Native Hunter 2023 Apples

[Flatiron75]

Native Hunter -

If you were to name your favorite, bullet-proof, no-spray pear for wildlife .... what would it be?
BTW, we know each other from another forum. I PM-d you there concerning your flood situation.

 

[Native Hunter]

Native Hunter -

If you were to name your favorite, bullet-proof, no-spray pear for wildlife .... what would it be?
BTW, we know each other from another forum. I PM-d you there concerning your flood situation.

Yes, I know you and want to welcome you to this forum. I'm very glad you have joined us and look forward to seeing you here.

I was just thinking about pears the other day, and came to the conclusion that where I live it seems like all pears are bulletproof. I stayed away from Bartlett, because it had a reputation for getting fireblight, but someone sent me a Bartlett by mistake, and it grows just as clean as any other pear I have. I can't recall ever seeing fireblight on any pear I have planted, and the quince rust (similar to CAR in apples) is almost non-existent as well. With that said, below are some of my favorites pears:

Senator Clark
Olympic Giant
Galloway
Kieffer (some others on this forum have reported fireblight, but I've never seen any on mine)
Moonglow
Ayers (I did see just a tad of rust for the first time last year, but it didn't amount to anything in the long run.
Gate
Please keep in mind that the pears I got from Blue Hill are still very young. I do see some fruit on a few of them this year, but I will probably pull it off. I did topwork a wild pear to Sweet Advent last year, and it has 4 big nice pears growing this year. I'm going to let those grow, but since the tree was topworked only last year, they could fall off.

Apples are a whole different animal - if you get the wrong rootstock or variety, you could be in for total failure where I live. CAR is especially devastating here, but if you plant the right apples, you will barely see it at all.

Once again, welcome to the forum.

 

[Flatiron75]

Yes, I know you and want to welcome you to this forum. I'm very glad you have joined us and look forward to seeing you here.

I was just thinking about pears the other day, and came to the conclusion that where I live it seems like all pears are bulletproof. I stayed away from Bartlett, because it had a reputation for getting fireblight, but someone sent me a Bartlett by mistake, and it grows just as clean as any other pear I have. I can't recall ever seeing fireblight on any pear I have planted, and the quince rust (similar to CAR in apples) is almost non-existent as well. With that said, below are some of my favorites pears:

Senator Clark
Olympic Giant
Galloway
Kieffer (some others on this forum have reported fireblight, but I've never seen any on mine)
Moonglow
Ayers (I did see just a tad of rust for the first time last year, but it didn't amount to anything in the long run.
Gate
Please keep in mind that the pears I got from Blue Hill are still very young. I do see some fruit on a few of them this year, but I will probably pull it off. I did topwork a wild pear to Sweet Advent last year, and it has 4 big nice pears growing this year. I'm going to let those grow, but since the tree was topworked only last year, they could fall off.

Apples are a whole different animal - if you get the wrong rootstock or variety, you could be in for total failure where I live. CAR is especially devastating here, but if you plant the right apples, you will barely see it at all.

Once again, welcome to the forum.

Of those pears you mentioned, what are the latest ripening ones, Native?

 

[Native Hunter]

Of those pears you mentioned, what are the latest ripening ones, Native?

I think that of the ones I mentioned Gate, Olympic Giant and Gallaway are the latest. With a big mature tree, all of those will go deep into November, and in PA they might be later. I know that Olympic Giant would grow well in PA, and WG shows the other two being good in Zones 5-9.
Blue Hill shows Sweet Advent being a lot later than any of these three. As I mentioned earlier, I topworked a tree to Sweet Advent last year and it has 4 pears this year - but on a freshly topworked tree, those may not hang as long. I have another Sweet Advent at the farm, but I think the frost pocket temps may have got the pears on it this year. I will try to remember to look at it next time I'm over there.

If I was in PA and wanted late pears, here are the ones I would plant:
Sweet Advent
Rifle Deer Pear
Olympic Giant

I think it would be hard to go wrong with those three. PS - Once you eat an Olympic Giant, you will be hooked.

 

[Native Hunter]

This is what my pear topworking is looking like so far this year. As you can see, I already have my cane bracing up. Better too early than too late. This one is growing fast and might have already broken off in the strong wind yesterday without the bracing.

 

[Native Hunter]

Six years ago I planted this Keener Seedling (aka Rusty Coat) on MM111 from Century Farm Orchards. I never gave it any special attention (other than caging) after planting, and don’t even remember if I watered it the first year. The tree grew well but hadn’t flowered much until this year.

As of today, it is loaded with fruit, and every limb looks like the pic below. This is supposed to be a very late apple, which could be the perfect drop time for my area.

I will be watching and reporting back later.

 

[Flatiron75]

Mom once told me years ago that her aunt (or great aunt) had a Rusty Coat on their farm. Must be an old, vintage apple, having been around for quite a while. She never said what its eating qualities were. Looks like you'll have a good chance to try some, Native!

 

[Native Hunter]

Another preview of a new to me apple called Galarina. This one came from Blue Hill and was set 2 years ago in the spring. I must admit that it got some extra watering since it was planted near my garden. Looks promising.

