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nafex - [NAFEX] apple poll

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  • From: "Alan Haigh" <alandhaigh@gmail.com>
  • To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [NAFEX] apple poll
  • Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2008 07:45:07 -0400

All right!  Here's a subject we can all sink our teeth into.  Word of caution, though- by my experience it takes about 10 years to "accurately" appraise an apple although for me opinions are evolving and ever changing.  Also there is tremendous variability from season to season and  from region to region.  Soil depth and fertility will affect quality in sometimes unpredictable ways.  Here's my 2 cents on the apples listed that I have some experience with.
 
Dayton;  Sorry Fluffy, but I don't much care for this one and grafted it over after a couple years but come to think of it, it was located next to my cistern and got too much spill-over which could make many varieties bland so I'll pass on judgement except that I like denser apples.
 
Enterprise;  Easy to grow and a useful apple for a D R.  It's hard and stores well, tastes pretty good and makes a beautiful tree (unlike Liberty, which besides being ugly doesn't store well).
 
Freedom;  A good sweet apple which would be good in the mix of a disease resistant (D R) orchard.  Not as high in character as sugar, however.  It really wants to fruit.
 
Fortune;  I hear a lot positive about this one but it sure has been hard for me to settle this one down to fruiting when grown on free-standing root stock like M7.  The apples are too dam big and biennial would be an improvement on the young trees I manage.  I'm told that once the trees mature they become more reliably fruitful.  Somewhat difficult to train due to a tendency to develop over-sized (large diametered) branches.
 
Grimes Golden;  The only one I manage which I'm trusting Roger Way's identification on is earlier than Yellow Delicious and has to be picked a bit early when it is a world class apple in terms of aromatics and texture.  It turns soft before ever dropping at which point it is inedible.  Please, other list members let me know if this sounds about right.
 
Yellow Delicious;  As long as it is being discussed I'll jump in.  Breeders ruined this apple in my opinion in their effort to eliminate russetting.  The old strains aren't as pretty but have better texture and flavor and ripen a week or so later.  Where I live we can grow any but the very latest apples (I'm told we have a long enough season for Pink Lady which would be pushing it) so I don't consider Y D worth growing, whatever the strain.  There are too many great alternatives.  I like more acid and denser apples.  Too bad because Y D (old strain only) is not attractive to plum curculio and a real stand out in this regard.



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