A Break from Demo... Evaluating Our Apple Trees

Back in September 2023, Matt and I noticed we had about 9 apple trees on the property. They even bore fruit in October, were a great prop for our dog's autumnal photo shoot, and tasty too!


Our house is located in Catskills Park and we learned about a local nonprofit called Catskill Forest Association, which specializes in forestry education and services. More specifically, they offer apple true pruning. So, we joined the CFA and had two of their arborists come evaluate our trees. The bad news is that our trees are on their last leg...or branch. They're likely over 100 years old and some appear to be volunteer apple trees, which means they were grown from seeds spontaneously without direct human control aka maybe seeds in deer poop led to their growth. The good news is that the presence of volunteer apple trees means our soil is nutrient-rich. To Matt's disappointment, these senior trees didn't prove to be an heirloom variety surprise but on the bright side we had two arborists trim the dead limbs off some of them that made mowing the lawn a pain.  


After the arborists left, Matt decided he wanted to play arborist too. So, he put on his helmet, took out his chainsaw and ladder, and went to town. 



We plan to plant new apple trees later this spring and have already studied how to keep apple trees healthy with seasonal pruning. My goal is that we keep them alive to bear fruit that we can eat before we croak. Stay tuned!


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