Cornell Orchards Store

They use black plastic tubes with snap on “buttons” to protect against bunnies, I guess.

There was no one around for me to ask about their pest management.

Maybe, after the store officially opens to public, they will be more staff around.

They definitely are clear that their orchards are not Pick Your Own type.

They are likely maintained for various research projects. Some might be active and other trees might not be in active use for research. I have a graduate thesis saved by a student at some ag school who went through trees and hand-thinned them to 3, 2, and 1 apples per cluster to determine how thinning affects next year’s bloom. Those projects probably use trees in orchards like this. No way you are going to get a thesis done (even at Ph.D. level) if you have to plant trees from whips.

They probably also do outreach and master gardener training at these orchards. Then there is the fruit and harvest research - how to market, how to store, new post-harvest equipment, the best value-added products, etc.

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I’ve noticed, too, that the main trunks of many trees are large (older trees) and the scaffolds have been grafted on.

I hope to visit its Geneva Station one of these days.

Cornell has had dealings with Mott’s in the past. Don’t know about now.

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Visited the store again yesterday. Bought Sundance, Mutsu, Test Variety A and Test Variety B. We also samples 7-8 varieties. SnapDragon was sold out soon after my Oct visit. It was the sweetest of the bunch.


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Love how they say “No synthetic pesticides used!”

Only Sundance has this sign.

Liberty is labeled Organic.

All other varieties (about 10 more) probably were sprayed by synthetic chemicals.

Must be testing disease resistance. I’ll have to take a trip over there next year.

John,
I think Ithaca is worth a trip. A nice city in the Finger Lakes region, sitting at the end if Lake Cayuga. Many trails, waterfalls and of course, gorges.

Visiting the Cornell store is a bonus. I was there on the last weekend of Oct. By then, SnapDragon had a sign that said “Limited supply”. They were gone shortly after that. It is the sweetest apple variety in the store (almost all are Cornell- bred apples).

The best time to go their is in Oct. I have not made my way to the Geneva’s station in Geneva, an hour away from Ithaca.

Isn’t Cummins Nursery in the Ithaca area? Do they allow the public to look around there? I understand you can go there and pick up your order?

I have bought trees from Cummins but completely forgot that it is located in Ithaca!!!

Now,you make me realize that I should see if I could visit their nursery some time next spring.

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At our family Thaksgiving party today, I had my family members taste-tested 4 apple varieties I bought from the Cornell store.


From left to right Sundance, Test A, Test B and Mutsu.

Test A won by a wide margin. Comments were like “tasted like an apple”, "nice texture (firm), “good blend of sweet and tart” , etc.

2nd place was Sundance. Not as sweet as Test A, drier, more tart.

Test B and and Mutsu tasted “old”, “grainy” and were the least favorite.

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A sounds like what I love like too.

@mamuang Did you try RubyFrost?

A couple years ago, I picked a bushel at an orchard outside of Watkins Glen. They are suppose to compete with Honeycrisp, so I was a little surprised that were just another crunchy sweet-tart apple. The last ones I ate were starting to develop a honey flavor to them. I did some research and they are suppose to be stored for at least a month to develop flavor (they are a long storage apple). Whoops! I used almost all of mine within a month. It seems like they might have potential. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to get back there during the picking window. Strangely, I haven’t seen them sold in my area.

Yes, I did. We bought 1/4 peck in Oct. We also ate free samples at this last visit. Just like you said, nothing stood out.

SnapDragon, on the other hand, stood out for its intense sweetness. Those who love crunchy, very sweet apples would love it.

What I really like about this store is that they offer buckets full of samples. You can try all and decide which ones to buy (or not).

I and other family members did not detect any anise flavor from Test B.

The only “honeyed” taste I’ve ever detected in apples was from Hoople’s Antique Gold, even when right off the tree.

Pick window is mid-October, so now would be the time to try them.

I will try to keep it longer next time.

The last ones we ate was on Tues, 11/21. Still, nothing stood out. That’s why we did not buy more. Test A stood out among 10+ varieties we sampled there. I would buy it again.

Well, I’m not good with flavor descriptions. I’m referring to the syrupy flavor that RD, Fuji and good Honeycrisps have.

Maybe they don’t have reliable flavor, like a lot of apples I’ve tried in recent years. The first time I picked CrimsonCrisp, from the same orchard, it had an amazing spicy flavor. The second year it was just sweet-tart.

Among the apples offered at that store, SnapDragon would fit the bill you described. It had firm texture, very sweet, in the same league as good Fuji.