I'm finished up with trading scion wood for the year and getting my remaining scion wood from individuals who I have standing deals with and Bob Purvis purvisrc@msn.com he charges $4 for a 12-inch stick of scionwood and $2.50 for a 6-inch stick. There is a flat $8 charge for Priority Mail shipping and packaging If anyone else is at that point. I am getting plums, apricots, peaches, and pears from him. Guess next year I need to grow more rootstock! This post was edited by ClarkinKS on Sun, Jan 26, 14 at 15:05

Yeah, Kuffel Creek originally turned me on to the warm climate varieties. I was planning to order from them at some point, and then I was at the local nursery and saw an inexpensive bareroot 5-in-1 with all warm climate varieties and I impulse bought it. Already had the fuji here, and I just recently grafted on the pink, gordon & sekai ichi. I figure that's a good mix to start for my backyard forest garden. I can't fill the whole place up with apples... got to leave space for avocado, citrus, stone fruits, loquats, grapes & persimmons.

I am starting to look now for anyone who might have bud wood stock to trade later in the grafting season for cider apple varieties. I am hoping to find someone who has a Tremletts Bitter that is the actual variety as Scion wood from WSU collection has been found not to be actual Tremletts bitter

I have been making hard cider for a couple of years now. First year I started fermentation in the carboy - and was getting the explosions. This year, I started fermentation in a large mouth 5 gallon tub. It came with a lid and a hole in which you put the bung and air lock. Use the champagne yeast, not brewer's yeast or baker's yeast as this will increase the alcohol content. Cider only takes about 2 weeks to get done - some people keep wine for 30 or 60 days. In the first few days, you'll see "head" and bubbles, you will also see the yeast in suspension. After a week, the bubbles will disappear but the yeast is still there. I tried drinking it - and it gave me a pretty bad hang over - the reason is that the organic products in suspension give off trace quantities of methanol. After a week more, the yeast will die and fall to bottom and the cider will clarify. You won't see the yeast in suspension. Now it's done and ready for bottling. I tried drinking it again - and no hangover. The taste is not quite cider - more like white wine. --- Regarding your question - you can add the sugar and the yeast. If the vinegar is not "strong" enough as a pickling agent - then the yeast will continue to ferment. If it is strong enough - then the yeast will not - which means it is a strong enough pickling agent. However, be sure to add champagne yeast - as that can tolerate the highest alcohol content and acidity - I believe around 18%. Also, you can just taste the vinegar and compare it to another product with a published acetic acid content of 5%. Is it more or less sour - if it is more sour - it should have higher vinegar concentration. It sounds to me like you vinegar is still oxidizing. You have to stir the vinegar and keep it open to air to allow oxygen to interact with the alcohol. If it is unstirred, in a large barrel it can take six months, with an automatic stirrer it could take a two or three weeks. The more surface area that is exposed to air and the frequent agitation will reduce the time to complete the process.