Are Fruit Trees Worth the Trouble?

[digitS']

. . . golden delicious . . . . My neighbor says they make the best pies, but I've never tried using them for anything other than eating plain.

I don't know a lot about apples but, I am agreeing with your neighbor, Journey .

We use my mom's apple pie recipe and it calls for Golden Delicious. There are lots of reasons to make and eat something and using Mom's recipe is one of them .

Taste is subjective, of course. There are about 10 Honey Crisp apples on the table right now. We've also bought Gravensteins and Gala so far this year. There may have been Braeburns and there will probably be some Fujis. Subjective tastes? I will say that if Granny Smiths were the only apple in the market, I'd probably stop eating apples altogether. That almost goes for Red Delicious, too. Why Red & Golden have similar names, I have no idea. It seems to me that Goldens almost start out mellow. Not really over-ripe, altho' it wouldn't surprise me if some folks consider them so. Anyway, they cook very easily into a flavorful pie filling .

By the way, I don't consider the Northern Spy especially good for pies. In fact, what I really like it for is applebutter but I remember that the reason I bought that variety - because it was supposed to be a good keeper. I didn't find it to be especially so, didn't care for it fresh and didn't find it to be all that great for pie. There were a few years in which the apples didn't have much use but you know, after several decades, ingenuity kicks in .

Steve
Washington State U - Apple Varieties

 

[Ridgerunner]

Why Red & Golden have similar names, I have no idea.

Pure marketing. Would you buy them if they were called red or golden disgusting?

 

[digitS']

NO!!

But, I'm like that . . . influenced by the names of things .

In fact, I was always suspicious of those Northern Spies.

Steve

 

[Ridgerunner]

In fact, I was always suspicious of those Northern Spies.
But your a Yankee. How do you thing a Southerner feels about those?

 

[Jared77]

 

[catjac1975]

The delicious varieties were the only apples that kept crisp into the winter when they first came out. They have a lot of rivals now. We have had fruit trees for over 30 years. As backyard farmers with many gardens and animals to take care of, the fruit trees have never gotten the care they require. It is a time thing. I have found the berries are the most and easiest producers. This year I am giving up my strawberries. No amount of mulch will keep the weeds down and I just do not have the time for all the weeding they require. I do not want to resort to herbicides as I am organic. There are organic herbicides but they have not been a help with the strawberries. Blueberries are the easiest work free berry-the most work is in the picking and some pruning. Blackberries and raspberries are also well worth the cost and are very little work. We have one peach tree that gives us tons of peaches with nothing more than a little pruning and a load of horse manure at it's base. They are not pest free however and that is where I just don't have the time.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Interesting on the blueberries. Here they are labor intensive. It's a lot of work keeping the Bermuda grass out of them but a lot more work just carrying water. Since blueberries have a shallow root system they will drown if the ground is too wet so they need good drainage yet dry out if you go without rain a little while. I'm not burying an underground waterring system that far and anyting above ground is a mowing hazard. That means a whole lot of the water in my rain barrels is carried to the blueberries.

I think that just shows how gardening is local.

 

[catjac1975]

I only need to water my blueberries in the worst of droughts. Hoses will reach from the well.

 

[vfem]

I've had total joy and misery over my fruit trees. I had to burn my pear trees after they caught fire blight, and now I have to baby the peaches & apples. Bummed...

But those peaches really get everyone here so excited since they ripen first. I can't imagine not having the trees. They're all under 4 years old, so not really productive or anything yet, but they're getting there. Lots of patience!

 

[catjac1975]

You can't really even buy a good tasting peach unless you live near orchards. I didn't get any peaches this year, I think because of the intense drought. But when I have a good year I freeze the cooked peaches. The taste is beyond description. The best year I had at least 2 dozen gallons of prepared peaches. I threw away at least that many due to pests. This is an old dwarf tree. The peaches hang to the ground.

I've had total joy and misery over my fruit trees. I had to burn my pear trees after they caught fire blight, and now I have to baby the peaches & apples. Bummed...

But those peaches really get everyone here so excited since they ripen first. I can't imagine not having the trees. They're all under 4 years old, so not really productive or anything yet, but they're getting there. Lots of patience!