AgriGirlGetstotheCore – Straight from the Farm.

Getting Ready…

Getting Ready for the 2021 Season!

It’s time to dust off my keyboard and keep the Milk Pail customers in the know about the farm.

What’s been happening over the past few months….

I met with Entomologists from the Long Island Horticultural Research and Extension Center (LIHREC – Long Island Horticultural Research and Extension Center (LIHREC) | Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station ) as I do every winter. Each year I join their insect scouting program where they set out traps and monitor insect pests in the orchard throughout the spring and summer. Every week the traps are checked and I’m updated on the levels of each insect. In September 3,000 to 5,000 apples from all over the orchard are examined for insect damage. A report is compiled and I meet with the Entomologists during the winter to go over the plan for the next season.

In past seasons we saw an increase in San Jose Scale, but in 2020 due to the use of oil and crop protectants in the Spring I was able to reduce the population. Yippee!!! That means less crop protectants to be used this year!!

Dogwood Borer damage to tree trunks, which ultimately kills the tree.

Dogwood Borer seems to have been eliminated from the orchard by using my mating disruption ties (instead of trunk sprays), so we are eliminating the use of those ties (check out my blog about mating disruption: Mating Disruption – AgriGirlGetstotheCore ) this year.

Obliquebanded Leafroller has made a minor comeback over the past two years after a hiatus so we will have to be back on track for those, but if next year’s report shows progress I will be able to eliminate those crop protectants as well. There is a lot of ebb and flow in the orchard, and with amazing monitoring I am able to reduce the use of crop protectants.

Also, I’ve renewed my subscription to RIMpro Cloud Service once again, which is a forecasting model from the Netherlands used to monitor and predict Apple Scab infections. As stated on their website, www.rimpro.eu, “RIMpro Cloud Service is an interactive Decision Support System (DSS) for pest and disease management in fruit and wine grape production. For many growers and consultants RIMpro is their essential tool for effective crop protection.”

I’ve used RIMpro for the past three years to help me predict when Apple Scab infections will occur and how bad the infection will be. It helps me time my crop protectant applications extremely efficiently and also helps me reduce the amount of crop protectants used. RIMpro provides real time data from our orchard because it is directly connected to the weather station located in the middle of the orchard. With live data and forecasting models I’m able to strategize against apple scab, which can be a major problem in apple orchards. This program has helped eliminate the guessing of when ascospores are released, how many will be released, and the extent of the possible damage.

RimPro data from 04/22/21 8:30pm showing there’s only a “Medium Infection Risk” for this coming weekend.

It is extremely important to control apple scab in the spring to prevent leaf infection which will ultimately lead to fruit infection. Much of the apple scab control is done during the spring and early summer before the fruit is even close to harvest.

Unfortunately, with the damp climate in the Northeast and insect populations that like to inhabit apple trees it is necessary to use some crop protectants. All of what you have just read about is part of our IPM (Integrated Pest Management) Program. Defining IPM | New York State Integrated Pest Management (cornell.edu)

Click here for a clear picture of what IPM is all about: Think IPM (cornell.edu)

As you can see from the photos these insects and fungus cause extensive damage to the tree and fruit. Without some control I will not be able to produce an edible crop. Technology and research has helped reduce the “guessing game” of growing a crop dramatically. With all of this great information we are able to grow crops safely while be sustainable. The greatest thing is I keep learning about new technology and research every year, which makes growing crops safer and safer.

OUR GOAL AT MILK PAIL FRESH MARKET IS TO PRODUCE A SAFE AND HEALTHY PRODUCT WHILE REMAINING SUSTAINABLE AND ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY.

Brown Marmorated Stink Bug

I’m sure many of you are finding stink bugs emerging in your homes. The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) overwinters in homes and as it warms up they begin to emerge. As the population grows in our area it will soon be a problem in our orchard.

These insects are believed to have been accidentally introduced in Allentown, PA in the late 1990’s. Now that they are here, they are moving in and causing problems. Many areas in the North East have already been dealing with major populations of these stink bugs and a tremendous amount of damage.

