Tall Clover Farm

In my neverending quest to cover every square inch of Tall Clover with anything that bears fruit, I stumbled across a remarkable site: Greenmantle Nursery of Humboldt, California. The nursery’s been in business since 1983, and features some old homestead varieties from plant breeder Albert Etter (1872-1950). Today three small benchgrafts (on M111 rootstock) of his small dessert/cider apples  that the nursery calls Sweetmeat Crab ™ Hybrids arrived: Muscat de Venus™, Amberoso™, and Atalanta™.

These whips will be nurtured and well cared for before they are place in their permanent spot. I will need to make sure the graft takes and that there is central lead to take the tree to new heights.  I can wait, especially after reading the catalog description for Muscat de Venus™, “While the texture is crisp, the flavor is intensely vinous and suggestive of muscat grapes. This is an extraordinary choice for dessert or cider. There is more pleasure in a single little Muscat de Venus™ than a bushel of most big apple varieties.”