Want Big, Beautiful Apples? Do This ONE Thing!

[@AmzBackyardOrchardandVineyard]

Hi neighbors! We have 1 - 2 year old apple trees in our backyard. no fruit this season. just establishing our scaffolding branches and vigor for next year. you're absolutely right about the apple trees growing very rapidly! crossing our fingers we get blessed with a small crop next fruiting season! as always thank you for sharing your guidance and experience! You and Lori are appreciated!

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Aaron! Those trees will do well after giving them a season to establish. It's one of the keys to success, especially with the other challenges we face in the desert!

[@dertythegrower]

Perfect timing.. those rose bugs always slurp on ours and the honeycrisps are just starting to get bigger up north .. thank you

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Ooh, now you have us jealous with that Honeycrisp talk!!

[@nancytownsel419]

I liked the music. Nice change.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Thanks Nancy, glad you enjoyed it!

[@chetnash5991]

Amazing first harvest!

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Thanks Chet, we were very happy with it!

[@rajshankarsingh809]

So far this comment section is the best in terms of discussion. Thanks for the guidance

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey there Raj! Our viewers tend to have some sage advice and on point questions, so glad you're finding it all useful!

[@Audrii382]

Wow so beautiful place and beautiful farms ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ From SINGAPORE 🇸🇬

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Thank you Esperanza!

[@RobotDad]

Seeing those happy goats made my day

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Those happy goats make our day as well Eric!

[@barbmills2756]

Where did you learn about growing fruit trees in AZ

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Barb. I suppose it's from several places, but most of it is trial and error over the last 12 years or so. Some was talking to Reid at RSI Growers and Greg Peterson with the Urban Farm. Some from KZbin although there wasn't much in that regard when we started really planting most of our first trees over a decade ago. The resources are a little slim for growing fruit trees in Arizona.

[@AbidAli-bv2gl]

Excellent video, you are expert of thing fruits and fertigation and puring

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Abid. Thank you for the kind words. As always, you are very encouraging to us!

[@bavondale]

Great vid. Thank you for sharing. Look forward to the final harvest of those apples

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Glad you enjoyed this one! There pretty light after the thinning this year, so we may not have too much after the birds take their share!

[@tamicory1082]

New subscriber here from AL Gulf Coast and I love your content! Always so much info from y'all and much needed as I prepare to put my trees in the ground, thank you!

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey there Tami, glad you found us and are enjoying the content. Good luck with those new plantings and let us know if you have any questions we might be able to answer.

[@joebai2475]

Hi from Beijing China! I lived in Tucson AZ in 2002 when I was 9 years old.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey there Joe! Wow, it must be cool to see the "old country" from time to time! I imagine it's quite a different place that you call home these days!!

[@joebai2475]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm Sure！

[@pattieford1920]

I enjoy you videos they are very interesting to me. I love your goats, they are so cute. GOD BLESS YOU BOTH.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Pattie! I'm really glad you're enjoying the content. We love those goats as well. You'll need to check out our vlog post tomorrow afternoon...we added a new girl to the herd yesterday!! 😊

[@sstolarik]

Very good vid, definitely worth watching.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Glad you enjoyed this one and found it informative Shane.

[@OurNotSoSeriousLife]

Great tips, thank you.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Thanks Robert, glad you enjoyed it!

[@breakingburque2200]

I finally added irrigation to my yard. Oh man talk about a game changer. Thank you for making me realize I can’t do it all.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Amazing the difference it makes, glad you were able to get it added!

[@Jesusiscoming24]

It's raining big time weeping works

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Really glad to hear we're getting some moisture out there somewhere! Nothing here yet, but maybe it's the dry eyes!!

[@Jesusiscoming24]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm ... Yes lol

[@johac7637]

Hey, I've got a picking ladder for you folks, it's in my "take south pile" I needed one too.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Very cool. Let me know what we owe you!

[@danielfisch655]

Thank you for sharing another informative video.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Thanks Daniel, glad you enjoyed it!

[@glleon80517]

Thanks for the video! I love your channel. What are scaffolding branches?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey George, glad you're enjoying the content! Scaffold branches are the primary branches that reach out from the trunk of the tree and hold most of the weight when bearing fruit. I'll link one of our pruning videos for you here where we talk about establishing scaffold branches. It may make more sense seeing it on a tree with no leaves! kzbin.info/www/bejne/bJLTmYmMhd6Agrs

[@AMAZINGFARMINGTECHWITHRAHUL]

Please Name all the apple variety in your farm that bearing fruit in this year

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Sure. All 4 of our Summer ripening apples have fruit on them and they are; Golden Dorsette, Anna, Tropic Sweet and Ein Shemer.

[@AMAZINGFARMINGTECHWITHRAHUL]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm thank you sir and pink Lady and gala haven't any fruit?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@AMAZINGFARMINGTECHWITHRAHUL we don't have a Pink Lady on the new farm here, but the Gala is flowering. I'm not sure whether or not it has fruit.

