Playing God In the Apple Orchard, Who Dies, Who Reproduces

New apple varieties assessed. Part of plant breeding is judgement, who lives on and who doesn't, as well as who is going to reproduce and move forward in the game. It is tempting to find the good in every apple, but only so many can go forward. If I seem ruthless, I should probably be more ruthless. A lot of the stuff I"m leaving behind will eventually be culled out. This is turning out to be fairly easy, once I figure out what combinations and parents yield good results. Wickson x Rubaiyat has turned out to be an outstanding combination, yielding three good apples in a row.
Brix Refractometer affiliate link. I've been happy with this one: amzn.to/3saJLan
Support on / skillcult has been critical in keeping me experimenting and making content. If you want to help me help others, this is probably the best way to do it. Thank you Patrons for supporting the mission!
Donations can also be sent via PayPal @: www.paypal.com/paypalme/Skill...
Buy less, but buy it through my links! Shopping through my affiliate links generates revenue for me, at no extra cost to you, click links here, or go to my Amazon Store page: skillcult.com/amazon-store/ But seriously, buy less, do more.
Standard gear I recommend. I either use or have used all of it.
Council Tool Boys Axe: amzn.to/3z0muqI
Bahco Farmer's File: amzn.to/3Hbdhij
King two sided sharpening stone: amzn.to/32EX1XC
Silky f180 saw: amzn.to/3yZzM71
ARS 10 foot long reach pruner: amzn.to/3esETmM
Victorinox grafting/floral knife: amzn.to/3Jki1E9
Wiebe 12” fleshing tool: amzn.to/3sB0qSl
Atlas Elbow Gloves: amzn.to/3FwB5g6
BOOKS:
The Axe Book, by Dudley Cook: amzn.to/32kx7sN
Bushcraft, by Mors Kochanski: amzn.to/32q2rpT
Subscribe to my channel for more insightful Self Reliance related content: kzbin.infosubs... Click the bell icon to be notified of new content. Subscribing doesn’t mean that much on it’s own.
Blog and website: www.skillcult.com/blog
Instagram and Facebook @SkillCult

[@primoculturefarms]

A 2nd full hour of Skillcult. Bravo. Getting my hopes up for a part 3, 4, and 5!

[@TXVETJEB]

You realize what you'[ve recreated is an early American orchard. You did exactly what they did, only deliberately. Juice all that together and you'd have a real early American cider.

[@SkillCult]

Similar, but much more focused and efficient for sure. In the long run, more variety as far as diverse traits go. we have some advantages over that era for sure.

[@iano6745]

Curly leaf apple would be probably be really cool and unique as a bonsai.

[@thananightshade]

Or on dwarfing stock to sneak a food bearer into a front yard under HOA radar :D

[@samadams9557]

I can’t believe it took me this long to find this channel. So many things I’m dabbing in you’re already doing. Very much appreciate your efforts in sharing your journey. My brother and I are married to two sisters. We’re almost empty nesters so we sold the homes we raised our children in and bought property together and built a couple small homes on it. Have put together eight chicken coops, have 60+ chickens of multiple varieties and have started dabbling in creating our own breed. I recently planted a couple apples trees we received as gifts. They’re grafted with three different apples together so we’ll have to see how they turn out. Have figs planted along with two varieties of cherry. Clearing an area now for a solar kiln for dimensional lumber we’re milling from the trees we cleared for the homes. Just finished a temporary workshop so we have a place to work while we get our garage/barn built. Had great gardens this year, started canning and dehydrating. May get into freeze drying at some point. I also make lots of stuff; knives, sheaths, arrows, quivers, some clothes, etc. Well that’s a very long winded way of saying I’m glad to have found your channel. Working on the cordwood challenge too (like five years late)!😂

[@SkillCult]

Welcome! I've heard that a lot over the years lol. Are you on the cordwood challenge facebook page?

[@samadams9557]

@@SkillCult no, I stopped Facebook probably seven years ago when it became apparent conservatives were being suppressed. Idk, maybe I’ll log back in

[@senorjp21]

I was watching an older video of you and you were having some health trouble. I forgot because you are clearly recovered and energetic. That's great.

[@ciarfah]

And caffeinated

[@SkillCult]

For now. Planning to stay that way if at all possible.

[@mynameisnotcory]

I’m slowly turning my parents backyard into a franken apple orchard, they arent pleased with it, but i’m renting and they own that acreage! Would love to research more into low chill apples for texas louisiana and oklahoma

[@SkillCult]

Can't help much with the low chill thing, except to refer you to kevin hauser at kuffle creek and the apples and oranges blog.

