Appleseed, it is free wood chips, I convinced a tree company working in my neighborhood to dump a truckload in my driveway. I have started putting down black fabric underneath the wood chips around my fruit trees to keep down weeding. I also have some wood chips under the fabric in a 2 foot circle around the trees. I have learned to put down a light coat of the chips of an inch or so on top of the fabric or else the weeds just start growing on top of the fabric as the mulch deteriorates. Champs, this will be my 1st Goldrush crop but from what I have read, they should ripen in late October here in Atlanta. I experimented last year that Goldrush tree bending over the central leader with rope while it was still flexible (see enclosed picture). The tree was growing so fast in its 1st year, and I wanted to keep it at 8 feet max. I am not sure if that has helped produce the nice 2nd leaf crop. I got the idea from Bob 6z, a regular poster on the site. It seems to be working so far keeping the height in check.

H'man...that was all of them, that photo was taken in September. There would be 30 leaves per apple I'd say, but not much more than that.. I allowed 22 and then I think in late June I pulled 3 more due to doubles or triples. My daughter "harvested" an unripe one the day that picture was taken (the largest of course). Really the only reason I said 106 was because how well it has performed under Honeycrisp here. I hear all these board members who've been waiting for years for fruit from HC and haven't gotten it. Mine on M106 fruited the second year after planting and fruited fairly heavily. It also made large full sized apples with great honeycrisp flavor. It's done the same each year since and I like the trunk dia. to top ratio...looks good. If I had more space I'd go straight to 111...no doubt and maybe should have with the Goldrush, but I have that property line issue. Yeah...it's fun with the kids and I'm blessed that they both love fruit so much...especially apples and pears. They always loved it too, I never even encouraged them...never needed to.

Most people who grow and love to eat lots of apples like apples that are more complex in flavor, like Goldrush. Most people prefer bland sweet flavors like Honeycrisp. Most of them don't grow apples and haven't tried many apples. I didn't particularly like apples until I started trying different kinds of apples at tastings and found some, like Karmijn da Sonnaville and GOldrush, that have lots of flavor. Honeycrisp is also a much bigger apple = more profit and more advertising/publicity. Part of the point of this site is for growers to share ideas. It's ok if one like Goldrush better and one likes Honeycrisp better, but there is no obvious superior, etc. apple. It's just a preference. John S PDX OR

We also had parking space issues when we lived in our last apartment... there was enough space to park 4 cars, but there were no lines painted... still, more than enough room for my and then-BF's cars, plus our neighbor's car (3 total). Long story, but short version was that neighbor was psycho on a number of levels, not the least of which related to the parking situation. Finally, our landlord ended up having to paint lines designating which two spaces were hers, and which were ours. Wouldn't you know it, just to be passive-aggressive, psycho-neighbor wouldn't park in the far spot, leaving a space between her car and ours... oh no, she parked in the close spot. And when I say "close," I mean she would park, every single day, with her tires no more than an inch on her side of the painted line. In other words, there were often times that, if then-BF and I came home, the passenger would have to get out first because there wouldn't be enough room for both of our car doors to open and not risk damaging the car next to it, because she had to park hers so d*mned close. The fun culminated into her calling our landlord on one occasion and threatening to sue, accusing my then-BF of sideswiping her side mirror as he backed into his space. WE called the cops to investigate what she reported as damage, the cop who came actually laughed at her and said there's no way such a tiny amount of damage could have been caused in the manner she was describing... and by the way, why was she parked so close to the line in the first place?? That was the end of her insane ranting on the parking spaces... we were so thankful when she moved out a few months later. So maddie, you definitely have my sympathy!