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  • From: "Nell Lancaster" <nlancaster@rockbridge.net>
  • To: <nafex@yahoogroups.com>
  • Subject: [nafex] tip bearing varieties, espalier, etc.
  • Date: Wed, 16 May 2001 15:47:36 -0400

Ed, thanks so much for the clarification of the habit types. Appreciate
the Crawford book offer, but I could never promise to burn a book -- even
after it proved to be full of non-facts. '>

And thanks for the sound planning advice, Joe:

> I want to comment on orchard planning in general. I do not know how
> far along you are in planting your orchard. You may already be past
> this stage.

Oh, no, I typically spend many, many years in the planning stage <g>!
I think I've been following the bulk of your advice in my planning so far,
in fact.

My household is small, just two of us. The "orchard" in my mind is an
espalier of one or two each of about six varieties -- that I personally
love, that have different primary uses, and that are harvested at different
times.

I garden at the place where I grew up, a situation I'm realizing is getting
to be fairly unusual. I was very attached to apples as a child. There
used to be several big local and regional orchards here that are gone now,
and when I was young there were several non-chain groceries that carried
local produce.

So some choices are to recapture those tastes:

The green "June apples" that made such outstanding applesauce at the New
Monmouth church picnic (and great sour out-of-hand eating). Some were
Yellow Transparent, others Lodi; think I'll go for YT. The Stayman
Winesaps that would come out of the cellar all winter long, in boxes from
the Fairfield Orchard. The Smokehouse for its taste; when it's right it's
my favorite apple. Took my first bite of one at Styers' orchard west of
Philadelphia (now gone, too, I'm sure).

cv. harvest use

Yellow Transparent June/July sauce
Maiden's Blush Aug/Sept eating, drying
Smokehouse Sept eating
Roxbury Russet Sept/Oct eating, juice or cider
Stayman Oct keeping
Esopus Spitzenberg Oct/Nov keeping

I paid some attention to disease resistance/susceptibility, particularly
cedar apple rust (too many cedars around here to avoid it). But I really
want Staymans, so we'll see; they're said to be subject to CAR and scab.

All of these are apples I know and love the taste of. I frankly can't
imagine planting something as much trouble as an apple without knowing
whether I'd enjoy it (in the event of any fruit <g>)...

Nell Lancaster, Lexington VA USDA zone 6b, western foothils of Blue Ridge
<nlancaster@rockbridge.net>





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  • [nafex] tip bearing varieties, espalier, etc., Nell Lancaster, 05/16/2001

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