Episode #188 - Apple Trees for Whitetails

Published: 2023-09-24
Episode page
Duration: 72 min

In this episode

antler-growth

• Mike Russell asked why dry spring and summer months causing a drought reduce buck antler growth. 32:53

apple-breeding

• Andy’s abandoned apple orchard sat neglected for fifteen years, and by the time he acquired it only about 20% of the trees still produced apples. 6:47
• Each year Andy grows five to ten thousand apple seedlings but selects only about ten of them to propagate further. 7:21
• Andy selects seedlings for vigor, fast growth, and disease resistance. 7:40
• Terry asked whether the breeding effort also targeted apples that ripen later in the year for deer hunters, rather than earlier. 12:43

apple-genetics

• A geneticist testing Andy’s apple trees found they carry three separate layers of genes for disease resistance. 8:59
• The geneticist spent eighteen months researching apple diseases before dropping that project once she encountered Andy’s trees. 9:25

apple-orchard

• An older Ohio apple grower is a sixth-generation orchard owner whose family has run the apple business for two hundred years. 3:35
• The sixth-generation orchard owner holds several patents for his apple-breeding work. 3:51
• The 200-year, sixth-generation orchard owner was amazed by Andy’s trees, calling them the healthiest apple trees he’d ever seen. 9:52

apple-trees

• Don spent an entire day visiting three different orchards and interviewing three apple experts, including two from Ohio State University and one who studies apple DNA. 2:35
• An apple breeder developed disease-resistant apple trees for wildlife and partnered with Jay Gingerich to market them through Gingerich Tree Farm. 3:00
• Andy’s grafted apple trees, using premium rootstock, are expected to grow large and live for about a hundred years. 15:35
• Both apple experts told Don that discount-store trees like those from Walmart would all be dead within ten years, unlike Andy’s trees. 16:55
• Terry asked Don to name the one thing about apples that most surprised him or that he had completely wrong. 5:34

apple-varieties

• Don’s favorite apple variety from Andy’s trees is called Steady Eddie, which he considers the best for eating. 10:51
• Don plans to plant several Steady Eddie apple trees on his own farm next year. 11:00

asio

• Terry announced that ASIO customers who tag ASIO, Don, and Terry in their harvest photos could be selected each week to have their photo featured on the Chasing Giants podcast. 18:52
• Freeman Miller, from southwest of Nashville, Tennessee, shot a good bull elk in Colorado while wearing ASIO Gear. 19:32

brenton-usa

• Terry announced that he and Don are partnering with Brenton USA this year, both using the company’s AR platform rifles chambered in .350 Legend. 29:19
• For the youth hunt, Don’s grandsons’ Brenton rifle was set up with a Vortex holographic sight since shots are expected to be close range. 30:04

career-change

• Terry announced he resigned from his company this week after twenty-eight years to accept a leadership role at another company. 21:55
• Terry says his new job is a major promotion that will also let him be more present as a husband to his wife. 26:47

daughter-health

• Don announced he will take his daughter for her second chemo treatment on Monday, October 2nd. 64:56
• Don said his daughter faces a long road with her cancer treatment but is handling it with grace, and he’s trusting God with the outcome. 65:18

event-plan

• Don and his partners are planning a big event on the new 430-acre property next spring, with details to come. 4:50

family-event

• Terry’s nephew, a minister who just graduated from seminary, is getting married the day after this recording. 64:13

food-plots

• Jordan Brandenburg asked whether hauling water to drought-stressed food plots by ATV or truck would help, or create too much human-intrusion pressure. 36:54

grandsons

• Don says his grandsons have been under a lot of family stress and he wants them to have the hunt of their life this season. 28:58

hunting-plan

• Terry plans to hunt over soybeans this weekend since the alfalfa nearby was recently mowed and baled. 63:51

