Two years of high-density apple growth
I'd like to put in my
order now for a May 2015 with no hard freezes to nip our apple
flowers. Because our high-density trees have grown remarkably over
the last two years (2013 in the top photo, 2014 below), and I suspect they could give us quite a few fruits if the weather holds off.
It's
a bit hard to get the full effect from photos like these, but trust me
--- you feel like you're in a miniature forest when you walk by the row
nowadays. Mark's already talking about snaking the tops of the
taller trees (see left) so they don't grow too far above his reach, and
I'm itching for the leaves to fall so I can set out our second
high-density row with this year's graftlings. I wonder if I'll get as much joy from eating the fruits as I do from watching the trees grow?
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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.
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Nayan, maybe you could try pears--I've heard that they can be much easier in places where apples have a hard time. At my parents' house are several apple trees that have a hard time producing apples good for hand eating (although they make lots that are good for the cider press), but one pear tree that produces bushels of amazing dark red fruits every year (as long as there's no late frosts).
Along the same lines--Anna, I think you've been doing some experimenting with pears on your homestead, but I couldn't find any recent updates in the archives. Any luck with your disease-resistant rootstocks, etc.?
Thanks Jake for the idea of pears, a fruit I love! I think there are some folks around here that actually sell pear trees that are from stock in my area. I will look for them.
I'm only sorry I'm not able to grow apples as I love apples as well.