Northern Fruit trees - Spring Planting
 

I'm looking at this website as a source for apple, pear & plum trees this spring.

http://www.sln.potsdam.ny.us/


So for it seems like a good fit for my area -

Dan 0. - You sent me a suggestion for a plum variety earlier this year - was it "Northern Blue"? I'm curious too what you think of the nursery from their website. I hunt a farm in Potsdam where it is each Fall - I think I'm going to place some apple tree & plum tree orders real soon - but hoped you might let me know what you thought?

http://www.sln.potsdam.ny.us/gplums.html

For Apples I'm looking at possibilities including - Cortland, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Baldwin and for fun - Pound sweet or 20 oz. Also maybe some "odd" heirloom type apple varieties.

I have about an 1-2 acres next to the cabin I'm slowly making into an orchard. This is a 5 year project I'm just starting now that I've got my Conifer windbreak plantings done.

I'd appreciate anyone else's thoughts on cold weather Fruit varieties too.

Thanks
Sean

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RE: Northern Fruit trees - Spring Planting
 

I'd like to suggest Arkansas Black apples, they have a late maturity date.

The only apple trees I have on my property right now drop in September and are gone
by bow season.

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RE: Northern Fruit trees - Spring Planting
 

Thanks guys for the information - I'm ammassing quite the folder on my desktop! - I'm looking forward to getting started actually planting!

In the website of another NY Nuresery I'm looking at - they suggest planting on a raised bed http://www.cumminsnursery.com/bareroot.htm

Has anyone else done this?

My soil is acidic too - about 5.5-6.0 - apple trees grow fairly well elsewhere on the property - should I add Lime at planting - or leave well enough alone - I've read both.

RE: Northern Fruit trees - Spring Planting
 

farm hunter; northern blue looks like a good variety from the description, being self fertile. I'd ask the nursery to supply the hardiness zones for each variety that you want to plant. Up state NY shouldn't be that much cooler than our Niagara fruit belt. The one thing to remember about plums is that you can't stop black knot even if you spray. You'll need to trim off diseased shoots each spring, sanitizing the clippers and burning the spores.

One apple that you should give a try that they have listed is Fameuse (Snow Apple). I have many fond memories of chomping into a snow apple on a frosty morning. The pure white flesh is delicious. About the only standard varieties that you left out were Spartan and MacIntosh.

I've used raised beds for vegetables. They're great for preventing compaction of soil as you never step on the ground. As for trees, I use a modified raised bed. I plow 2 furrows in opposite directions to form a raised path. Do this alternating down the field and then disc the raised furrows. There will be a drainage ditch between each planting bed. This technique has helped me grow trees in my clay soil that were only supposed to grow in sand.

Dan O.