It is -5F right now. I hate to do anything outdoor today with this cold. I may just sit back and watch some Netflix and be a couch potato today.
Tony
-10F here right now… tonight shows -14F. The wind is also blowing pretty good. Looks like slow warm up is coming.
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Its a balmy January here at 13 with a low of 3 with a wind chill of -10. We will be back in the mid 40’s by the end of the week. This is very pleasant weather for Kansas. If its not in the negative numbers its no big deal to me.
I’m heading to my local legacy orchard today to talk about possibly buying some scions and general grafting/rootstock conversations. I’m sure I’ll be talking pruning as well. It’s ‘supposed’ to be a balmy -25 to -30 below with windchill at some point today. Good thing the apple barn is insulated as that should bring things into the 30-some degree range for chatting.
I’m debating doing a modified tall spindle setup with dwarf trees. (G41) I figure I need to stake them anyhow so why not just put the whole trellis wire setup in instead. I’m thinking a top wire at around 7 feet and pruning to keep it there.
I’m completely a hobbyist so I’m not really married to maximizing production so much as long term success for reliable fruit each year. My personal ‘orchard’ location is 20 minutes from home so it makes it harder to do a daily walk through on my own time.
I’ll start looking at my final rootstock order and planning scions tonight. We’ll see how THAT pans out.
Have you used G.41 yet? I’m thinking of ordering a bundle of it. In an email conversation, Alan Cummins recommended I use it for my pedestrian style orchard.
Used is a relative term. I tried my hand at grafting for the first time last year and tried a single G.41 and three G.202. One of the 202’s looked very promising and the bud off the graft started off nicely but then stopped and died. I presume latent energy in the scion kept it going. Another 202 started to take and was unceremoniously bit off by a squirrel or rabbit. (only to be left behind uneaten) The 3rd just sat there most of the summer and then around August kicked off a bud that grew about 4-5". I’m not clear if that is going to do better this year or what.
The G.41 graft didn’t take at all, but I put that more to my new skills than the rootstock. I T-budded several grafts this fall and we’ll see how they do in the spring. Simply reading through the various varieties, I’m finding the G.41 has most everything a person could want out of that family. (Other than needed staking which I really would rather not have to do, but it’s the nature of the beast)