Welcome to the forum Thomis! I am about 3300 miles away from you but it sounds to me like you are starting off right. In my neck of the woods, we have to give the trees protection from bark chewing animals such as mice and deer. I have a 2 year old Goldrush tree that I am expecting good things from and I just grafted some Grimes Golden onto one of my Liberty trees. That's all I know about your varieties. We are in similar climates so they should do well. Just make sure to decide which style tree you want, open-vase or central leader. Then, start the training early to make the job easier.