North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Kieran and Donna" <redherring@tnaccess.com>]

I'm sending this to Scott, and also to the rest of you for your comments and corrections... 

 

Scott,  Where are you?  If you are in the Denver area, as someone implied, you should know that a wonderful writer, Ralph Moody,  talked about the cherry orchards in Littleton around 1900.  I have already told a NAFEXer in Littleton about it, so you should contact her and see what she has found.  What I'm coming around to is that wherever you are, it's good to talk to old people and ask about good old apple trees in your area.  Sample fruit from as many as possible, and it will definitely spur your interest in grafting!!!  I will warn you right now that the old trees are going, and you will not be able to save them all, even if you started grafting today, you will hear about trees that are gone now, and old trees are being cut down even as I write.  Also the old people are dying out too, the people who knew the old varieities and where the old trees are.  It'll be a winter project to keep you busy till spring, and then probably the rest of your life, I have never gotten tired of it though I become discouraged at times.  We now have a thriving little farmer's market in our town and I try to go every week to talk to the old guys and the younger people who have come out of the poor hill lands with their old fashioned beans (I'm in Seed Saver's Exchange) and I talk with them about apple varieties and pears and so forth.  I just found out that a Stayman Winesap is distinguished from the older smaller Winesap by the radial cracking it's prone to.  Now I know which trees I have known in the past that were Staymans.  Unfortunately a large old tree I have been picking from for several years was just cut down in the last couple of weeks, I suppose someone got tired of mowing over a lot of wasp infested fruit that they never used for anything.  LOTS of the old trees I knew and ate from have been cut down, many before I ID'd them. But I have two  little trees I grafted from local trees, one I think I have ID'd as the "Shortcore" and the other I assumed was a Limbertwig from the shape of the tree.  After this terribly wet summer we have had, there is not a spot of cedar apple rust on either tree!   We have cedars all over our property and I don't spray, so such resistant trees are invaluable.  Anyway, there's your pep talk. 

    As for getting trees, none of us old hands in NAFEX trust nurseries at all, unless they are NAFEX associated.  Ed Fackler's old nursery,  Turkey Hollow, I think was the name, may have the trees you want and probably true to name.  Meanwhile, plant yourself some rootstock trees where you want your orchard, and start asking around.  You have a couple of years at least to get the trees grafted, and your success rate will be much higher if your rootstocks are well established.  Also find some local orchards and ask what does well in your area commercially, and taste some of the fruit.    Donna