Announcements
Yael Hickok’s presentation about Friends of Boyer’s Orchard is now available to watch by clicking on the research tab.
2025 Tasting Results
The tasting results are available in the research tab. Thanks to Lisa Bulkow and Deb Blaylock for inputting all the data.
Read MoreAn Appreciation for Lee Calhoun, the Man who Saved Southern Apples
In the late 1970s, Creighton “Lee” Calhoun planted a couple of Red Delicious apple trees on his homestead in Pittsboro, North Carolina. When a neighbor suggested other traditional Southern varieties to add to his blossoming orchard and Calhoun couldn’t find them, he set out to discover where they’d gone. read more
Read MoreLost Apple Project on Science Friday
REVISED RESULTS OF ALASKAN APPLE- TREE CENSUS, Feb. 5, 1995 —by Dwight Bradley
—by Dwight Bradley I’ve now received ten responses from Alaskan growers to the apple census in the Fall Newsletter. A total of 439 varieties and 1288 individual trees are being grown by these people. This is probably almost all of the varieties being grown in Alaska, but the total number of trees in…
Read MoreSWEET CHERRY OBSERVATIONS
(article continued from October) It is worth mentioning the cherries – which were not ripe. ‘Stella’ which is self- fertile, was not ripe, and neither were ‘Yellow Glass’ or ‘Gold’, two extremely hardy yellow sweet cherries. ‘Hedelfingen’, an old German Variety, was barely ripe (it ripens ahead of ‘Stella’). The tree of ‘Lapins’ in…
Read MoreHARDY PEARS – COMMENTS AND OBSERVATIONS
By Bob Purvis While visiting the Saanichton Plant Quarantine Station on Vancouver Island, B.C., September 10, 1990, I tasted some of the hardy pear varieties recommended in times past to members of the Alaska NAFEX. Because Whitney’s 0 & N has been propagating these for Alaska NAFEX members, I was anxious to see what…
Read MoreMOOSE PROBLEMS?
If you have not covered or protected your fruit trees from the moose, you may want to do so immediately. Deep snows and scarce moose feed has already created problems in Anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley. For a quick solution it is advisable to cover fruit trees less than 5 feet tall with landscape cloth…
Read MoreYUKON GARDENS
I visited Yukon Gardens in Whitehorse, YT this past summer, and I would recommend it to anyone who happens to be in that area. Yukon Gardens has a significant planting of fruit trees including apples, cherries, plums and pears. The trees are planted in a large L-shaped raised bed facing south and west, backed by…
Read MoreVISIT TO ST. LAWRENCE NURSERIES
On Nov 20-21, 1989 I visited St. Lawrence Nurseries near Potsdam New York. Bill and Diana MacKentley own and operate the nursery. We discussed problems related to propagation of nursery stock. He had an unusually large number of failures in grafting new trees of Nova’ pear onto Pyrus communis rootstocks from Lawyer Nursery this past…
Read MoreSUMMARY OF FEBRUARY MEETING (1990)
At the February 8 meeting, Helen Butcher introduced Josephine Jureliet, a long-time Alaskan from Haines. Jo gave a fine slide presentation on her trees and garden in Haines Jo has successfully grown Yellow Transparent’ (her favorite), ‘Northern Spy’, ‘Early Gold’, ‘Bing cherry’, ‘Black Tartarian’ cherry (the earliest to bear fruit), and unknown crabapples. With the…
Read MoreSURVIVAL OF FRUIT TREES IN DELTA JUNCTION 1988-89
Below is a summary of the survival of our fruit trees after the winter of 1988-89. We experienced about a week of temperatures in the -60 F range with a low of -68 F. They were protected by 18 inches of sawdust in a 12 inch diameter metal cannister and a snow cover of about…
Read MoreSUMMARY OF JANUARY MEETING (1990)
Wayne Vandre from the Cooperative Extension Service spoke to our chapter on how to provide a favorable growing environment in a greenhouse for those of us who desire an improved environment to grow better fruits and vegetables. He presented an extensive slide show of greenhouses in Alaska and discussed the advantages and disadvantages encountered with…
Read More1988-89 WINTER HARDINESS REPORT: Purvis
