January 29, 2025

TODAY IN THE ORCHARD

Today was my last class at Colby College. For the past month I’ve taught eighteen students how to phenotypically describe, evaluate, and identify apples. Each of them researched, phenotyped, photographed and created a report on one of eighteen of the new patented/trademarked cultivars including at least several I’d never heard of (Envy, Kanzi, Lady Alice). We did have to fudge a bit due to lack of apples. (I couldn’t find any Jazz.) So we included Gala, Frostbite (MN 447) and Redfield. 

During the class we did three tastings. In the first two Frostbite was the undisputed winner. In the third tasting (which didn’t include Frostbite) Northern Spy won, Ashmead’s Kernal was runner-up, Honeycrisp was third and Milo Gibson and Golden Russet tied for fourth. If you don’t know Milo Gibson, check it out. It is a first-rate dessert fruit, late ripening and often has a licorice flavor. 

Yesterday the class visited a very neglected apple tree next to Colby’s Rugby field. It does not appear to have been pruned since Colby was a farm, not a college. That would be about 1950. The tree is nearly dead, but I did spot a few live twigs. I will collect scionwood, graft and send a few leaves to Cameron.  So ends my professorial career! 

Bunk’s apple class, next to the Rugby field January 29, 2025

January 25, 2025

TODAY IN THE ORCHARD

I went up to Poverty Lane Orchard in Lebanon, NH with three friends to cut rare scionwood this morning. Poverty Lane is the home orchard of Steve Wood and Farnum Hill Cider. Steve was instrumental in the revival of cider-making in the US. He was also a huge help to me when Fedco began to sell cider apple trees decades ago. For years I would make an annual trip to Poverty Lane to cut scionwood for Fedco.

Today I cut “False Chisel Jersey,” “False Major,” “Michelin” and “Red Streak,” four cultivars I never cut in the many winters I visited Poverty Lane. All four have become of interest to me in recent years with the advances in DNA technology. False Chisel and False Major are unidentified English cider apples whose scionwood was obtained by Steve from the USDA Geneva collection about 30 years ago. Michelin is one of the most widely grown cider apples in the world. DNA profiling has shown that many tens of thousands of Michelin trees have been incorrectly identified. Redstreak is a classic English cider name that could be historically significant. I will graft all four this spring and then send leaves to Washington State University for DNA profiling. I’m very excited to see the results.



January 22, 2025

TODAY IN THE ORCHARD

Last night was —24F, the coldest night in a few years.  The truck engine moaned and groaned but, in the end, it turned over and came to life.  I taught another session in my month-long Colby short term “Jan Plan.” Each of my 18 students is doing an individual project focused on a modern cultivar, most of them patented, trade-marked or both. Today the students were working on doing their phenotypic descriptions, after which we did a tasting of the 18 cultivars, all but three of which came from local supermarkets. One—Pinova—came from Scott Farm in Vermont. We grew the Redfield and Frostbite. I chose Redfield for its red flesh, and Frostbite because of its flavor and texture. Each student got three votes. They could only vote once per cultivar. Could it be time to put Frostbite in the supermarkets?

Here are the results (number of votes following the name):
Frostbite—11
Cosmic Crisp—7
Opal—6
Rubyfrost—6
SweeTango—5
Kanzi—5
Sugarbee—4
Pink Lady—2
Honeycrisp—2
Envy—2
Evercrisp—1
Lady Alice—1
Pinova—1
Autumn Glory—0
Gala—0
Juici—0
Redfield—0
Snapdragon—0

January 21, 2025

TODAY IN THE ORCHARD

Today was a sparkling cold winter day. I made a trip up to a small farm orchard in Orland not far from the mouth of the Penobscot River. It’s a orchard of about thirty trees, four of which are quite old. The younger trees were grafted in the 1950’s and 60’s by a fellow named Linwood Robshaw.

Todd and I sat with Linwood’s son, Pete, chatted and compared maps. Pete had an old family map, and I had one I made in 2016. The two maps corresponded pretty well. Between us we hope to ID all the trees. We will DNA profile several mysteries this coming spring. 

