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nafex - [NAFEX] My new place...finally an orchard

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  • From: Terence Bradshaw <madshaw@innevi.com>
  • To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org, cider@talisman.com
  • Subject: [NAFEX] My new place...finally an orchard
  • Date: Wed, 03 Jul 2002 09:42:47 -0400

Hello all:
My wife and I are in the process of finally buying our first home located in Calais, VT, eight miles north of our capital, Montpelier. We will have ten acres to play with, mostly wooded but with a clearing below the house of about one acre. I will be clearing more of the area as time goes by. Finally, after caring for other's trees for so many years, I can plant my own (home) orchard. I have extensive experience with orchard management both commercial (fifty and ten acre farms) and for research, as I manage ten acres of plantings for the University of Vermont Apple Program. Finally I can get out of the McIntosh and other eating apple game and put in some cider varieties, my true love. I have been making cider as long as I have been involved with apples, so know what I'm looking for. What I need now is some advice regarding how some varieties will do in this zone 4 climate.
The site: sloping land, southeast exposure, well-protected by softwood forest. Planting will be at about 1300 feet. No doubt acidic soils which I will be liming this summer/fall.
The orchard: I am looking at planting the following varieties:
Ashmead's Kernel, Bedan, Binet Rouge, Black Oxford, Blue Pearmain, Brown Snout, Brown's Apple, Calville Blanc, Chenango, Chisel Jersey, Dabinette, Duchess, Egremont Russett, Ellis Bitter, Erwin Bauer, Spitzenburg, Foxwhelp, Golden Russett, Kingston Black, Lady, Michelin, Non-Pariel, Reinette Simerenko, Reinette Zabergau, Roxbury Russett, St. Edmunds Russett, Stembridge Cluster, Sweet 16, Tremlett's Bitter, Wickson, and Yarlington Mill.
All trees will be on semi-dwarfing rootstock, M7 or CG30. Obviously I have included some eating fruit in here, but ones that I do not have at the research orchard. I will most likely weed out a few of these, and am looking for advice on which to avoid in a zone 4 location.

Any advice?

Thanks,

TerryB
=================================================================
Terence Bradshaw
Pomona Tree Fruit Service
93 Stowe St
Waterbury, VT 05676
(802)244-0953
madshaw@innevi.com

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