Surprise, surprise, surprise!!! I seem to be caught-up (for the moment)

Two hours time-on-task. 

Since I am aware of the challenges to pollinators (not just honeybees, by the way), my goal is to make my "orchards" resilient to the point where a single, punch-drunk bumblebee can pollinate enough blossoms to set a full crop.

That means that flowers bearing appropriate pollen are in very close proximity to the pistils (the original "Sex Pistils"!) that need pollen. Ideally, every tree would have a single branch of a variety that offers compatible pollen and blooms at the same time as the host tree.

To that end, I had six trees grafted to Liberty (an exceptionally early bloomer) in a row. I grafted a twig of Golden Russet (early bloomer) on four of the trees. The two that I skipped did not have a branch in a favorable location.

I also grafted a pear of unknown parentage onto a tree that volunteered. I first noticed the pears (two trees) in a yard north of Vermontville. The two trees were exceptionally large and were carrying impressive loads of fruit.

I approached the people living in the house (Amish, by the way they dressed) and they agreed  to let me take some scion. The tree on the west had larger fruit that seems more resistant to cracking, so that is the one I grafted into the planting of Harrow Sweet as a potential pollinator.

Tick season

I cut my hair and beard. Mrs ERJ prefers me with longer hair and beard but...she likes it even better when I don't bring ticks into the house and bedroom. 

Looking ahead

I am pretty much caught-up with planting the stuff that is being delivered. I still have packages scheduled to arrive, but the time-urgent tasks are done for now. Maybe I can start working down the simple maintenance and picking-up tasks.

Rust, rot and depreciation never sleep! 

ERJ: Weight-lifter Extraordinaire and Fireblight

I realize that I am bragging, but this morning I picked up and carried a Holstein heifer, a horse, a unicorn, a mermaid, a lop-eared rabbit, four m&ms and a three year-old child IN JUST ONE TRIP!

A note on fireblight

Most heirloom apples are relatively susceptible to diseases. Back then, people were not as concerned about the cosmetics of the fruit as they are today.

Fireblight is the most devastating of apple and pear diseases. It often kills the tree. Today, there are chemicals that can control the disease but the organism keeps mutating and new strains evolve that elude the control measure.

Lists of fireblight resistance can be frustrating because there is often disagreement about how resistant any given cultivar is. That often comes back to:

1. An apple cultivar can be resistant to one strain but not others. Breeders now expose selections to three, highly virulent strains of fireblight as a sorting tool.
2. Fireblight often enters through the blossoms and cultivars that blossom later are vulnerable when weather conditions most favor fireblight...that is, the weather at the time of blooming is a huge variable. 

If you looked at the image shown above, you might object to my contention that strong resistance to fireblight is rare. What is NOT obvious from the table is that most of the "Very resistant" cultivars are CRAB apples. Only 169 of the cultivars have fruit that weigh over 100 grams and only 82 of them have fruit that is over 150 grams.

Many of those "Very resistant" varieties with salable sized fruit are introductions from modern breeding programs where fireblight resistance was one of the primary selection criteria.

There was a fruit grower in Southern Indiana named Ed Fackler and he worked very hard to grow organic fruit. He originally bought into the hype that the apple cultivars of yesteryear were more disease resistant than modern apples. He fruited more than 400 heirloom varieties. He almost caused a riot when he announced in a large NAFEX meeting in 1990 that "Most heirloom apple varieties are almost extinct for very good reasons. They are of mediocre quality and riddled with disease issues." 

It is telling that an apple tree only had to be just a little bit better than the other five seedling apple trees in Farmer Jones's orchard before the proud farmer named the variety after his wife or local celebrity. If you were a new settler in the area and Farmer Jones offered you a root-sucker from his prize tree, you were a fool to turn it down.

It isn't hard to win a beauty contest when there are only six contestants. The ratio between seeds that are germinated and cultivars that are named in modern programs is on the order of 100,000:1.

Fireblight was less of an issue because apple orchards were widely separated and the "indigenous strains" of fireblight either targeted Hawthorns (Crataegus) or the very late blooming Malus coronaria 

Also noted for future reference: The Man in the Arena

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."  Theodore Roosevelt 1910

Text of full speech here. 

Note to self...

Eleven Golden Russet apple grafted on the east end of the row and marked with orange yarn.

Nine King David apple on the west end of the row and marked with yellow yarn.

Four Tolman Sweet in the middle of the row and marked with green surveyor's tape.

Three Ashmead's Kernel in the middle of the row and marked with pink yarn.

Big shout-out to Cummins Nursery

I reported that Cummins Nursery was running a 40% Off clearance sale on their scion.

I ordered three scion of two different varieties.

I expected to get 30" of scion (3, 10" pieces) of each variety.

I received 7 pieces that were 15" long of one variety and 9 pieces that were 15" long of the other. They are very clearly trying to empty out their coolers and make a good impression on their customers.

Well, I am VERY impressed. When I think 30" of scion is a good deal and my supplier ships me 135" of scion...I sit up and take notice.

Disclosure...I receive no compensation or kick-backs from this business. They don't know that I am included on many lists of the top 25 most-read bloggers in southeastern Eaton County. 

