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  • From: "Dean Kreutzer" <deankreutzer@hotmail.com>
  • To: nafex@yahoogroups.com
  • Subject: [nafex] New Member
  • Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 07:06:30 -0600

Hello everyone,

My name is Dean Kreutzer, and I'm from Regina, Saskatchewan Canada, which is
about 5 hours north west of Minot, ND.

My wife and I have started an organic fruit orchard of tart cherries,
apricots, plums, pears, apples and raspberries. Why organic? Well, we
believe in it, and we sort of fell into it actually....Due to our zone 2b
(USDA zone 2/3) climate, we had to seriously mulch(landscape fabric & wood
chips) most of our trees in order to give it a good chance of survival. In
doing so, we have eliminated the need for herbicide usage. Fungus and
diseases are not much of a problem because of our arid and very windy
conditions. Pests, besides grasshoppers, are not much of a problem because
of our harsh climate. So it seems that we are in a relatively perfect
location for growing organic, if we can find plants to survive, that is.

I have spent this year going to horticulture school, and acquiring plant
germplasm to do breeding in the spring with apricots, plums, grapes, and
pears. The is my personal goal, to breed high quality fruit, that can be
successfully grown here. Quite the goals, but I have the determination to
fulfill it. I have also begun to accumulate pear and plum scions for
grafting and budding onto dwarf rootstocks. The pears will be grafted on
Amelanchier (Saskatoon/Juneberry) rootstock, and the plums on a Prunus
Besseyi(Sandcherry). So I am always on the lookout for new germplasm that I
have not yet collected.

We have also travelled to 4 different areas of North America to learn how
different people combat different problems. While visiting Minnesota, we
grately enjoyed the Alderman plum, as we feel it was superior to anything we
have tried in the supermarket.

We are also cooperators with the U of S horticulture department, which
enables us to be a test plot for the latest hybrids of fruit that the U of S
have produced. The have specialized in tart cherries and apples, which they
have released two cultivars in 1998, the SK Carmine Jewel cherry and the
Prairie Sun apple. The Carmine Jewel cherry is a hybrid between a selection
of superior mongolian cherry and the Northstar cherry, which many of you are
probably familiar with, as it was released out of Minnesota in the 1950's I
believe. The fruit is a little smaller than the Northstar, about 4 grams in
weight, with a very small, very round pit, which is good for a pitting
machine. The flesh is red, as is the juice, and the taste is great (taste
is a relative thing however!) It ripens at the end of July here, and can
stay on the tree for a few weeks. The U of S will be releasing probably at
least 2 other cultivars next year which offer a larger size (5 gram) cherry,
which is very exciting. I can hardly wait until the seedlings we planted
this year produce fruit in 3 years!

Sorry for the length, but if anyone has any questions or comments, please
don't hesitate to email!

Dean Kreutzer
Zone 2b

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