[@AMAZINGFARMINGTECHWITHRAHUL]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm please make a video about your gala I am very excited to see this gala apple video 🙏 please make a video about gala that is in your new farm And I have one last question is gala successfull fruiting in climates where Anna and dorset golden is fruiting

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@AMAZINGFARMINGTECHWITHRAHUL We will wind up covering the Gala here on the new farm, but probably not this year as there is not currently fruit on it. We have had gala trees set fruit before, but they don't survive the summer and never ripen. Hopefully we can get them to make it here on the new farm one of these years!

[@puckjohn]

Great production on your apple trees. I have four apple trees that range from 1 to two years old. And believe it or not the smallest one is the oldest one it’s a honey crisp . It’s still only about 2 1/2 feet tall. I water it regularly and fertilized it with steer manure this past spring. Any recommendations on how to get this slow poke to start growing?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Boy that's the question for the ages! Usually it's a matter of rootstock if all other things are equal. We had a Honeycrisp on the old property and it was one of the slowest to grow also, so I get the feeling it's part of the breeding that went into the variety. If you're seeing solid growth on the other trees and this is the only straggler, I get the feeling that's what you're up against!

[@eltonkpukuyou4141]

Great presentation, what variety are you growing?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Glad you enjoyed this one. We grow 4 primary varieties on the farm. Golden Dorsette, Anna, Tropic Sweet and Ein Shemer.

[@josemarquez8413]

Thank you beautiful video, have you heard about sundowner apple? Do you have a video on the varieties you have?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey there Jose. I have not heard of that particular variety before. It's funny you ask about a video on our varieties. We just shot one this morning that should be up in the next couple of weeks!

[@josemarquez8413]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm thank you Mr. Dwayne, love you chanel.

[@zashah942]

why did you paint the trunks? with what materials we should paint them.. at what age or time should we paint them. kindly share your thoughts at your convenience.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Here in the desert we paint the trunks of trees when they are young to protect them from sun damage. Once they're large enough for the canopy to shade the trunks we no longer paint them. I'll link a video for you here where we cover why we paint the trunks and what we currently use; kzbin.info/www/bejne/mHTIZIiQfpJ6rLs

[@annburge291]

Loved the video. What do you think about summer pruning, since you are managing apples on young trees? I've never tried it and question doing it in desert conditions. I add unripe apples, jujubes carrots to the cabbage mix when making sauerkraut. I juice celery for the liquid and then add about half the normal amount of salt. Celery is very salty.

[@annburge291]

Goats love apple leaves

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey there Ann. We've pretty much abandoned Summer pruning on all of our trees as it's just too much stress on top of the heat. While we have not attempted Summer pruning on apples, we did try peaches for a few years and quickly realized the tree growth was stunted for a few months afterward. Now we only Winter prune. I never thought of adding the unripe apples to sauerkraut, that sounds fantastic! Oh and our goats LOVE apple leaves. We take them for walks around the farm from time to time and we completely avoid the apple orchard. Same goes for the grapevines!!

[@nancytownsel419]

I have an Anna apple tree. How will I know when it is ripe? Can organza bag protect them from the birds?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Nancy. If you're in the city the chances are pretty good your Anna apples are probably ripe. They sometimes, but not always, get a light red tinge to the skin when they're fully ripe. However, we prefer them just a little under ripe as they get mealy very fast. We're a few weeks behind the city and will probably harvest most of ours by the end of June. Organza bags can definitely help with the birds!

[@zashah942]

I had a misconception perhaps that apples can be grown in cold environments. what type of desert is it...hot desert or cold desert? in what temperature ranges the apples can be grown and how much water is required...can they be grown in arid agricultural environments. thank you very much for sharing this video. I learnt why my apples size was not growing....they did not have enough room to expand in tight bunches . I remain greatful for your guidance. regards Shah

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey there Shah. It's thought that apples are originally from the Middle East, so hot climates with cold winters are good environments for them. That being said, they are very adaptable which is why you see them growing well in cooler climates also. They do need some time in the Winter with temps below 45 degrees F. That induces them to fruit.

[@marschlosser4540]

170 degrees? Oh, trees! No, I'm pretty sure we don't get that hot. Of course, family from up north no longer comes to visit in our gentle Arizona summer. Something to do with melting. Hey, was Lori wagging her eyebrows and winking in this? "Come on, just a bite, Adam. I mean Duane!" Yeah, I can hardly wait to get some on the tree. Next year, Dorsett galore. Wow, pectin! Unripe apples contain a lot of pectin. Old-timers would thin the fruit young, then make pectin. Boiled down and canned it. Uncle Dimy (Dimitry--WWI vet) was a master brewer. that man could take fallen apples and make applejack or rye with apples...Shh! don't tell no-buddy! :) It rained! Two good storms today and more to come! Praise God and Amen!