We work closely with Cornell University and Peter Jentsch, a Senior Extension Associate in the Department of Entomology for Cornell University’s Hudson Valley Laboratory. He’s been working on a project to build a population of Samurai Wasps to redistribute into areas where the population of stink bugs has grown.
(http://blogs.cornell.edu/jentsch/2020/02/13/2020-samurai-wasp-project-we-need-your-brown-marmorated-stink-bug-alive/).
These wasps will be a more sustainable long-term solution to deal with the Stink Bug population. Once they are redistributed they will build up populations that will kill the BMSB eggs and slowly the BMSB populations will decrease.
Peter also has a “Citizen Science Effort for Redistribution of Samurai Wasp in NYS.” (https://blogs.cornell.edu/jentsch/2019/03/13/join-in-hvrl-efforts-for-redistribution-of-samurai-wasp-in-nys-in-2019/)

Samurai Wasp, Trissolcus-japonicus.Image: Elijah Talamas, USNM

In order to build a population of the Samurai Wasps, eggs from the BMSB are needed, which means Stink Bugs are needed. I’ve been collecting Stink Bugs that have been emerging in my house and sending them to Peter Jentsch. If anyone else is annoyed with these critters I’m glad to send them along as well. Bring them to the store on Montauk Highway, Water Mill or email me: jennhalsey@milk-pail.com Keep them in a container with small ventilation holes and a baby carrot. This will keep them until they can be sent to the Hudson Valley. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Once the weather has warmed up a bit more Peter will send along Samurai Wasps to me to introduce in our orchard. This will help reduce the population of BMSB in our orchard and reduce insecticide use. I’ve always worked closely with Cornell University and it’s researchers, and they have always been extremely helpful to us and our farm. Being able to control this insect with a reduction of insecticide use is very important to us.

Find those critters!!!

Harvest Season

Apple harvest is about two thirds finished. Peaches, blueberries and some of our apple varieties are harvested and consumed. How time flies…. I meant to write more throughout the summer, but time has escaped me once again. The growing and swimming season have come and gone. I’m sad swimming season is over, but I’m happing to be eating fresh fruits and vegetables.

Some of our long (1,000 feet long) rows are empty and others are filled with fruit still ripening. As the U-Pickers continue to come, the apples become a little farther away from the beginning of the row. Many apples are hidden down low or on the inside of our trellis. Send the kids to look for the treats down low. Even though we are nearing the end of the apple harvest season we still have many varieties left to pick. I like to think of our harvest season in three sections: early season, mid-season and late season. We grow 34 different varieties of apples and we begin harvesting around August 15^th and continue as varieties ripen until about November 15^th. Slowly, the orchard is being emptied of the apples and they are being stored in our cold storage to be sold at our store or made into many other treats including cider khhc7533 , pies, turnovers, applesauce, dumplings, apple slices etc. rhqx2640

By the time we complete the apple harvest we will have roughly 10,000 bushels of apples picked. That’s about 400,000 pounds or 1,000,000 apples give or take. Only about 35% of those apples are sold at our U-Pick. The others are sold through our store, used in cider, pies, etc. or sold to other local farmers and markets in our area. Close to 2,000 bushels are pressed into cider specifically for Wolffer Winery to make into hard cider.

When trying to figure out the best time for apple picking consider the apple varieties you like to eat. Check out our website for a complete list of our apples and when they are ready. Often times even if your favorite apple isn’t ready or has already passed we can provide you with something very similar and maybe it may become your new favorite.

A few of the varieties I would like to highlight in this blog are from the Cornell University Breeding Program, which is one of the largest apple breeding programs in the world. There are a lot of new and exciting varieties coming from this program including SnapDragon and RubyFrost. Our business was asked, along with many other growers in New York State, to be a cooperating grower to test some of the new varieties. Currently, we have 25 test varieties on our farm. SnapDragon and RubyFrost are included in those 25 varieties. Some of these varieties have proven to be spectacular, while others didn’t fare too well. While growing these new varieties we were able to see how the tree grew, the apple it produced, and to taste all these new combinations. A few sparked our interest, so we asked if we could grow them. In addition to growing SnapDragon and RubyFrost we are now growing six other unnamed varieties from the Cornell program. We have found their flavors are amazing and the later season varieties have storage qualities to keep them in cold storage for many months. The six unnamed varieties are listed on our apple variety list as “Milk Pail” with a number. Milk Pail 95 and Milk Pail 25 are early season apples and have since been harvested and consumed.

