where in the country are you? my brother in law has a 400 tree orchard and manages them all as grafts and rare varieties - i can ask him, he is a tree wizard
Pollarding an apple tree.
- Thread starter crosslandkelly
- Start date
A UK chef recently called for people to plant old English apple varieties. It was part of a rant against bland supermarket apples especially the French golden delicious. Something about supermarket apple varieties had caused traditional varieties being ripped up in orchards in favour of the bland, perfect supermarket ones.
Could have merit in his argument.
Could have merit in his argument.
Local national trust castle has rare variety orchards. Each season they sell them in three gardens with an honesty box.
A nearby garden centre also promotes rarer varieties in their apple festival.
All good stuff.
A nearby garden centre also promotes rarer varieties in their apple festival.
All good stuff.
Paul B, it certainly happens here. Many acres of established apple varieties pulled for whatever is the "glamor apple" of the day.
I hear the trees are bucked up and stacked along the roads for whoever wants apple wood.
Because of apple replant disease, lots of growers switching to grapes and flogging that to the wineries.
The stores will contract for what sells. What brings in the money. Nothing to do with genetic heritage.
Less than perfect goes for juice, I've nothing against that. Even mice. What ever is in the field bins.
Fortunately, we get a good variety of apples all year long with crops coming up from South America,
Peru and Chile , some Argentina, all winter up here. Table grapes, citrus all fresh.
Our little grocery has maybe 4 varieties of apple all the time. In the city, at least 6.
I hear the trees are bucked up and stacked along the roads for whoever wants apple wood.
Because of apple replant disease, lots of growers switching to grapes and flogging that to the wineries.
The stores will contract for what sells. What brings in the money. Nothing to do with genetic heritage.
Less than perfect goes for juice, I've nothing against that. Even mice. What ever is in the field bins.
Fortunately, we get a good variety of apples all year long with crops coming up from South America,
Peru and Chile , some Argentina, all winter up here. Table grapes, citrus all fresh.
Our little grocery has maybe 4 varieties of apple all the time. In the city, at least 6.
I expect that you have in Britain a book for round about 15£ which shows you in photos and explanes in short textes all about cutting apple trees. If you read slowly, you need a week end and so you aren't far away to become a specialist.
That's very interesting and a lovely hobby. You will get a far better quality after cutting the trees professional.
That's a real science but you can learn it relatively fast.
Watch out for courses, they should be offered now, more or less for free.
But: Buy Felco Hand scissors, you need good scissors! Take a sharp folding saw and saw upwards, not down, and never at the right point, but in a good distance away from it and later in a second step at the point you want in the end...
My English is to limited to explain that all properly. And it's no reason to write here a book you can buy with good photos every corner.
That's very interesting and a lovely hobby. You will get a far better quality after cutting the trees professional.
That's a real science but you can learn it relatively fast.
Watch out for courses, they should be offered now, more or less for free.
But: Buy Felco Hand scissors, you need good scissors! Take a sharp folding saw and saw upwards, not down, and never at the right point, but in a good distance away from it and later in a second step at the point you want in the end...
My English is to limited to explain that all properly. And it's no reason to write here a book you can buy with good photos every corner.
That is the most common tool of professional gardeners in Germany.
I guess every european gardener owns one.
Made in Switzerland.
You can buy every part of it separately if you need to replace something.
https://www.felco.com/de_de/unsere-produkte/felco-2.html
I guess every european gardener owns one.
Made in Switzerland.
You can buy every part of it separately if you need to replace something.
https://www.felco.com/de_de/unsere-produkte/felco-2.html
With most other scissors you simply damage the tree.
After cutting with the saw you need to clean the cut with such a knife.
https://www.mein-taschenmesser.de/victorinox-hakenmesser---hippe/a-185/
https://www.fiskars.com/de-de/garten/produkte/axte-forstgerate/gartenhippe-k62-1001623
A normal knive doesn't do the job properly.
I got a very good one at a flea market.
I asked the lady who sold it, what kind of funny knife it would be. She couldn't answer it. So I said I would take it just because it's so funny, and offered 3 €.
She agreed.
After cutting with the saw you need to clean the cut with such a knife.
https://www.mein-taschenmesser.de/victorinox-hakenmesser---hippe/a-185/
https://www.fiskars.com/de-de/garten/produkte/axte-forstgerate/gartenhippe-k62-1001623
A normal knive doesn't do the job properly.
I got a very good one at a flea market.
I asked the lady who sold it, what kind of funny knife it would be. She couldn't answer it. So I said I would take it just because it's so funny, and offered 3 €.
She agreed.
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All of my pruning equipment is Fiskars. The bypass shears have teflon-coated blades = very smooth cut
to which I would apply pruning paste/paint. I'd expect you to paint everything if/when you pollard an apple tree.
How do you clean up? Just rake up the mess and when dry, burn it off? I can mulch anything 1cm and smaller with the mower.
The anvil shears, it doesn't matter if the dead wood shatters. I can leave 10cm for the risk of long run-out splits in the vines.
I bought several replacement blades for my pole pruning saw. Made convenient short handles for them.
At the end of every day, you ought to wash your shears and saws in bleach. 15 minute soak then rinse and dry.
Just to even the odds with fungi, bacteria and virus that you might have picked up during the day.
I'll even do this as I move from one apple tree to the next.
to which I would apply pruning paste/paint. I'd expect you to paint everything if/when you pollard an apple tree.
How do you clean up? Just rake up the mess and when dry, burn it off? I can mulch anything 1cm and smaller with the mower.
The anvil shears, it doesn't matter if the dead wood shatters. I can leave 10cm for the risk of long run-out splits in the vines.
I bought several replacement blades for my pole pruning saw. Made convenient short handles for them.
At the end of every day, you ought to wash your shears and saws in bleach. 15 minute soak then rinse and dry.
Just to even the odds with fungi, bacteria and virus that you might have picked up during the day.
I'll even do this as I move from one apple tree to the next.
At our local supermarket golden delicious isn't that prominent. Gala is the apple that dominates closely followed by Braeburn, pink lady and Cox. Only one bin for the GD apple, sometimes I don't even see it. Tesco's is the store, other supermarkets are available.
I've also got the excellent Booths store near me. Good apples there including occasionally rarer ones too.
I personally don't think it's as bad as the chef made out. Sure they don't stock more of the 2200 varieties created in the UK but they're better than RB makes out.
I've also got the excellent Booths store near me. Good apples there including occasionally rarer ones too.
I personally don't think it's as bad as the chef made out. Sure they don't stock more of the 2200 varieties created in the UK but they're better than RB makes out.