jay-gingerich

• Don announced that Jay Gingerich’s disease-resistant apple varieties are not yet on his website but should be available within about two months once his new website launches. 14:25
• Jay Gingerich’s disease-resistant apple trees are expected to grow 30 feet tall and produce 20 bushels of apples every year. 17:07
• Terry said the podcast will announce when Jay Gingerich’s apple trees become available, including pricing and ordering details. 17:26
• Don announced that Jay Gingerich’s apple trees will be sold as bare-root trees that can be shipped anywhere in the country. 17:44
• Terry asked whether Jay Gingerich will start selling these disease-resistant apple trees immediately or wait for demand to build. 11:33

joe-miles

• Joe Miles told Terry he had hunted only three sits all season but still killed a buck. 21:09
• Don joked that Joe Miles is ‘really slacking’ this season despite killing a buck. 21:23 (light moment)

listener-story

• Jake Johnson said he and his friends play a drinking game where they drink every time Terry says ‘tee up’ or ‘perspective’ during the podcast. 54:00 (light moment)

mentorship

• Nick Collins asked Terry what the top three hunting lessons or things he fundamentally learned from Don have been. 44:15

nutricrave

• Terry clarified NutriCrave deer corn is not yet available to individual consumers; only dealers can currently place orders. 70:53
• Terry asked Don for an update on the status of NutriCrave deer corn, which he had posted about earlier that day. 69:19

podcast-growth

• Terry announced the podcast has seen a huge spike in listeners over the last four weeks, with audience numbers higher than ever. 67:45

property-management

• Jake Johnson asked whether having two large neighboring outfitters near his new 40-acre Ohio farm is good or bad, and how to draw deer to his property. 55:12

property-purchase

• Don bought a 75-acre Ohio property with his business partner, who is having a dozer clear food plots on it. 1:49
• Don and his business partners bought a 430-acre property in Ohio, with Steve Shields filming the visit for the Whitetail Master Academy. 4:31

question-submission

• Don explained listeners can submit questions at chasinggiants.com and receive a free T-shirt if their question is used on the podcast. 68:10
• Don gave a mailing address for question submissions: Real World Wildlife Products, PO Box 55, Arthur, Illinois 61911. 68:43

quietkat

• Don announced QuietKat is offering a 40% discount on select e-bikes for past Whitetail Master Class attendees and consulting clients. 51:45

rut

• Jason Clark asked why hunters avoid October mornings and what really differs between October and November besides weather and the rut. 59:33

stand-placement

• A hunter named Kyle had someone drive a truck in and leave it running near his stand so a target buck wouldn’t be spooked, then he killed the buck later that day. 42:55

sunday-night-prayer

• Terry announced the podcast has launched a weekly Sunday Night Prayer Time series on the Chasing Giants TV YouTube channel, featuring guests like Wes Delks and Devin Hurley. 65:39
• Terry announced that Ty Miller of the Small Acre Hunting Podcast will lead this week’s Sunday Night Prayer Time. 66:31

video-production

• In three days in Ohio, Don and Steve Shields filmed about 30 videos, with plenty more material still to be released. 5:17

youth-season

• Don plans to let his grandsons hunt the youth deer season first before he hunts his own property this fall. 28:13

Deer activity

• Babe (hunt) 32:00
• unnamed buck (harvest) 42:55

Listener questions

Question: Terry asked Don to name the one thing about apples that most surprised him or that he had completely wrong. 5:34 — asked by Terry

• Answer: Don said he was surprised the veteran orchard owner sprays his commercial orchard 12 times a year. 6:18

Question: Terry asked whether Jay Gingerich will start selling these disease-resistant apple trees immediately or wait for demand to build. 11:33 — asked by Terry

• Answer: Don said Jay will have two or three varieties available next spring, with a limited supply of a couple thousand trees. 11:54

Question: Terry asked whether the breeding effort also targeted apples that ripen later in the year for deer hunters, rather than earlier. 12:43 — asked by Terry

