Ontario Fruit Explorers

["Thomas Olenio" <tolenio@sentex.net>]

Hi,

When you are stroring the seeds dry (pre-germination) you can use any air  
tight container.  However, once you put them in damp peat moss, you want  
them in glass, as you want to be able to perform a visual inspection each  
day looking for emerging roots.  You start that daily visual inspection  
around day 59.  Glass makes it very quick.

I can send you Baskatong scions whenever you want them.  You want some now?

If I get enough Annurca seeds from my friend, I will send them along to  
you.  I am surprized that the ancient trees are not used more often in  
apple breeding.  All the ancient trees tend to bloom late, beyond all  
frosts (wise apple).  That should be a good trait.

Later,
Tom


On Thu, 14 Sep 2006 07:53:37 -0400, Biz Storms <biz.storms@sympatico.ca>  
wrote:

> Hi Tom,
>
> Thanks for the seed storage and germination directions. There are quite a
> number of red flesh varieties that are on my list to see what develops  
> from
> their seeds.
>
> Also, a friend introduced me to a tree on their property that has pink  
> flesh
> in the outer 25% of the apple, with drifts or veins of pink running  
> through
> the remainder of the flesh. The taste is also stunning. We're talking in  
> the
> family of Ashmead's Kernel or a Karmaigne de Sonnaville, but with a  
> little
> more sweetness. I just about plotzed! They saved me one of the two  
> apples,
> from the tree that is struggling to stay afloat, yet not likely to last  
> much
> longer. We found enough decent budwood to take some for grafting on the
> weekend, and also have extra left over to grab as scionwood once dormant.
>
> When driving back from their place, I stopped and tasted a few wild  
> apples
> alongside and close to the road. I stumbled over a one that is fairly  
> small,
> red streaks on green, with stunning white flesh, and a clean tangy taste.
> ( Start with a Snow, make it smaller with lots less red, have the flesh a
> little more dense with a good crisp snap, and make it a little more spicy
> like a Grimes Golden. ) I just need to find out who owns the property,  
> or at
> least a local resident, to see if they have any info about the tree.
>
> Of course, there were dozens of other trees that were visible alongside  
> the
> road, but one only has so much time.
>
> One quick question about the fridge storage. Can you use small film
> canisters, baggies or even mini Tupperware containers, or, does it have  
> to
> be a glass container? If it's glass, those one portion jam jars from
> restaurants or hotels could come in very handy.
>
> Still on the subject of seeds, I'd also love to have some of the Annurca
> seeds if you have extra. Same with the Baskatang Crab. ( I went back and
> found the saved emails from Joe on the espalier thread. Hi Joe. )
>
> FYI - The best surprise in tasting ripe apples for the past week - is the
> Silken. Some small, with pale yellow skin and reddish freckles, the taste
> was rather like a fruit cocktail, with an amazing aftertaste. Nice clean
> crisp flesh, fairly light in colour, although not white.
>
> My prediction for best tasting apple next week is the Kidd's Orange.
>
> Cheers to all. Bizmark.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: labruscagrape-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
> [mailto:labruscagrape-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Thomas  
> Olenio
> Sent: 08 September 2006 15:01
> To: Ontario Fruit Explorers
> Subject: Re: [OFEX] Apple seeds for germinating
>
> On Fri, 08 Sep 2006 15:02:49 -0400, Biz Storms <biz.storms@sympatico.ca>
> wrote:
>
>
> > Tom, should I refridgerate the seeds as of now? Keep them in a small
> > envelope in the fridge? Let them store in a cool dark place? Sorry to
> > ask again but my saved copy of your instructions is at home.
>
> Hi,
>
>         1) clean off fruit pulp
>
>         2) sterilze in bleach solution (10%, quick dip)
>
>         3) air dry (dead dry - 1 week)
>
>         4) put into glass bottle and store in fridge
>
>         5) in late January move into jar with moist peat moss
>            (when you want to start germination)
>
>         6) in about 60-90 dasys, as soon as you see first root breaking
