Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1915-05-28
Aueu Ia Grover
Thin Your Apples
(FrOm StauntOn News. ]

your apples, ana you Snoulo start
first on the trees that are most
heavily loaded and on the better
varieties, as you will get bigger
returns by commencing early on
such trees. Some seem to think
that they should not commence
thinning until after the June
drop which is mistake especial
ly if you are after first class
fruit.
The rule for thinning is to
leave only one apple in cluster
and of course the most promising
apple should be left, that is free
from blemishes, and do not leave
any two apples closer than 4 to
8 inches, this will depend some
what on the variety the age Of
the tree and the amount of mois-
ture and the fertility of the soil.
You will have to work this out
to suit your own conditions. A.
near as possible leave apples on
fruit-spurs that are distributed
around the branch. That is, If
you leaye an apple on spur COM
ing from one side of a branch,
everything else being equal leaye
the next apple on spur coming
from the other side of the branch
or at least not from the same
side of the branch as one aboy e
or below The reason tor this is
that the weight is more evenly
distributed and the flow of sap
will distribute more evenly to
each apple.
If you are not convinced of the
value of thinning try it on few
loaded trees this year starting
now, don't wait until August or
later as you will not see any ben
eft, thin the trees very thorough
ly and be sure that you don't
leave too many apples, it is said
that very few men have nerve
enough to thin their own apples.
Having thinned few trees leave
a few of the same variety that
had about the same set of fruit
and watch the results, as to diff
ference in size and quality and
freedom from blemishes, this last
Of course will depend upon how
we'll you select the apples you
leave but a little practice will
help in that.
The argument is often ad.
vanced that it costs too much to
thin but remem Der that the fruit
has to be picked some time and
that it takes no more time to
pick it now than in the fall dur
ing the rush of harvest time, in
fact not quite so much as you
will let the fruit fall to the
ground while thinning and not
be bothered with baskets. A
tree heavily loaded and thinned
At the proper time will very often
produce about the same quantity
OF apples as it would had the APP
Piles not been thinned. Because
the apples will be larger, and
You can pick large apples faster
per barrel than you can small
ones. Again they will bring
more money, and the tree is much
more able to produce fruit buds
for the following years cror,
even though it may produce the
same quantity of apples as it re-
quires more plant food to produce
the core and seeds of the appl.
than it does the pulp of the ap-
pie. Therefore a barrel of large
apples are produced with less
plant food than a barrel of small
apples, because there are a less
number of seeds and cores.
The fruit buds for next years
crop are developed this summer
just at the time when this year.
crop is drawing most heavily on
the tree, that is one reason why
the average apple tree tends to
produce more apples some yea 81
than others. That is why we
expect off years every year. This
is largely controlled in some Sec
tons where thinning has been
p-acticed regularly from tn.
time the tree was set ou..
Another reason for the larp
crops one year and small the next
is that with some trees a fruit
spur that has apples on it this|
year will as a rule not develo. |.
fruit buds for next year, but will K
wait until next year to develo,.I
a fruit bud for the year following !
tn It hence BY removing all of the h
apples from some of the spur.
you give those an opportunity to Is
Envelope fruit buds for next yea. ID
p..4 this must be done early. "
". s. CANPprII II