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nafex - RE: [NAFEX] Crab Apples as Pollinizers

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  • From: Lucky Pittman <lucky.pittman@murraystate.edu>
  • To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: RE: [NAFEX] Crab Apples as Pollinizers
  • Date: Wed, 05 Feb 2003 11:28:22 -0600

At 11:54 AM 2/5/2003 -0500, Brian wrote:
I am totally out of date in regards to crab apples as an edible fruit. You are writing the good quality these apples have.... is that in regards of long storage, appearance, disease free and/or taste? I remember trying a few crabs apples along the way and it nothing to write home about.

Brian,
I have a laissez-faire management style - I don't have time (4-school age kids, full-time job, multiple civic duties, and a commercial beef herd to care for - and I'm still building fences) or the inclination to do any spraying - my wife keeps saying she'll take on the spraying duties if I'll get her a schedule to go by - which I've done several times, but I haven't seen any spraying going on! So...anything I put in pretty much has to perform, on its own, at least at this point in time, or it's not going to last long or get rave reviews.

I'd have to put taste at the top of my selection criteria - if it doesn't taste good, no one in my family is going to eat it - except me.
Disease resistance is a plus.
Appearance is not really a concern for me. I don't mind eating around a blemish here and there and sooty blotch/flyspeck has no taste, that I can ascertain.
Storage? Well so far, it's not been a concern. It's a young orchard, and the last 2 or 3 years have been dismal for fruit production here, so I've not had to worry about storing anything - all tree fruit has pretty much been eaten out of hand, straight off the trees.

I'm looking forward to having a chance to sample Chestnut crab, to see if it's as good here in my hot zone 6 as everyone says it is.
Kerr is a pretty little red over yellow apple with crisp, tart, stark white flesh. Very good, in my opinion; though it's not been a very heavy bearer. It bloomed heavily in fall 2002, following severe drought conditions, so I don't anticipate any fruit in 2003.
Centennial bore its first small crop last year - only 3 or 4 fruits escaped a late freeze. They were tasty, but I don't recall much about them.
Callaway, in my orchard, bore its first small crop, but we have access to a couple of mature trees, and the kids will gorge on them - and I really like the taste too.
I've not noticed any significant insect pest or fungal disease problems with any of the three crab cultivars above.
I'm still waiting for fruit from Whitney, Geneva Crab, Giant Russian, and Young American crabs.



Lucky Pittman
USDA Zone 6
Hopkinsville, KY





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