Hey @BlueBerry, Say you had more apples (or pears, etc) than could fit in one layer-
Would you lay down straw, one layer of apples, straw, another layer of apples, straw, then a third layer of apples, etc.?
I recall reading about this in the past. I thought I would have a difficult time keep rain water or melting snow from filtering in the hole, unless it was mounded up and higher than the area surrounding it.
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Root cellars: how did they stay cold enough to preserve apples long term??? Isnāt the earth about 50 to 55 degrees? Thatās 20 degrees above ideal apple storage temp of low 30ās.
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Re: Prairie Sensation = University of Saskatchewan release in 2008. Lineage: M359 x Brookland. Very cold hardy, Z2. I believe most of the releases with Prairie in the name were bred for cold hardiness. Other releases include Prairie Magic and Prairie Sun.
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Yes, youād have to pick a bit of a āhillā or else create a mound to keep drainage from surrounding land from putting water in your hole. As to separation of fruit into ālayersāā¦I am pretty sure that would help keep fungus from spreading if you had a couple rotting fruitsā¦but not an absolute requirement.
Potatoes is the only thing Iāve personally done this withā¦but if I had excess winter keeping apples and no other storage space, would definitely do this.
(And if rough times comeā¦having some burried treasure to eat might be useful! )
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Yes, root cellar ideal if you donāt have refrigeration.
But if you donāt have a root cellar and need a place quickā¦the straw and dirt over them method will do in a pinch.
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Oh certainlyā¦ I just view that as a small root cellar. More or lessā¦
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@mamuang shared an Orin with me, and I was really impressed by it. Iād never heard of it before but thought it was much better than a lot of the simple sweet apples. Orin had an unexpected depth of flavor and richness that I really enjoyed.
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I am impressed with Orin. The one I ate today was crisp, sweet and flavorful (not boringly sweet). The flavor today reminded me of honey dew melon.
Just learned from @scottfsmith that Orin is one of the three sisters, Orin, Mutsu and Shizuka (Indo + Golden Delicious are parents).
If you like an apple with a kick of tartness, Orin is not for you.
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I enjoy Mutsu apples a lot. I should check out the other two apples. My family likes harder fleshed apples. These may be good choices.
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For fresh eating, Mutsu is to Yellow Delicious what Mollieās Delicious is to Red Delicious.
Earlier but inferior substitute. Thatās what my taste buds told me anyhow.
Mutsu might have pie-making value, Iāve not tried that. But Ozark Gold or Ginger Gold eat better from the tree than Mutsu IMO.
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Mike,
If you like āharder fleshedā apples, Orin is not for you. I have not eaten Shizuka but neither Orin or Mutsu are hard-fleshed. To me, harder fleshed equals dense-fleshed like Arkansas Black. Orin is crisp but not dense.
I ate Mutsu from a farm stand. It was alright but quite tart. @scottfsmith told me Mutsu needs late picking and cellaring. It is difficult to ripen Mutsu properly but properly ripened Mutsu was his most favorite variety among the three sisters.
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Your comment makes me wonder if Mutsu might do better in cooler climates. (Though reading Mamuangās comment, it seems like Iām probably wrong about that.) It seems to have become fairly common in smaller local orchards up here in Western Massachusetts, and the ones that Iāve had have largely been quite good, though they can be almost excessively sweet.
I would guess that theyād be good for pie, as you suggest.
Oddly enough, the local Ginger Golds Iāve had have mostly been disappointing, compared to other apples from the same orchards.
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Scott has had Mutsu for a while so he has experience with it. While you said your Mutsu is almost too sweet. The Mutsu I ate at Cornell Store were tart, too tart for my liking, in fact.
Also, as we know, apples grown in different climate can produce different results. When I mention apples I like or donāt like, I try to mention my location and my preference. Taste is subjective.
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Thumbs up for Ginger Gold. Grafted it this springā¦
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Ginger Gold is a big āmuhā for me here. Nothing special here for me. It was a waste of growing space so I got rid of it.
Thatās why growing fruit is like real estate: location, location, location 
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Frankly, Mike C, there arenāt any yellow apples Iāve tasted that I really love.
Hoping that may change soon, as I will have Golden Sweet, Camack Sweet, Tolman Sweet, White Winter Pearmain, Hudsonās Golden Gem, Antonovka, Hooples A.G., Green Pippin, and Lowland Raspberry coming along to sample in a year or two I hope.
That is so very, very true. The more things you grow the more you realize that.
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