[@AlexZettt1]

You grafted the best combination of thumbnail and title, that KZbin has ever seen (IMHO). Respectfully, Alex

[@TheBaconWizard]

Great stuff, always excited to see how the apple projects are coming along. I'm definitely interested in Triceratops as a (hard) cider option. Note to Self: 57:06

[@DeeSixHomestead]

Man, I just loved this video! ❤ I want to rewatch and make the list of things I want to buy for this season! 😊

[@zokowawa]

It's amazing how far you have come and how successfull this project has turned out to be. As one of those who have followed you from the beginning, I am delighted to see how everything that you suspected turned out to be true. All your assumptions about the probabilities of finding new and interesting varieties from your own crosses have turned out to be completely on the spot. As someone on the other side of the Atlantic who is also working with apple crosses, it has been so much fun to follow your project at the same time. Congratulations! I hope you will soon find a way to realize a new property and plant all your varieties out. Now that you are culling the first seedling trees, I was wondering if it would be a wotrthwhile subject for a future video to evaluate in very general terms the success rate you have had with your crosses - just the percentage of worthwhile 'interesting keeper' apples versus the rest. Because I suspect you would get an entirely different ratio from the commonly mentioned 1 in ten thousand. Here on this side of the Atlantic I have gotten more or less a 1 to 20 ratio of really interesting 'keeper' stuff out of all my crosses (apples, tomatoes, peaches and other stuff). I am wondering if you will end up more or less in the same ballpark?

[@SkillCult]

I need to do that sometime. I don't have very good notes, so that makes it a bit dicey. I'd guess maybew 10 to 15% worth grafting and growing not including most of the probably-good-for-cider varieties, but including the more interesting juice and cider stuff like sugarwood and hard candy cider. Hope to get to try some of your stuff someday!

[@GFD472]

You are one of the most talented and interesting people on youtube. I always learn something worthwhile from your videos regardless of the topic.

[@Finnnicus]

These videos really give me the impulse to spreadsheet! If you had to tabulate their characteristics I imagine the columns would be something like: parents, sweetness (experience and/or brics), tartness, astringency, texture (mealy to hard crisp), appearance (red skin, flesh, russeting, square, round, large to small), various flavour notes, and various ripening and storing characteristics (late to early, tendency for disease). Just gets me jazzed to think about. Glad you're doing well!

[@SkillCult]

Well go for it. not an impulse I have lol. A lot of it needs more wording to record and describe than simple traits. I keep digital notes when I get to it. I do have some old spreadsheets on olives from way back.

[@butchwillard55]

Good to hear you plan to continue with this orchard land.

[@derweschi2979]

Hey Steven, i really liked these 2 videos. Such breeder´s work is not often seen. To see the details and make decisions. With your explanations, humor and that sweet kitty it´s really exiting and easy to watch. I mean it´s totally my niche so I am not really the "normal" youtube viewer but I like it. I have Wickson for 2 years now and it should fruit next year, Sweet 16 and King David are also growing. Yesterday I was very happy to see that i could also get Rubaiyat here (in Germany)! I am very exited how it will turn out in comparison with the other red fleshed apples we habe here. And also the opportunity to make the Wickson x Rubaiyat cross and imitate your work ;). Also I found this interesting pedigree analysis of some american apples with some of them you also got. The title is: "Extended Pedigrees of Apple Cultivars from the University of Minnesota Breeding Program Elucidated Using SNP Array Markers" Keep it going, Greetings from Germany, Thorben

[@SkillCult]

Good to hear you;re going for the wickson x rubaiyat cross. Maybe the two best parents of two of the most interesting apple categories, savory and red flesh. Spread those genes!

[@AlexZettt1]

Hey Thorben, würdest du verraten, woher du die Apfelsorten in Deutschland bekommen hast? Grüße aus Berlin, Alex

[@derweschi2979]

@@SkillCult Amen, I will! ​

[@derweschi2979]

@@AlexZettt1 Hi Alex! Wickson und Sweet 16 habe ich von privat bekommen, King David aus Triesdorf und Rubayait von "Thomas fruit trees" aus Frankreich. Da gibt es auch Wickson, der ist für die Saision aber ausverkauft. LG

[@AlexZettt1]

Besten Dank für deine Antwort und die Tipps! Ich frage mal frech nach der easy route: Könntest du dir vorstellen mir ein paar Edelreiser zu schicken/zu verkaufen, wenn deine Bäume soweit sind? 🙂LG!@@derweschi2979

[@huntingkc1]

Do you have a video of orchard maintenance? Any trees that don't need sprayed?

[@SkillCult]

I don't spray because disease and pest pressure are very low here. I'm just not the person to ask.

[@trenomas1]

You gonna have some critchers eat up all those fallen apples?

