North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[david.maxwell@dal.ca]

I have 50+ varieties of apples, mostly heritage and/or obscure.  Each year I 
struggle with 
when to pick them.  Checking things like brown seeds, coming free with a lift 
and slight twist, 
even starch iodine testing, as well as plain old tasting, all fail to some 
degree when half or 
more of my crop has fallen off before these indicators have been reached.  
This year a 
number of cultivars which ripened in late September last year started falling 
in the firat half of 
August.  Is my problem inaccurate harvest dates?  Or is it premature 
dropping?  And if the 
latter, what is the cause and what do I do about it?

David Maxwell, Zone 5b, Nova Scotia, Canada.