|
Post by benmnwi on Apr 4, 2023 10:54:27 GMT -6
The pictures I saw years ago of the mother tree had larger fruit that what I'm getting. I bought these trees about 6 years ago when first were for sale from some nursery, so I'm assuming the scion they used came directly from that mother tree.
These trees are on B118 rootstock and the trees are somewhat thin and lanky looking. I'm not sure if fruit size will improve as the tree matures, but these trees are still fairly young (I believe I planted them in 2017).
I've been pretty impressed with their drop time though for a late season food source.
|
|
|
Post by benmnwi on Apr 4, 2023 11:00:33 GMT -6
This picture is of one of my Franklin apples and it was taken December 10th
|
|
|
Post by smsmith on Apr 4, 2023 11:25:31 GMT -6
The pictures I saw years ago of the mother tree had larger fruit that what I'm getting. I bought these trees about 6 years ago when first were for sale from some nursery, so I'm assuming the scion they used came directly from that mother tree. These trees are on B118 rootstock and the trees are somewhat thin and lanky looking. I'm not sure if fruit size will improve as the tree matures, but these trees are still fairly young (I believe I planted them in 2017). I've been pretty impressed with their drop time though for a late season food source. I'm less impressed with b118 each year. I do think they're the best clonal rootstock for light, sandy soils, but if a person has some better dirt I think you're better off with m111 or seedling.
|
|
|
Post by smsmith on Apr 4, 2023 12:02:52 GMT -6
I checked with Crazy Ed to see if he had any Franklin's planted. He said he wasn't super impressed with their growth or fruit. The pic he sent would seem to make Franklin's look like smallish apples instead of crabs, but it's tough to tell. I wonder if anybody will pay for a DNA test someday?
|
|
|
Post by benmnwi on Apr 4, 2023 12:11:37 GMT -6
His fruit looks a little larger than mine, but it is hard to tell by the picture. My fruit was just as ugly as his though, but I didn't spray or thin them, so it isn't entirely surprising. The deer really seemed to like the fruit since it dropped when few other options were available. I would like to get into cider at some point, so I'm hoping the Franklin fruit will be as good as advertised in that regard.
I have a Franklin growing on a seedling rootstock that has a much better frame than the B118's. It will be interesting to see if that has any impact on fruit size.
|
|
|
Post by benmnwi on Apr 4, 2023 12:15:32 GMT -6
The pictures I saw years ago of the mother tree had larger fruit that what I'm getting. I bought these trees about 6 years ago when first were for sale from some nursery, so I'm assuming the scion they used came directly from that mother tree. These trees are on B118 rootstock and the trees are somewhat thin and lanky looking. I'm not sure if fruit size will improve as the tree matures, but these trees are still fairly young (I believe I planted them in 2017). I've been pretty impressed with their drop time though for a late season food source. I'm less impressed with b118 each year. I do think they're the best clonal rootstock for light, sandy soils, but if a person has some better dirt I think you're better off with m111 or seedling. I've been pleasantly surprised by the few M111's I have. They produce fruit quickly and the trunks and branches seem to be thicker than the B118's. Most of my trees are on seedling rootstock and some are really starting to get big. They will be great for the deer, but it is pretty tough to pick apples off the higher branches.
|
|
|
Post by smsmith on Apr 4, 2023 12:17:36 GMT -6
His fruit looks a little larger than mine, but it is hard to tell by the picture. My fruit was just as ugly as his though, but I didn't spray or thin them, so it isn't entirely surprising. The deer really seemed to like the fruit since it dropped when few other options were available. I would like to get into cider at some point, so I'm hoping the Franklin fruit will be as good as advertised in that regard. I have a Franklin growing on a seedling rootstock that has a much better frame than the B118's. It will be interesting to see if that has any impact on fruit size. Fly speck and sooty blotch sure are ugly aren't they? The apple geeks do report that the Franklin's should be excellent for hard cider, so there's that. edit...as far as fruit size goes, I've got one wild tree that I've been watching for a number of years now. It's born a few fruit for two years now. One year, the fruit was definitely larger than 2". Another year, most fruit were smaller than 2". Given that one year was a drought, and the next was recovery from drought, I'm not making a decision on whether to call it a crab or apple yet.
|
|
|
Post by Sandbur on Apr 4, 2023 13:14:24 GMT -6
His fruit looks a little larger than mine, but it is hard to tell by the picture. My fruit was just as ugly as his though, but I didn't spray or thin them, so it isn't entirely surprising. The deer really seemed to like the fruit since it dropped when few other options were available. I would like to get into cider at some point, so I'm hoping the Franklin fruit will be as good as advertised in that regard. I have a Franklin growing on a seedling rootstock that has a much better frame than the B118's. It will be interesting to see if that has any impact on fruit size. Fly speck and sooty blotch sure are ugly aren't they? The apple geeks do report that the Franklin's should be excellent for hard cider, so there's that. edit...as far as fruit size goes, I've got one wild tree that I've been watching for a number of years now. It's born a few fruit for two years now. One year, the fruit was definitely larger than 2". Another year, most fruit were smaller than 2". Given that one year was a drought, and the next was recovery from drought, I'm not making a decision on whether to call it a crab or apple yet. as my trees have gotten older, the fruit has gotten smaller. Drought and/ or fruit load also makes a difference.
