Planting Out 115 Apple Seedlings, Two Years In!
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- Опубліковано 21 жов 2024
- Two Whole Years! into the apple breeding project I'm planting out the seedlings that we pollinated at the very start. These will grow for several years before they begin fruiting, at which time they will be assessed for quality and performance, to be named, culled or used for further breeding.
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LINKS RELATED TO THIS VIDEO: Apple breeding playlist: • Flower to Fruit, Amate...
two years ago I intentionally pollinated apple blossoms to create new varieties of apples. Those flowers bore fruit, the seeds of which were planted the following winter. By the next fall, they were tall seedlings. Those were cut off and grafted to dwarf rootstocks this spring. In this video, we plant the apple seedlings out into rows where they will grow until they start to flower and make fruits. The seedlings will be assessed for fruit quality of the apples and growth performance etc. IF any of the trees perform well enough, the fruit will be named and released. Many will just be culled and thrown out, most of them, and some might be saved for further breeding.
I learn so much when I watch your videos. Thank you.
Looking at that blue bucket, we are less than 50 miles apart ... DDDD
It's actually somewhat relocated. Someone brought it here.
I think there is an important lesson here in this video.
No matter how bad things seem or how much there remains to be done - be sure to stop and smell the flowers.
Almost every problem in life is one that you create for yourself in your mind. In the same way you can create solutions - and cultivate a bit of joy and enjoy the fruits (or flowers) of your labor.
Good advice.
Great work! Machine are nice, friends helping are too.
I like working by hand, as I'm sure you do, but there is only so much time and energy to go around.
I'm fighting this in the cordwood challenge. I will put up a little video on hands vs machine.
Another good video. Good to see you with some help. Been looking at heritage apples, getting VERY interested. Thanks Bro.
There are ridiculous numbers of heirloom apples all over the world. Google books is my favorite place to research old apples.
check out this stuff I gleaned off the net on Golden Harvey. Still haven't gotten to try it yet.
Golden Harvey (Brandy Apple; Bound Russet Harvey) Flesh, yellow, firm, crisp, juicy, sugary, with an exceedingly rich and powerful aromatic flavour. This is one of the richest and most excellent dessert apples; it is in use from December to May, but is very apt to shrivel if exposed to light and air, as most russety apples are.
The tree is a free grower, and perfectly hardy. It attains about the middle size, and is an excellent bearer. When grown on the paradise stock it is well adapted for dwarf training, and forms a good espalier.
Independently of being one of the best dessert apples, it is also one of the best for cider; and from the great strength of its juice, the specific gravity of which is 1085, it has been called the Brandy Apple.!!! (‘A dessert apple, not larger than the Golden Pippin; colour light yellow, with a flush of red, and embroidered with a roughish russet. It is called Brandy Apple from the superior specific strength of its juice, being 10.85; it is of remarkably close texture, very rich in flavour, and will keep till April or May’. [FCM p.43/1845].) Produced a medium sized tree but is a fickle bearer. It was mentioned by Evelyn and was probably bred in the early 17th century. Fruit; small, oblato-cylindrical, even. Skin; entirely covered with rough, scaly russet with a yellow ground cover, exposed next the sun. Flesh; yellow, firm, crisp, juicy, sugary, rich and aromatic flavour. ‘The Brandy Apple, in a warm or favourable season, is perhaps the most delicious of all dessert apples.’ Ripening in December, it will keep until June, but requires careful storage.
Also used as a cider apple: ‘The cider made from it has so much strength as to give the apple its favourite local name of Brandy Apple. When, however, in a good season, the sweetness and aroma are happily retained, the cider is as rich as it is potent, and tradition tells that it has not unfrequently been exchanged, bottle for bottle, for the best old port wine.’ [HP pl.XVI/1878].
‘The tree is a free grower, and perfectly hardy. It attains about the middle size and is an excellent bearer. When grown on the paradise stock it is well adapted for dwarf training, and forms a good espalier. Independently of being one of the best dessert apples, it is also one of the best for cider; and from the great strength of its juice, the specific gravity of which is 1085, it has been called the Brandy Apple.’ [Hogg p.93/1851].
Described and figured in the Pomological Magazine. ‘This is by some supposed to be an Apple of very ancient date. Trees of considerable age are said to be growing on the Cotswold Hills, in Gloucestershire. By others it is doubted whether the writers on the fruits of the 17th century were acquainted with it, though Evelyn says, that some persons preferred the cider "of the Harvey Apple (being boiled)" to all other ciders; and the Harvey Apple and Russet Harvey are both mentioned by Worlidge. These doubts are very much strengthened by the fact that the Golden Harvey is even at the present day but little cultivated in comparison with its surpassing merits. It is, perhaps, the very best of all our fruits, on which account it is probable, that if of an old origin, it would have been by this time more universally known. It is not to be supposed, that because Worlidge names two sorts of Harveys, this must necessarily be one of them; for in the cider counties there appear to be three distinct kinds under that name, and the Harvey Apple of Norfolk is a sort totally different from either of these three.’ [PM t.39/1828].
