34 replies to this topic

[MyaCullen]

I have 2 apple trees, they are overgrown and infested with Apple Maggots :crybaby:I need to trim and get some pesticide, though they are Red Delicious and some small early yellow variety

[EWW]

If you can find and grow a Golden Russet tree.... OMG do it. They are phenomenal out of hand, but their cider is even better. There is an orchard here that has them and they do a 100% GR pressing in the fall. All of the hard ciders I have made and others I have had have been amazing. Pretty remarkable for a single varietal.

thanks for the heads up - that's on the potentials list

Golden Russet is a small moderately attractive apple, which keeps well, and is very versatile for eating, cooking or juicing.  The flavor is typical of a russet apple but rather more intense than the traditional English St. Edmunds Russet or Egremont Russet - more similar to Ashmeads Kernel.The origins of Golden Russet are not clear but it arose in upstate New York in the 19th century, possibly derived from an English russet variety.  The flavor and slightly flattened shape suggest a connection with to Ashmeads Kernel, which has always been grown in the USA.  However there is also a variety with the name Golden Russet in England, described by the English Pomologist Robert Hogg in the late 19th century.  His description of the apple and its qualities are very similar to the American Golden Russet, yet he makes no mention of it being grown in the USA, even though he was aware of and described many other American varieties.For a time Golden Russet was grown on a commercial basis but then fell out of fashion.  It has enjoyed a resurgence of interest because the strong-flavored juice is ideal for cider and hard cider production.

[EWW]

If anyone else is looking for trees www.orangepippintrees.com has a huge selection and lots of info

[EWW]

After lookng at pollination and climate needs I'm leaning towards Harry Masters Jersey (traditional bittersweet cider apple), Northern Spy and Rubinette or Honeycrisp. I have an email into the supplier to check if these will work together.

[EWW]

Placed an order today for April delivery 4 apple: Stoke Red, Rubinette, Northern Spy, & Honeycrisp3 pear: 2 Doyenne du Comice and a Moonglowin a few years this should be a nice little orchard for me

[MyaCullen]

very nice EWW!got a line on some pears, they are what the old timers call a winter pear, I need to figure out what they really are

[EWW]

thanks...The main winter/keeping varieties are as follows:Bosc Comice Concorde Green AnjouRed AnjouRed Winter PearsSeckel

[EWW]

Here's a bad pic of a bad drawing of my preliminary planting planthe orchard is in the NE corner of the lot - plenty of full sun from 10-7 ... The diamond in front will be a veggie bed

[EWW]

Most the trees I'm picking up are on the g.30 rootstock - these require a permenant brace to prevent tree damage but do the best in wet conditions. I've been looking into the best ways to brace these - anyone have any experience with this?

[Genesee Ted]

What size trees are you going with?

[EWW]

G30s grow to around 9-10 ft around here ... I should be knee deep in fruit if all goes well

[Genesee Ted]

I have been seeing a lot of apple farms trellising horizontally around here. It is pretty cool. Have you looked into that?

[EWW]

One tree is crabish stillbut one looks to be a true eating apple of some unknown varietyscore!

[neddles]

I would give that crab a taste now and as the season goes on. It may actually taste good, especially if it is an apple/crabapple cross. If it doesn't taste good it is still likely to give a needed astringency to the juice/cider/cyser when blended in small quantities (5-10%). Most dessert varieties wont be able to do that. Many of these also can bring acidity and aromaticity to the juice as well. Those are about the size of my Whitney crabs although mine are still green. Whitney, for example, brings an astringency/tannin to the squeeze that is less noticeable when you eat it out of hand because it is also sweet and aromatic. The Wickson crab I mentioned earlier does the acid/tannin/aromaticity and has juice that runs as high as 25 brix. My point is that there is much variety in the crab/applecrab world and that what you have may already be a multi-purpose apple... including a great pollinator.

[EWW]

Thanks and the plan all along has been to blend with it...guess I should sample it sometime soon.