Has anyone heard of the GOLDEN HARVEY APPLE>
I have an aquaintance who is looking high and low for this one?
Thanx in advance for any information
Mike
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Thanx
Mike
Golden Harvey and the similar Court of Wick are on my grafting list for next spring.
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From âThe Fruit Manualâ (Hogg, 1884):
GOLDEN HARVEY (Brandy Apple; Round Russet Harvey).â Fruit, small, two inches wide, and an inch and three-quarters high; oblato-cylindrical, even, and free from angles. Skin, entirely covered with rough scaly russet, with sometimes a patch of the yellow ground colour exposed on the shaded side, and covered with brownish red on the side next the sun. Eye, small and open, with very short, reflexed segments, set in a wide, shallow, and slightly plaited basin. Stamens, median ; tube, short, funnel-shaped. Stalk, half an inch long, inserted in a shallow cavity. Flesh, yellow, firm, crisp, juicy, sugary, with an exceedingly rich and powerful aromatic flavour. Cells, obovate; axile, closed.
This is one of the richest and most excellent dessert apples; it is in use from December to May, but is very apt to shrivel if exposed to light and air, as most russety apples are.
The tree is a free grower, and perfectly hardy. It attains about the middle size, and is an excellent bearer. When grown on the paradise stock it is well adapted for dwarf training, and forms a good espalier.
Independently of being one of the best dessert apples, it is also one of the best for cider; and from the great strength of its juice, the specific gravity of which is 1085, it has been called the Brandy Apple.
COURT OF WICK (Fryâs Pippin; Golden Drop; Knightwick Pippin; Phillipsâs Reinette; Woodâs Huntingdon; Weeksâs Pippin; Yellow Pippin).âFruit, below medium size; roundish ovate, regular and handsome. Skin, when fully ripe, of a fine clear yellow, with bright orange, which sometimes breaks out in a faint red next the sun, and covered all over with russety freckles. Eye, large and open, with long, acuminate, and reflexed segments, set in a wide, shallow, and even basin. Stamens, marginal or median; tube, funnel-shaped. Stalk, short and slender, inserted in a smooth and even cavity, which is lined with thin russet. Flesh, yellow, tender, crisp, very juicy, rich, and highly flavoured. Cells, roundish elliptical; axile.
One of the best and most valuable dessert apples, both as regards the hardiness of the tree and the rich and delicious flavour of the fruit, which is not inferior to that of the Golden Pippin. It is in use from October to March.
The tree attains the middle size, is healthy, hardy, and an abundant bearer. There is scarcely any description of soil or exposure where it does not succeed, nor is it subject to the attacks of blight and canker. It grows well on the paradise stock, producing fruit much larger than on the crab, but not of so long duration. There are some soils, such as the Hastings Sand, which produce the fruit of Court of Wick of a fine clear orange with a somewhat crimson cheek on the side next the sun.
This variety is said to have originated at Court of Wick, near Yatton, in Somersetshire, and to have been raised from seed of the Golden Pippin. In his Survey of Somersetshire, Billingsly says, âThe favourite apple, both as a table and cider fruit, is the Court of Wick Pippin, taking its name from the spot where it was first produced. It originated from the pip or seed of the Golden Pippin, and may be considered as a beautiful variety of that fruit. In shape, colour, and flavour it has not its superior.â It was called Woodâs Huntingdon from being propagated by Mr. Wood, nurseryman, of Huntingdon, and sent out by him under that name about the year 1790.
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@jerry Did you succeed in grafting Court of Wick? You may have had a debut crop by now. If so, does it taste of anise, or licorice?
I did, though it was touch-and-go for a bit. It looked as though the graft had failed, but it eventually rallied. Still lost a season or two of growth, but it finally grew well over the past year. No fruit yet, but I expect that Iâll see some in 2024.
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@NuttingBumpus @jerry I fruited Golden Harvey for the first time this year. I planted a tree of this variety in 2015 and it struggled for years. I thought it was the variety not liking my conditions, but it turns out there was/is something wrong with the soil in this particular spot, as Iâve had two more young trees I planted there die the past three growing seasons since digging it out in â23. Anyway, I grafted scions from that now departed tree onto a vigorous specimen I was completely topworking that same year, and three seasons later it delivered a dozen or so apples.
Dave, didnât you at one point post that you were unable to grow GH on your property? I seem to recall that, and was hesitant to try it here, but Iâm glad I did. If what Iâm tasting this year is indicative of what I can expect in the future, GH will rank among my favorites. It is quite intense one day off the tree: very high acid and sweets, though the sweets are somewhat hidden by the massive acidity. My apple this morning measured 28 Brix, and I think most would not guess that it was anywhere near that. I expect a month or two in storage would reduce the acidity and possibly kick up the Brix another point or two, although Iâm not sure there was much starch remaining to convert in todayâs apple. Iâll stick a handful in a bag and sample them over the next two or three months. Meanwhile, I will graft this apple further into my orchard next spring.
Jerry, has your Golden Harvey fruited yet? If yes, how was it for you?
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Any size to it? Horne Creek here in NC describes it as below medium in size.
Not really. The dozen apples varied a bit in size from small to smaller. Most of the apples in my main orchard were smaller than usual this year, which I attribute to a fairly dry winter leading to low soil moisture content to start the season and then not catching up once I turned on the drip irrigation. Maybe theyâll get a bit bigger and more uniform overall in future seasons.
I have a row of espaliered apples adjacent to my vegetable garden that is on one of the drip lines to my orchard, so although they donât get more water from the drip line, they may be siphoning some off from the vegetable garden. The apples in that row were larger than those out in the orchard.
From left to right in the photo below are of four Golden Harveys, the largest of which weighed 3 OZ, a normal, grocery store sized Airlie Red Flesh at 6.5 oz, and a ridiculously large Liberty at 12 OZ. The latter two were from the espalier trees. I had larger Airlie RF specimens, but wanted something normal looking for comparative purposes.
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It has, though itâs taken a good while and the fruit are still quite small (about Wickson-sized). I probably got a dozen little fruit this season. They are indeed intense and heavily russeted. I understand that they were well-regarded for cider and brandy. I like them.
I hope to get a first harvest of Court of Wick next season, which are sometimes described as similar.
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I grafted Golden Harvey on G11 in 2017 and have yet to see a fruit bud.