Today in the orchard
Tree on the Colby Rugby Field
It was 16F last night at Super Chilly Farm and never got above 32F all day. With the wind it felt like winter all over again. I did the last scion collecting tour of the season with stops at Cayford Orchards in Skowhegan, Mulph’s Lane Orchard in New Sharon and Colby College in Waterville. Colby was originally located in downtown Waterville but ran out of space and eventually moved to the outskirts where it was rebuilt on the site of a beautiful hilltop farm. The new campus opened in the early 1950’s. As you might imagine, the original farm is unrecognizable today. But amazingly enough, a few apple trees remain. One of the oldest is near the Rugby field. I visited the tree with my apple-class students in January and knew instantly the tree should be saved. I thought I saw some live wood on the tree but wasn’t certain. When I returned today I found several living branches. With my trusty pole pruner I was able to cut a couple of scions. We’ll graft 3 or 4 trees this week and DNA profile it this summer. I’ll go back in the fall to see if there’s any fruit.