[@SkillCult]

Nothing currently. Wish I had a pig on hand.

[@williamblack1581]

Sweet! You inspired me to get a Wickson and I crossed it... only one apple from a bare root potted in late spring because I'm not sure where to put it... 7 seeds from either Robert's Crab, Golden Delicious, or a White Icicle Columnar 🤞

[@SkillCult]

Nice, good luck!

[@mdl17576]

Thanks for the update and sg reading on Triceratops! Even with the scab and late ripening, it sounds promising! At this point I feel like Im just going to have to commit to some serious apple gambling and dedicate a tree to graft all these experimental cider apples. Maybe you could code name all of them after dinosaurs and call the bundle of scions Jurassic Pack!

[@SkillCult]

ha ha, nice. Hopefully I'll pull that off this year. Its a bit of a project to go through years of videos to figure out what to send out, then name them all etc.

[@KYRonDonTongLongSchlong]

This is truly Scalloped potatoes. Just magnificent content. I miss my wife....

[@boxybrown33]

I find the work you’re doing to be absolutely fascinating. Will you be putting any scion wood on figbid in the spring?

[@SkillCult]

In the winter sometime. I usually take cuttings in January, so probably February. Most stuff is actually sold on the website. Figbid is for the stuff that is very new and in limited suppply, so I can let it price itself. I also will have seeds, which will probably be available earlier in the winter and also pollen in the spring.

[@kelliott7864]

I believe the astringency in fruits causes puckering because it binds to the proteins in your saliva. I've thought about taking a mild cheese on my fruit collecting trips to see if that helps. Some wild pears are so astringent that a single bite can affect your taste for an hour or more.

[@SkillCult]

I think it would be the proteins in the skin itself. Like when tanning leather with tannic acid, it will pucker and shrink. I haven't really tried much for cleansing the palate.

[@stephenluna7932]

Very cool

[@mcgeebag1]

I remember Nigel Decon saying in one of his videos that in general his seedlings apples were a little smaller than the parent varieties. Have you found any trends like that? Another great video by the way 👍

[@SkillCult]

I'm not sure of that one. I hadn't noticed, but I've not paid a lot of attention.

[@ontic2354]

For a few seconds the red border around the thumbnail for the video made it look like it had a red bar at the bottom meaning I had watched it already. Glad I second guessed, just watching now!

[@SkillCult]

never thought of that, maybe I should use another color.

[@ontic2354]

@@SkillCult might be good to use a different colour for thumbnail borders-but then it might just be a me thing!😅 Love the apple breeding btw. I’m pretty obsessed with apples and would like to try some breeding trials myself, just not quite ready on our land yet. I’d also really love to get some seeds or mixed pollen, particularly from the good red fleshed sires, but being in Australia our quarantine rules probably make that too laborious to do above board. Keep up the great work.

[@SkillCult]

@@ontic2354 I will send pollen or seeds if you want to try. Just flat little envelopes in a letter.

[@ontic2354]

@@SkillCult wow, thanks heaps. I’ll be in touch at some point👍

[@kelliott7864]

@@SkillCult Red thumbnail borders throw me off too.

[@mardirazzberry]

Wow love your channel, started following your Grafting playlist and now binging your channel. Do you use Jadam Organic Pesticides? I've made all the inputs JWA, JHS and JS. I'd like to get a collection of unripe apples to make FFJ. I'm in a suburb of Chicago. My neighbour's have apples trees but use pesticide chemical treatment. I'd like to ask them to partner with me for organic pest treatment. Are there any concerns I should be aware of in regards to pest treatment timing or applications? Also these trees line a very busy road with heavy traffic from cars to big rigs. Thinking the pollution coming off the traffic being absorbed by the trees. Do we want to avoid consuming the fruit?

[@SkillCult]

I would probably avoid that fruit personally, but I can't tell you anything about it specifically. I don't use any pesticides/fungicides etc, natural or not, so I can't really help with that.

[@joeae6297]

Hello Sir.. you new subscriber here and quite a novice enthusiast in apple farming. In another one of your video you were talking about your preference and said you may need to “bump up the acidity level in one of your apple variety.” Please help me understand by explaining how you would do that. Is it by crossing with a specific apple and then replanting the pollinated seed for a new tree? Thank you v much for the service you provide with your videos. Much appreciated 🙏

[@SkillCult]

Hi, and welcome. Yes, essentially you would cross it with something more acidic and hope for the best. It would not likely produce the same apple with more acidity, but it might steer offspring in that direction. It's all a gamble.

