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Post by Sandbur on Sept 2, 2022 15:50:31 GMT -6
I had a tour of Luke Miller’s place today which includes his hunting land. He also calls part of his business Quicky Trees.  |
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Post by Sandbur on Sept 2, 2022 15:52:24 GMT -6
He has a large fenced area that he just doubled in size this last spring.  |
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Post by Sandbur on Sept 2, 2022 16:04:37 GMT -6
Inside are 2-4 rows of trees of each variety he recently grafted. There are some eating apples, but lots of deer crabs. My head spins at the varieties. Wickson, Kerr, lots of chestnut crabs,centennial, grafted dolgo, dolgo seedlings, wild apple seedlings, some of my Buckman and Big Dog. He also has rows of apple crabs he has found in the wild in central Minnesota with different names. Some are just for deer and others are edible for both humans and deer. One new variety is a wild crab that has grown one mile from my place. I have watched that tree for decades. He and I tried some apples last fall from it and he decided to grow some. It is an extremely bitter apple crab called Wild Azz.   Luke grafted about one half dozen of my Grandma’s seedling for me. They are in there and all labeled. The mother tree was girdled by rabbits this spring but survived. He also has a handful of the Courthouse Crab that Stu and I have talked about which is a late dropper. i am trying to remember exactly, but I think he said there are 7,000 trees in the fenced area. |
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Post by Sandbur on Sept 2, 2022 16:07:09 GMT -6
 These hybrid willows have been in the ground since spring. He has some growing clear to the Canadian border. He also has a variety of hybrid poplar. |
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Post by Sandbur on Sept 2, 2022 16:13:30 GMT -6
  Luke has four plus rows of apples inside the fence on a trellis system. i have two varieties of apples to taste for the first time. William’s Pride and Firestorm Honeycrisp.  |
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Post by Sandbur on Sept 2, 2022 16:16:53 GMT -6
 These are boxes of seedlings that are all labeled. All are OPen Pollinated and some of them are from apples that came from the orchard in Fairhaven, Mn where Kinderkrisp was developed. |
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Post by Sandbur on Sept 2, 2022 16:18:33 GMT -6
Luke has grafted pears inside the fence also. I can’t remember the names but there are common ones and some Russian/Ukrainian varieties.
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Post by Sandbur on Sept 2, 2022 16:26:05 GMT -6
Outside the fence is an approximately 30 acre open area that is surrounded by 2-4 rows of fruit trees which have intermixed rye, corn, and brassica plots. I should have snapped a few pictures of that area.  Luke said he won’t be taking any tree orders now, not until December or January. He will be hunting soon, as well as his full time job. His home, business, and hunting ground are all in Stearns county, about 40 minutes from my place. |
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Post by Freeborn on Sept 3, 2022 5:46:09 GMT -6
I have purchased trees from him back when he was over by St. Cloud. All have done well. Nice to see a local guy providing a source of trees.
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Post by biglakebass on Sept 3, 2022 6:52:54 GMT -6
Where is he?
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Post by Sandbur on Sept 3, 2022 7:21:57 GMT -6
Rural St Stephen He also has disease resistant trees including Liberty, Enterprise, and Red Free. He also mentioned Wolf River. I struggle to remember all of them. |
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Post by Sandbur on Sept 3, 2022 7:23:57 GMT -6
He gave us two Williams Pride. Those are some tasty apples. He said they were his favorite.
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Post by Sandbur on Sept 3, 2022 7:27:06 GMT -6
These are boxes of seedlings that are all labeled. All are OPen Pollinated and some of them are from apples that came from the orchard in Fairhaven, Mn where Kinderkrisp was developed. last fall, Luke gave me some Autumn Blush seeds and I have two of those growing in my garden. I think those came from the Fairhaven orchard. He has germinated some Pink Pearl seeds from there and another variety or two. |
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Post by Bwoods11 on Mar 9, 2024 8:57:50 GMT -6
I ve seen his advertisements on Facebook Marketplace. Art do you get some compensation for the trees ?
If I buy a couple what do you recommend?
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Post by Sandbur on Mar 9, 2024 16:23:55 GMT -6
I ve seen his advertisements on Facebook Marketplace. Art do you get some compensation for the trees ? If I buy a couple what do you recommend? Luke comes out and collects scion. He is a real apple tree nut! I do not charge but Luke is very kind to me. Luke has some good eating varieties that are larger apples.some deer crabs, and quite a few crabs that I have not tasted. It is hard to recommend something depending on gaps in your present plantings. Luke is great to visit with, but he is very busy now with grafting and has a full time job. |
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