We currently have Milk Pail 24 at our store with Milk Pail 49, Milk Pail 50, and Milk Pail 35 coming soon.

Even though it seems to be the “end” of the season we will have 12 different varieties available at our U-Pick Orchard this weekend including Milk Pail 49 and Milk Pail 50.

Here’s an opportunity to try a new variety. Keep in mind as apple harvest continues many rows in our orchard will be empty. Those apples have been offered at the U-Pick earlier in the season, and we have also picked the remaining to sell at our store. Apples cannot stay on the trees forever or else they will drop off and become uneatable. Don’t be dismayed because our late season varieties are just coming into their prime, and we will have apples for picking most likely into the first weekend in November. Also, don’t forget many of our late season varieties store very well in our cold storage.

Even as the winter months set in and our apple trees lose their leaves and go dormant we will still have apples available at our store, Milk Pail fresh market, on Montauk Highway in Water Mill all winter long.

Happy snacking!!!

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Mating Disruption

There are many things I like to tell people about my farm… hence the beginning of this blog. This topic is one of my favorites to talk about because it’s so simple, but it has a tremendous impact on how I grow my crop.

Mating Disruption is pretty much what it says. Insect mating is disrupted by pheromones being present in the orchard to distract the insects. They are confused by the pheromones and cannot find a mate, and therefore cannot produce the next generation which can harm the trees and fruit. Certain insects can produce multiple generations of offspring causing major damage throughout the season.

So, how are the pheromones introduced into the orchard and continue to persist to maintain control? It’s just about as simple as a twist tie. The twist ties or “dispensers,” contain pheromones for specific insects, and we place these twist ties all over the orchard to maintain the pheromone levels and distract the insects throughout the summer.

In the pictures above look for the orange tie wrapped around the wire. This particular tie is for Dogwood Borer disruption. They are placed lower in the canopy of the tree because that’s where the Dogwood Borer tend to “hang out.” We placed about 3,000 of these ties all over the apple orchard to help eliminate the Dogwood Borer this year. I have traps to monitor the adults in the orchard. Typically before we put the ties out in the orchard we will catch a few adults, but as soon as the ties are out the trap catches reduce down to zero. This can be partially due to all the pheromones in the orchard as well. So, it’s always a good idea to scout around for damage to the trees.

I have been using similar ties in my peach orchard for over 10 years to help control Oriental Fruit Moth and Lesser and Greater Peachtree Borer. I have traps in the peach orchard as well, to monitor the activity of the adult insects. The traps in both the peach and apple orchards are maintained and monitored by the wonderful employees of Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Agricultural Stewardship Program. I’ve had tremendous success with the mating disruption program and plan to continue to use it.

So, why doesn’t everyone use these ties? I’m sure many commercial growers do use them, but remember I mentioned above that we placed about 3,000 of these ties in our small apple orchard of 20 acres? It can become time consuming and expensive for large scale growers to use these ties. First, the ties are expensive, and second they must be applied by hand. Labor expenses can add up quickly. Also, the disruption may not work as well in smaller orchards or very large orchards.

What are the benefits to using these ties? Well, I have eliminated the need to use crop protectants to protect the apple trees against Dogwood Borers and the peach trees from Oriental Fruit Moth and Greater and Lesser Peach Tree Borer. All of these insects can cause tremendous damage to both the tree and fruit. My goal is to be sustainable while growing a high quality crop and help to protect the environment. There are crop protectants that will do the same job as these ties and cost much less and require little to no labor. I choose to use the ties, even at a higher expense, because the advantages out weigh the disadvantages. The ties are a safer and more environmental friendly way to control these major insects in the orchard.

I’m sure many of you are wondering…. Why don’t they have these cool ties for everything??? Well, they only work on specific insects who don’t travel too far. If an insect can travel longer distances, than they can mate outside the orchard and travel into the orchard and lay their eggs.

As long as new technology continues to come along I will try new things that are safer and environmentally friendly. Who knows what new technology will be out there next. I’ve heard a lot about the use of drones in orchards. Imagine how much information a drone could collect. The possibilities are endless.