Robshaw orchard tree with 3 grafts: near stem is a crab—probably Hyslop; middle stem is Northern Spy; right-hand stem is McIntosh. (photo by jpb, March 2014) 

Last night was —20 F at the farm, a good night for the dogs to be indoors. The orchard trees however are happy to be outdoors 24-7-365. They are now fully dormant (or as dormant as they’ll ever be) and —20 shouldn’t do any damage.  As Robert Frost famously wrote, “Keep cold, young orchard. Goodbye and keep cold. Dread fifty above more than fifty below.”   It promises to be another cold one on the farm tonight.

January 20, 2025

TODAY IN THE ORCHARD

Last night we had our first real snow in a few weeks. The rain of two nights ago washed away the remaining snow, but the temperatures dropped all day, and the snow began by late evening.  Today was cold and windy. The orchard is once again covered with snow. I taught a grafting class to my Colby students in the afternoon. Only two of them needed bandaids!  Having none, we were able to make do with masking tape. By late evening the temperature had dropped to -10F.  It promises to be a cold night on the farm.

The “BRC” orchard in 2015 when the trees were young, before we put up a deer fence. The tripods around the young apple trees were wrapped in chicken wire to fend off the deer. 

January 19, 2025

TODAY IN THE ORCHARD

Today we cleaned up after the Wassail. The rain washed away the snow, providing an opportunity to do some much needed nursery work. I was able to reset the landscape fabric between the rows of one-year-old grafted trees and new seedlings. I also put on some tree-guards that got missed back in November.  We may receive our first large snow tonight. February is just around the  corner. The days will be clear, cool and bright. It will be time to don the sunglasses and spend many glorious hours in the orchards pruning the trees and collecting scionwood. 

January 18, 2025

TODAY IN THE ORCHARD

This afternoon and evening we celebrated Wassail, the centuries-old tradition of giving thanks to the apple trees for the harvest last fall while expressing our hope for a bountiful crop in the season to come. Wassail is traditionally celebrated on the twelfth night or January 17. The tradition originated in Great Britain and has both Celtic and Christian roots. Every village and county has its own version, and so too have we made the Super Chilly Farm Wassail our own.

With the support of those who love us, Wassail is a time to let go of all ill-will, anger, jealousy, fear, worry, grudges and any other unwanted thoughts, feelings and actions. Wassail is an opportunity for us to embrace the wonder and magic of every moment. We give thanks for our human community as well as the plants who feed us, clothe us, shelter us and keep us warm. The trees whose breath we breathe every day also give us fruit to fill our cider glasses!

A few dozen of our friends and neighbors braved a cold, light rain to celebrate around the bonfire, sing songs, toast the apple trees and listen to the trees as they imparted their wisdom. This was followed by feasting, cider-drinking and more revelry inside Marc’s house here on the farm. It was a magical evening. Wassail!

January 13, 2025

TODAY IN THE ORCHARD

The 2025 orchard season has begun! December and early January is break-time from the orchard. In mid-January we begin cleaning up the edges of the orchard to generate firewood, pruning the fruit trees and collecting scionwood. Cutting firewood along the edges of the orchards helps to get more sun to the trees and creates giant piles of branches that will be chipped in the spring and spread throughout the orchards.  Firewood cutting continues all winter. Today Jacob Mentlik, Laura Sieger and I spent the afternoon cutting scionwood for Fedco while pruning here and there in the process.  Our focus today was in the orchard we call the BRC. It was cold and clear and a perfect day to be out in the orchard.   

