as we can and it’s messy business cutting them down. Very hard wood and thorns will definitely cut the skin leading to a reaction. One of my friends develops a fever every time he gets stung.
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hunted s. P.A back 20yrs ago. they were everywhere. we would take those things and throw them into the briar patches to flush out deer bedded down in there got several that way. between the ticks, briars, blackberry thickets and osage orange, its a difficult place to hunt without losing a quart of blood!
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So this is interesting! After you guys helped me ID this thing I’ve done some reading and its very interesting for a few reasons. One, I learned that before barbed wire, people would plant Osage Orange Trees close together in a row, let them grow a few years, then cut them way back. The trees would then send out lots of shoots which would intertwine and grow together a create a very good fence- good enough to even keep animals inside the parameter. The face that they are thorny apparently contributes to this. Very Cool.
Also, apparently the wood from these trees is especially hard and well suited for bows, clubs, and tools. Indians who lived outside the OO ranges would travel hundreds of miles according to one source I read, just to collect the wood for use in weapons and tools. Neat stuff.
I’m surprised to hear so many of you say how common they are in your areas. I’ve been an outdoor person all my life and while I think I have seen a couple of these before, they certainly are not common in the woods around here.
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SO the kids in my neighborhood weren’t the only ones who “played war”??? haha. I love that. But by far our favorite hand grenades came from Magnolia Trees!!! They had those things that actually even look like grenades, and they had that long piece at the bottom that you would break off to simulate pulling a pin before throwing it!!! ha. As an adult, the idea of a game that celebrates war sounds so awful, but as kids it was the most fun we could have! haha. As we grew older we transitioned into bottle rocket guns (PVC pipes) that we’d shoot at each other. How we never had an eye put out I’ll never know.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane! ha
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