Today in the orchard
Today’s Orchard Report comes to you from Raven’s Used Bookstore at the old, repurposed, historic, river-side mill in the western MA town of Shelburne Falls where a crowd of apple enthusiasts gathered all day and into the evening for an assortment of apple and cider-related programs. It was all part of Franklin County Cider Days. I gave a talk in the afternoon on grafting, growing and trialing seedling apple selections in our orchard. It was a talk I’d never given before. It gave me an opportunity to think about—and question—the value of growing a wide assortment of some pretty weird apples on our farm over the years. Some of my thoughts are listed below. I did do some counting and categorizing beforehand. We currently grow about 125 seedling selections. Here’s a breakdown on the seedling apples we’re currently growing here:
Other people's discoveries=62 (50%)
Our discoveries=31 (25%)
Our breeding/selections=26 (20%)
Other people's breeding/selections=4 (5%)
Here are some reasons for growing seedlings in a cultivated setting:
To save the tree: Many seedlings fall victim to road widening, chainsaws, etc
You might never find it again: I’ve gone back and looked. Where was that wonderful tree?
It’s far from home: Gas isn’t cheap and by the time I return, the fruit has all dropped.
You’ve never seen the tree but it sounds good: Trust your friends.
No longer have access to the tree: “Sorry, we use these apples.”
Create a more suitable location: This tree could use more room and better soil.
Your own breeding project: It’s really fun to start apples from seed.
A friend would like to get your opinion of a breeding project: It’s an honor to grow someone else’s “creation.”
Something you discover at the Seedling Exhibition: Every year there are new and potentially interesting submissions.
Something you want to offer in your nursery: If you’re going to offer it for sale, you better know it well.
Something you really like and want more fruit: Yes!
Curiosity: Can this seedling do well in an orchard setting.
Something to expand the cider apple pomona for future growers: Seedlings are the future.
A highlight of the day was receiving a gift from fellow apple-explorer Sean Turley of a gigantic two-volume set of the annotated Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock is one of my favorite literary mentors.