November 28, 2024

TODAY IN THE ORCHARD

Today's SCF Orchard report will focus on the wonderful cultivar, Grimes Golden.  The fruit of Grimes Golden is medium-sized (2.5"), roundish-conic and somewhat blocky. The skin tends to be a soft-opaque-yellow color, with scattered conspicuous russet lenticels and a medium-sized russet splash that fills most of the cavity and sometimes spills over the edge and down the sides of the fruit. Occasionally there is a faint pink or orange blush. The basin is wide, medium-deep, abrupt and furrowed. Most people know Golden Delicious which is the famous child of Grimes Golden and is visually similar. Although it is safe to describe the shape of Grimes Golden as “round-conic,” it is not remotely as conic as Golden Delicious. Grimes Golden is more blocky. Grimes Golden’s furrowed basin is not as pronounced as Golden Delicious. The basin on Golden Delicious can be so deeply furrowed that it is called “crowned.” The basin on Grimes Golden is distinctly furrowed, but it’s hard to call it crowned. The stem is medium-long and thin on both cultivars, although more noticeably so on Golden Delicious. The skin of Grimes Golden tends to be a softer, more opaque color, whereas the Golden Delicious skin tends to be very shiny.  

A distinctive feature of Grimes Golden is that it ripens over several weeks. In Maine, it tends to drop its fruit beginning about mid-October, dropping several every day as they ripen. Although this would be considered a flaw for the commercial orchardist, it can be a virtue for the home grower.  We collect the fruit every day off the ground when they begin to ripen and drop.  At that moment, they are perfect for fresh eating and cooking. We allow the first 15-25% to drop, at which time we pick the rest and put them into storage. Grimes Golden is not a true winter keeper although they do keep until January in the root cellar. They makes a thick, sweet cider and a very decent sauce. Although they originated in West Virginia, they have been grown in Maine for well over 100 years and do well in much of the state.  Ours was ID'ed by Tom Burford who grew up in Virginia and knew the apple well. The tree from which we took our scionwood grows on the east side of the Jones road, about  mile south of Rte 3.

November 8, 2024

TODAY IN THE ORCHARD

Jess, Laura and a lot of Asian Pears

Laura and Jess came over and pressed Asian Pears. The pears were so juicy they almost didn’t need to use the press at all - the juice streamed out of the pomace. Amazing. I did a few last tree guards in the BRC, gathered a few last DNA leaves, put away equipment for the winter and spread some compost in the BRC. The gardens and orchards are looking almost ready for winter.






November 7, 2024

Kathy and Bunk at Cider Days, 2016

TODAY IN THE ORCHARD

This morning we returned to the Apple Farm to say goodbye for the season and pick up a few last minute apples ordered through the CSA. I spent the afternoon putting on tree guards and doing chores before I head to the UK in a few days. Today is my sister Kathy’s birthday. She has spent much time on the farm over the decades.

November 6, 2024

TODAY IN THE ORCHARD

Two apples in the BRC

We spread out across the state today delivering the last 2024 CSA apple shares plus the extra storage apples that members had ordered. If all goes as planned, Khris and Lizzie Hogg will take it over the CSA in 2025, and we will move on to other projects. The CSA started as a one-year trail - we never anticipated that it would grow to 170 shareholders and take over our falls for 16 years. We loved all the rare apple fans that we met, their excitement for the new and weird, and the apple love that spread to 4 states through the CSA We are delighted that it will continue on in capable and enthusiastic hands. Back on the farm I put on tree-guards in the BRC. It seemed like the best place in the world to be on a day when others were contemplating the election. 

December 4, 2024

TODAY IN THE ORCHARD

Newtown Scott Farm (above) and Peck Pleasant from the USDA watercolors in Bussey (below)

Today I spent time with the apple that is thought to be Newtown Pippin at Scott Farm in Vermont. Recently, a few people have doubted the identity. I closely examined a dozen apples of “Newtown Scott Farm” (NSF), and I concluded that the “Newtown Scott Farm” NSF is not Newtown Pippin (NP). Although there are definite similarities between NSF and NP, and it’s not difficult to see how the two could be confused with one another, there are many obvious differences between the two. 

Newtown Scott Farm may be the old Rhode Island cultivar, Peck Pleasant (PP). The descriptions of PP match NSF almost perfectly with no deal-breaking differences (Bussey, Vol V p119.) The USDA watercolor (Bussey, Vol V p217) is an exact match.

