Native Hunter
Well-Known Member
Okay - I'm thinking "Pretty Boy Floyd" unless you have a better name.......
Working at the Farm - Took a few I-Phone Pics
- Thread starter Native Hunter
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Okay - I'm thinking "Pretty Boy Floyd" unless you have a better name.......
Native Hunter
Well-Known Member
lakngolf
Well-Known Member
Stuff would NEVER dieWouldn't that be nice............ I would corner the world market on rootstocks!!!!
dogghr
Well-Known Member
Forum rules??? We have those? And to think I almost dropped the F bomb on a certain post this weekend!!! Not really, ok maybe really.Yep, and I was on a web site recently where they sold named varieties of sweet gums. I've named all of mine too, but I would break the forum rules if I repeated them....
With your thick mass of woods and field growth, I'm surprised you have to even have to deal with sweetgum. Keeps a person honest I guess. Do they have any animal value?
Native Hunter
Well-Known Member
I've heard that some birds eat the seeds, but that's about it. They are really more of a problem in damp soil, and thankfully not everywhere here.
You can't make me believe you almost dropped the bomb. Well maybe...............
Native Hunter
Well-Known Member
A few years ago my FIL noticed a tree that came up in a grown up field near his house. He could tell it was either an apple or crabapple so he dug it up and planted in his yard. Pics below shows what it became. This is an early crabapple that drops its fruit around the end of September and maybe into October. It shows no signs of FB and very little leaf spotting.
The new road coming through will get this tree soon. At first I thought I wouldn't save it, but went yesterday and gathered some scions to graft at my farm this year. I'm more into later dropping fruit, but this one seemed worth saving, and a guy needs a few early fruiting trees too. I'm going to name it "Joe's Crab Shack" after my FIL (Joe). Pic is from last season.
I cleaned out in some areas yesterday and found two white mulberry seedlings still alive that I planted without caging. These have been chewed half to death, but they are alive and I will now cage them and try to shape them up a little. The rest were apparently eaten to the ground.
I found this persimmon that had sprouted in the middle of where I set a ROD. This was an easy choice. Cut down the ROD and release the persimmon. If this is a female I will leave it. If not, I will graft it.
Look at how the deer have browsed the shoots that came up at the base of this crabapple. I think this is a Dozier I set a few years ago. Had a small amount of fruit last year. I will clean up a little more and remove the rest of the shoots.
Double road screen. Pines on the left and cedars on the right at the fence near the road.
This is looking the other way from the road going into my place. My neighbor is "Mr Clean" and I'm "Mr Thick and Nasty." Can you tell where my property begins from this pic??
Another choice I had been putting off making. I dug this apple a few years ago from an old homestead and planted it. A persimmon came up next to the apple. I put this decision off for a long time but cut the apple down yesterday. I had no idea what it was and it hadn't fruited yet. So, the persimmon won this war.
"Pretty Boy Floyd" is still hanging around. Glad he likes it here.
When I forget how old I am - I remind myself that I planted these pines that were less than knee high.
A nice little deer trail.
Not much time to coyote hunt right now, but will try to put in some time later on when we mow the fields. That's always a great time to get a few out.
Dad asked me to check his 6 MM for him to make sure it was still sighted in. He is going to do some yote hunting too. I think he is ready to go.
That's about it this week guys. Some serious spring work upcoming soon. Take Care.............
The new road coming through will get this tree soon. At first I thought I wouldn't save it, but went yesterday and gathered some scions to graft at my farm this year. I'm more into later dropping fruit, but this one seemed worth saving, and a guy needs a few early fruiting trees too. I'm going to name it "Joe's Crab Shack" after my FIL (Joe). Pic is from last season.
I cleaned out in some areas yesterday and found two white mulberry seedlings still alive that I planted without caging. These have been chewed half to death, but they are alive and I will now cage them and try to shape them up a little. The rest were apparently eaten to the ground.
I found this persimmon that had sprouted in the middle of where I set a ROD. This was an easy choice. Cut down the ROD and release the persimmon. If this is a female I will leave it. If not, I will graft it.
Look at how the deer have browsed the shoots that came up at the base of this crabapple. I think this is a Dozier I set a few years ago. Had a small amount of fruit last year. I will clean up a little more and remove the rest of the shoots.
Double road screen. Pines on the left and cedars on the right at the fence near the road.
