To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] crabapples
Date: Mon, 08 Sep 2008 18:01:12 -0500
Melissa,
I don't spray - I'm not 'organic', just busy(and a bit lazy) - I
don't have the time or inclination to do ANY sprays, and I've not
fertilized a fruit tree(other than the manure from the two geriatric
horses that we graze through the middles between rows through the
winter and early spring) in my orchard in over 10 years.
Yes, the edible crabs/lunchbox apples are quite tasty, and not all are tart.
The edible crabs are not totally bug-free - here's my report from
this year's crop.
Centennial ripens early enough in the season that I rarely encounter
much more than an occasional plum curculio scar. Same held true for
Almata & Geneva crabs(both red-fleshed crabs) this year.
I'm finding an occasional apple maggot track here and there in the
Kerr crabapples I'm currently finishing off, but the damage is not
too bad - I could eat around 'em or bite out affected tissue, but
it's so minimal that I usually just eat 'em, AM track and all.
Callaway, which is an ornamental crab variety, with large(for an
ornamental) - 1-1.5" - fruits is almost always totally free of any
damage. Same was true for a seedling crab I never got around to
grafting over to a named variety, whose fruit closely resembles Dolgo.
Giant Russian crab(another red-flesh) in my orchard gets apple scab
and the fruits are always misshapen, with brown 'punky' areas, and it
seems to attract codling moth and apple maggot more than the other
crabs in my collection. I'd take it out if I didn't think it might
be drawing pressure off some of the other better crabs - and it is
handsome in bloom.
Lucky Pittman
USDA Cold Zone 6
AHS Heat Zone 7
Hopkinsville, KY