Drip Irrigation

What is drip irrigation? Well, it really is what the name indicates. It’s watering a plant slowly by dripping water on over a period of time. Our drip irrigation tube, which is the black tube running under the trees or in amongst the pumpkin plants, is what provides the plants with water and even fertilizer when it is needed. I can rely on natural rain, but there are times when our plants require more than what a good rain shower can offer. One of my first priorities after planting new apple or peach trees is to install the irrigation. The new trees do not have a huge root system, and cannot extend their roots fast enough to provide the tree with adequate water. The more the tree grows each year the sooner I am able to allow the tree to produce fruit. Economically, it is very important to keep the trees growing strong while they are young and that often includes watering and fertilizing. There are benefits to watering directly on the ground as opposed to sprinklers or overhead irrigation.

Less water is lost due to evaporation.
Often times the wind can prevent sprinklers from getting adequate coverage.
Overhead irrigation can transmit spores from fungus throughout the plant. By using drip irrigation I can reduce the number of crop protectants needed to protect against fungus.
Much less labor and machinery are needed to operate a drip irrigation system as opposed to an over head irrigation gun. A tractor is required to run a pump to pump the water from our pond into the irrigator, and lots of labor is needed to move irrigation pipe and machinery.
1. Also, the well that I use for the drip irrigation system is be monitored for bacterial issues whereas a farm pond can possess possible risks.
Liquid Nitrogen can be added through the system to feed the trees or pumpkins.

I use a venturi system that relies on a vacuum to inject liquid nitrogen fertilizer into the flow of water. This system enables me to “fertigate” a little each week, or spoon feed the trees as they need it. It helps prevent too much nitrogen from being lost and leached into the groundwater. The system also has a back flow prevention device that prevents any nitrogen from going back down into the well. The well is located over 100 feet from the venturi system to reduce contamination of the well if there ever were a spill of nitrogen. These safety measures are installed and maintained to help protect our very valuable ground water.

I use a tank to bring small amounts of liquid nitrogen to the venturi system each week. I store the tank of liquid nitrogen in our barn which was specifically built with a floor to prevent spills from leaching into the ground water. There will be more about our special barn with containment pad in another blog. The small tube (seen in the above picture) is put into the tank and the venturi system sucks the nitrogen into the water flow fertilizing the selected rows of trees. The variety, age of the tree, and leaf samples from the trees will determine the amount of fertilizer required for a specific variety. A leaf sample can be taken during the growing season and analyzed for many different nutrients. My program is altered based on the analyses and also how the tree is actually growing.

Most of the apple tree rows are over 1,000 feet long and I use special pressure compensating emitters inside the tube. These emitters will provide the same amount of water from the beginning of the row to the end of the row regardless of pressure change. This ensures that each tree is watered or fertilized equally. This tube is installed at planting time and remains there throughout the life of the tree.

I also use drip irrigation for the pumpkins.The picture above shows my vacuum seed planter which is planting the pumpkin seeds into a “zone,” (8 inches of tilled soil in amongst the straw mulch). The large roll on the back of the planter is what I call T-Tape. It is a disposable plastic tube with small holes that will irrigate the pumpkins when needed. As the planter moves along the roll unwinds the tube along the row as I plant. I can use this tube to water and fertilize if necessary. I’m finding that with the straw mulch I use in our reduced tillage system, I don’t need to water as much. The mulch helps the soil retain the moisture and requires less irrigation. I do have plans to eliminate the use of T-Tape in the pumpkins as long as I have enough fertilizer available for the pumpkins throughout the growing season. Through the use of vetch, which is a legume that provides active nitrogen, and slow release fertilizers I think I will accomplish this soon. I just worry when we have one of those really dry summers. Will there be enough moisture to keep the plants growing? If I can eliminate the use of the T-Tape I will reduce the amount of plastic going into the land fill.

The use of drip irrigation has made things much more efficient and safer for our crops and environment.

Honey Bee Swarm

In all the years I’ve lived and worked on the farm I’ve seen many honey bee swarms, and helped them to find a new home or hive.

This past week I was even luckier to pull up on a swarm that had just left the hive. There were thousands of bees in the air, all headed to a temporary spot in one of our apple trees that the scouts had picked out.

IMG_3149[1] IMG_3152[1]

IMG_3165[1] We let our beekeeper, Mary from Bees’ Needs, know that one of her hives had split, but she was unable to make it in time to catch the swarm. They had decided to find a new place to live, and I didn’t see where they went. The next day we found the swarm again only a few rows over from their original landing place.