By Robert A. Purvis The winter of 1988-89 was a “test winter” in both Southcentral Alaska and in the Interior, with temperatures dipping into the -30 to -40°F range in Southcentral and into the -50 to -70°F range in Fairbanks and vicinity. As such, this past winter can provide valuable information on how…
Read MoreMAY MEETING FEATURES JAMES AND RILEY
By Robert Purvis The May 10, 1989, meeting of the Alaska Chapter, North American Fruit Explorers (NAFEX), attracted 28 people, who enjoyed a presentation by Dr. Herb James on the growing of asparagus and Julie Riley’s discussion of raspberries and strawberries. Herb obtained unnamed Canadian varieties of asparagus, which have done well for him…
Read MoreALASKA FRUIT CALENDAR
BY ROBERT A. PURVIS Feb, 15-April 15 – Harvest scionwood from trees which you want to propagate, Store scions at temperatures under 40°F, in a waterproof plastic bag. Keep moist but not wet. April 15-30 – Remove dead canes from raspberry bushes. April 30 – Prune apple and other fruit trees. Prune…
Read MoreSWEATING IT OUT WITH TOKA
By Robert Purvis On the first of May, I spoke with Lawyer Nursery about problems that chapter members were having with the Toka plum trees they’d shipped to us. Dan Lawyer, one of the officers of the corporation, spoke about a condition called “overdormancy” into which pear and plum trees sometimes slide, in which…
Read MoreCANADIAN COMMENTS
By Robert Purvis In February, I received a letter from Doug Woodard, 208 Russell Ave., St. Catharines, Ontario L2R 1W8, Doug is an active member of NAFEX and had much valuable information to share with me, which may be useful to other members of the Alaska Chapter of NAFEX. I’ve sorted out the information…
Read MorePROSSER: VIRUS-TESTED PROPAGATING MATERIAL
By Robert Purvis Recently, I sent for and obtained a listing of the virus-indexed fruit-tree scions in the IR-2 repository of the Ag Research and Extension Center at Prosser, Washington, Among apricots they have all the Har- series from Canada, Manchu, Scout, Goldcot, Puget Gold, and about 25 others. Among the hardy plums I noted…
Read MoreFRONT AND CENTER: CLAIR LAMMERS
Chapter member Clair Lammers has been in touch with me a few times over the past two months and has written down some of the things he is testing in a very favorable microclimate close to Fairbanks. During the nine years he has kept records, it has yet to go below -32 F at his…
Read MoreSTRAWBERRIES WORLDWIDE
Strawberries are grown in most temperate regions with world production approaching 2,000,000 metric tons. The U.S. is the world leader in strawberry production with 20-25% of the total world market. California produces approximately 80$ of the U.S. crop, and consequently the most important cultivars are ‘Douglas’, ‘Chandler’, ‘Tufts’, ‘Pajaro’, ‘Aiko’ and ‘Selva’. These cultivars…
Read MoreALASKAN APPLE-TREE CENSUS RESPONSE FROM JERROLD KOERNER OF KETCHIKAN
One of the most interesting census reports received so far was from Jerrold Koerner of Ketchikan. He is growing 262 varieties of apple, of which 25 are producing. His variety list is reproduced below; it includes a number of English varieties. The oldest trees are now ten years old. His favorite three varieties…
Read MoreEditor's note — Lingonberries
Every bit of the lowbush cranberry (lingonberry) that is produced in Scandinavia – many, many tons – is harvested from the wild. Seeds may be extracted by placing whole berries into a blender with water. Run the blender for 10-15 seconds, then allow the seeds to settle. The pulp and bad seeds rises to the…
Read MoreNews from a half-high blueberry grower
I ordered about 200 plantlets of the half high blueberries from Minn-Viho and they arrived May 1. To say I was shocked at their appearance would be no exaggeration. I had prepared two raised beds filled with about a 50-50 mix of top soil and peat moss with two or three bags of cow manure…
Read MoreLingonberry Cultivation
