Thread: Closing down

Originally Posted by RandomChances

The cost of fencing is the big problem.

Tie their legs together.

Organic farming is taking off here. What is the climate like where you are RC? Is it cooler than the rest of Thailand or stinking hot all year round?

If it's a bit cooler I would grow Cox's apples. Make a fortune on them you would.

Organic veg would be ok but I'm pretty crap at the growing side of things, all meat of milk could be classed as organic anyway.
Hot season is fucking hot, probaly one of tha hotest places in Thailand but we get definate seasons...could'nt do apples I think

Originally Posted by mrsquirrel

If it's a bit cooler I would grow Cox's apples.

Tell me more.
It was so fuking cold here this winter that my coconut trees died.
Is it difficult? How long before I get some apples ?

From what I understand about Cox's apples is that the fruit form at the end of summer in when it starts to cool.

If it was hot all year around as it is in some parts of Thailand then I don't think there would be enough of a temperature change. However up in the more mountainous regions there might be enough of a change to get them to grow.

Reading on the internet it claims that they need warm dry weather. Which rules out Thailand and the UK so I presume that it's bollocks and they can be grown here.

Not sure about those mutant giant chinese apples that Carre Fourre stock.

http://www.parkfruitfarm.co.uk/fruit%20varieties.htm

There are more than 7,500 known cultivars of apples. Different cultivars are available for temperate and subtropical climates. Reputedly the world's biggest collection of apple cultivars is housed at the National Fruit Collection in England. Apples do not flower in tropical climates because they have a chilling requirement.

Starting an orchard

Apple orchards are established by planting trees two to four year old. These small trees are usually purchased from a nursery where they are produced by grafting or budding. First, a rootstock is produced either as a seedling or cloned using tissue culture or layering. This is allowed to grow for a year. Then, a small section of branch called a scion is obtained from a mature apple tree of the desired cultivar. The upper stem and branches of the rootstock are cut away and replaced with the scion. In time, the two sections grow together and produce a healthy tree.
Rootstocks affect the ultimate size of the tree. While many rootstocks are available to commercial growers, those sold to homeowners who want just a few trees are usually one of two cultivars; a standard seedling rootstock that gives a full-size tree, or a semi-dwarf rootstock that produces a somewhat smaller tree. Dwarf rootstocks are generally more susceptible to damage from wind and cold. Full dwarf trees are often supported of posts or trellises and planted in high density orchards which are much simpler to culture and greatly increase productivity per unit of land.
There has been limited research into growing apples on their own roots (i.e. without a rootstock)in England this was initiated by Hugh Ermen at Brogdale, Kent and has been carried on by Phil Corbett in Nottinghamshire. Some of the supposed benefits are greater disease resistance and better flavour.

Apple orchard



A community apple orchard originally planted for productive use during the 1920s, in Westcliff on Sea (Essex, England)


Some trees are produced with a dwarfing 'interstem' between a standard rootstock and the tree, resulting in two grafts.
After the small tree is planted in the orchard, it must grow for 3-5 years (semi-dwarf) or 4-10 years (standard trees) before it will bear sizeable amounts of fruit. Good training of limbs and careful nipping of buds growing in the wrong places, are extremely important during this time, to build a good scaffold that will later support a fruit load.

Pollination

Apples are self-incompatible and must be cross-pollinated to develop fruit. Pollination management is an important component of apple culture. Before planting, it is important to arrange for pollenizers, cultivars of apple or crab apple that provide plentiful, viable and compatible pollen. Orchard blocks may alternate rows of compatible cultivars, or may have periodic crab apple trees, or grafted-on limbs of crab apple. Some cultivars produce very little pollen, or the pollen is sterile, so these are not good pollenizers. Quality nurseries have pollenizer compatibility lists.
Growers with old orchard blocks of single cultivars sometimes provide bouquets of crab apple blossoms in drums or pails in the orchard for pollenizers. Home growers with a single tree, and no other cultivars in the neighbourhood can do the same on a smaller scale.
During the flowering each season, apple growers usually provide pollinators to carry the pollen. Honeybee hives are most commonly used, and arrangements may be made with a commercial beekeeper who supplies hives for a fee. Orchard mason bees are also used as supplemental pollinators in commercial orchards. Home growers may find these more acceptable in suburban locations because they do not sting. Some wild bees such as carpenter bees and other solitary bees may help. Bumble bee queens are sometimes present in orchards, but not usually in enough quantity to be significant pollinators.
Symptoms of inadequate pollination are excessive fruit drop (when marble sized), small and misshapen apples, slowness to ripen, and low seed count. Well pollinated apples are the best quality, and will have 7 to 10 seeds. Apples having fewer than 3 seeds will usually not mature and will drop from the trees in the early summer. Inadequate pollination can result from either a lack of pollinators or pollenizers, or from poor pollinating weather at flowering time. It generally requires multiple bee visits to deliver sufficient grains of pollen to accomplish complete pollination.

Apple tree in flower


A common problem is a late frost that destroys the delicate outer structures of the flower. It is best to plant apples on a slope for air drainage, but not on a south facing slope (in the northern hemisphere) as this will encourage early flowering and increase susceptibility to frost. If the frost is not too severe, the tree can be wetted with water spray before the morning sun hits the flowers, and it may save them. Frost damage can be evaluated 24 hours after the frost. If the pistil has turned black, the flower is ruined and will not produce fruit.
Growing apples near a body of water can give an advantage by slowing spring warm up, which retards flowering until frost is less likely. In some areas of the USA, such as the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, the southern shore of Lake Ontario, and around some smaller lakes, this cooling effect of water, combined with good, well-drained soils, has made apple growing concentrations possible. However, the cool, humid spring weather in such locations can also increase problems with fungal diseases, notably apple scab; many of the most important apple-growing regions (e.g. northern China, central Turkey, and eastern Washington in the USA) have climates more like the species' native region well away from the sea or any lakes, with cold winters leading to a short, but warm spring with low risk of frost.
Home growers may not have a body of water to help, but can utilise north slopes or other geographical features to retard spring flowering. Apples (or any fruit) planted on a south facing slope in the northern hemisphere (or north facing in the southern hemisphere), will flower early and be particularly vulnerable to spring frost.

Location

Apples are relatively indifferent to soil conditions and will grow in a wide range of pH values and fertility levels. They do require some protection from the wind and should not be planted in low areas that are prone to late spring frosts. Apples do require good drainage, and heavy soils or flat land should be tilled to make certain that the root systems are never in saturated soil.

Some interesting ideas, I have been contemplating on a 'homestay' sort of thing myself, except I don't have an "integrated farm", but lots of activities and sightseeing for the buggers to get involved in.

It's just I am too lazy and my missus has no interest in it.

RC,

Sorry for the late reply. I have followed your operation from the start and now i get to witness the end.

Everyone has already said what i could say.

What i will say however (knowing someone over the net) if anyone can fall in the shit and come out smelling like a rose, it has to be you!

If there is anything I can do please ask...

I've only just come across this thread, I can't add anything which hasn't been said already but I would like to wish you good luck for the future.

Originally Posted by stroller

Some interesting ideas, I have been contemplating on a 'homestay' sort of thing myself, except I don't have an "integrated farm", but lots of activities and sightseeing for the buggers to get involved in.

It's just I am too lazy and my missus has no interest in it.

Why didn't you tell me.
I know someone who was trying to set up a network and was asking if I knew of any suitable hosts.

Did I mention the catch-your-own-diner BBQ event?