August 8, 2026

First ID’s of the season, August 8, 2026

More welcome rain today to the tune of 1.3”. That delayed the spraying of the last of the fermented teas of Nettles, Comfrey and Cannabis along with kelp and liquid Fish until mid-day. This has been the go-to spray for the past month. Overall the apples look surprisingly good despite the lack of insecticides and fungicides. Is it time for orchardists to go cold turkey?

During the rain delay, Skylar put together a template for a new apple identification system. We tried it out on our first apple ID submissions of the season. Both turned out to be classic, early-season, old favorites: Yellow Transparent and Duchess of Oldenburg.

I think the new system has great potential to streamline an enormously time-consuming process. Having the apples, addresses, tree-photos and other relevant information organized would be a huge help. The new system will be in place within the next week or so.