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Post by castanea on Feb 9, 2012 21:41:47 GMT -5
This is a follow up to our other thread on the amazing collection of apple varieties compiled by Nick Botner. If you could buy any 10 varieties he has, what would you get? And I'm not talking about the varieties that everyone sells like Fuji. I'm talking about the rarer varieties he has. I wish someone would ask Mr. Botner this question....
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Post by 12540dumont on Feb 10, 2012 13:42:10 GMT -5
I asked the folks at Wagon Wheel to pick out 10 apples for me, Rick told me he's getting 100 orders a day and didn't have time to do the research. He said that it depends on where you are, you soil, water, etc. He sent me to research here www.kuffelcreek.com/favorites.htm (This is pretty cool, love the teardrop trailers) and here Big Horse Creek Farm And then around midnight I found this: www.cloudforest.com/apples/Let's call Mr. Bortner! |
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Post by canadamike on Feb 10, 2012 20:45:35 GMT -5
Although I came to organic gardening through fruit trees, mainly apple, they are, frankly, such a regional crop. maybe not for you who live in places where everything and his sister and brother in law can grow, but for us here, it is different. We need very very resilient cultivars..
I work with a few people that walk along train roads, visit where the deers could shit after having eaten cultivated apples, and we now have a small bank of very very disease resistant applkes, all of them of comercial quality, my friend owns a nursery.
But there is more than ''cultivar'' uniqueness to cultivars.
I have found healthy apple trees that were not treated and gave luscious apples in a very remote part of Quebec. The canadian genebank asked me for the specimens. Sometimes, ONE tree is important. I could write it more elegantly if english was my language...
The genebank wanted THAT tree of Wealthy, although they had Wealthy already. A tree giving perfect fruits without spraying growing at the limit of the apple growing area, humid on top of it, has to be interesting...
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Feb 10, 2012 20:51:26 GMT -5
I work with a few people that walk along train roads, visit where the deers could shit after having eaten cultivated apples, and we now have a small bank of very very disease resistant applkes, all of them of comercial quality, my friend owns a nursery. Around here, those kind of apples are found along the canal banks. From where the construction workers (digging by hand) left the seeds from their lunch. |
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Post by canadamike on Feb 10, 2012 21:06:35 GMT -5
Oh! And for those who want an apple that is disease tolerant and absolutely delicious, last fall I went to an antique store with Suzanne and there was a huge, very old apple tree, starting to rot in the middle, but the apples were amost all perfect, some had a very lil'scab.
It had never been treated in over 100 years. The lady owning the store told me it was her grandfather tree, The people of Maddington, the name of this tiny village, come every fall to pick the apple from the huge tree and make compote ( jam???) with it, WITHOUT adding sugar.
The flesh has a very honeyed taste to it. It is super sweet, but has acidity, I cannot stand sweet apples that taste bland like »»Red Delicious and many other modern ones.
This one as a perfect balance of taste and a floral overtone. It took me some time TO IDENTIFY IT but it is ST-LAURENT D'HIVER'which was once, a century ago, the number 2 apple in Quebec. The MacIntosh killed it. It is much better tasting to my taste, but a very bad keeper.
The only bad keeping apple I find of true value...I will have some here this year, it is that good. All the others will be long keeping types, of course flavor is always paramount.
That is why I cannot let that one go. The taste is unique, floral, complex, sub-acid , you would have to taste it to understand...imagine a MacIntosh covered with lavander honey...
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Post by benboo on Feb 10, 2012 21:41:42 GMT -5
There is a cool wild apple tree here with deep purple skin and pinkish red flesh. Only one tree, but the apples look awesome.
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Post by 12540dumont on Feb 11, 2012 2:49:02 GMT -5
I know nothing about apples, a little about prunes (which we argue whether they are French or Italian). But we agree that we have left behind is the growing of good trees to corporate interests, corspe corp., which is the death of all good things.
Good apples, new apples came from seed. We chase the old and none of us know how to find the new. I know I search the old because I have no knowledge. My father knew and walked the orchard where I now live. As a teenager I helped him take the old trees down and burn them. They were plums. They had a disease that "our county deemed needed to be destroyed."
My father cried as we pulled the out. As a high school girl, I had release time to "help in the fields/orchards". It was one of only many as the great orchards of Santa Clara Valley died.
As my brother and I split the last of the land, I am neither young enough or strong enough to commit the last to fruit trees, so it really matters o me to find the germ plasm that will help whoever comes after.
\
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Post by MikeH on Feb 11, 2012 6:03:18 GMT -5
Oh! And for those who want an apple that is disease tolerant and absolutely delicious, last fall I went to an antique store with Suzanne and there was a huge, very old apple tree, starting to rot in the middle, but the apples were amost all perfect, some had a very lil'scab. It had never been treated in over 100 years. The lady owning the store told me it was her grandfather tree, The people of Maddington, the name of this tiny village, come every fall to pick the apple from the huge tree and make compote ( jam???) with it, WITHOUT adding sugar. The flesh has a very honeyed taste to it. It is super sweet, but has acidity, I cannot stand sweet apples that taste bland like »»Red Delicious and many other modern ones. This one as a perfect balance of taste and a floral overtone. It took me some time TO IDENTIFY IT but it is ST-LAURENT D'HIVER'which was once, a century ago, the number 2 apple in Quebec. The MacIntosh killed it. It is much better tasting to my taste, but a very bad keeper. The only bad keeping apple I find of true value...I will have some here this year, it is that good. All the others will be long keeping types, of course flavor is always paramount. That is why I cannot let that one go. The taste is unique, floral, complex, sub-acid , you would have to taste it to understand...imagine a MacIntosh covered with lavander honey... Michel, Any chance of getting a bit of scion wood from that beauty? Something that old and unique should not be lost. My stooling beds will give me a bit of rootstock this year, their first in production. This one sounds like a fantastic first use of my rootstock. Regards, Mike |
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Post by canadamike on Feb 11, 2012 12:50:20 GMT -5
Sure...I need an adress and it goes.
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Post by 12540dumont on Feb 11, 2012 13:50:15 GMT -5
I'd ask too, but I know that the chances of me getting scionwood from outside of the country is as likely as me being elected president.
But, next time you're eating an apple, send me a few seeds!
You too Joseph!
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Post by canadamike on Feb 11, 2012 21:48:57 GMT -5
My dear friend...one can send ''dried vegetal material for craft purposes''
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Post by MikeH on Feb 12, 2012 6:11:28 GMT -5
I'd ask too, but I know that the chances of me getting scionwood from outside of the country is as likely as me being elected president. Not necessarily. Some of us live within driving distance of Buffalo and have friends there that we visit in the spring.   |
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Post by castanea on Feb 12, 2012 13:42:49 GMT -5
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Post by steev on Feb 13, 2012 0:26:42 GMT -5
Regarding scionwood crossing borders: a nursery owner friend knows a guy who has gotten pomegranate scions from Asia Minor woven into baskets.
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Post by 12540dumont on Feb 13, 2012 1:02:26 GMT -5
Steev, I just snorted my wine. I had visions of Michel and Mike weaving baskets. Now I have the hiccups. I think there should be a sensor on Steev's posts...warning...you may suddenly laugh out loud while reading these, causing milk to go up your nose.....
Thanks for that post about the 10 best varieties. I suspect that if I picked the 10 best, I wouldn't necessarily be saving an old variety. So I hope I picked good ones. I guess time will tell.
Can somebody make a post on doing cider? I know I saw one from Dan, but can't find it. I was scanning the equipment and some of it looks very pricey.
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