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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] apple tree size and harvest q's

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  • From: Joe and Ellen Hecksel <jhecksel@voyager.net>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] apple tree size and harvest q's
  • Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 17:33:10 -0500

Andrew wrote:



i have land i am planning a small farm for in cold zone four on the south shore of lake superior. soil pH 4-5. i plan to alley crop it with annual crops/perennial flower nursery in between rows of fruits. i also hope to graze sheep

-i was told....
-why would i NOT want a standard? why would i WANT a standard?

-how about pears?


First, there are a few issues you need to become clear on. I don't want you to post the answers to the internet. I want you to think about where you fall in the landscape of fruit growers.

Are you:
A: Intending to get your full income from those 5 acres? That is, will your sales to be your lone source of income for the entire year?
B: How much money do you have? It sounds crass but you proceed along two different paths if you cut hair for a living and $200 is a lot of money to you, or if you have $10,000 to play with.
C: Are you plugged in with the market in some way? Are you a player in the local organic scene or do players know you and think well of you?
D: How close are you to cities of +10,000 people?
E: How would you characterize your personality? Are you experimental in nature? Nobody will be able to hand you a ready-made blueprint. You are going to have to feel your way along like a blind person with a cane. "All that glitters is not gold and all who wander are not lost." Also, "Meandering leads to perfection."
F: What kinds of time frames do you have in mind
G: Can you graft?
H: Are you plagued by whitetail deer?
I: Can you irrigate?
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

OK, enough waffling. If you were my nephew and you asked those questions:

Your pH is really low. I would start a test planting of domestic highbush blueberries. I suggest you include a mix of half-highs and the cultivars reputed to be cold hardy. Run these close to the road to facilitate U-pick. Plant no more than 5 of each cultivar. You want information. Massive production can come later.

If you are besieged by whitetail deer, then everything you do to armor your trees will also protect them from sheep. Hey, why not. You can always dump the sheep if it does not work out. Try three "T" posts in a triangle 18" on a side and 48" high, 1" mesh poultry netting wrapped around them.

I know nothing about your soil type. I will assume that it is very coarse. I will also assume that you can either graft or know somebody who can graft. Zone 4 is really not that cold. You should *consider* buying 50 Haralson/MM111 or MacSpur/MM111 from a large, wholesale nursery. There are many other zone 4 hardy, fireblight resistant choices that would be fine. Get big rascals. They can grow them faster than you can. Plant them so the graft union is just below ground level. Graft them over (at whatever height is convenient) to what you think sells. The upside of this plan is that failed grafts still have income potential.

Do the same thing with pears. Ask around to find out what commercially available pear cultivars are hardy and blight resistant. 50 pear trees from a wholesale nursery will be far cheaper than 20 pear trees from a boutique nursery.

Plan on making lots of mistakes. Figure out how to make them cheaply. To me, that means graft just a few trees of any cultivar unless you KNOW it will be a commercial success. Otherwise, be quick to abandon the cultivar when it shows its flaws.

Have a plan for your Grade B fruit. One novel idea is to sell "cultured" cider. Cultured cider is to cider what yogurt is to milk. It is not "hard" cider....yet. The concept is that it is better to have selected strains of yeast colonizing your cider as E. coli.

Start small. Pay attention to what works. Abandon what fails to thrive. Be flexible. Be strategic.

Regarding strategic: I raise sheep and know a little bit about them. Start with some cross-bred commercial lambs. Buy them from a farmer who is trying to make money rather than raise pets. Breed them their second year to a black faced ram. Time breeding so the lambs hit the ground when the soil temperature hits 50F...about May 7-20 for you. That means you turn the ram out December 12. Let the amount of grass you have on August 15 determine your sheep numbers. You can ignore this advice when you get really good at sheep. But there is no point in making life difficult before you are ready.


--
-Joe Hecksel
My personal website: http://my.voyager.net/~jhecksel








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