This is looking the other way from the road going into my place. My neighbor is "Mr Clean" and I'm "Mr Thick and Nasty." Can you tell where my property begins from this pic??
Another choice I had been putting off making. I dug this apple a few years ago from an old homestead and planted it. A persimmon came up next to the apple. I put this decision off for a long time but cut the apple down yesterday. I had no idea what it was and it hadn't fruited yet. So, the persimmon won this war.
"Pretty Boy Floyd" is still hanging around. Glad he likes it here.
When I forget how old I am - I remind myself that I planted these pines that were less than knee high.
A nice little deer trail.
Not much time to coyote hunt right now, but will try to put in some time later on when we mow the fields. That's always a great time to get a few out.
Dad asked me to check his 6 MM for him to make sure it was still sighted in. He is going to do some yote hunting too. I think he is ready to go.
That's about it this week guys. Some serious spring work upcoming soon. Take Care.............
Native Hunter
Well-Known Member
Lak, the persimmon hasn't revealed its sex yet. I checked it last year and no flowering yet. Once the tree flowers for the first time, the sex is easily determined. Since this is a seedling persimmon, it can take 8 - 12 years or more before the first flowering. The tree is in that age range now, so I might even find out this year what it is.
The good thing about the persimmon is that I can make it anything I want it to be by grafting it. I can wait and see what it is naturally or go ahead and do an operation now. I lean toward waiting on a persimmon and not getting in too big of a hurry. If this is a female, I know that most native females here drop fruit at exactly the time I want them to. There would be no need for me to graft it.
Yes, you can do the same with an apple, but apples are prone to all kinds of problems, and since I don't know how DR the unknown apple roots would be, even if I graft it, I'm still taking a chance. Also, although I have many good apples and love them, finding one that is a dependable dropper through November has eluded me somewhat so far. I do have some new apple trees that will be delivered next month which I think may fill that gap for me, but will not know for sure until I plant them and get some experience with them.
So, the apple is a little risky, and the persimmon is close to a slam dunk.
Also, once a persimmon gets its head above its competition, it requires very little if any care - no disease, no problems, no worries. Thus my choice was made.
I've come to the conclusion that in my area, persimmons, pears and chestnuts are the cat's meow for hardiness and reliability. You can probably add just a few of the best apple cultivars to that group - but the vast majority can't keep up.......
dogghr
Well-Known Member
Seriously, that the best shooting you can do?? Surprised you can tell more than one shot with your typical ability .A few years ago my FIL noticed a tree that came up in a grown up field near his house. He could tell it was either an apple or crabapple so he dug it up and planted in his yard. Pics below shows what it became. This is an early crabapple that drops its fruit around the end of September and maybe into October. It shows no signs of FB and very little leaf spotting.
The new road coming through will get this tree soon. At first I thought I wouldn't save it, but went yesterday and gathered some scions to graft at my farm this year. I'm more into later dropping fruit, but this one seemed worth saving, and a guy needs a few early fruiting trees too. I'm going to name it "Joe's Crab Shack" after my FIL (Joe). Pic is from last season.
I cleaned out in some areas yesterday and found two white mulberry seedlings still alive that I planted without caging. These have been chewed half to death, but they are alive and I will now cage them and try to shape them up a little. The rest were apparently eaten to the ground.
I found this persimmon that had sprouted in the middle of where I set a ROD. This was an easy choice. Cut down the ROD and release the persimmon. If this is a female I will leave it. If not, I will graft it.
Look at how the deer have browsed the shoots that came up at the base of this crabapple. I think this is a Dozier I set a few years ago. Had a small amount of fruit last year. I will clean up a little more and remove the rest of the shoots.
Double road screen. Pines on the left and cedars on the right at the fence near the road.
This is looking the other way from the road going into my place. My neighbor is "Mr Clean" and I'm "Mr Thick and Nasty." Can you tell where my property begins from this pic??
Another choice I had been putting off making. I dug this apple a few years ago from an old homestead and planted it. A persimmon came up next to the apple. I put this decision off for a long time but cut the apple down yesterday. I had no idea what it was and it hadn't fruited yet. So, the persimmon won this war.
"Pretty Boy Floyd" is still hanging around. Glad he likes it here.
When I forget how old I am - I remind myself that I planted these pines that were less than knee high.
A nice little deer trail.