Mary came right away and provided a new home!

This time of year the queen bee in a honey bee colony is laying many eggs per day. Eventually, there are too many worker bees and their hive gets too crowded. New queen cells are made and typically the old queen leaves the hive with a group of the worker bees. The bees swarm around the queen usually on a tree. As long as the queen is around they will follow pretty much anywhere. So, if you can get most of the bees and the queen shaken into a new hive the rest will follow in.

I would love to have colonies of honey bees on our farm that I could take care of, but they require much care and attention. I would say it’s comparable to having kids. I already have two wonderful children and for right now I will let Mary from Bees’ Needs work her magic.

IMG_3028[1]

All of the apples, pears, pumpkins, and blueberries require cross pollination to produce fruit. Mary, with the help from my Dad and our employees brought hives to the farm during apple and pear blossom season to ensure we have good pollination to provide an adequate crop. I rely a lot on the many squash bees and other native bees to pollinate the pumpkins.

As for the blueberries…. They are pollinated the best by bumble bees and small native bees. Honey bees also provide pollination, but don’t produce as many seeds as a bumble bee without visiting the flower several times. The little holes on the sides of the flowers are actually made by carpenter bees who are essentially “robbing” the flower of it’s nectar and not providing much pollination.The honey bees often use the holes made by carpenter bees to gain access to the nectar which prevents as much pollination.

Holes made by Carpenter bees to rob the flowers of nectar.

As you can see bees are a very important part of the life cycle of many fruits and vegetables. Not all things require cross pollination, such as peaches, but many things do. It is very important we provide an inviting environment for not only the honey bees, but all the native bees as well. I strive to maintain lots of the natural habitats on the farm not only for the bees, but for all of our natural wildlife.

“Bug” Traps

When growing apples and peaches here in the Northeast there will always be “pests” that want to have their share of the pie, too. Knowing about the pests and when the trees or fruit may be susceptible is a science in itself. The “pests” I’d like to talk about in this blog are insects. I’m not going to lie we do have bugs in our orchard. Some like to eat the trees and leaves, some like to eat the fruit, and some are good and like to eat the bad bugs. Now how I deal with them is the most important factor.

First, I need to know who is out there????
We live with many different insects in our world, our communities and our own homes. Some are good, some are bad. Some orchards are bothered by certain insects while others are not. So, knowing who to look for is the most important part. In our orchard specifically we are looking for the following insects because we’ve sustained damage from them before. The key to all of this is monitoring the orchard with traps and sampling leaves or fruit to find the actual insect or damage. So, here’s a list of insects we look for (some cause a lot of trouble, others not so much): Plum Curculio, Rosy Apple Aphid, Green Peach Aphid, Woolly Apple Aphid, Apple Aphid, Apple Maggot, Codling Moth, Dogwood Borer, European Red Mite, Spider Mite, Obliquebanded Leafroller, Oriental Fruit Moth, San Jose Scale, Spotted Tentiform Leafminer, White Apple Leafhopper, Potato Leafhopper, Lesser Peach Tree Borer, and Peach Tree Borer.

Peach Tree Borer larvae who has made a home in my young peach tree trunk.

Some of you may be saying, “Wow, that’s a lot of different insects to keep tract of.” These are the insects I’ve come across in my orchard, and they are not all in the orchard all the time. Also, keep in mind each year I grow apples and peaches the population levels of each insect vary due to other factors including changes in environmental conditions. I also don’t immediately go out and treat the entire orchard with a crop protectant to get rid of the insects until I know what’s there and if it’s even causing any damage.

Second, how do I know when these insects are here and causing damage?
I look for them on my own and with help from my friends from the Agricultural Stewardship Program which is part of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County. The Ag Stewardship Program doesn’t just look for bugs. They were established in 2004 to address environmental concerns, protect water quality, and to preserve the business of farming. They do all kinds of things to help the farming community while helping to protect the environment.

Already, my good friend Laurie McBride (who works for the Ag Stewardship Program) has been out to both of our orchards to hang traps to trap specific insects. Inside the trap is a tiny rubber cap that contains a pheromone (an attractant) specific to the insect we are looking for. The insect is attracted to the trap and gets caught on the sticky cardboard allowing Laurie to check and count the insects.