 

[weekender21]

Six years ago I planted this Keener Seedling (aka Rusty Coat) on MM111 from Century Farm Orchards. I never gave it any special attention (other than caging) after planting, and don’t even remember if I watered it the first year. The tree grew well but hadn’t flowered much until this year.

As of today, it is loaded with fruit, and every limb looks like the pic below. This is supposed to be a very late apple, which could be the perfect drop time for my area.

I will be watching and reporting back later.

View attachment 29698

I’ve been grafting a bunch of scion from my neighbors rusty coat the past few years. Their tree drops in November and always has deer under it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Native Hunter]

I’ve been grafting a bunch of scion from my neighbors rusty coat the past few years. Their tree drops in November and always has deer under it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If I remember correctly, David at Century Farm says it's the latest dropping apple he grows. Blue Hill also shows it as one of the latest dropping apples on their chart.

 

[KSQ2]

Hey fellas, would some of you with proven trees be willing to sell some scion wood this-coming year? I'm planning to order some rootstock and get some going. I have a particular tree behind the house I'm very interested in doing this, but I'd love to have a few more!

 

[Native Hunter]

This is what most pear trees look like here this year. I cut this limb off because it was dragging the top of my truck.

 

[Native Hunter]

June apples on May 31. Saw the deer eating them and walked over and picked these up.

 

[Mennoniteman]

June apples on May 31. Saw the deer eating them and walked over and picked these up.

View attachment 29812
View attachment 29813

Are these applesauce and baking apples? Our early apples on the farm were usually not the best for fresh eating, most early varieties are slightly tart. If yours are pretty tasty I'm heading to KY to have a fresh apple (if invited of course)

 

[Native Hunter]

Are these applesauce and baking apples? Our early apples on the farm were usually not the best for fresh eating, most early varieties are slightly tart. If yours are pretty tasty I'm heading to KY to have a fresh apple (if invited of course)

Hey MM, come on down and we will let you compete with my deer for the apples . Yes, this early apple is very tart and not good for fresh eating. However, it is an excellent frying apple with sugar added. My in-laws love these for frying, and I always take them the first bunch.

There is another early apple that I planted for my mom several years ago called Early Harvest that I do like for fresh eating. It is still a tad on the tart side but very good. She has since passed but my brother now lives there and enjoys those apples. This spring I topworked a tree at my home that I didn't like much to Early Harvest, so hopefully I will be enjoying that variety in a few years. I can't remember the exact ripening date, but it seems like a couple of weeks after Striped June. I highly recommend Early Harvest.

 

[Mennoniteman]

Hey MM, come on down and we will let you compete with my deer for the apples . Yes, this early apple is very tart and not good for fresh eating. However, it is an excellent frying apple with sugar added. My in-laws love these for frying, and I always take them the first bunch.

There is another early apple that I planted for my mom several years ago called Early Harvest that I do like for fresh eating. It is still a tad on the tart side but very good. She has since passed but my brother now lives there and enjoys those apples. This spring I topworked a tree at my home that I didn't like much to Early Harvest, so hopefully I will be enjoying that variety in a few years. I can't remember the exact ripening date, but it seems like a couple of weeks after Striped June. I highly recommend Early Harvest.

At home my mom always had us picking up Lodi drops for early applesauce, as they seemed to drop a lot, they were not as tart, but somewhat mealy to eat raw.
They were light green in color and a very large apple that was easy to grow.

 

[Native Hunter]

At home my mom always had us picking up Lodi drops for early applesauce, as they seemed to drop a lot, they were not as tart, but somewhat mealy to eat raw.
They were light green in color and a very large apple that was easy to grow.

Yes, I have heard good things about that apple. I have never eaten one though.

 

[Flatiron75]

Hey MM, come on down and we will let you compete with my deer for the apples . Yes, this early apple is very tart and not good for fresh eating. However, it is an excellent frying apple with sugar added. My in-laws love these for frying, and I always take them the first bunch.

There is another early apple that I planted for my mom several years ago called Early Harvest that I do like for fresh eating. It is still a tad on the tart side but very good. She has since passed but my brother now lives there and enjoys those apples. This spring I topworked a tree at my home that I didn't like much to Early Harvest, so hopefully I will be enjoying that variety in a few years. I can't remember the exact ripening date, but it seems like a couple of weeks after Striped June. I highly recommend Early Harvest.

Never heard of frying apples. Sounds good though! What's the process?

 

[Native Hunter]

Never heard of frying apples. Sounds good though! What's the process?

• Core, and slice your apples.
• You can also peel them, but a good frying apples has thin and tender skin - you just cook the skin too.
• I like tart apples the best for this because you can control the sweetness by what you add.
• Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
• Add sliced apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, and any other desired spices (like nutmeg or allspice). Stir to coat the apples with the butter mixture while you cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples are tender but not mushy. The apple pieces should be able to be easily pierced (without resistance) and picked up with a fork - but not fall apart unless you desire them to be more mushy.
• Some people like to thicken it with cornstarch mixed with cold water. You can experiment with this to see what you like best.