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nafex - RE: [NAFEX] Late-keeping apples

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  • From: David Ulmer <davidu9999@covad.net>
  • To: <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: RE: [NAFEX] Late-keeping apples
  • Date: Sat, 1 Feb 2003 07:25:10 -0800

On Sat, 1 Feb 2003 08:19:06 -0500, Vintage Virginia Apples LLC wrote:
>Goldrush here in Central Virginia is anything but bland. I can only
>wonder
>if the bland "Goldrushes" aren't something else, maybe a nursery
>mixup. It
>is tart/sweet off the tree and mellows to a more complex flavor in
>storage.
 
I have to agree 100% with Charlotte.  I have a small GoldRush on P22. This last season was the first that I let it bear.  Although the tree has been in place for 4 years,  I was trying to get the espalier formed.  I thinned two thirds of the apples and should have thinned more.
 
We had a very cool season with only one spell over 100 (that resulted in some sunburn).  I waited until about Nov. 10th to pick.  The flavor was very intense with a wonderful balance to me of sweet/tart. My daughter, who eats at least an apple a day, thought that the flavor was"too strong" at first but by Thanksgiving she asked for that variety first.
 
Here in Sebastopol, the good apple season starts with Gravenstein around the last week in August.  I picked Pink Lady Dec. 1 and Splendour at Christmas.  Although we are on the border of zone 8/9, most years we have mid to high 20 lows for a few nights.  Here in my micro-climate, a late frost can occur up to Memorial day.  That has made the apricot growing a real challenge.
 
Another question for you GoldRush growers - I kept my fruit in an insulated and unheated storage area that stays between 45 and 50 degrees most of the fall and winter.  The GoldRush apples shriveled and lost texture after a few weeks.  Should I have refrigerated them?
 
Unfortunately we are beginning to break buds here due to a very mild winter and warm days recently.  I wonder if we have had enough chill for some of the apples. 
 
David Ulmer
Sebastopol, CA
Home of Luther Burbank's Experimental Farm



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