Small cap containing a pheromone to attract insects to the trap.

Several traps per insect are used to track the insects in different parts of the orchard. She checks them once a week beginning in late April and continues throughout the summer.

Now, trapping doesn’t work for every insect. Most insects have a certain time period in the growing season that they like to be around. For example, Plum Curculio isn’t easily trapped and is only a problem during the early stages of fruit development. Thanks to all of our wonderful Entomologists we know that Plum Curculio will only remain in both the peach and apple orchards until 308 degree days (base 50F) have accumulated after petal fall. (Degree days are an accumulation of warmth during a growing season, and insects have specific timing based on degree days.) With this knowledge I can continue to check the NEWA Apple Insect Models to calculate the degree days and know exactly when Plum Curculio will be absent in the orchard and I can discontinue treatment.

NEWA stands for Network for Environment and Weather Applications. It is an application developed by Cornell University that is connected with many different weather stations including the two I currently own that are located in each of our orchards.

Weather station located in the middle of the apple orchard.

These weather stations collect data that is sent to the NEWA website hourly and the information is used for many things including insect models, disease models, and forecasting specific to agriculture. If you have the time take a look at the NEWA page and look up the “Water Mill” station (located in our apple orchard-for live data click here), and the “Water Mill (North)” station (located in our peach orchard-for live data click here).

Another option to track insects is scouting, which is physically looking for the insects on leaves or fruit and counting how many leaves have insects versus those without. With all this information collected from the orchard, I than can make an educated decision on whether to treat the orchard or not. Most of the time the orchard can withstand a certain amount of damage or a threshold. Researchers have developed threshold levels for many insects, which can help determine if a treatment is needed or not. Also, with the use of all these tools I can even pinpoint a specific area within the orchard which may be the only area that needs treatment as opposed to treating the entire orchard.

Third, what do I do when I find the insects?
What needs to be understood is that I don’t want to treat the orchard if I don’t have to. It goes along the same line of thinking when you go to the doctor with an infection you take a medicine to treat it most times. If we don’t need a treatment we don’t take it. I am only trying to protect the trees and fruit from damage that will harm our end product. I do not want to add anything to our orchard if it’s not needed and I do not want to spend the money on an expensive product. Also, remember I said before there are good bugs? One of my favorites is the Ladybird Beetle. We like to preserve those good bugs in the orchard to help fight the bad bugs. So, if a treatment is necessary we try to use the safest product for our beneficial insects and the environment.

One type of treatment I always use, but it only works with certain insects, is mating disruption. Mating disruption does exactly what is says, it disrupts the mating of the insects therefore reducing if not eliminating any possible eggs being laid. The mating disruption ties have pheromones (attractants) that confuse the male and female insects so they cannot find each other to mate. These ties look like twist ties, and are placed throughout the orchard, and most often give season long control. I’ve been using them to control Oriental Fruit Moth, Lesser Peach Tree Borer, and Peach Tree Borer in my peach orchard for over 10 years with great success. This application eliminates the use of a crop protectant for these particular insects. The cost of the ties and the labor to put them out most definitely costs more than a crop protectant, but I am willing to spend the extra money to help reduce the number of crop protectants used. The reason the mating disruption only works with certain insects is because some insects can fly very far, up to 5 miles or more. If that’s the case they can fly into the orchard already mated and cause damage. So the researchers have developed mating disruption for as many insects as they can and have promoted their use throughout the fruit industry.

When possible we also like to introduce beneficial insects. My sister, Amy, has introduced a few different insects into her greenhouse to help control populations of whitefly, aphids and spider mites. We rely on the “good bugs” to control the “bad bugs.”

Spider Mite sachets hanging in the plants.

Whitefly parasites ready to be spread in the greenhouse to help control whitefly.

What is better now than even 20 years ago is all the new technology available to help us make educated decisions and use safer products. We always knew Plum Curculio were only in the orchard for a short time, but determining that time period was more difficult. Now with the technology of NEWA I have the answers at my fingertips on my iPhone! Also, knowing that the trees and fruit can sustain some damage helps us to reduce or even eliminate treatments all together.

