The Blairmont Apple Project

 Is growing from one of the cuttings. I can see at least two thick side root starts of the 3 buds buried. 2 of the 3 above the soil buds can not get more green tipped without leafing. They are literally all green. I peeled the tape off the scion and will move it to a part sun area that I can control watering tightly. It will be great to try the fruit; but on own roots that will probably be years away. I mainly want vegetative growth for now anyway.  The planted Florahome peaches do not look the best. Definitely tip die off. Weird they greener up the trunks nicely. I guess we will increase watering on them.

 

 It is that annoying time of year when you see eeks of progress. But it is a while until things are in full swing. I get most annoyed with the non-progress of the supple and quite alive rootstock. With a small subset of root by cutting test subjects; I will only need about 26 rootstock this year. While only 17 are left from last season. Plus I need another 10 pear rootstock to plant out scions. Speaking of our Namesake Blairmont; it to is among the lazy that refuses to break bud. Still limber but smaller then most. Need to settle on who we will cross with it soon. Leaning hard toward Pionier this first season. It too is a late-early season apple. Slightly smaller sweeter fruit. Hope it embues some of it's handsome dark color to the offspring. Both are well thought of dessert types. Pionier seems to be a bit more care free and mild mannered as a grower. With some luck; maybe one of the seeds will better storage times some. My original thought was to cross any successful offspring wi...

 While Centurion crab took the first apple bloom of the year on March 3rd; I have been waiting for the first standard apple action. Anna and Dorsett Golden would be odds on favorites; but no. My money was on Yates which greentipped bud on Feb.27th. And now has 6-7 buds that way. But it was not to be. This morning Park's Pippin unleash a nice big king leaf. And this afternoon Pink Lady joined it with a small leafing. Another surprise is Disharoon. Which suddenly green tipped about a dozen buds.

 Been planting new pears and plums. Hoped the new Golden and Methley Plums would still bloom while my Mariana was in bloom. Golden just missed it. Maybe they will sync in next year. So now that we have Bartlett and Moonglow; we have some scions to top work them. Fansil, Warren and Diamond are coming courtesy of Fusion power (poster name} from growing fruit. And a stick of Summer Blood Birne pear is coming on my apple order from Peninsula Fruit Club in the Northwest. Not much activity on apples other then ordering more grafting tape and picking up 2 more truck loads of biochar soil to build my soil mix from. Other things included a large patch of potato eyes covered with weathered goat manure/hay. We have 3 long wooden planters awaiting seeds and bulbs. I could not resist a pack of Rhubarb to plant in one.  Been walking the plants journaling progress. Leafing, initial bloom, full and end bloom. Can't wait to get grafting. Though I will likely be short on apple rootstocks. ...

 Fixed 5 trees in a more sandy version of our potting mix. Carefully selected cut areas. Trimmed bottoms. Sacrificed the two buds to the bottom on each piece. Wet them. Touched dried the sacrificed zone. Dipped them in rooting hormone. Planted in labeled pots and watered.  With any luck we should get 2 Lord Burgleigh and 3 Mank's Codlins. Let us keep the fingers crossed. Eyeing another order to add Gascoyne's Scarlet, Appleton Wonder and perhaps Empire. With Etter's Gold, Kimrome and Annie Elizabeth coming to fill out the root stock left on hand. Which should conclude our orders this year. Shockley-Grizzle and Langleigh Delight are still in the fridge.