Not much time to coyote hunt right now, but will try to put in some time later on when we mow the fields. That's always a great time to get a few out.
Dad asked me to check his 6 MM for him to make sure it was still sighted in. He is going to do some yote hunting too. I think he is ready to go.
That's about it this week guys. Some serious spring work upcoming soon. Take Care.............
I really liked the double screen. Those cedars just take over a hill side here so quick I fight them to keep them under control. Wish the deer liked to browse them as much as my other pines. Great update. You need to mow that switch, looks like a jungle. Bet its embarrassing to your neighbor.
Native Hunter
Well-Known Member
Seriously, that the best shooting you can do?? Surprised you can tell more than one shot with your typical ability .
He is actually a relative, and I have free run on his place. He tells me to treat it like I own it.
His field may look clean, but he has spots of Johnson Grass. I'm worried about it. I asked him last year and he gave me permission to spray it wherever I want to. So, I'm going to spray anything that comes within 100 yards of me. I would love to own that place someday. It would be the perfect addition to my place, and I would never even think about wanting any other land. May or may not happen.
That 6 MM is one that dad had a custom build job on. It will cut a ragged hole all day long if you do your part.
Cedars in the right place are a great tree. I never even think of the food aspect - I just like them for screening.
Everything looks great! Good shooting and getting your trees in order is going to yield dividends down the road...I spend more time cutting trees and dozing trees to make room for new trees...
Native Hunter
Well-Known Member
Sounds exciting Johnny. What kind of trees will you be planting?
I love planting and working in trees more than any other farm job.
Nothing real exciting... I grew up in an area that had no pine trees and I just love the way they look so I am planting Virginia and Loblolly pines, some plums, and some Sawtooth oaks up on our 80. I already have some of those established on Home 10 but no Sawtooths up north yet. I am also going to direct seed some Chestnuts I got from Wayne and some Sawtooth acorns I got from lakngulf. Also going to transplant some ER Cedar I found growing in and area on our place...
Native Hunter
Well-Known Member
Yes, I love pines too. Virginia Pine is about the only native pine I see near me, and I like it well if it can get enough sunlight. I have had good luck transplanting ERC. It's slow but sure. The chestnuts and sawtooths will be a great addition as well.
Chainsaw
Well-Known Member
You reinforce what I see here Native. If it grows wild on your place and thrives well then that is the plant to go with. This is just a theory of mine but maybe the apples are so problematic because so many are using apple varieties that have been hybridized mainly for the quality and quantity of their apple and or are apples from away from their locale. Maybe apple disease resistance has been weakened through much of the commercial hybridizing as it has not been the main #1 priority as it would be in the wild world of survival of the fittest. After all, those hybridized apples are sprayed on a regular schedule in their orchards so a "minor" fault like prone to disease may go almost unnoticed.
Like your persimmons the wild apples on this property just keep on ticking with only an occasional release from me. I'm betting wild developed apples from one's local environment would grow much more regular without constant care and better meet our deer hunting goals than the hybridized grafted models.--That's my unscientific opinion but I'm sticking to it.
That is some great shooting you do by the way.
Native Hunter
Well-Known Member
Chainsaw, that opinion may be unscientific, but you and I think exactly the same on this subject. In fact, when I typed that response about the persimmons, I was thinking about how different your wild apples are than "orchard apples" that are bred for some commercial value. I think you have hit the nail on the head about survival of the fittest. I marvel at those apples you have, and that picture you posted in your thread recently of that one wild apple tree should be the dream of anyone building habitat.
I have five trees ordered right now from a northern nursery that are chosen from select wild trees (for habitat purposes) and grafted. I know my zone is different, and that may indeed be an issue, but this is one experiment I am truly looking forward to.
Chainsaw
Well-Known Member
That sounds good. It will be interesting to see how you make out. The two wild cards of course are the root stock used and the being from away and thus maybe not exposed to whatever unique pests may be in your area that it has not morphed itself to be prepared for.
Now that apple tree that will be replaced by a road shown in your picture, If that one grows without incident could that be cut, dug up and then transplanted and used as a root graft? I'd be glad to send you scions from different trees if that might work. I'm not a grafter so am asking the question versus advising.
On that apple tree shown in the picture, thank you I am quite pleased with that one. Even though I haven't made the criteria yet for choosing which trees to use to cross with I think that one will be a slam dunk as one of them.
