What did you do in your orchard today?

[CrealCritter]

In anticipation of our grafting party come March. I ordered 50 3 gallon nursery pots. 50 new pots plus my 20 plus pots I already have should be enough for the party 🥳 I don't know if you have noticed or not but the price of nursery pots has sky rocketed, even on ebay 😲

While my son and daughter in law were in Tennessee they picked up the pots. Saved shipping cost and was able to purchase for at least 1/2 of what I would have paid by an online order 👍

Good pots, fantastic price, if you can pick up yourself and save on shipping.

Containers - Nursery

So 1 cuft of bagged soil will fill 2 3 gallon pots. Meaning I'll need 35 bags or about a yard of compost. I prefer bagged soil so I can bring it inside to keep warm for grafting. I probably have 15 bags already but will definitely be looking out for a sale 😂 thankfully trees don't require special soil so the cheap stuff works great.

Here is the latest pics of the little kiddie pool nursery. Everything is growing, but I need to pick up some liquid copper to spray the leafs for leaf shot hole. It came on with a vengeance after the rain we had Sunday. Kind of expected though.

Jesus is Lord and Christ 🙏❤️🇺🇸

 

[CrealCritter]

Here's my best growing graft of all that we're done Mid March this year. Cleft grafted onto self harvested M111 air layered rootstock and self harvested golden delicious apple scionwood.

The scionwood broke 3 buds. Those three buds grew into 3 branches. the branches are now 3 and 4 foot tall.

Graft graft still in parafilm and treecoat. No peeking under the covers allowed.

Three little scionwood buds sure did grow quick. You can see the original size of the scionwood as it's tip still has black treecoat on it. The scion has really grown in diameter.

I find grafting simply amazing. But then again being a woodworker, it's just wood and making tight fitting joints. The difference is woodworking you're dealing with dead wood. For grafting the wood is living, but it's still wood in either instance.

I have an idea for a new graft or grafting technique as they call it in grafting but in woodworking it's called a joint or joinery.method. Going to try it out come March next year for the grafting party 👍


Jesus is Lord and Christ 🙏❤️🇺🇸

 

[CrealCritter]

can you bring it in for the winter?

and or i've also heard of some trees where they get buried for the winter and then the next spring they lift them back up again - but i think those were fig trees and so may not work for peaches... some peach trees do survive our winter's here so perhaps you'll be lucky? or maybe hollow out a big bale of hay and put it over it? dunno... just kicking around ideas...

Peaches have "chill hour" requirements based on variety. this is the number of hours at or below 45F or 7C and at or above 32F or 0C. if the variety does not receive the required chill hours it will sparcly or not set fruit at all. contender has a 1050 chill hour requirement. Bringing inside may produce a lush leafy tree in the spring but little to no fruit set. unless the space inside stays between 45F or 7C and 32F or 0C for the minimum required chill hours.

Jesus is Lord and Christ 🙏❤️🇺🇸

 

[The Porch]

If you go by the lies spread by the zone group, it is zone 5. I don't know anywhere in this state that is an actual zone 5. I have an email from Arbor Day where they admit it is not zone 5 but a very cold zone 4. When I buy based on zones, the ones that survive the winter here are the zone 2 and 3 ones. This past winter the temperature hit -40°F. The ground here normally thaws by mid March. This year it didn't start to thaw until mid April.

I had a couple of Reliance peaches make it through 3 winters. The last spring they had a few blooms and produced 2 peaches. I had forgotten how juicy tree ripened peaches were. I had also forgotten how fuzzy peaches used to be. The newer varieties are being produced for minimal fuzz. The following winter killed both trees.

The low temperature isn't the killer. The real killer is the January thaw followed by sub zero temps followed by the February thaw followed by sub zero temperatures.

Well, like you said,, at least you got a few this year, and I am sure you'll do what you can to winterize it but,,,
its all a " boy I hope it makes it"

 

[CrealCritter]

@R2elk

Have a closer look at the following peach varieties for zone 4. All 4 are said to be hardy to -20F -28C. You may have to take some extra precautions when you dip below the minimum temp. Maybe a tent of plastic might help? 🤷‍♂️ But you can research the best means.

Intrepid
Contender
Blushingstar
Reliance

Jesus is Lord and Christ 🙏❤️🇺🇸

 

[CrealCritter]

A neighbor had a plum on Lovell peach root stock. The plum froze off and the roots sent up a new tree which was a peach tree. He got one small peach before it froze off too.

Lovell seems to be a good peach rootstock, it's been around for a long time. Lovell also produces peaches but I'm told they are more for canning than eating fresh out of hand.

-40 degrees wow, that's brutal, I couldn't imagine. if you ever do get a decent peach producer year after year it might be something new for local area. Does anyone in your local area have a constant producing peach that you could harvest scionwood from? that might be another option?

Jesus is Lord and Christ 🙏❤️🇺🇸

 

[R2elk]

Guys -- @-40° even I wouldn't survive!!! BUY peaches shipped in 🤣🤣🤷 stop killing trees.

Shipped peaches will never be as good as tree ripened peaches. Shipped peaches are picked green. You cannot ship tree ripened peaches.

It's kind of like the neighbor's MIL who was ragging on him for wasting his time growing tomatoes. She kept telling him he can buy all the tomatoes he wants at the grocery store. Then he fed her a garden ripe tomato. Now she keeps asking for more and no longer mentions store bought tomatoes.

You would survive just fine at -40°. You put on more layers and sit in front of a nice fire. It's the hundred degrees plus that I wouldn't survive. I can only take off so many clothes and no one wants to see that.

stop killing trees.

Trees are a renewable resource. If they are big enough when they die they can be turned into lumber or firewood. If not, they can be turned into wood chips for mulch or wood pellets to be used as firewood

 

[FarmerJamie]

My favorite place. No rootstock, but plenty of selection. Enjoyed their products previously. Can't really do anything until after closing

St. Lawrence Nurseries

COLD-HARDY PLANTS FOR COLD-HARDY PEOPLE. All plant orders will be shipped Spring of 2024.

www.slngrow.com

 

[CrealCritter]

My favorite place. No rootstock, but plenty of selection. Enjoyed their products previously. Can't really do anything until after closing

St. Lawrence Nurseries

COLD-HARDY PLANTS FOR COLD-HARDY PEOPLE. All plant orders will be shipped Spring of 2024.

www.slngrow.com

There's a number of pears I never heard of and would like to try. The question is do I need more varieties of pears? why ofcourse I do 😂

Pears

We are proud to offer the widest selection of cold-hardy pear varieties available! Rootstock The rootstocks we use for our pear varieties are Pyrus communis and Pyrus ussuriensis. These are hardy and vigorous growers which produce a standard or full-size tree. (For more information on why...

www.slngrow.com

Jesus is Lord and Christ 🙏❤️🇺🇸

 

[R2elk]

Siberian C Peach for Sale - TreeTime.ca

treetime.ca

View attachment 25016

Jesus is Lord and Christ ✝️

Talked to them and the border inspection prohibits shipping the peaches to the U.S.