Today in the orchard
Today was cool and very windy. Skylar and I planted more trees in the Finley Lane orchard. Laura Sieger joined us for part of the day, and the three of us hooked up the sprayer which is always a challenge. Following Tree-Digging Season comes Spray Season.
We planted four trees today:
Avon Calling: Laura and I discovered it by the roadside in Avon, ME, just north of Farmington in 2016. It’s small-medium (5-6.5cm), yellow, cottony, bitter, astringent, sharp and has potential for cider. We have an older tree that is already bearing in the orchard. We like it.
Dandeneau seedling: This was selected by Skylar from one of our older seedling beds. It hasn’t fruited yet so who knows??. Dandeneau (the mother) is a favorite selection of Steve Gougeon. No name yet. (Danny Boy?)
Blue Wolf red-leafed seedling: Another seedling from the same nursery bed. The mother is the Rocky Ground selection, Blue Wolf. The other parent is one of our red-leafed apples though we don’t know which one. No name for this one yet either (Dyer Wolf?)
Suite Eleven: I first saw the beautiful, dark purple-black fruit at the 2014 Great Maine Apple Day. When I visited the tall, skinny tree growing between buildings in the back streets of Portland, ME, I parked illegally nearby in the parking spot for “Suite 11.” Hence the name. A sweet eleven years later we’re finally planting a tree of our own.