‘Golden Harvey: A small round yellow fruit, very rich flavour, and a free bearer.’ [David Crichton. NHM vol.1 p60/1864].
History at Camden Park
Listed in the 1845, 1850 and 1857 catalogues [Apple no.16/1845].
Notes
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Golden Harvey, Brandy Apple
A dessert apple, not larger than the Golden Pippin; colour light yellow, with a flush of red, and embroidered with a roughish russet. It is called Brandy Apple from the superior specific strength of its juice, being 10.85; it is of remarkably close texture, very rich in flavour, and will keep till April or May.
Read more: chestofbooks.com/gardening-horticulture/The-Fruit-Cultivator-Manual/Winter-Apples-Fruit-Part-2.html#ixzz1qXrh6B7N
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books.google.com/books?id=RvoCAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA88&lpg=PA83&ots=SRlsCjIAhi&dq=belle+de+pontoise+apple+variety&output=text#c_top
Golden Harvey.-Dessert. December-May. An excellent table Apple. Tree of moderate growth but healthy and forms an excellent small tree on the Paradise stock, bearing freely. Fruit small, round, flattened, yellow and russety, flavour exceptionally rich.
I start with a simple thought and you turn me almost into an obsessive. Your information ,as always, impresses the shit out of me. Your desire to share information an inspiration. My planned plate gets bigger and bigger. Thank God you are sharing your work to cut down on my failures. Your success that I share, I will share on UA-cam. Thanks a ton Bro.
Zach's my buddy! Alright!
He's a good one.
Such a huge project this is becoming. And then when you start backcrossing/crossing the offspring and growing out and fruiting the second generation crosses? What a lot of trees to keep track of.
Yeah, no shit right! I need to get on the vetting process and take notes this year. It's hard to stop. I still want to make more pollinations this year and already have a couple I want to do next year when I get chestnut crab back.
Congratulations man, that was no small feat. Always great when friends come out to help. What wss the white narssisis with the pink centre at the end? I think I should plant some of those for my sister.
I'm not sure what that is. It might be unlabeled.
Naw, it can't be unlabeled. I have unlabeled growing here, and it doesn't look like that... ;)
",,, like, way too many,,, "
Yes Mr.Edholm, when I saw those Franken-trees, it went with out saying that you'd go after the apples, much like someone attaching a pin to the wall with a sledgehammer.
That ofc rings straight home for me, so my 'small' afforestation project, just got,,, 'less small' :P
Ha ha, yeah, it's easy to get carried away with stuff. This is particularly bad because there is always another cross to make and then crosses of crosses and the next best apple ever could be right around the corner (albeit the corner is half a decade or more away lol)
Watch out for the 'Skinner effect', lol! Btw, have you ever tried planting trees that you later harvest for firewood and/or materials? My plan is to simply transplant (w/soil&roots) sapling otherwise removed while clearing, or stunned by overgrowth. Think I might be getting myself into a lot of work if I plan to take more than a few trees up the mountain, even if take them from mid-way up.
Note that I don't know if scions will set well enough before winter, which is why this is my current plan.
Do you have an option to give out/sell seeds from non specific crosses in your orchard? You have loads of variety and im sure the bees are making loads of variations you're missing out on. If you sold off or gave away some of your seeds that you didnt intentionally pollinate, you would still be getting alot of genetic diversity out there to your fans and we could start doing your experimenting. Besides growing a couple trees from a nursery/breeding project i dont have in my area and waiting a few years for blossoms ready to be pollinated to show up I dont have an option to get anything strange growing right away. Would love to pop any number of your seeds into germinators and get them into the ground.
I haven't really done that yet, but I have considered making some choice varieties available, especially Wickson. I've also thought about selling crossed seeds and did make some extra pollinations this year using sweet sixteen and king david, with Cherry Cox and Wickson etc. I haven't checked to see how well they've done. I've also thought about spreading the whole project out, where people could host seedlings or otherwise encourage a sort of group effort for apple diversity and improvement. There is a group of growers doing something like that in the midwest that is pretty focused and has produced some varieties that are now on the market.
Thanks for the reply! If that is something you venture into make sure to save a spot for me to sign up. Like i was saying, I just know you have LOADS of diversity. I totally understand that the sees that come from your deliberate crosses are a little too precious to just be giving away or selling. But you've got hundreds of apples that are getting all mixed up all over your homestead.