>            through, pot that seed up.  Pot each seed as their root
>            emerges.
>
>         7) Plant them out
>
> Seeds (apple) stored this way have sprouted after TEN years in the  
> fridge.
>
> I have a friend sending me some Annurca (Melannura) apple seeds.  Since  
> it
> is an ANCIENT variety, I am hoping it is somewhat true to parent.  My  
> plan
> is to grow a seedling, and then graft the seedling to a dwarfing  
> rootstock.
>
> Later,
> Tom
>
> Melannurca (Campania Annurca Apple)
>
> This apple is medium-small, flattish or rounded with a streaked red skin
> and a peculiar rusty area where the stalk is. The flesh is juicy, firm,
> crispy, sweet, pleasantly acidulous and fragrant with an excellent
> flavour. It can come as no surprise that the Annurca is defined as the
> "queen of apples" for its many qualities. It is only found in Campania,  
> in
> fact, it is an authentic and everlasting symbol of regional apple farming
> and continues to be, now as in the past, its jewel in the crown. It is an
> ancient variety of apple and can even be recognised in some Pompeiian
> frescoes at the Casa dei Cervi in Herculaneum.
>
> The original area of this tasty fruit is the Piiteolane countryside,  
> which
> used to be famous for its fertility. It is precisely the fact that it
> comes from Pozzuoli, once said to be where Hell was situated, that Pliny
> the Elder, the great Roman naturalist from the first century AD, called
> this apple "Mala Orcula", because it was produced around the "Orco" (the
> hereafter). From here the names "anorcola" and "annorcola" were
> subsequently used for local apples until 1876, when the name "annurca"
> appeared officially for the first time. The Annurca is cultivated in all
> the provinces of Campania, although there are particularly suitable
> traditional areas where most of the production is concentrated: the
> Giuglianese-Flegrea (in the province of Navies), the Maddalonese, the
> Aversana and the Teanese (in the province of Caserta), the  
> Caudma-Telesina
> Valleys and the Tabiirno (in the province of Benevento). The Annurca  
> forms
> about 60% of regional and 5% of national apple production, with an  
> average
> of 60,000 tonnes of produce per year, and is harvested in October. What
> makes this apple special, apart from its ancient tradition, are the
> specific techniques used to produce it. One of the aspects that more than
> anything enhances the typicalness of this "queen of apples" is the way  
> the
> apples are left on the ground in the apple field to redden. The Annurca  
> is
> mostly green when harvested and its characteristic red colour is the
> result of the sun s rays and the able hands that periodically turn the
> apples laid out on specially prepared terrain, exposing the green part of
> the fruit to the sun little by little. This treatment can last from 20-50
> days. In ancient times the Annurca apples were arranged on "cannutoli",
> layers of hemp, that now have been replaced with other materials such as
> pine needles or, more often, wood shavings. The apple fields are also
> protected with anti-hailstone nets which also provide shade, to protect
> the fruit from direct sunliglit that would damage it irreversibly. The
> organofeptic quality of this apple, that can legitimately be considered
> organic in every respect, has so far been particularly appreciated by
> consumers in Campania and Lazio, and is gradually conquering other
> markets, thanks to its entrance into large-scale retail trade. The two
> ecotypes, the classic Annurca and its direct descendant the Southern Red
> Annurca, its natural mutant given the pomological characteristics they
> have in common, have been unified under the title of Melannurca Campana
> IGP (Campania Annurca Apple), for which we are awaiting final  
> registration
> with the EU, albeit with two distinct varietal indications. The Annurca  
> is
> good as well as healthy, being rich in interesting dietetic and
> nutritional qualities: a veritable concentration of vitamins, organic
> acids and mineral elements, especially potassium and magnesium to help  
> the
> organism function properly. There are many ways to eat this delicious
> fruit, as the main ingredient for ice creams, cakes and liqueurs.



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