North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Jim Fruth" <jfruth@tds.net>]

Deb S asked, "Also about when do you thin your fruit?  I would hate to thin 
and then lose more fruit to "June drop".


   When I thin apples I strive to leave only the 'king' apple in all 
clusters, thereby minimizing the June Drop.  In addition, I leave only one 
apple per hand width per branch so the fruits grow to almost softball size.
   There is one problem with harvesting huge fruits.  The prongs on the 
basket picker that is available at the hardware store are too short to 
approach the stem of such large apples.  Consequently the prongs gouge into 
the  flesh at the stem ends but, to counter that, force some stiff plastic 
tubing onto the prongs, adding to the length of the prongs.

Jim Fruth
Brambleberry Farm
Pequot Lakes, MN  56472
For jams, jellies & syrups:
www.bberryfarm.com
(877)265-6856 [Store]
(218)831-7018 [My Cell]