A curious thing

Golden Russet and Tolman Sweet were selected from seedlings very early in the English settlement in New England. Likely the seeds were only one generation removed from Jolly Old England.

If those Gen-Zero seedlings departed from Bristol, a "high runner" port for English sailing to North America, then the lowest temperatures observed since accurate records have been taken was 6 degrees F (-14.4 Canadian).

In spite of originating from such a balmy climate, both Golden Russet and Tolman Sweet are credited with being able to shrug-off -30F (-34 C) and still produce an acceptable crop of apples.

Ashmead's Kernel apple is from a seed planted in Gloucester, England some time in the 1700s. The lowest temperature recorded is -4F (-20C). And yet, Ashmead's Kernel is also capable of enduring -30F.

If you were to look at Dorset, England (where many, many cider apples are processed and seeds are available by the hundred-weight), the record low is 22F (NOT MINUS) or -6C. 

Even more interesting is that all three of these apples are Medium Season to Very Late Season. If you ran a regression, you would find that the very, very hardiest apples are early ripening apples. The tree has time after the apples drop to squirrel away carbohydrates (God's antifreeze) from the last rays of sunshine. Varieties that ripen late are under a heavy handicap as they try to simultaneously pump the fruit and seeds full of carbs while they prepare their buds and stems for winter.

So why would there be multiple genes in these apples (not just a single exception, either) that gives them 30 degrees Fahrenheit more resistance to cold than it would ever seen in its ancestral homelands? 

A short fable (and math problem) and a few pictures

This is the time of year when things start moving more quickly. Blink your eyes and you miss something.

A wizard planted a lotus seed in a corner of the pond that supplied the king's kitchen with fish. Every day, the plant that sprouted from the seed doubled in size. After ten days, the lotus plant only covered one-millionth of the pond's surface and the Royal Advisors laughed at the wizard's demands for gold. After twenty days, the lotus plant covered only one-thousandth of the pond. Still, the Royal Advisors scoffed at the wizards threats of dire hunger if they did not pay him tribute.

On what day does the lotus plant cover half of the pond? On what day does it cover all of the pond and smother all of the fish? 

The 2026 garden

A broccoli plant, two weeks from seeding

A Stupice tomato plant also two weeks from seeding. Stupice is a "potato leaf" variety which makes it easy to keep track of.

My Lovage seedlings don't look that hot. I think they are very sensitive to how deeply that were transplanted. I planted two more seeds in each cell where the plant was struggling. Lovage seems to have a form much like peonies or asparagus. That is, they throw up shoots from underground crowns.

I also planted another "flight" of broccoli seeds.

In family news, one of my brothers told me that he would gladly take six tomato plants if I had extras. Well, of COURSE I have extras!!!

My sister informed me that she LOVES duck eggs for baking, so I have an outlet for those, too. That same sister wants to plant some rhubarb plants but is pinned down for time. They had a massive remodel done on their house and the building permit expires at the end of this month. I suggested that she put out feelers at the small, country church they are now attending. Rhubarb self-seeds like crazy if you don't keep weeding your patch and there is probably some 80 year-old lady who would be delighted to let her dig up as many seedlings as they wanted.

Four hours T-on-T today!!!! PR for 2026

I managed four hours time-on-task work today.

I spent three hours planting 75 White Pine seedlings and 25 Norway Spruce seedlings. Of the two, the Norway Spruce went into the ground much more quickly.

I was planting the White Pine into pucker-brush that had been brush-hogged. No above-ground brush to fight with but I still had to contend with many roots.

The Norway Spruce was planted into sod. The Norway Spruce have a smaller, less expansive root system that goes into the hole without argument and drama. 

The trees were planted on 8' centers. The White Pine were planted in multiple rows (windbreak) with the centers off-set. My customer was downcast when I told her that we need to put cages around the White Pine to protect them from the deer and rabbits. 

I spent another hour grafting pears. Grafting is not high-calorie burn work.

Tomorrow's work-ticket looks like planting another 25 White Pine and more grafting.

I wonder if the mental health crisis that Gen Z is experiencing would disappear if they performed 3 hours of hard, physical labor six days a week. Our bodies were not only designed for arduous labor, we NEED work to stay regulated. 

ERJ: Social Animal!!!

"Social connection" is one of the key factors for continued brain-health into old age. The difficulties are that the longer I live, the lower my opinion is of humans and that my friends keep moving away and/or dying.

Nevertheless, Mrs ERJ suggested that we go to a local social event. It was held yesterday evening. By some accounts, it was a success.

Kids were running like maniacs, women were screaming and men were shaking their fists. I really need to work on my parking skills. Not too long ago sidewalks ended at the road with curbs and not gentle ramps that made them look like driveways. Just sayin'.

Inside the event I made Mrs ERJ proud. They served pasta with marinara sauce and I didn't get any of it on my shirt. Nor did I walk around with my fly gaping open.

We will have to do that again but it will probably be after the venue's lawn heals up from the tire tracks I left in the very, very soft ground. People in small towns have very long memories.