Scionwood for “Green Newtown Pippin,” “Yellow Newtown Pippin” and “Peck Pleasant” were all obtainable for decades from Tower Hill Botanic Garden (THBG) in MA. There is a chance that if the scionwood came from THBG, it could have been mixed up. In the THBG orchard (now gone and replaced) from which the scionwood would have come, Peck Pleasant was tree #108 and Green Newtown was #110, making them, presumably, just one cultivar apart in the row.  So it’s possible that Newtown Scionwood was ordered and Peck Pleasant was sent by mistake or that Scott Farm mixed up the labeling when the trees were grafted or over the ensuing years. If NSF has not been DNA profiled, it should be DNA profiled. 

November 3, 2024

TODAY IN THE ORCHARD

Cider pressing at SCF, November 3, 2024

I pressed a barrel of cider today with Alyssa Gavlik’s help. It took three pressings in the bladder press. Each pressing took 8 bushels of apples and yielded about twenty gallons of juice. We pressed over twenty varieties with the largest amounts being Wickson, Sweet Red, Ashmead’s Kernel, Windham Russet and “Whitefield” Russet. Meanwhile the CSA crew packed the storage apples for the last CSA of the year.

November 5, 2024

TODAY IN THE ORCHARD

CSA crew uses rank choice to determine the best apples in the tasting.

While others were battling it out for the presidency—some would say by hook or by crook—we packed up the last CSA apples. We also did a taste test of twelve more of Ike Kerschner’s advanced apple selections.  There was no clear favorite though several won praise from the group.  We’re hoping that Ike will give us scionwood from a few of them for trials up at Finley Lane this coming year.   

October 28, 2024

TODAY IN THE ORCHARD

Stuffed Baked Potatoes, definitely organic.

Today on the farm we harvested the potatoes. Some varieties yielded better than others. It seems as though renewing the seed stock every few years may be a good idea.  This year we planted new Pinto Golds and Adirondack Reds, and they did really well. We tried Masquerade for the first time, and it did poorly.

October 27, 2024

TODAY IN THE ORCHARD

Tower Hill orchard in 2018 before being cut down.

Todd Little-Siebold and I drove to Tower HIll in Boylston, MA for an apple event. We gave a tag-team talk about apple collections and the Tower Hill collection in particular, and we threw in some history along the way. The trees in the original Tower Hill Orchard were all replaced two years ago after the old trees were removed, having suffered from rootstock decline (they were all on semi-dwarfs) and terrible fireblight. Leslie Duthie led a tour of the new orchard after our talk. Leslie is a volunteer who has taken on the orchard as her special project. She’s done an amazing job. We were joined by members of the Harrington family who generously endowed the orchard decades ago and made the preservation of the 119 rare New England cultivars possible.

October 26, 2024

TODAY IN THE ORCHARD

Planting the Scout tree, April 2013

It was a clear and beautiful Saturday in the orchards. Not too warm and not too cold. A friend, Brett, came up from Massachusetts to help pick the last of the apples.  We picked them all.  It was a great way to catch up and work together. He left with a pile of apples to share with his family. One of the highlights was picking the Scout tree.  We wait until as late as we dare before picking it so the flavors develop. It’s all about patience. As the old fortune cookie tells, “A handful of patience is worth a basketful of brains.” I sent a box of Scout, along with Shavel Sharp, Dandeneau and Sadie Segar to the Seedling Exhibition in western MA yesterday. Will Scout win again?

October 25, 2024

TODAY IN THE ORCHARD

Northwestern Greening at Pleasant Pond Orchard, October 2012

We had visitors on the farm including Jess and Shane from Pleasant Pond Orchard in Richmond.  It was a treat to be able to show them around the orchards and feed them dinner. They purchased Pleasant Pond Orchard from Mary Alioto and her husband Larry a few years ago and are now learning about the apples and how to grow them with little to no spray. Jess also creates healthy and delicious baked goods and preserves for customers at their farmstand and the Bowdoinham and Bath farmer’s markets.