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Martin! Come to think of it, Lori did want me to try those apples knowing full well they weren't ripe!! I did not know about the higher pectin levels in unripe apples, that's a good bit of info. Thank you! Oh and Praise God indeed for the moisture. We need it BADLY!

[@marschlosser4540]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm Amen, we're blessed to have you kids! The more sour an apple is, the more pectin it's supposed to have. Emeril Lagasse did a show just on this, but used Granny Smith apples. when I was a kid, we dared let nothing go to waste. Apple thinnings sold for a whopping price of a dime a pound, wow :) (huckstering off the farm, included bootleg meat, sausages, and some of Uncle Dimy's lighter fluid LOL)

[@helpisonthewaytutoring4259]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm I have read that in general unripe things have more pectin. They say for berries to always include part less ripe fruit to make your jam set.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@helpisonthewaytutoring4259 this is good info for wine as well. We use pectic enzymes to break down the pectin to extract more juice and help clear the wine!

[@helpisonthewaytutoring4259]

I thought vertical branches were worse for having too much weight - shear off more easily?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

For the scaffold branches we prefer to have them between 45 and 60 degrees from the ground. We do let some of the apple branches get closer to about 75 degrees (at least initially) due to the fruit load that we see on older trees. That seems to be about ideal for the heavy, weight bearing branches. You're correct, more vertical and you run the risk of them splitting. Most of what you're seeing on this tree is new growth, hence the vertical nature.

[@hippiebits2071]

Question- I see some very elongated growth in certain areas on some of your apple trees which is the same thing as my pomegranate is doing. Is that something you will be leaving or latter shaping so it grows more uniformly?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

You'll have to let me know which trees you're referring to. We have pear trees that we're letting grow more vertical as a test to see if it will help us get the fruit into the Fall months without getting sun damage. Same goes for a few Fall ripening apple trees. We also had one tree that had no scaffold branching headed South, so we kept a longer branch until we had a good branch to choose from. Otherwise we try to keep them shorter and more balanced.

[@ahmadel-awa4165]

If I remember correctly, your apples are either on M7 or MM111 rootstocks, both are not known to be precocious. I think they mostly take 5+ years to produce fruit, do it’s interesting that they started bearing in their second/third leaf. Perhaps in Arizona desert they behave differently.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey there Ahmad! These trees you're seeing here are actually on a local rootstock from a grower in Glendale, AZ (RSI Growers). He won't divulge his "secret root stock" for apples, but his trees have always been very strong growers and early producers, so he must be doing something right!!

[@oneandy2]

I have an Anna on an M111 that I just planted in late January and it set 2 apples that I eventually had to prune off in mid May because they were putting alot of stress on the branch. South Texas.

[@SlackerU]

Very impressive as always. I'm out of space for any additional trees b/c of how the water-prices are structured here. Even with drip-line I'm finding it difficult/calculating to stay below 5k gallons with these 100f+ days. It's interesting though that my .8-acre of yard-waste is almost the ideal amount for 3k-gallons worth of orchard in the summers.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

One huge advantage for us here being on a well. The only cost is the electricity to drive the pumps. Repairs are business expenses for us, so while those will eventually add to the overall cost it's built into the business. That being said, hot and dry days are the struggle for most of the fruit trees!

[@Deeceesadventures]

Where does all the water come from?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

We have a private well here on the property that is fed by the Hassayampa aquifer.

[@recless8667]

I didn't see you mention it, but have you tried Pink Ladies? We've got different chill hours where I'm at (I'm the 2400ft Mojave guy), but my Pink Lady Apple is PROLIFIC. Of the 7 trees we put in, the Pink Lady grew twice what the others did in the establishment years and consistently gives us double the yield.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

We did have a Pink Lady on the old farm and while it did set fruit, it wasn't able to keep that fruit on the tree over the Summer into Fall, so it never ripened. We are still trying a few Fall varieties again on this farm, but the Pink Lady is not one of the test subjects! I think we did a video on the challenge we face with Fall ripening apples that I'll link for you here if you want to take a peek; kzbin.info/www/bejne/g2PEkmdpqdOJn6s

[@relaxationtime2759]

How dose apple can survive in 40°C ?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Apples will do just fine in 40 degrees C. Today we'll hit 45 C and we have seen 50 C many times and the trees do just fine.

[@relaxationtime2759]

We have same climate extreme heats from may to July average temperature is above 40°C is it possible that we can also grow apple and other tree commercially?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@relaxationtime2759 you would be fine with the high temps, but you will also need some nights below 7 C. The trees need that in order to go dormant and signal the tree to set fruit.

[@relaxationtime2759]

We don't have temperature below 7°C the lowest temperature in our area is 15°C in January its possible to grow apple in such area sir

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@relaxationtime2759 I think you would still be ok with either the Anna or Golden Dorsette varieties.

[@xanaw2]

should have been done before at that stage a lot of energy has been used by the tree already. If you do this at an earlier stage the apples would have been 25% bigger at the very least

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

We were definitely a bit behind this year, that's for sure.