26th February 2010

My apple scions came in yesterday, so I went and got my M-7 semi-dwarf rootstock. So I am happily grafting them sometime on this soggy soggy day today.

Variety Name, Origin & Year	Information	Photo
Crimson Bramley Nottinghamshire, England	Blooms early to mid-May. Ripens Merits: Tree: early bearer; resistant to scab, powdery mildew. Fruit: very crisp; very juicy; highly aromatic; prized for tartness in cider blends. Faults: Tree: thinning required to prevent biennial bearing. Fruit: quickly browning flesh
Margil England 1750's(In Danger of Extinction)	Margil is amongst the oldest of dessert apple varieties grown in England.  Although separated by at least 200 years, Margil is quite similar in flavour to Braeburn, and has no trouble holding its own against modern varieties. Inspite of its excellent characteristics, Margil has faded from view, and is now almost impossible to obtain.
Yarlington Mill Ancient Apple England	An excellent cider variety. An variety described as medium bittersweet. Season of use October to November. Requires a pollinator (another apple).
Bietigheimer Germany 1598's	Core medium; flesh greenish white, with traces of pink, firm, juicy, mild subacid, good. November to late winter.
Ashmead's Kernel England 1720's	Widely regarded as one of the all-time best-flavored apples.   Keeps 3-4 months. Used for dessert, cider and sauce. Resistant to powdery mildew, somewhat resistant to apple scab. Partly self-fruitful, biggest crops with cross-pollination. The apple does ripen in October to a warm hued pink and the flavour sweetens. Stores until March.
White Winter Pearmain England 1200's	Tree above medium to large, roundish oblong conic, somewhat oblique and ribbed toward the base;  yellowish, tender, juicy, crisp, spicy, very pleasant subacid, excellent to best. December to April.

One of the four skunk traps was tripped last night, but no one was peering out at me. It still smells really bad inside my house, but I actually don't notice it until I come back in from being outside. I went to a class last night and invited everyone to move away from me if they liked. I am sure my clothing is saturated with it.

While I was writing the above, "Cyrus" came out to tell me someone was here. It was when the locating service guy was here. No one noticed him until he was leaving *LOL*.

I am now cleared to till up the new section of garden.