Last Saturday morning, when I reported to the expansive Kinderhook, N.Y., orchard owned by his family, I heard Jake Somerscott tell me everything, at least everything apple-related. I thought. It all started at a workshop on apple tree care sponsored by the Columbia Land Conservancy.
A few years ago, my son-in-law and I planted a few apple trees on the top of a hill. It may sound idyllic, but it’s not. There is no soil on our property. Contains shale. In order for the wooden ball to fall to the ground, it was necessary to hire a fortune teller to bully the rock. It barely dented even with heavy equipment.
After our showdown, there was no energy left to fence off the area. The metal poles I planned to use would have faced the same difficulties as buying wood.
Instead, we wrapped deer fencing around individual specimens. Or should I say I neglected to apply one coat of deer spray over the summer and did it the following fall after the deer left the trees bare?
Everything seemed fine until this winter, but the tree still hasn’t produced a single piece of fruit and looks completely damaged as well. One of the metal poles he tied to the tree to keep it upright was flush with the ground, although he figured it would be better to drive it a few inches deep than do nothing. I realized that. When I went to investigate, I found out why. The tree, or what was left of it, and the pole lay side by side like destined lovers.
Apparently unable to access the soft leaves and branches, our obnoxious deer apparently took out its frustration by uprooting the entire tree. Its roots were clearly shallow enough to yield effortless submission.
When I told Mr. Somerscott about my predicament, he commented that the deer must have been pretty hungry to commit such destruction. His orchard has apparently not encountered similar problems, likely because the 200 acres are surrounded by 8-foot woven wire fencing. Recently, someone forgot to close the fence door, and when Jake got to work the next morning, he found several deer gobbling up the profits.
I joined dozens of other brave people who attended the workshop on a stormy weekend morning, even though I knew in advance that my personal problems with deer and apple cultivation would not be easily resolved. I joined the soul.
Actually that wasn’t the case. Perhaps the most helpful and relevant advice I received during the two-plus hour event came from Will Yandik, a member of the Columbia Land Conservancy’s board of directors and a fourth-generation apple farmer.
Will confessed that his family’s orchard, Green Acres, in the town of Livingston, is also suffering from abundant shale. But unlike me, his grandfather refused to be swept away by sedimentary rock. “My grandfather literally used TNT,” Will recalled. “Risk your life.”
I doubt I’ll end up resorting to such extreme measures. What could go wrong? Still, the workshop was helpful. One useful piece of information I learned is that fungal problems are more of a threat to trees than insects. “Anytime you get wet, you’re at risk for fungal diseases,” Jake explained.
It may also be a good idea to prune trees while they are dormant, but Somerscott has 1,000 trees per acre and prunes whenever employees are available. That’s right. A high-density trellis strategy allows you to plant more trees, increases yields by allowing sunlight to reach every apple, and provides easier access to branches for both picking and pruning.
I didn’t say anything. Because the workshop participants, who had apparently discovered how to keep deer out on their property, were asking lots of pertinent, focused questions. But I wondered only to myself whether any of his U-Pick customers in the orchard’s fall expressed disappointment with the way this new tree was grown.
I often visit farms to pick apples and am drawn to the old-fashioned, free-standing trees. My idea of an apple tree, or any fruit tree for that matter, is a tree with a magnificent personality and full branches. However, it has been pointed out that apple trees require two different apple varieties to be pollinated.
Of course, that’s easy to say, since you can’t make an apple tree survive beyond the twig stage.If Vincent van Gogh had come in 21st placecent The Hudson Valley of the Century, Not the 19thth Century Arles, Southern France It’s hard to believe that he found joy in painting trees growing on trellises that look more like vineyards than orchards.
The workshop concluded with Columbia Land Conservancy President Troy Weldy announcing the collaboration between CLC and Nine Pin Cider. People with apple trees were invited to contribute to the production of apples.
Of course, that doesn’t apply to me. Because my tree doesn’t produce any apples, and the deer uprooted the apples. It may sound bitter, but it’s not. I decided that the deer was trying to send me a helpful message. It would be far less damaging to my mental health and wallet to pick apples at a thriving commercial orchard where people know what they’re doing.
Ralph Gardner Jr. is a journalist who divides his time between New York City and Columbia County. More information about his work can be found on his Substack.
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