At the end of the growing season during harvest Laurie comes with a team including Faruque Zaman, an Entomologist from Cornell Cooperative Extension in Riverhead, and checks several thousand apples in the orchard for insect damage. Over the past few years we have isolated certain areas of the orchard where more damage has occurred and limited treatments to these specific areas. We’ve also determined for example that Obleaquebanded Leafroller are present in the orchard, but are not causing extensive damage so I’ve been able to eliminate treatment completely for the past several years.

Growing fruit may seem to have become more difficult, but in my mind it has become easier with the newer technology available. It’s much easier now for me to know what is going on in the orchard on a daily basis. Who knows what will happen when drones will be able to track all kinds of information specific to each tree. Also, insects are not the only thing affecting our trees and fruit. Fungus, nutrients and environmental conditions all affect the trees. Some of our apples trees are still trying to recover from salt damage from Hurricane Sandy. I’ve learned to expect the unexpected and be ready for a challenge at a moment’s notice. It’s what keeps me out of trouble and keeps my mind active.

Planting Trees

Planting Trees….

It’s that time of year again when we plant new trees. Ideally, it would be better to plant trees in the fall to give them a head start, but we have a few other things going on in the fall. So, we plant in the spring. I’ve been patiently waiting for good weather and it has arrived. The soil is dry enough so that when I dig the holes with the mechanical auger the sides don’t seal over with wet soil and make it more difficult for the roots to spread out.

Getting the tree planted and growing as soon as possible is very important, so good quality growing conditions are needed.

All of the trees I purchase are grafted. A scion (young shoot of a certain variety) is grafted to a rootstock. The rootstock does many things including determine the tree size. We grow semi-dwarf trees, which grow to a maximum of about 8 to 10 feet. I like to keep the trees within reaching distance from the ground, so there isn’t a need to use ladders.

The graft union is at 3.5". The scion is from 4" and above. The rootstock is from 3" and below. — The graft union is at 3.5″. The scion is from 4″ and above. The rootstock is from 3″ and below.

In addition to size, rootstocks can provide disease resistance, more or less growth vigor, differing degrees of cold hardiness and drought tolerance. Certain varieties of apples grow more vigorously than others so it is important to match the rootstock to the apple variety and with the growing conditions it will be exposed to. Some of the rootstocks we use are hundreds of years old (M9 (Malling 9) – was originally a chance seedling in France, but then reclassified by East Malling Research Station, England around 1912). Some have just been recently developed (G30 & G41 (Geneva 30 & 41) – developed at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva, NY).

apple-trees

The training system we plan to use will determine how the tree is planted. The rootstock must be planted with the graft union 3” to 4” above the soil line. If we cover the graft union and allow the scion to grow I will lose the purpose of the rootstock, most importantly the dwarfing characteristics. If planted too shallow the tree will tend to have reduced growth. Each tree is planted and watered with starter fertilizer. Once the water has dried they are then raked in and pruned accordingly. The type of feathering of branches on the tree will determine how the tree is pruned. My Dad, John, and I have several different ideas of how things should go, and we often cannot decide which idea is the best. So, with the new Winesap/Stayman we have two different systems one in each of the two rows we planted.

The most dependable training system on our farm is what we call the V Trellis. The trees are planted and the trellis is set up to mimic the “V” shape. This allows maximum sun exposure. We’ve had great success with this program, and continue to use it in most of our new plantings. When planting the trees, one tree will lean towards the west and the next towards the east and so on. They then fill in the trellis with horizontal branches on the lowest wire and vertical branches growing up from the horizontals.

In some areas of the orchard the rows are a closer together and we’ve tried an alternative to the “V” system, which can be very wide and take up space. In tighter rows the trees are planted straight up, and spaced farther apart within the row. We are simply utilizing one side of the “V” instead of the two. This allows us to continue to plant in tighter areas. The tree is grown exactly the same with one set of horizontal branches on the lowest wire and vertical branches spaced and growing up to fill the entire space.

This year we are replacing some older trees and increasing acreage of other varieties. The list for replacement is: Jonagold and Winesap/Stayman for apples and John Boy, PF 17, and Glenglo for peaches. We are increasing apple acreage of two of the newly released Cornell varieties, SnapDragon and RubyFrost, and also Milk Pail 35 (another Cornell variety). There will be a separate blog devoted to the new varieties being developed at Cornell at a later date. Stay tuned for that one because these apples are amazing.

