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Re: Understory Species for High Density Plantings - 1 year ago

Hello all! I will add more species I have tried in my understory. French Tarragon competes very well with cool season grasses. I have some purple cone flower, rhubarb, Beebalm, and mint in wetter areas. Chives compete and have returned year after year. Daylilies do well and compete. I have added horse radish and asparagus this year. I suspect these will compete well with grasses. I even h

by Russ Martin - Understory Management

Re: Pear Leaf Blister Mites - 3 years ago

Hi Paul, A follow up to this post. I picked off and burned every leaf off my pear trees last fall 2-3 weeks before first frost. I sprayed once last fall and once in early spring with 2% Neem oil prior to leafing out. I am very pleased with results. 95-98% effective. Pear leaves look great this year. Thanks!

by Russ Martin - Bug by Bug

Re: cedar apple rust trials - 3 years ago

Well... I had to try cedar oil. I purchased product from Giles and Kendall called Cedar Oil through Home Depot. It is steam distilled from Juniperus virgininiana- Eastern Red Cedar. Their website calls it "pure". I mixed it at 0.5% like Neem Oil and mixed it with dish washing soap prior to adding to water. We have had another wet spring and I noticed my Ashmeads Kernel with small ye

by Russ Martin - Grower Research

Re: cedar apple rust trials - 4 years ago

Hello All, So let's put our heads together and talk about levels. We know too much oil in sprays tends to burn leaves. Neem oil is usually applied at 0.5% level when applying to trees in leaf. Dormant oil sprays can burn green leaf material. But some lighter summer oils can be applied safely. Has anyone sprayed these and at what rate? Does anyone spray Karanja oil? What is recommende

by Russ Martin - Grower Research

Re: cedar apple rust trials - 4 years ago

I just read Michael's encouragement to join in any and all discussions. I am completing house remodeling. My wife decided to line our closet with aromatic cedar boards- yes red cedar boards. So I read up on cedar boards and closets. I discovered red cedar oil in bottles which can be applied to older cedar boards to rejuvenate the cedar smell. Red Cedar oil is naturally insecticidal and f

by Russ Martin - Grower Research

Re: the virtues of russeting - 4 years ago

I will a few comments. When I purchased my current property, it had two 40 year old Haralson trees. I used conventional sprays up to 2014 and started with holistic sprays and nutrition programs in 2015. I have always had very russeted Haralson apples. Conventional or holistic, it made no difference. This year I started paying attention to calcium in my sprays. I used comfrey teas plus I adde

by Russ Martin - Tree Fruit Nutrition

Re: Grafts not taking - 4 years ago

Hi Henry, It is also my second year at bench grafting. I bench grafted in early April. I left covered grafts sit in my refrigerator for about a month to 6 weeks. I then planted them in their permanent orchard homes between first and thirds weeks of May. I use tree tubes to protect scions years one and maybe two. Tree Tubes are 18" to 2-1/2' tall. I just finished weeding, pruning a

by Russ Martin - Grafting

Re: Pear Leaf Blister Mites - 4 years ago

Thank you Paul, I like your picking leaves idea. These are young trees and I can reach most leaves without ladders. I was also planning several dormant sprays. Any thoughts on using 2% Neem oil and soap on leafless trees, one late fall application (warm day) and one or two warm spring day applications?

by Russ Martin - Bug by Bug

Re: Understory Species for High Density Plantings - 4 years ago

Hi David, My wife plants hostas around our larger trees in our lawn. These are maples and a crab apple. All are 20 plus feet high. They do quite well in the shade. and they compete with lawn grass well in the shade. Quackgrass will grow in them in high sun areas. I think daffodils would compliment hostas around a tree as daffodils start early in the spring while hostas start later. We have

by Russ Martin - Understory Management

Pear Leaf Blister Mites - 5 years ago

I have two pear trees that appear to have Pear Leaf Blister Mites (PLBM). These trees are not bearing yet, but I am sure they affect the tree's growth. These trees get sprayed along with my bearing apple trees. I follow the holistic schedule with Neem Oil, dish soap, Effective microbes, BT, molasses, Fish during cover sprays, Spinosad, Seaweed, along with four teas- horsetail, stinging nett

by Russ Martin - Bug by Bug

Re: Critical Points of Influence - 5 years ago

This question is for Mike B. It sounds like you are foliar feeding Zn, B and Co. I would be interested in knowing form of those elements you are feeding? Also rates in your spray? Timing too. I must have played hooky that day in school when Zinc and Boron for cold damage recovery was discussed. Thanks,

by Russ Martin - Grower Research

Re: Weather Stations for Pest and Disease Monitoring - 5 years ago

Hi Mike, Thank you for the suggestion. I had not looked at that system. I did spend some time on line.at the site. Seems like the big push is to put my weather data on Weather Underground. I did not see any tools for taking my data and projecting apple scab, Codling moth etc. development for my orchard. I want it to load automatically to my computer and generate the risk graphs. Perhaps th

by Russ Martin - Sensible Equipment

Re: Understory Species for High Density Plantings - 5 years ago

Hi Nick, Since nobody has added anything yet, I will add what I am planning. In the wood edges locally, we have wild gooseberry, elderberries and black cap raspberries. I was planning to add a few of these since they are local, they survive here and I am sure they are adapted to the local micorrhizal fungi. All species have a purpose in their habitats. Since these species and apples are pi

by Russ Martin - Understory Management

Re: An unexpected grub toxin? - 5 years ago

I wonder if this might be effective against Plum Curculio? Curcs are a type of beetle. I saw nothing on their website about efficacy against Curculios, but research dollars only go so far. I would be curious if you notice any results against the dreaded curcs.

by Russ Martin - Bug by Bug

Weather Stations for Pest and Disease Monitoring - 5 years ago

Does anybody have experience with weather monitoring equipment? I am looking to track degree growing days, leaf wetness etc. for disease and pest models for an IPM approach to holistic orchard management. What brands and models do you have? Pluses and minuses you have seen? Thanks

by Russ Martin - Sensible Equipment

Steel Posts for Apple Support Trellis' - 6 years ago

Hello All, Has anybody had any experience using steel pipe or steel angle iron for tall spindle trellis support for dwarf apple trees? First question is does the steel act as a lightning magnet? Any other thoughts or experience is appreciated. Russ Martin Zone 4 Extreme West Central Wisconsin

by Russ Martin - Orchard Systems

Re: fermented plant extracts - 6 years ago

Last year I read on the Fedco Website that fermented chive tea has a insecticidal or an insect repellent quality. I have an abundant source of common chives and garlic chives so I tried it. I also used nettle tea, neem, fish (only at recommended holistic spray times), Bt and Spinosad . I was very happy with the resulting apples. Does anybody have any experience using a fermented chive tea?

by Russ Martin - Tree Fruit Nutrition

Re: scab observations 2015 - 7 years ago

Hello All, I will add my apple scab report. I have not noticed anything in my trees ( Haralson's, Cortland, Winesap, Honey Crisp, Duchess). Leaves are all in pretty good shape. I did see some gold ringed spots on the Cortland, I believe it is apple cedar rust. It is not wide spread through out the tree. Last year was a very wet spring and early summer. I sprayed with conventional chemi

by Russ Martin - Just Talk

June Drop - 7 years ago

Hello All, I have a question on June drop. I have two thirty year old Harelson trees. I started thinning the crop tonight as we had a good apple set. Some smaller apples are falling off the tree. I understand from Michael Phillips book that heavy crops need to be thinned early enough so as not to inhibit next years blossoms. There is a time when this is too late to affect next years blosso

by Russ Martin - Just Talk

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