What's your favorite apple(s) and why?

[journey11]

Journey, that Orange Pippin site is so exhaustive that I've been ignoring the laundry and housework for the entire morning!
I think I have a place in mind for a little orchard. It's where I would like to keep bees also ( someday ). The varieties available boggles my mind!

Sorry 'bout that! I have spent my whole afternoon trying to figure out how to install a new font on my computer, so I know how that goes...(finally got it now!)

 

[JimWWhite]

JimWWhite,

I'm glad you mentioned Century Farms in NC, I'm going to make an order for some trees for planting this fall. Boy does he have a lot of interesting varieties like you said that cant be found in stores. I'm liking Grimes Golden and Virginia Beauty, I'll probably buy a third apple tree to extend the season. Its my first time ordering trees from David but I'm sure their worth it.

We have both the Grimes Golden and VA Beauty. Many of the apple trees he has will produce some really ugly fruit. But when you bite into one like the Grimes it will take you instantly back to when you were a kid and you were stealing apples from your Granny's tree. There is not a store-bought apple that I know of that can do that. But you won't go wrong with David's trees. I lost one of my first twelve trees and when we went to pick up our order for another thirteen trees the next year he gave us one of them for free as a replacement. He asked me why the odd number and I told him I had to replace one and he just flatly said he'd replace it at no charge. Good guy!

 

[catjac1975]

I bought some gorgeous apples at the supermarket. At least the texture as good but very little flavor. My husband had a honey crisp from a fruit stand and said it was the sweetest apple he ever had.

 

[Greenthumb18]

We have both the Grimes Golden and VA Beauty. Many of the apple trees he has will produce some really ugly fruit. But when you bite into one like the Grimes it will take you instantly back to when you were a kid and you were stealing apples from your Granny's tree. There is not a store-bought apple that I know of that can do that. But you won't go wrong with David's trees. I lost one of my first twelve trees and when we went to pick up our order for another thirteen trees the next year he gave us one of them for free as a replacement. He asked me why the odd number and I told him I had to replace one and he just flatly said he'd replace it at no charge. Good guy!

Wow that was very nice of him to do that. I e-mailed him a few times to ask what varieties he recommends and he's always very helpful. I'm hopeful these apple trees will do well on my property in NC. I'm near Greensboro, I know Century Farms is in Reidsville which is north where I am. I bet these varieties will be better able to take the summer heat in this climate than hybrid varieties. Its great that these old time heirloom trees have history behind them and we should do our best to keep these varieties for future generations.

 

[digitS']

This was a fun topic and I thought I would bring it back so we could explore the world of apples in February.

First of all, I was surprised that So Lucky said that Gala do not store well.

I was up in our nearby fruit-growing district buying apples in October. Gala and Honeycrip were not as sweet then as the ones I can buy now. Do you suppose that it is just the high tech storage or can anyone get apples like these to February?

Steve

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

it may depend on the variety of Gala, there are too many to mention-Red Gala, Royal Gala, etc....same thing with using the name Delicious or Fuji.

i found someone selling at the local FM a type i grafted last year and had been growing really well all last summer, Mutsu aka Crispin. the apples were nice and not too juicy, a little bit of tartness but with the right hint of sweet for my liking.

most of the apples i grafted last year i selected for storing abilities, ones i liked their flavor, or because they were heritage from our local area. i have 5 Pink Lady trees in the yard and they may become permanent if my sister doesn't want them (i'm sure she'll visit often for some ). i also have Red Delicious, Molly's Delicious, Royal Gala, Fuji, Braeburn, Honey Crisp, Sweet 16, NH 9, Keepsake, Jona Gold, Grimes Golden, Granite Beauty, and a few others i can't remember without looking at their tags. i need to replace my Yellow/Golden Delicious dh took out with the lawnmower but i may have enough different trees to keep everything pollinated nicely.

now to sit back and wait for the apples to to start blooming and growing!

 

[Jared77]

I don't know about the storage but we can get Gala & Honey crisp without issue here & Michigan grows a lot of apples.

But then I won't pay the going rate for honey crisp. They are great but I can't justify the higher price. One or 2 ok but after that the cost adds up. I like my Galas too and am perfectly happy with those as a snacking apple.

CMNH that's an impressive list! Keep us posted please!!!

When we went to the orchard last year and we always go apple picking, and got some that had a beautiful Rose/pink flesh in them. Sometimes it was a streak, and others it was nearly the whole flesh. Was bigger than a Macintosh, ugh it will come to me. I thought they had part of a woman's name.

Anyway....they were great. They were a little soft fleshed but were sweet and had good apple flavor coming through. We picked quite a few of them & will be looking for them again next year. They were not good keepers but made a really good mix in our apple sauce.

 

[journey11]

This was a fun topic and I thought I would bring it back so we could explore the world of apples in February.

First of all, I was surprised that So Lucky said that Gala do not store well.

I was up in our nearby fruit-growing district buying apples in October. Gala and Honeycrip were not as sweet then as the ones I can buy now. Do you suppose that it is just the high tech storage or can anyone get apples like these to February?

Steve

After being overrun with some weird fruit flies this winter (dark-eyed fruit flies, waaaay more annoying than ordinary fruit flies), I got my DH to vehemently promise to build me a cold closet in the basement this year for keeping my apples and such. (If he follows through, or if this was only spoken out of angst, you all will be the first to hear about it! )

I think it does require high-tech or at least carefully thought out storage space though. They need to be kept consistently quite cold (40 degrees, I think) and there has to be plenty of ventilation to keep that ethylene gas from building up. Just piling them in a corner of my garage, basement or unheated sunroom won't do the trick.

My mom recalls my great-grandma keeping apples in an unheated upstairs bedroom that kept well most of the winter. Old houses were much less insulated than ours are today and of course very drafty. In my garage and sunroom particularly, I have a lot of trouble with temperature swings. The winter temps don't just get cool and stay there. We shoot back and forth between 55 degrees and something in the teens all winter long. Wears me out moving those apples and things so many times.

 

[digitS']

40°? Hhmmm.

My basement storage room might work okay. It stays about 55°f until it is freezing outdoors most every night. It has dropped to 35° when we have had days with temperatures not rising above 0°. (You can imagine that I began to pay very close attention to it then :/. But, I can open the door to the basement room where the furnace sits and everything would warm up considerably.)

That room is too warm thru September & the fall when I'm trying to keep my early potatoes cool but it really does just fine for dahlias and storage onions thru the winter. (Anyone able to survive on a diet of onions??) It is just a little warm for glads which begin to grow before I'd like to dig them a new bed, outdoors.

I once set up a flexible duct pipe from the basement vent to the floor of that room. The idea was to cool it more quickly when nights were above freezing in the fall. Howsomeever . . . I was working too hard making sure that vent was closed when it was freezing overnight. Allowing freezing air to fall to the floor in there wasn't a happy prospect! Except for the potatoes, I don't suppose a better cooling/venting system would have served much purpose, anyway.

I'd probably still have to buy apples late or refrigerate them early, if'n I have room in 1 or the 2nd refrigerator. But, I am pleased with both Honeycrisp & Gala in the stores right now. Galas seem especially nice - whatever their variety might be.

Steve