• Answer: Don said Andy selected apples for a later bloom date to reduce the risk of frost damage. 12:55
• Answer: Don said Andy also bred trees specifically to hold apples in November, since that’s essential for deer hunters. 13:08

Question: Mike Russell asked why dry spring and summer months causing a drought reduce buck antler growth. 32:53 — asked by Mike Russell

• Answer: Don explained drought reduces the tender new plant growth deer prefer, which is the most nutrient-dense part of the plant, cutting nutrition available for antlers. 33:38

Question: Jordan Brandenburg asked whether hauling water to drought-stressed food plots by ATV or truck would help, or create too much human-intrusion pressure. 36:54 — asked by Jordan Brandenburg

• Answer: Don said food plots are open areas, not bedding cover, so vehicle noise there isn’t the same intrusion problem as it would be in bedding areas. 37:53
• Answer: Don said the water needed to meaningfully help a drought-stressed plot is enormous, thousands of gallons per acre, making it impractical. 39:11

Question: Nick Collins asked Terry what the top three hunting lessons or things he fundamentally learned from Don have been. 44:15 — asked by Nick Collins

• Answer: Terry said the first lesson was realizing mature bucks use bedding areas differently than other deer in the herd. 46:23
• Answer: Terry said the second lesson was a different approach to herd management and buck harvest decisions. 47:10
• Answer: Terry said the third lesson was structuring food plots and bedding with transition zones for low-intrusion hunting. 47:35
• Answer: Terry added a non-hunting lesson: Don always looks for the good in people and trusts everyone, balancing Terry’s more pessimistic nature. 48:13

Question: Jake Johnson asked whether having two large neighboring outfitters near his new 40-acre Ohio farm is good or bad, and how to draw deer to his property. 55:12

• Answer: Don said the neighboring outfitters are probably having minimal impact, and a buck can’t realistically be drawn a mile and a half from its home range. 56:04
• Answer: Don explained every property has a ceiling on what it can produce, and small properties like this 46 acres have a lower ceiling. 57:13
• Answer: Don said the smaller the property, the more critical human intrusion becomes, and 46 acres is a small property. 57:51

Question: Jason Clark asked why hunters avoid October mornings and what really differs between October and November besides weather and the rut. 59:33 — asked by Jason Clark

• Answer: Don said the rut is the biggest difference, since outside the rut mature bucks are usually back in their bed before daylight. 60:14
• Answer: Don explained bucks scent-check the downwind edge of their bedding area before entering, so morning hunters risk being winded before daylight. 61:27
• Answer: Don said he’s recently changed his mind: a cold front in the last week or ten days of October can make morning hunts worthwhile. 62:32

Question: Terry asked Don for an update on the status of NutriCrave deer corn, which he had posted about earlier that day. 69:19 — asked by Terry

• Answer: Don said the corn’s moisture content is still over 20% in the field, above the 14% needed for storage. 69:37
• Answer: Don said the corn should be harvested around mid-October and that over 2,000 bushels have already been sold to Real World dealers. 70:22

The episode centered on Don’s deep dive into disease-resistant apple trees for deer hunters. He spent a day interviewing three apple experts, including a sixth-generation Ohio orchard owner and a geneticist who found Andy’s trees carried three layers of disease-resistance genes and abandoned her own research project after seeing them. Andy grows thousands of seedlings yearly, keeping only about ten, selecting for vigor, disease resistance, and late bloom or November hold for hunters. Don named Steady Eddie his favorite variety and plans to plant it on his own farm. Jay Gingerich will market Andy’s trees as bare-root stock, available in a couple months. Listener questions covered drought’s effect on antler growth, watering food plots, outfitter neighbors near small properties, and October hunting patterns. Terry announced a job change and a new Sunday Night Prayer Time series, and Don shared his daughter’s upcoming chemo treatment.

Unofficial fan project. AI-synthesized from public episodes; may contain errors.