|
|
|
Post by smsmith on Apr 4, 2023 13:42:07 GMT -6
Fly speck and sooty blotch sure are ugly aren't they? The apple geeks do report that the Franklin's should be excellent for hard cider, so there's that. edit...as far as fruit size goes, I've got one wild tree that I've been watching for a number of years now. It's born a few fruit for two years now. One year, the fruit was definitely larger than 2". Another year, most fruit were smaller than 2". Given that one year was a drought, and the next was recovery from drought, I'm not making a decision on whether to call it a crab or apple yet. as my trees have gotten older, the fruit has gotten smaller. Drought and/ or fruit load also makes a difference. Fedco sells a fertilizer "package" designed for older fruit trees that have likely mined out most of the available nutrients from the soil. I'd never pay what they want, plus the shipping, but putting something like their mix together on your own may not be the worst idea. www.fedcoseeds.com/ogs/ancients-rise-mix-8336edit...now that I look at the link, it doesn't appear to say what's in the mix. I'm pretty sure the paper catalog lists the ingredients, or at least it used to. Greensand, gypsum, lime, humic acid, blood meal, alfalfa meal, composted chicken manure, azomite, kelp meal, etc. A guy could just throw a bunch of 10-10-10 under the drip line, but I don't think it's the same as feeding the soil with natural stuff...JMO.
|
|
|
Post by benmnwi on Apr 4, 2023 13:53:22 GMT -6
as my trees have gotten older, the fruit has gotten smaller. Drought and/ or fruit load also makes a difference. Fedco sells a fertilizer "package" designed for older fruit trees that have likely mined out most of the available nutrients from the soil. I'd never pay what they want, plus the shipping, but putting something like their mix together on your own may not be the worst idea. www.fedcoseeds.com/ogs/ancients-rise-mix-8336That fertilizer blend is somewhat similar to a recommendation in an organic apple growing book I have. He referenced using rock powders from under a rock quarry pulverizer or conveyor. That book also recommends adding a few shovels of compost and bones to the apple trees for fertilizer. I use bones and compost, but I've never tried ground rock dust.
|
|
|
Post by smsmith on Apr 4, 2023 13:59:19 GMT -6
With all the fish you catch Art, I'd be burying the carcasses around your trees' drip lines. You could freeze skeletons and bones during the winter, and then try making your own stuff like this, mix up a few cups in a 5 gallon bucket a few times in the spring/early summer and give your older trees a shot. Tomato growers love this stuff.
edit...wouldn't pell lime and gypsum be two examples of ground rock dust?
|
|
|
Post by benmnwi on Apr 4, 2023 14:56:25 GMT -6
I had a stubborn 9 year old tree that started growing fast, then just stalled. To give it a kick start, under the tree I threw down a layer of soybean straw, added a few raccoon carcasses and then another layer of soybean straw. The bottom straw layer was to soak up some of the rotting raccoon juice and the top layer was to somewhat keep the stench contained. The combo worked really well and the tree grew more last year than the prior 3 put together.
I've learned over time that if you use fresh carcasses for tree fertilizer that things tend to work better if you have some high carbon sources around the carcasses to suck up the juices. I have corn stalk and soybean straw available, so that's what I use.
|
|
|
Post by chummer16 on Apr 8, 2023 8:13:43 GMT -6
My Franklins are growing very fast and had a lot of apples about 2” in size. My problem with FB remains the only knock against them.
|
|
|
Post by nhmountains on Apr 10, 2023 9:36:33 GMT -6
My Franklins are growing very fast and had a lot of apples about 2” in size. My problem with FB remains the only knock against them. And they thought it was FB resistant early on. I think he mother tree had sat on that hedgerow for 50 years and had little care. Not much new growth so the conditions it possesses would be different from a new tree. My father in-law’s old tree never had FB in 35 years except for the one time he let his brother in-law butcher it during pruning. The hundreds of water spouts that came in the following summer were on new growth and the conditions were probably right. He ended up doing nothing and the FB went away on its own. Those water spouts turns into 6” dbh 35’ uprights over the next15 years. It’s taken me 4 years to get it back to under control.
|
|
|
Post by nhmountains on Apr 10, 2023 9:39:29 GMT -6
Just be careful about pushing too much nitrogen on trees. FB can enter into the new growth in the right conditions. Over zealous pruners find that out sometimes too. Every orchard is different. That’s beauty of it.
|
|