My husband and I recently purchased 147 acres of land in Northern Michigan that we hope to move to next spring and begin restoring (much of the property was clear cut before being lost to the bank). The property has an older apple tree that appears to not have been maintained in many years if ever. My best guess is it is an older heritage type Macintosh tree but of this I am not certain. The tree was loaded with apples this year due to a good growing year and the apples are delicious but do have scab and some worm issues typical of not being cared for. The apples only have 3-4 seeds TOTAL which I understand means the trees resources may have been depleted. My question is what would be the best thing I could do as far as mulching/feeding, pruning, dormant oil, etc and when exactly should this be done? The ground where the apple tree is is pretty sandy so lack of water the last few years may have played a part, but looking for other ideas to get this tree healthy. We just finished making 25 quarts of awesome organic applesauce and I want to keep this tree producing and chemical free for future years. Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
