I am also inclined to think that your apple may not be Gold Rush.
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No, I do not spray anything on my fruit trees (and if I would have to, I would get rid of them). I only mulch them (small scale “Back to eden” method) to feed them in the long run. I also bag the fruits (bugs are a bigger problem). As @mamuang mentionned, Goldrush is susceptible to CAR and one year, it was affected pretty heavily. But for some reason, it seemed to mostly affect leaves. So most fruits were unaffected. Unlike my saskatoon berries whom were all ruined. These are some GR apples that were stored in the fridge and that we ate this week… So good!
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Or if it’s Liberty… My Liberty apples don’t keep more than 3 weeks… Perhaps they would keep much longer if I picked them early?..
I used to not spray for CAR and GoldRush was badly covered. But like your experience it didn’t affect the apples. The thing to avoid is quince rust, sometimes it gets on the apples and quince rust is more on the fruits and can ruin them.
The main problem my GR has now is lack of vigor. It is on M7 but is growing like an M9. I am raising all my trees to get them above the deer and it has taken a long time to get the GoldRush high enough.
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TY for that clarification. Those apples look great for not having been sprayed. Some delicious looking apples. I may have to add this one to my orchard.
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Yes, unfortunately I live in an area with all those pests. I do not get CAR as a big issue. I have only seen it on a few of my trees. I will do a better job of looking at what trees get these CAR issues vs scab. Normally scab has not been an issue for me here , so far.
I will use Surround this year. I had not used that before but I think I will give it a go in 2021.
Spinosad with Surround would be better, IMHO.
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I will look for that one then. Some catalogs are starting to roll in. I will make an effort to see if any of those have the Spinosad with Surround listed.
Grow Organic is one of the places selling those products.
Have you review Scott Smith’s Low Impact spray schedule? You don’t have to follow it strictly but it gives you an idea what your poti9ns can be.
I will take a look for that schedule. I had forgotten he had it posted actually. I probably read it when I first joined. Thanks for the reminder.
It is in the Guide category,
Low-Impact Spray Schedule (2019 Edition).
He provides sources for the products, too.
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TY for much for this link. I will look at his schedule. Any information helps. Even when you think you have it down Mother Nature always throws something else at you that you need to spray for or try to prevent from getting your fruit.
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My Gold Rush is also on M7. It has grown very well. I topped it off last spring. Look like I will need to do it again this spring. It has grown to 12’ (would be more if I did not top it), too tall for me to reach from the top of my ladder.
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If not keeping as long as Liberty you have a mislabeled tree. My god rush are just starting to get good as my liberty are fading.
No, I don’t know any others sources for the data
Received graft wood is more likely to be mis-identified than trees from reliable nurseries, and even they often send mislabeled trees. You are in a much different climate than me, but that wouldn’t alter the Goldrush density that makes it a great storage apple. It shouldn’t make it more prone to bumps either, whatever that might be from.
Goldrush is actually one of the best producers I know in conditions of neglect- the dense flesh is repellent to plum curc- our main insect apple nemesis here. In our humid climate it can be a very ugly apple though- from sooty blotch, a summer fungus that doesn’t penetrate the skin but sure makes apples ugly. No apple is more adversely affected by this fungus than Goldrush in my experience.
However, that wouldn’t be a problem in the interior of Washington state.
Mine was from Fedco. Anyway, I don’t need so many apple varieties, so chances are that branch will be removed.
Yesterday I took the remaining sample GoldRush apple to share with friends who have the other whip I planted a couple years ago. It had spent the last 6 1/2 months in a plastic bag (unsealed) in the refrigerator now used for scions, apples and brewing yeast. The apple was exceptional: very tasty (think Golden Delicious with flavor levels cranked up 2 or 3 times, a decent tart note & still plenty of resistance to the tooth when bitten.
Excellent.
Several trees I thought would bloom this season did not, including GoldRush. None of them overbore last year & I wonder if the terrible cold we experienced in mid-October had anything to do with it. All trees still young, so will not worry.
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Overbearing is relative to the trees ability to store energy in its spurs. Dawn to dusk sun increases energy. Days with temps in the range that trees can keep stomates open increase stored energy as do the number of sunny days.
The fate of next year’s crop is supposed to be almost completely reliant on the trees bank account in mid-spring- the three weeks after petal fall or so. Leaves closest to spurs are most important in terms of providing energy for the spurs.
Commercial growers keep trees very open to insure annual crops, but still rely on chemical thinners and sending out a crew to finish it up by hand. They get dawn to dusk sun, as a general rule.
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It is time I thanked all of you who weighed in on whether or not GoldRush was worth growing in Spokane, WA.
You were right: it is.
I have about 60 apples from GR still awaiting enjoyment through May. It is a slam-dunk to tend as a tree, the second harvest was twice the number of fruit & averaged larger. Thanks to you all, GoldRush is one of my two favorite apples! (The other ripens earlier: Lamb Abbey.)
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There are many people in VT that can grow it in z5
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