[@andrejofak4787]

Congratulations! I have a question off topic, after I have searched your vids I did not see anny on deer protection, on this vid I see you have a fence, could you talk or point me on vid where you talk about it as I have the same problem, so I would need to plant a fence as now I am protecting each tree and grow it high enough so they cant reach it. Hoe tall is your fence on the vid? Thanks! Love from Europe, Slovenia.

[@SkillCult]

Fences for sure. they are really the only way, besides a dog on patrol 24/7. How high depends on how aggressive the deer. My deer are not very determined to get in, so my fences are not very good or very high. My neighbors 10 miles away have very aggressive deer and have to have tall, very good fences. Usualy a minimum of 6 feet, but sometimes that is not enough.

[@wtfrankian]

I'm really interested in what you mean when that apple has a "musky" flavor. That is an unusual flavor for something to have. Anything you can compare it to for some context?

[@SkillCult]

I can't make a real comparison, though I feel like there is one. I think when people tast it, they will agree that is a good description. Chris Homanics told me there is already a muskmelon heirloom apple. so back to the drawing board on that and I'll be looking for that one.

[@hanginlaundry360]

Super work! Are you ever making any leather goods again? I lost my bracelet!

[@SkillCult]

No plans to, but maybe I should

[@shawnlinehan4005]

How long does it take for those trees to get to that point

[@SkillCult]

those are between about 8 and 13 years old. I could do it faster with better planning and care, but it still takes a long time.

[@georgecarlin2656]

Any plans to do the same with pears?

[@SkillCult]

I probably won't, but I'm tempted. Someone should though. There are red fleshed pears that need improving.

[@shawnlinehan4005]

Do you sell or trade apple seeds or cuttings

[@SkillCult]

I sell scions seed and pollen every year in the webstore at www.skillcult.com/store. The season is over now. the best way to find out when stuff is available is to subscribe to my blog there.

[@thananightshade]

27:58 please don't sell short the decorative aspect for trees that people may need to hide front yard food production! I could sell those as Holly leafed decorative apples ALL day in subdivisions!

[@SkillCult]

I'll have to grow it on a real sizeable tree and see what the effect is from a distance.

[@user-hi4sz9km1y]

Велика робота зроблена...щоб знайти той единий ..😊❤❤❤

[@fkeeleung]

Hello, do you ship scions abroad? I'm based in London, UK

[@SkillCult]

No, but I know that most of my varieties are already over there. I hope this year to compile a list of people that have them so when someone requests, I can network everyone for trading. get ahold of me on social media or through my website contact form this mid winter.

[@patrick_laslett_allotment]

I'm based in the UK too - so will visit your website.@@SkillCult

[@roccoconte2960]

It must be very time consuming by the time you start breeding until you actualy taste the results. I would think you would be better off just planting a know variety .

[@SkillCult]

If assuming the goal is to get fruit as quick as possible, yes. That is not my goal. The only way to make new and unique varieties is to grow seeds. Three reasons to do that: ) to get apples with novel traits that either don't exist or are rare. ) to increase apple diversity which has declined rapidly since the turn of the century due to the industrial food systems insistence on just a few well known varieties (which are not all that good lol) ) to make better apples than the boring stuff they have decided we want to buy.

[@samadams9557]

I know where I’d be bow hunting on that property!

[@SkillCult]

The deer don't actually have access to the apples at all. I have everything fenced off.

[@samadams9557]

@@SkillCult yeah that makes sense.

[@pocket83squared]

It's sort of embarrassing how much thought I've put into thumbnail art. When I was younger, I was pretty art-driven, and so composition became something that I just can't help but focus in on. Further, I find marketing downright interesting, given its ability to change our will. Thumbnails are like the perfect convergence of these media. Of course, I'll admit this to you only because I consider you worthy of my sincere respect: I think you may've just struck into a sort of uncanny valley for clickbait on this one. Unfortunately for us all, I'm not sure the thumbnail sensationalism bubble has burst yet, so if you're using it as an ironic pastiche of this tacky expectation culture that just won't die, I don't think it's very funny at the moment. But if you're using that composition for views, not only do I think it'll no longer work at this point, but I also think that you, as a presenter, are miles above such a muck-slurping practice. Take the criticism with a grain of salt, because I've been just as guilty as anyone. More than anything, I'm curious about your motive; you seem pretty deliberate, so I'm guessing you've also thought about this. Jon Stewart would use satire as a shield, so that he could be critical over anything he wanted. Was his show really nothing but irony, or did it become _de facto_ news? If we use clickbait now, are we making it worse, or are we helping to show it for what it is?

[@SkillCult]

I don't usually put a lot of effort or thought in really. I never take pictures like this, like other people, that is an actual still from the video. I should put in more time and thought to titles and thumbs.