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
The views represented are mine and mine only...
[NAFEX] My new place...finally an orchard,
Terence Bradshaw, 07/03/2002