WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? I’ve said it before. The Catskill Mountains have some awesome volunteer or wild apple trees growing around. Some of the best fruit I know comes from them. However, if they’re not pruned, they will “umbrella” or shade themselves out over time. In other words,Continue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? The Apple Tree Grafting season has now begun. Although the first day out brought snow in Ulster & Sullivan Counties, the weather quickly warmed up. The best time to graft is when the bark begins to slip or becomes pliable. Hopefully, this April willContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? We’re deep into the middle of the Apple Tree Pruning season. Last weekend, I was given the opportunity to restore some really old apple trees. When I walked up to them, they resembled one large “chia pet” of limbs and branches. But, somewhere insideContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? The Apple Tree Pruning season is well underway & so is winter. Ice, snow, & wind are coming & with that comes tree damage. Pruning trees not only helps reallocate sunlight onto the healthiest branches, but also can improve shape & overall sturdiness. ForContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Somewhere hidden inside that overgrown tree is a decent apple tree. Been pruning a lot of these overgrown & neglected apple trees lately. I guess after years of free-loading apples from the side of the road, it’s time to give back a little bit. Continue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Frequent rain makes the phone ring here at the office. Apples have been slated for a bumper year. However, with all this rain, many (not all) apple trees are experiencing leaf & fruit fungal issues as spores fester. Many of the apple trees IContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST I’m noticing quite a bit of flowers these days. Some pear trees are in full bloom down in central Ulster County. The apples are showing some pink swelling, maybe an indication of some good future flowering & apples in the fall? We’ll see. IContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST Been grafting apple trees here & there. It’s a weird thing. I’m like a match-maker for apple trees. Taking scionwood from forgotten varieties planted in Sullivan County by God-knows-who & trying to connect them with a younger rootstock in central Ulster County. I justContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? The maple season has begun for me in central Ulster County due to the mild January weather. I collected sap last night & gathered about 1 gallon of sap per tap. Sugar content was 2.5%; that translates into 33.4 gallons of sap to makeContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Spent some of my weekend renovating some old apple trees near Woodstock. This tree was probably pruned by someone 10 plus years ago. The “tree rings” on each sucker removed were about 10 years or more; it’s amazing how much growth these trees canContinue Reading