Southmeadow catalog scan

General Fruit Growing
#1

The apples are all picked and in storage, now its time for a nice winter read. I remembered I have an old Southmeadow catalog in the basement so I went and dug it up.

Southmeadow was the original heirloom fruit nursery in the US, many of the most popular heirlooms are that way because Southmeadow was keen on them. Some of the descriptions may seem familiar because they have been “lifted” by other nurseries for their catalogs.

Anyway, I thought I would scan it in so everyone could get a nice winter read. Here is the catalog - a large pdf: southmeadow.pdf (57.3 MB).

Yes thats 57.3MB, it may take awhile to download on a slow connection.

Along with the main entries the catalog has several supplement sections which add more varieties. Make sure to look through the whole thing to find all the e.g. apples listed.

Even with all the more recent catalogs books etc, these are some of the best descriptions of old apples out there. Robert Nitschke really knew his fruits! He also helped launch some great varieties, e.g. I see Hooples Antique Gold he was the first to offer.

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#2

Scot, is this the nursery in Michigan?, if so there is where I use to buy my stuff from. I believe I bought the Melrose apple from them, which is my all time favorite one.

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#3

Bob, the catalog shows: “Robert A Nitschke, Southmeadow Fruit Gardens, Birmingham, Michigan, January 1, 1976”

#4

They are quite keen on Melrose in the catalog, they probably were highly recommending it to people.

#5

Scott, do you remember, that you had to pay for that catalog, either $6.00 or 16.

#6

Yes, I paid something but can’t recall what it was. The latest supplement I have says it was $10 for the catalog, this is year 2000.

#7

Scott, did you also know Bountiful Ridge nursery, I believe from Virginia, these guys were heavy in stonefruits, also one of my favorite nursery.

#8

I think they were before my time, I started getting serious about fruit around 2000. Heres a link to their scanned catalog that I just found - Bountiful Ridge.

#9

Going back to the seventies, then they close. They sure sold some good stuff. Thanks, Scott.

#10

I know Bountiful Ridge. They sold me twenty mis-identified apple trees to start my orchard in 1977. By the time I figured it out- six or seven years later when they started fruiting, they were out of business or else I would have sued them. Not a single tree was correct. But the on the bright side that forced me to learn to graft.

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#11

What, I didn’t had that trouble, I just bought peach tree’s from them. You must be an old timer to.

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#12

Thats what Southmeadow did to me when I ordered around 2000. Well, not all the trees were incorrect, just most of them. And there were some I paid for that they never shipped and never refunded.

#14

Bountiful Ridge had a great selection of cultivars. Especially peaches. But, you also have to know how to run a business and make a profit.
bb

#15

They still don’t appear to have their stuff together. This fall it took them about a month to respond to my email inquiry, long after I had given up on them and ordered from Century Farm Orchards instead.

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