Thanks, I was just curious. Why did the Granny Smith come in last, was it because it didnt properly ripen and was too tart? I know GS is known for its tartness, but maybe yours was too much?
I’ve tried Arkansas Black from a local orchard, and it just was not a good apple for me. First of all, it is really hard, and not real flavorful. I have let them set in storage for a month or so, and they became a little bit sweeter but not very flavorful. Not a fan.
I have two G16 Grimes Golden trees, in their 3rd leaf. They have a pretty good structure to them, so I hope next year they’ll produce some. They’re the only tree that I have two of, because they’re supposed to be very good around in these parts. They were “discovered” over in WV. I wonder if @Hillbillyhort or @speedster1 are familiar with them, and/or are growing them.
Well, two can be curious? How was your trip to Reed Valley Orchards?
I have considered visiting them. I was going to visit Derek Mills, but he said all his harvest was
contracted for … and that was a month or more ago.
We haven’t gone to Reed Valley yet this year, but I’m looking into maybe going this or next week. Their Gold Rush, Suncrisp, Winesap, Stayman, Granny Smith and other good apples are ready. So, I’d like to get over there and get some before they’re gone. They grow a really good pear there, called Maxine, but they’re already out of them. They also grow Harrow Sweet, which we are growing, not yet producing, but I think those are gone there too.
I don’t know if your you’ve been to Reed Valley, but I highly recommend it. It’s just north of Paris. They are a pick-your-own orchard, so you ought to be able to get as many as you want. They do give a lot of way to local charities, but there’s still plenty for everybody else. I would go more often if they were a little bit closer, but it is about a 90 mile drive from our place. I think it’s $1.69 a pound if you pick them, they also have some in cold storage if you don’t want to go out and pick them.
We first went there 2 years ago, and it was very impressive to me. Hundreds and hundreds of apple trees, quite a few pear trees and a few peach trees, too. I think we ended up going there 3 times that year. Plus, we went a couple times last year. Due too late freezes they had virtually no peaches last year and maybe a 30% crop this year. They lost a lot of their peach trees 3 years ago when we had that really cold winter, so they’re waiting on their new trees to develop, I guess.
I’ve talked to both of the Reeds, they are very nice people. It was cool to talk to him about all all things apples and pears. He was surprised I knew so much about rootstocks and diseases, he said most people are just there to pick the fruit. But I asked him a lot of questions, because I was growing them back home, and he was very generous with his information.
You mentioned “Maxine” pear. Did you know it’s the same thing as “Starking Delicious”? Ripe in late August…and melting in the mouth right off the tree good. I should have gotten a tree long ago!
We sampled some two years ago at RV and they were great, we ended up buying about 10lb of them and canned most of them. They look great in the jars. I am not a big pear fan, but these were very good. So…
Yes, I had done some research on Maxine, and found that out. Last year when I ordered some apples from Cummins, I was going to get a Maxine from them, but they were out. I ended up getting a Starking Delicious from Stark Bros, along with a Blushingstar peach. The pear tree did OK this year, and the peach put on some good growth too.
Does it ripen during, before, or after Bartlett pear? I am asking because I have a Bartlett and I do not need another pear to ripen at the same time as the Bartlett? If you have one as well as the Maxine you will know for sure.
Although they have some blush, there is still a lot of green on each fruit. With a few leaves left, I am not sure if they will taste any good. We also have rain every other day.
Subdood….if I picked Granny Smith green and fried them…or made a pie from them before they are ripe, and threw some sugar at them, then they might get rated higher.
(But they are still a pain to grow without constant spraying. Worst to rot of any apple I’ve ever grown. and if you try and tree ripen them, they won’t keep, at least not without CA COLD storage.)
My Goldrush has a nice yellow color now, but i will keep it on the tree for at least 14 more days cause I have no more room for storing apples.
The only problem I see with Goldrush is it’s poor vigor. My tree is 5 years old and Fuji in 3rd year on the same M9 rootstock is way taller. I am thinking about grafting it to M7 and pull this one out once the new tree reaches production in few years. I got only 25 apples on it which is far behind other apples.
Mamuang, I see your Goldrush is more round than mine but there are probably more strains of it.
