# Apple tree with six different apples?



## Janderso (Apr 18, 2020)

My wife does all the planning when it comes to landscaping and home decor.I just dig the holes, rake the leaves, mow the grass, paint the wall, fix the faucet, install the new gadget.......
She asked me to make a support system for the Apple tree.
I found these rail road track supports during one of my daily walks at work.
I think they came out pretty good for cable supports.
I need four more, looks like I need to take a walk with the hobos.


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## Ulma Doctor (Apr 18, 2020)

Very cool Jeff!
I have an uncle that has an apple tree with 5 varieties of apples-
i remember eating the Fuji's and the Cortland apples the most- right off the tree 


If you need more of the clips, i can get them easily.
i have a few here at the house too


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## benmychree (Apr 18, 2020)

Neat artifact, never seen one before how was it used?


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## MontanaLon (Apr 19, 2020)

It is a rail clip. Attaches the rail to the tie. They are 1050-1060 steel and make nice knife blades but are tougher than woodpecker lips to straighten out.


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## tjb (Apr 19, 2020)

Uh-oh!!!  I better keep my wife away from this thread!  She just recently achieved the designation of a card-carrying 'Master Gardener'.  Last thing I need is for her to see another project.

That's a nice looking set up, Jeff.  Were the holes for the lag bolts already there, or did you drill them?  What size lag bolts did you use.  (All this is purely out of curiosity, you understand.  I have no intention of letting her anywhere near a 'railroad track support'.)

Regards


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## cathead (Apr 19, 2020)

The heading on this post caught my attention.  Last year I planted three crab apple trees and I see they 
look to be pretty healthy this year.  My plan is to do some experimenting and graft on some scions from 
several other apple trees on the property.  There are several chemicals that can be used to facilitate
plant growth known as auxins.  I have some indole butyric acid on hand so will make a solution of that
to use in the grafting process.  Indole acetic acid is another common plant auxin.  Grafting is best done
when the trees are just coming out of dormancy so it is about time to give it a try.


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## Janderso (Apr 19, 2020)

Interesting responses.
Yes, as MontanaLon said, it’s a fastener for the ties, It appears in this region of the country they are going away from this type of clamp in exchange for a cheaper production version. I assume.
I was surprised how many spikes are loose or laying around, I also pondered how many trees they cut down to lay this track? 
I don’t know anything about what rail line this is but I can tell you it is very active. We live about a mile from it, there are trains one or two per hour 24-7.

The tree is a espalier Apple tree, let’s see, Fuji, golden delicious, red delicious, Gravenstein, Braeburn and one more.

Interesting about the 1050-1060, it wasn’t easy to drill. I used an end mill for a proper starting point to drill.
The anchor bolts are 5/16” x 3 1/2 , supporting 10 feet of cable and a branch. It’s not going anywhere, I don’t think.
I found this plate also, don’t know what I’ll do with it.


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## mickri (Apr 19, 2020)

Several of my friends are fruit and citrus growers here in the central valley.  One of these guys runs a portion of his property as organic and has over 200 varieties of fruit and nut trees.  You don't ask these guys how many acres of trees they have.   That would be like asking them how much money they have in the bank. 
Last time we were together for a pot luck the topic of apple trees with multiple varieties on one tree came up when I mentioned that I was thinking about planting another apple tree for eating apples.  They humor me with my dozen trees in my backyard orchard.  Anyway their view was that it was way better to plant multiple trees in one hole rather than one tree with multiple varieties grafted on.  The reason being that different varieties require different root stocks to grow properly and resist diseases.  I never planted another apple tree.  I got almost 20 dozen apples from my one apple tree last year and figured I would be hard pressed to eat that many apples from another tree.  I can everything that I grow into jams, jellies, ice cream topping and fruit to have as dessert with meals.
No wonder I don't have much time to make chips.


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## Janderso (Apr 19, 2020)

Yeah, we did some research before we bought it. The tree is self pollenizing?
Apple trees have several favorite pests as do peach trees.
We live in a farming communit, I know what you mean about the acres question.
I know what to watch for, we are going to try organic first.
It will be an interesting project.


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## MontanaLon (Apr 19, 2020)

Janderso said:


> Interesting responses.
> Yes, as MontanaLon said, it’s a fastener for the ties, It appears in this region of the country they are going away from this type of clamp in exchange for a cheaper production version. I assume.
> I was surprised how many spikes are loose or laying around, I also pondered how many trees they cut down to lay this track?
> I don’t know anything about what rail line this is but I can tell you it is very active. We live about a mile from it, there are trains one or two per hour 24-7.
> ...


The plates I have picked up seem to be very inconsistent, meaning I think they make them out of whatever iron they have at the moment. Some cut and machine like gray iron, some like malleable iron and others are so hard carbide has trouble with them.

The spikes get pulled and replaced any time a wood sleeper has to be replaced. Which seems to be pretty infrequently in most areas. But instead of picking them up when they are pulled they have a hopper car with a crane and an electromagnet on it that sweeps the track right of way and picks up all the iron. They replaced about 100 miles of track with wood sleepers here and put in concrete sleepers for 'high speed rail". Was a cool process to watch, mostly automated and faster than you would think possible.


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## Karl_T (Apr 19, 2020)

FWIW, I've grafted about 10,000 trees over the last 30 years, if anyone has a question.

Between delayed dormant and pink is the best time to cleft graft a scion onto an existing tree growing in the orchard. Use no chemicals, seal the wound with plain old grafting wax. grafting is nothing new, its mentioned in the Bible.




__





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if you want to do a LOT of grafting get what i use








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## Janderso (Apr 22, 2020)

Karl,
You just opened yourself up for questions,
Thank you.

We are trying to go as organic as possible. This apple tree has been in the ground a few days now. I have picked off the leaves that have a little rust or curl with a white powder on it. I then throw them in the trash.
Should I spray something now? The apples are about the size of grapes and smaller. We were told it may take a few years for all the apple types to bare fruit.


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## Karl_T (Apr 22, 2020)

I assume CA has a great extension service like MN does. Work with them to diagnose the problem. Once you know the disease, the solution is simple. best guess powdery mildew and solution is Captan. If you are really into organic - to use constant applications of sulfur - but it is more toxic than captan IMHO.


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## Janderso (Apr 22, 2020)

I should have thought of that. We have a State College in town that specializes in Liberal Arts and Agriculture.
I did see products with sulfur.
Thanks,


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