Archive for February 1996
IN PRAISE OF SIBERIAN CRAB
By Bernie Nikolai I’ve always felt that the magnificent Siberian Crab has received a “bum rap” over the years. Here we have a tree that can take -50°F with zero snowcover, and come out smiling the next spring without any injury! It has a tough corky bark which makes it virtually immune from…
Read MoreApples in Alaska
CURTIS H. DEARBORN Research Horticulturist Apples are not native to Alaska oven though there are areas along the coast with milder weather conditions than those where apples are grown in other regions of the world. Oregon crabapple (Malus fusea) of southeastern Alaska is the only member of the Malus genus indigenous to Alaska.…
Read MoreSPRING ORCHARD REPORT 1996
by Dwight Bradley Owing to the lack of snow cover until January the winter of 95-96 had the potential to be rough on tender plants. I heard one report that the ground in Anchorage froze down to 14 feet below the surface. Whether or not this is an exaggeration, there certainly were a…
Read MoreThe quest for new apple genes takes ARS plant explorers to Central Asia.
The quest for new apple genes takes ARS plant explorers to Central Asia. ?????? ritz Waller has been in the apple business since the 1960’s. Today he grows 12 popular varieties—including McIntosh, Jonagold, and Empire—on his 250-acre apple orchard in Wolcott, New York, near Lake Ontario. One of his biggest expenses is the chemicals…
Read MoreNineteenth-Century Russian Apple Varieties in Alaska
by Dwight Bradley My interest in Russian apples was recently rekindled by a short note by George Quesada in the Fall 1995 issue of Pomona. Quesda came across an 1884 booklet by Charles Gibb of Montreal titled On the Russian apples imported by the U.S. Dept, of Agriculture in 1870. Xerox copies of…
Read MoreHoney Bee Fun
by Joe Orsi This year I tried to improve the pollination success of my fruit trees by keeping honey bees near our home in Auke Bay. I was fortunate to acquire some beekeeping supplies from a person who raised bees in Juneau about ten years ago. I also ordered beekeeping supplies from Brushy…
Read MoreA Technique to Relocate Graft Positions
by Joe Orsi This year I topworked numerous varieties on to most of my apple trees. Topworking a tree enables you to evaluate multiple varieties in a relatively short time frame and in a limited amount of space. Of course, tills is as long as you can relocate and identify your topworked varieties.…
Read MoreResults of Fall Apple Tasting 1995
by Dwight Bradley The Club’s annual tasting of Alaskan-grown apples was held on September 28, 1995 at the Bradleys in Peters Creek. Twenty-six different varieties were tasted, along with several duplicates. The clear favorite was Tom Marshall’s Oriole apple, followed by Parkland, Norland, Lodi, and Whitney Crab. Twenty tasters rated the apples for…
Read MoreSUMMER ORCHARD REPORT – Peters Creek 1996
-by Dwight Bradley After the rough 1995 winter which killed 20 of our 50 apple trees and set back quite a few more, the summer of 1995 was a great growing season. Most of the trees that survived the winter, and all of the new whips that went into replace the lost trees, put…
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