Another group of individuals who attended the International Vaccinium symposium was an enthusiastic European contingent of lingonberry producers. The individuals from Finland were emphasizing wild stand enhancement rather than field cultivation because the wild stands were so abundant and productive, that the additional effort was unnecessary. Finns gather ample supplies for the fresh market and…
Read MoreA few comments on half-high blueberries
In August, I had the opportunity to attend the International Society for Horticultural Science’s symposium on Vaccinium culture. The meeting was attended by researchers from all over the world including Dave Wildung from the North Central Experiment Station, Grand Rapids Minnesota. The half high blueberries, ‘Northblue’, ‘Northsky’ and ‘Northcountry’ were developed at the U of…
Read MoreA plum tree in Interior Alaska – 1988
Vic Johnson, a Fairbanks NAFEX member, was perusing the fruit exhibits at the Alaska State Fair in Fairbanks this summer when he spotted an entry of ripe plums! He got the name of the entrant from the tag and called Roxanne Braban who lives at 6.5 mile old Richardson Highway, North Pole. Roxanne told Vic…
Read MoreOverwintering Fruit trees in Alaska 1988
During the winters of 1986 and 1987 and 1987 to 1988 I overwintered in pots, a number of apple, pear, plum, apricot, and sweet and tart cherry trees. The decision to grow things in pots was based on these considerations: First, a black plastic pot provides a warm environment for growing new roots on bare-root…
Read MoreA few Baccata facts
Did you know (or ever want to know?) that malus baccata was first introduced as a cultivated plant in 1784 by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Q, Richmond, Surrey, England. It grows wild in North Eastern Asia to Northern China. It has been hybridized with at least four other Crabapple species and the list of named…
Read MoreNews from Fairbanks, 1988
I picked a single fruit off my “Yellow Transparent” apple tree this summer. It was slightly unripe on September 9th. The apple was smaller than the “Hyer 12” at the Experimental Farm. I have been doing a lot of research this summer into possible rootstocks for the Fairbanks area. The Peking cotoneaster and the American…
Read MoreArborgards — better than burlap
After some bad experiences this past winter with bark rotting caused by wet burlap applied originally to my apple trees for sun scald protection, I found an alternative: Arborgards. Arborgards are white spiral perforated tubes, 24 – 40 inches high, made of durable, springy plastic. Used by professional landscapers to protect trunks of newly planted…
Read MoreApple tasting 1988
The Alaska chapter held its fourth annual apple tasting party at the October meeting. 32-35 people attended, including photographers from the two Anchorage newspapers. Lawrence Clark opened the meeting by passing around an unknown apple, but no one correctly guessed its identity to win $5. The apple was “Kerrybrook”, a Canadian cultivar. A total of…
Read MoreRock Powder is the Basis for Soil Fertility
Gardeners at Venetie, Alaska traditionally gather river silt to apply on their gardens, with good results. The same practice was discovered at an archaeological dig in Canada, by the Nation River north of the Yukon River. The Hunzacuts use it on their apricot trees in a desert type climate zone. Their health and longevity are…
Read MoreTriploid Apples
From The Fruit Blog http://thefruitblog.blogspot.com/2005/03/triploid-apples.html March 20, 2005 Triploid Apples posted by Evil Fruit Lord @ 12:59 AM Like most higher organisms, apples generally have two sets of chromosomes. This is a useful arrangement, providing each gene with a backup, and allowing such helpful features as sexual reproduction. (This ought to be a review…
Read MoreApple Allergies …
Apple Allergies … Submitted by the Boyers Hi Tami, Bob wanted me to forward this info to you. Perhaps you would be interested in including it in the newsletter. Marianne From: apple-crop@virtualorchard.net [mailto:apple-crop@virtualorchard.net] On Behalf Of Jonathan B. Bishop Subject: Apple-Crop: Spraying and food allergies Hello all, I just had an inquiry…
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