new on everything

[mamarosa]

I just became an empty nester, kids grown, grandkids coming and going and my husband and I decided to try raising chickens, doing that with the help of the "backyardchicken" they are a month old and doing fine.
Now he wants to try growing apple trees. Mostly for pies, applesauce and eatting. We live in southeast michigan
looking at possibly dwarf mc Intosh. Now have heard you need 2 to have apples. the same or different, where to grow them full sun or mix, and can we put one in the chicken run to give the chickens "treats"?????????
any suggestions would be helpful
thanks
mamarosa
new egg, new seed

 

[patandchickens]

Full sun, well drained soil (i.e. water does not puddle there and it is not muddy, not even in early spring). Ideally some protection from really bad winter winds.

Different variety, for pollination. Not all varieties can pollinate all other varieties though, so you would want to look up what you can/can't use.

I would NOT suggest putting an apple tree in the chicken run -- it is unlikely to survive/grow well at all, with the scratchin' and pooing and soil-compacting that goes on there. And anyhow you would probably not want chickens (bored chickens, stuck in a run with limited opportunities for fun, that is, as opposed to free range chickens) to have access to unlimited #s of apples at any time of year - I do not know whether they can make themselves sick on 'em but you can quite definitely run into problems where they eat so many fun tasty apples that they don't eat enough of their layer feed and thus are deficient in protein, calcium, vitamins, etc. Better to plant the tree(s) wherever the best place is for them to grow, and then you can *pick* treats to toss to the chickens, in monitored quantities. If you want to use the chickens to clean up windfall remains and buggies (including overwintering pests) you can always put a temporary fence around the apple trees in late fall and let the chickens in there for the afternoon

Good luck and have fun, and welcome to TEG ,

Pat

 

[Tutter]

They can actually take high water, as long as it's just during dormancy, and the soil is otherwise well drained, as we have 13 over-100 year old trees at the edge of our big creek, on a flood plane.

One thought is to plant on a north facing area. Because of where our trees are located, they flower later than other peoples, and therefore miss any nasty late/unexpected wind/rain/frost snaps which take out other people's flowers.

I don't think the chicken's area would work well, either.

Good luck!

 

[barefootgardener]

Mamarosa,
MacIntosh is an excellent choice, A good all purpose apple. Another one to consider is a new variety called Honeycrisp. It was developed by the University of Minnesota and is getting outstanding reviews for Hardiness and Taste. These sell out fast at farmers markets very fast. A wonderful apple. It would be a good pollinator for MacIntosh.

Also keep in mind if yoou have any flowering crab apples (not the sterile kind) or other closely neighboring apple trees nearbye, they will also help to pollinate your MacIntosh.
Good Luck. It's addicting. LOL

 

[robbobbin]

Welcome, your gonna love your new growth here.

 

[patandchickens]

I'd strongly suggest, since an apple tree is such an investment (not just financial but in TIME and in occupied SPACE) that you taste whatever variety you're contemplating, unless you really don't care at all what the fruit is like.

Personally I quite dislike the Honeycrisps I've had (admittedly they've been from supermarkets not from home orchards, but still) -- they were certainly crisp, "to a fault" I'd almost say, and sweet, but just did not have any much real flavor other than generalized sweetness. Your mileage may definitely vary; I'm just saying, try before you buy

Pat

 

[barefootgardener]

Mamarosa, also keep in mind that you want apple trees that not only suit your taste, but that are also resistant to certain diseases. You also want Apple trees that will grow well in your region of SE Michigan. Find a local nursery with a good reputation in your area to find out what grows good in your region, also do an online search and get as much knowledge as you can about about grafted apple trees and rootstock they grow on.

I highly suggest you go to a local apple orchard or farm market to taste different varieties that are grown in the region. I do highly recommend you try and taste the Honeycrisp Apple. I heard so many great things about this apple for the past few years, and it came highly recommended by so many people that I finally tried it, And WOW, it definately won me over It Has a crisp sweet bite to it with great flavor..... it is disease resistant, will be a great pollinator for MacIntosh and is very winter hady for your zone...I actually planted two semi -dwarf trees of Honeycrisp this spring to go along with MacIntosh and other many Heirloom Varieties I grow. It is doing very well and I also live in Michigan but a little farther north. Good Luck