—by Clair hammers

 

I had a very good apple, plum, and cherry plum crop this-year. No pears or apricots. I also had some grapes (Valiant) and elderberries for the first time. One of my elderberries set two different crops about a month apart — and they both got ripe. The following is the variety and the pick date:

 

Variety (apples                                  Date

unless noted)                                      picked

Mesabi Cherry                                     7/29

Pin Cherry                                           ’’

Nanking Cherry                                  7/30

Elderberry                                           ’’

Chinese Golden Early                         8/18

Dawn                                                  8/20

Rarkland                                             8/26

Heyer 12                                             ’’

Westland                                             8/29

Manchurian Yellow Plum                   8/31

Norland                                               ’’

Dolgo                                                  ’’

Norda                                                  ’’

Noret                                                   ’’

Northland                                            9/4

Ptitson #9 Plum                                   9/5

Assiniboine Plum                                9/6

Sapa C.P.                                            ’’

Hiawatha C.P.                                     9/7

Arbor Dale                                          ’’

Centennial                                           ’’

Amur Red                                           ’’

MacDonald                                         ’’

Sunny brook                                        ’’

Trail x Shafer                                      9/8

Dandy Plum                                        ’’

Rosthern 15                                         ’’

Red Siberian                                       ’’

Edith Smith                                         ’’

Valiant Grape                                      ’’

Trailman                                              ’’

Martha x Dolgo                                   ’’

Kandil Kataika                                    ’’

September Ruby                                 9/9

Rosthern 18                                         9/9

Diebel                                                  9/15

Ken                                                     ’’

Opata C.P.                                          ’’

Manor C.P.                                          ’’

 

I was most impressed with the size and quality of September Ruby. This was the first year it bore fruit. The tree produced 7 apples all over 4 inches in diameter. Another first time producer that is a definite “keeper” is the Sunny brook along with the Trail x Shafer (2”) that are excellent canned whole. I picked 358 fruit off the Trailman. The other Nor-series apples did not set fruit due to Roundup damage and the 4 new Nor-series (Norlove, Norjus, Norbil, and Norrussett) are only two years old.

 

Our last freeze was 4/28/94 with a +29. I received a killing frost on Sept. 25 with a temp of +24. Our total rainfall for the years was 7.4 inches.

 

I will have a limited supply of the Evans Cherry this spring. The cost will be $25.00 for Members of the Alaska Pioneer Emit Growers and S35 for non-members.

 

Clair J. Lammers

1364 Esro Rd.

Fairbanks, AK 99712

907-488-6446