[nafex] tip bearing varieties, espalier, etc.

["Nell Lancaster" <nlancaster@rockbridge.net>]

Ed, thanks so much for the clarification of the habit types.  Appreciate 
the Crawford book offer, but I could never promise to burn a book -- even 
after it proved to be full of non-facts. '>

And thanks for the sound planning advice, Joe:

> I want to comment on orchard planning in general.  I do not know how
> far along you are in planting your orchard.  You may already be past
> this stage.

Oh, no, I typically spend many, many years in the planning stage <g>!  
I think I've been following the bulk of your advice in my planning so far, 
in fact.

My household is small, just two of us.  The "orchard" in my mind is an 
espalier of one or two each of about six varieties -- that I personally 
love, that have different primary uses, and that are harvested at different 
times.

I garden at the place where I grew up, a situation I'm realizing is getting 
to be fairly unusual.  I was very attached to apples as a child.  There 
used to be several big local and regional orchards here that are gone now, 
and when I was young there were several non-chain groceries that carried 
local produce.

So some choices are to recapture those tastes:

The green "June apples" that made such outstanding applesauce at the New 
Monmouth church picnic (and great sour out-of-hand eating).  Some were 
Yellow Transparent, others Lodi; think I'll go for YT.  The Stayman 
Winesaps that would come out of the cellar all winter long, in boxes from 
the Fairfield Orchard.  The Smokehouse for its taste; when it's right it's 
my favorite apple. Took my first bite of one at Styers' orchard west of 
Philadelphia (now gone, too, I'm sure).

cv.                 harvest       use   

Yellow Transparent  June/July     sauce
Maiden's Blush      Aug/Sept      eating, drying
Smokehouse          Sept          eating
Roxbury Russet      Sept/Oct      eating, juice or cider
Stayman             Oct           keeping
Esopus Spitzenberg  Oct/Nov       keeping

I paid some attention to disease resistance/susceptibility, particularly 
cedar apple rust (too many cedars around here to avoid it).  But I really 
want Staymans, so we'll see; they're said to be subject to CAR and scab.

All of these are apples I know and love the taste of.  I frankly can't 
imagine planting something as much trouble as an apple without knowing 
whether I'd enjoy it (in the event of any fruit <g>)...

Nell Lancaster, Lexington VA  USDA zone 6b, western foothils of Blue Ridge
<nlancaster@rockbridge.net>



 

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