Diavolicchio - An Orchard at the End of the Country

[Diavolicchio]

I joined earlier tonight and wanted to post a basic introduction. My name is John and Ive lived for the last 15 years in a little village on an island off the Maine Coast called Vinalhaven. Im a biotech recruiter professionally, however was fortunate enough a few years back to be able to buy a wonderful 16 acre parcel of farmland on the mainland (in the town of Union) where I began an heirloom fruit orchard. My long-term plans are to graft and grow and nurture a collection of 2,500 heirloom fruit trees (apples, pears, peaches, apricots, plums, cherries, medlars and jujubes) which will become an early retirement for me in another 12 years or so. Its been a challenge trying to get an orchard off the ground living 1 hr 20 min away by boat plus an additional 25 minutes away by car. Ive managed to make some good progress, but the learning curve has been steep.

My plans for 2010 are to sell my house on the island, to break ground next Fall at the orchard for a terrific little cottage I recently had designed, and to step into a lifestyle thats as self-sufficient, eco-friendly, sustainable and biodynamic as possible, where Im dependent on few external things, especially utilities. The cottage will be built like a fortress and will probably withstand the Second Coming. It will be so well-insulated and air-tight that it will require only around 12,500 BTUs to heat in the dead of a cold Maine winter. I'm quite excited about it. It will also have a couple of small root cellars beneath it (different conditions for different things) where I plan to store all of the riches from my land that Ive either grown, raised, canned and/or preserved.

Ive joined this forum because I have a feeling Im amongst a group of kindred spirits who can identify with what Im doing and who can offer feedback, insight, suggestions and even support, having already done many of the things themselves that now lay ahead for me.

Merry Christmas (and Happy Holidays) from a large, beautiful rock off the Maine Coast!


John

 

[FarmerDenise]

 

[johnElarue]

Welcome, and er.......wow!

Good luck with it all and very much looking forward to asking you some questions in the future.

Besides your apple catalog the 12,5kbtu heating system sounds interesting.

Merry Christmas,

john

 

[enjoy the ride]

Hi there- wow- an orchard of heirlooms. I'm jealous.
If I can ever get it started well again, I would love to know if you know it's true name. It's a plum with a sweet skin that is of an unknown variety. I don't know if it is commercial production somewhere. But it is the only plum I'd grow.
It's been grafted around here but I have no idea if it could withstand a Maine winter.
Anyway- so far I failed one of the two grafts I took from my old home but the one is still thriving. The failed graft was due to my procrastination and I was lucky that the one took. The original tree was destroyed by a bear last year. I know there must be others around as the original owner was very generous but I don't know where they might be. So I keep doing a protective dance around the one which is only about two feet high.
I'd really love to hear about some of your rare ones.
BTW- my area is close to the breeder of Waltanna apple. He had a bazillion heirlooms that he crossed to get new apples.

 

[Diavolicchio]

BTW- my area is close to the breeder of Waltanna apple. He had a bazillion heirlooms that he crossed to get new apples.

You must be close to Garberville then. Albert Etter, the guy behind the Waltana and "bazillions" of others, developed many great apples. One in particular that I love is called Wickson Crab. It's quite possibly the sweetest apple in existence with Brix values that have been measured up to 25. Etter's original orchard is now known as Greenmantle Nursery . Since you're lucky enough to live in that part of the country, you can buy grafted trees directly from them of any of varieties in their orchard.

For the record, here's the description of Wickson Crab from the Greenmantle Nursery website:

WICKSON CRAB (Patent # 724 ) Named for the great California fruit authority, this diminuitive crab hybrid is becoming Etter's most critically acclaimed variety. Bred from two obscure crab varieties (Spitzenberg Crab X Newton Crab), Wickson typically measures from one and one-half to two inches in diameter. An amazing amount of intense flavor is concentrated in this small package..... an extraordinary balance of sugar, acid, and aroma - along with a refreshing trace of astringency. Because of its high sugar content (almost 25 points in the juice), Etter recommended this variety for "champagne" making. It certainly produces an exceptionally rich sweet cider that will sparkle with effervescence when allowed the chance. The small fruit crushes easily in the grinder and gives a very high juice yield.

Wickson, however, is much more than a cider apple. Its powerful flavor makes it an extraordinary "Sweetmeat" confection for adults and sophisticated kids. Striped and flushed red over a cream ground, Wickson ripens here in mid-October. It can hang a long time on the tree, but its delicate skin does not hold up to rain.


Thanks for the hello!

 

[Diavolicchio]

Welcome, and er.......wow!

Good luck with it all and very much looking forward to asking you some questions in the future.

Besides your apple catalog the 12,5kbtu heating system sounds interesting.

Merry Christmas,

john

John,

Thanks for the hello and the well-wishes. The cottage to be built will only require 12,500 BTUs in the dead of winter mostly because of the ICF construction (the walls will be nearly 18" thick) and the triple pane low-e windows. I've also gone a bit overboard on how I'll be insulating the place. The roof will be an R-76 and the walls an R-38. You'll find additional details about the cottage on a simple website I put together for a few friends . On that page you'll find a few hand-renderings by the architect, a list of technical specifications, a site plan, interior and exterior elevations and the floorplans. I've still got some minor changes to make to these plans before they're complete, but they're about 90% of the way there at this point.

Are you an American living in Japan? How did you end up over there?


John

 

[enjoy the ride]

Do you sleep? I thought I was up late.
A few years ago I'd heard that a lady had purchased Etter's farm with the intention of preserving his stock but I had not heard anything more. I'm glad to know that it's in production.
The man who gave be the plum scion wood knew the Etter's. He's the one that gave me the phrase "If you don't like the tree, change it." So I started doing it.

 

[Diavolicchio]

Do you sleep? I thought I was up late.

I'm pretty nocturnal by nature, especially in the winter on a long holiday weekend.

 

[enjoy the ride]

I can't believe that someone from Maine could help me with an apple problem. I have a small tree of Alaska- which I did not know was an Etter apple til I looked at that site. It was a gift from the man who gave me the plum and I did not get a history on it.
It is my favorite apple for reliability, taste and disease resistance. I kept searching for more info on it and there it was all along- 60 miles from me.
I'll be grafting it this year on a semi-dwarf stock so as not to lose it. I feel better knowing I can replace it if something goes wrong.

Gee thanks................

 

[ToLiveToLaugh]

The "end grain butcher block kitchen island top" sounds HEAVENLY. I hope construction goes wonderfully and without any flaws or surprises!


And welcome! I'm pretty new myself.