Category: Northeast Fruit Grower’s Journals & Logs

Dusk at Walden Heights

This mutant is the result of goodness knows what. Although fruits can fuse with one another during growth, it is likely a genetic mutation. And yes, despite its gruesome physical appearance, we ate it.

We held one of our workshops on the 25th of July (2013) at the Peacham Library here in Vt. “Growing Organic Fruit in the Northeast Kingdom” was the focus this time around. We had a nice turnout, and a lot of folks had some very good questions and insights. As is usual the information we give is welcomed but I always think people come to these things to get direct questions answered, since books don’t do that so well. I think fun was had by all, so we will certainly do it again.

Big year this year for fruit. After months of berry picking the freezers are chockablock full, so folks can order frozen fruit directly. It never seems to end though (in a good way). Picking tree fruit and grapes now. Most of the apples we have decided to press to cider to sell this coming week (chime in if you want to order). Organic cider in these parts is generally nonexistent, so we are going this route. It is about satisfying a communities need, not just making a buck. So, the squeezings will all be ready for the event on the 5th and 6th.

Final picking of fruit will go right into the snows of next month, but then processing will begin. We hope to offer some boiled cider/apple molasses, jellies and some other goodies, along with putting up things for the homestead. Then with the cold weather we will see if we can write a bit about the things we did all summer…a period which leaves little time for writing.

It was a beautiful sight Sunday morning, a dramatic display of white amid the apple trees. Blossoms galore, right Todd? Um, well yes, but they were barely discernible behind the blanket of snow. So on the eve of the 25th of May and a month of warm temps we received here in Walden just under 5 inches of snow.

It was pretty, no doubt about it when we woke up Sun am, pink and white blossoms, green lush leaves and a thick covering of wet snow. However, heavy wet snows and ample foliage do not mix, the result of which was broken limbs galore and many young trees in the nursery broken in half. There are a couple of lessons to be learned here. One, good tree structure (namely wide crotch angles) keeps those limbs from breaking under stress be it snow or crops. Secondly, young trees need to be staked for the first couple of years during the snowy months. The storm also did in another fleet of bud 9 dwarf trees we had in as a test (dwarf trees are awful for anyone needing a carefree existence).  Lastly I’d say that the weather has been weird, now it is getting weirder. Places in Vermont passed the record for the wettest May in recorded history. May also is becoming a thunderstorm month in the region, which is another in a long list of anomalies.

The first off the mark for apple blooms this year are the Selkirk crabs and the sister trees Norland and Parkland, all showing 100 percent bloom on the 18th of May. Selkirk is a gorgeous purple blossom, Norland and Parkland (part of the same Canadian breeding program) are huge white blossoms with a tinge of peach color. All three of these trees, oddly, bloom very early but are among the most cold hardy of any apple tree. The rest of the apples are just beginning their flower show, a magnificent one this year. Pears, having begun on the 11th are still strong, as are the sour cherries. American plums and hybrids are almost degraded/pollinated. Juneberry trees are done, but saskatoons still hanging in there. Gooseberry and currants all in bloom for the last week and still going. Lilacs still waiting.

We have collected scionwood for this spring’s dispersal. We will keep it available- in cold storage- for about a month. Be aware some varieties sell out quickly, the list will be updated on the scionwood and seed link as often as I can get to it. We are the only certified organic source in the country to our knowledge, and still the least expensive. Rootstock is available in limited amounts.

Climatic change is becoming a large part of the discussion of fruit hardiness. I have been looking at records this week and found some interesting stuff. Here in Vermont we had the wettest year (2011), unprecedented periods of low snow cover (2011, 2012), average higher daytime and lower nighttime temps (2011), latest snow on record (2011), and record highs in mid November (2012). 2012 was the warmest year on record, while having lows in the mid 30’s below zero in 2011. Maple sugar season is now 3 weeks shorter than in the 1960’s. This year (2013) Vt. State legislative joint hearings are being held on the impacts of climate change on business (including but not exclusive to agriculture). The spring temperature swings in the last two years have been devastating to fruit growing in the northeast.

We will constantly remind growers that climatic change can lead to erratic local conditions in temperature, precipitation and other influencing factors on hardiness like snow cover and wind. Temperature swings and early thaws are normally far more damaging than noteworthy low (or high) temperatures.

Here is a Walden Heights Nursery and Orchard view from a couple of years back. Taken from a precarious position of the peak of our house roof, it does offer a decent example of mixed species. We are looking at apple trees, blueberry bushes, siberian pea shrub, sour cherry, american and european plums, grapes, hops, mixed herb garden, tilled garden beds, strawberry, all flanked by commercial nursery and mixed forest. Notice some of the light terracing on the right side, to add nutrient/moisture retention and easier workability in the garden and bushfruit areas.

Ok it is Jan 10th (2012) and we are waiting for the bill chills. We saw about 15 below last week, but that was the roughest of the season. There is still time for the deep temperature plummets, but it is making me nervous, I’d hate to loose my bragging rights. The trend the last few years has been ,overall, milder despite snaps in the last few years near 40 below so we are still in the game. Apparently there have been revisions to the zone charting in the US, placing alot of formerly zone 3 regions at 4. But since snow cover has been poorer and riddled with warmer spells, the likely cold plunges could be disasterous to growers. The irony is the new zone 4’s could be worse off than zone 2’s as regards cold damage to plants. Complicated isn’t it.

This past October’s apple tasting was another success. At rough count we had around 200 guests, maybe more. At hand were 125 plus apple varieties to taste, 15 varieties of grapes, as well as a wide selection of single variety ciders to sample. We also had a small workshop on fall apple planting and plant care, and self guided tours of the orchards. A few folks left with some trees, plants or fruit, but mostly it was a family friendly party, even if it was accidentally educational. For those who spent the time with us, thanks for coming, for those who didn’t…where were you? We will have one again next fall, so keep your eye on the events link on the website.

May 7th is the 2012 date for the first apple blossom, though on a single tree so far. The rest of the apples are still in wait. European Pears and American Plums have their first blooms out or are close. David Pear (ussuriensis cross) has been in flowere since April 24.

Others of note: Nanking cherries open on 4-23, native Juneberries the next day. Other phenological markers that week were violets, bluets, and were all preceded by coltsfoot. Dandelions made their debut about Mayday.

The unprecedented warm weather over the last two weeks has initiated premature budbreak in nearly all the fruit species here in Walden. Temperatures tonight of 6 degrees will spell trouble we fear. We have greentip on a fair amount of apples and pears, but the furthest advance is on black currant and gooseberry with leaf emergence (half inch green). We will post the results of this global warming experiment soon.