Now that the trees are planted we paint their tiny trunks with white paint to help prevent “Southwest Injury,” which occurs during the winter months. The sunny or southwest side of the tree trunk can thaw on a sunny day in the winter and is susceptible to cracking if the temperatures plummet during the night. The cracking then leaves an injury site for other problems to develop. Insects and fungus like to find cozy places to live.

The next step is to lay out the drip irrigation tube so that I can continue to water them and also fertilize them with liquid nitrogen. I fertilize a small amount each week so that the trees can utilize all the fertilizer, and it’s not leached farther into the soil After the irrigation is set up the posts and wire will be installed for the trellising system to support the trees.

Once everything is installed it is extremely important to keep the trees growing efficiently. I will not see a return on the investment for several years, and as everyone knows a faster return on your investment is important to maintaining a successful business.

Freezing Temperatures

This past week has produced some extreme weather. On Monday and Tuesday nights it was extremely cold for many trees and plants. Many orchards in the Northeast Region have experienced cold injury and some complete kills of fruit buds. What does this mean? From what I’ve been hearing up-state New York may not have a peach crop at all. The buds were too far along to withstand the freezing temperatures, so the fruit buds die. Apples have better cold tolerance, so hopefully it won’t be a complete loss.

How have these cold temperatures affected us here at The Milk Pail? Our apple buds are mostly at “silver tip” with only a few at “green tip.” The peaches are a little farther along. They are just about ready to bloom. Considering we didn’t have any flowers present during these cold temperatures we will sustain less damage. I feel very fortunate about that, and feel very badly for our fellow growers in the Northeast. My heart aches for those growers who work so hard to then lose part or all of a crop to a simple act of Mother Nature. But we as farmers know that Mother Nature is not one to contend with. It is part of our life and business, and it’s what we have to learn to accept as difficult as that can be sometimes.

So, why are our buds here at The Milk Pail not as far along as others in the Northeast? Well, we typically take longer to warm up out here on the East End of Long Island. The Atlantic Ocean takes time to warm up, so here at the farm when the South West breeze is blowing it remains quite chilly. We often feel as though we may be the latest blooming orchard in New York. We are not accumulating degree days (a measurement of the accumulation of warm weather which begins to collect after the average temperature reaches 50 F) as fast as even those growers on the North Fork of Long Island. We have our own mini microclimate here in Mecox. So, thanks to the Atlantic Ocean and the Long Island Sound for protecting us this time.

Over the next few weeks we will begin to know how much damage was sustained in the Northeast. There isn’t anything that can be done except to move forward, wait until next year to begin again, and hope the weather is a little more cooperative.

Why start a blog about farming?…..

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Why start a blog?…. I love what I do and I want to share it. I’m a farmer, a mom, a wife, a daughter, a sister, a friend and I’m sure there are other descriptions. I grew up on a farm on the Eastern End of Long Island in what is now deemed “The Hamptons.” I feel blessed because my family has been in the area since the 1600’s. My children are the 13^th generation of Halsey’s. I own the farm with my sister, Amy, which belonged to many ancestors before us. We are two women running an active, sustainable farm. My parents, even though “retired,” provide a great support network along the way. I would like to share bits and pieces of what I experience every day, how we do things on the farm and why we choose certain things over others. Growing high quality, safe produce is our mission. Our farm produces over 30 different varieties of apples, around 60 different varieties of pumpkins, gourds and winter squash, blueberries, peaches, pears, and many unique flowers. Some of the things I would like to share: new apple varieties, apple cider making, pheromone ties, land preservation, growing up on a farm, insect traps, our weather station, technology in farming, our retail store, all the secondary products we produce, cover crops & crop rotation, soil health, legumes, water protection, crop protectants, reduced tillage pumpkin growing, good days and bad days, and many more.

I hope you enjoy reading my thoughts and please understand that certain things may be just my opinion. There are many topics that can become controversial, but I would like to keep this a friendly blog. We all have to eat, and there are many tough decisions to make when choosing the food we eat. I’ve heard often to “know your farmer” or “know where your food comes from.” I hope this blog will help explain how we grow our produce to help feed those living around us.