Even if you don't want to make it a business venture and overwhelm yourself. Shoot me a pm if you're up for throwing some extra non specific seeds in an envelope. I can absolutely cover s&h and an extra for your time :P
Yeah, that might be able to happen. I've thought also about selling mixed pollen, or having a really simple system of mixing the pollen of a bunch of great varieties together and then running around quick pollinating a bunch of other good varieties. more of a gamble, but a little bit easier than keeping track of crosses and varieties. I could just make them all with the same color flags, pull all the apples in a pile and not have to keep track of the seeds and crosses. Part of the problem for me is fulfilling orders and keeping track of all that stuff what I'm sending to who and addresses and all that. Either way, stay tuned this fall.
That sounds like a great idea. Would end up with a fantastic pile of apples I bet! Tuning in subbed and checking your blog and store when i can. Kepp up the good work!
Great look at the energy that's going into this project. I think the only thing I'm left wondering about is the paper documentation and how you anticipate the future of those beds turning out. For example, do you keep a notebook and what does culling look like?
Thanks again for getting me in the groove to graft. 5/6 of your scions are leafing out here in Maryland.
Well, the paper documentation would be digital. I should probably go win one of those instructables contests where the prize is an ipad. that would be handy for field notes. There is no paper or digital record now that is anything like a map, though I should do one. I'm relying on the tags for now and they do get lost occasionally. Notes will be color, disease, season, bloom season, vigor and obviously overall fruit quality and tasting notes. Eventually I'll just axe whatever I don't like and kill the root to give the rest more room.
Wow! You all got a lot done. I am so happy to see you have some wonderful friends. The flowers are beautiful. I had a friend who bred Iris and Daylilies. She was member of the Missouri botanical garden for them too. Her yard was full of them and other things. Now that she is gone. I don't know if her yard lives one. Best wishes to you and the growth of the trees. E :)
It's fun to work with people. I know an iris collector. She's over 100 years old!
She was 91 when he passed. 2019 would have made her 100. I miss listening to her and her hubby talking about there life. I was lucky to get to know them. You have a treasure of a person there too.
my great great uncle bred iris here in N.H. for fuller gardens, always tried to get a true black iris.On a different note Bite me was grafted here today
I am glad to hear that, Jerry. That color is hard to achieve. I wish I would have taken more photos and had a video of her garden. But, the memory's are priceless. I have a pure white Iris from her. She said it was her husbands favorite. Named Captains table. Yet when I search the name get another color for that name.
So cool :)
Hi there! How looks your small grafting trees now? Will you show them soon? :) I'm very interesting this project. In my country is very much old and new apple varieties worth the attention. I would like to do a similar project here, in Poland :)
Good luck!
I hope to post an update on those soon.
I have a question if I start a apple tree from seed can I graft to it and restrict the size of the tree by restricting the root growth , like in a container?
There are rootstocks that are dwarfing, like I'm using here. They come in different sizes, like this one grows trees abou 7 to 10 feet tall, but it's easy to keep them smaller. So you can do what I'm doing, grow the seedling, cut off a piece and graft it onto a dwarfing rootstock. There are charts you can look up.showing the different sizes.
Is there some reason you perform the graft while the rootstock is not in the ground? I would have thought it better to plant the root stocks initially and then graft the scions on them when they are getting started. Sorry if I'm missing something obvious.
It is much easier to bench graft than to do these kinds of grafts with the stock in the ground. For this kind of dormant grafting, bench grafting is standard. Budding is carried out in the ground once the stock is growing, but that is different altogether, because it utilizes the current seasons growth as the bud source. If bench grafted, the graft will actually start healing before the tree is even planted, which is generally a good thing. If everything is right, which it usually is, the roots will grow very fast in the spring and support the top growth.
Thanks!
I'm fairly new to your site but you have sucked me in hard with the manic depth of the information. I don't know your plans but I hope at some point you (or someone on your behalf) will take all of your video and create a full length feature, perhaps even taking it to an indie film festival. I would suggest the title "A Life Well Lived!"
"manic depth of information". I like that :). I don't think I'm up to that project. Who knows what the future holds though.
love the swales/terracing gonna have some great long term water storage in the ground that way. new sub here, love what your doing. you must be located in a place thats conducive for apple planting? what zone/location if i may ask?
I'm not sure what it'll do with the water table here. We get all of our rain at once, then it's totally dry, so they don't seem nearly as useful here. A lot of places here you couldn't do this, or especially swales because of the slump prone clay soils. You'd lose the hillside with our heavy rains. This is loam though, so I can do whatever I want.
Did you rent the tractor?
No, it's not really mine, but it lives here. I mostly just use it to move dirt once in a while, and very light excavating. It's pretty fun though :)