Manzanar Los Silvestres A conservation orchard 2019 Apples In Northern New Mexico it is often heard that De las frutas se ríe Diós (God laughs at fruit). Every spring in fact. Thankfully, most of our trees were bloom and set fruit in between bouts of snow and freezing temperatures this spring. Here is what we expect to harvest this year, based on experience with our more than 40 apple varieties. Summer Apples In late August, we expect to start picking Gravenstein apples. Last year was an “off” year, so we should have a very good crop (Note: many of our best heirloom trees bear every other year, one reason nobody grows them anymore). The Gravenstein is an excellent cooking apple best used when fresh. It has a unique sweet-tart taste and is quite juicy. It is considered one of the best apples for pies and pastries. Our Gravenstein tree ripens unevenly over a 2-3 week period and requires several pickings. Stored in our walk-in cooler, we can provide this variety throughout September. It is worth noting that this variety is threatened. Gravensteins are most common in Sonoma and Mendocino Counties, California, but many of the most productive Gravenstein orchards are now being replaced with industrial-scale wine grape operations. Other summer apple varieties include the rare Kerry Pippin, (aka Irish Pippin). Our first harvest of Kerry Pippins yielded about a half bushel of small, tart, crisp apples. We are hoping for at least of bushel of these wonderful apples this year. Akero is another late summer dessert apple from Sweden. We should see 3-4 bushels. We should also see a bushel or two of Ginger Gold apples. Finally, we have one very productive Moonglow (Comice type) pear tree that we pick in late August but are best put in cold storage for 3-4 weeks, and then ripened fully at room temperature. We should harvest 5-6 bushels from this tree. Fall Apples Around the third week of September, we expect to start harvesting several varieties of great cooking and desert apples. This year’s list includes the following: Liberty is a great “do everything apple.” Early pickings are quite tart, balanced with increasing sweetness as the season progresses. Refrigerated storage also boosts the sweet-tart balance towards the sweet side. We have several Liberty trees that yield both large and small sized fruit, so if you want an apple to put in the kid’s lunchboxes that won’t get thrown away after a few bites, our small Liberties might be just the ticket. We also have a fruit laden Jonagold tree this year. Three or four bushels of these sweet firm apples are expected. They are great in pies, but we press lots of these for fresh and hard cider. pg. 1 (see http://www.orangepippin.com for excellent variety descriptions and photos. Manzanar Los Silvestres A conservation orchard Sheepnose apples are at their best during a short season. The name Sheepnose might come from a peculiar growth habit that makes its look like a sheep’s nose when viewed from the stem, but they are also known as Black Gilliflower illustrated). This very old American apple was developed in Connecticut during the mid-1700s and is extremely rare. Sheepnose apples must be picked at just the right time or they rapidly become dry hanging on the tree. Also, they do not store well, and the market has passed them by. When ripened on the tree, however, they have a unique vanilla-like flavor that many apple connoisseurs find delicious. We love these, but cannot eat them all. But we love our Northern Spy apples the most. This apple was developed in upstate New York in the mid-1800s and has been praised as one of the best pie apples ever developed. Even Julia Child praised this variety for pie. Unfortunately, Northern Spy trees typically take 8-10 years to reach fruit- bearing age, and can have a strong biannual fruiting habit, so it is rarely available outside of local markets in the northeast and Midwest. Too bad. It is the best-tasting apple on our farm. Yields are very high during “on” years so we should have 10 bushels available from late September to mid-October. We cannot possibly eat all of these, so we’ll let some go. These apples also store quite well so save them for your Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. Spies are excellent in hard cider as well. We might have some surprises from the orchard this year as many of our 7-to-9-year-old trees are starting to yield fruit. Other fall varieties we might see this year include Ribston Pippin, Holstein, Ashmead’s Kernel, Calville Blanc d’hiver, and Bramley’s Seedling. Winter Apples Red Rome apples are a deep red fruit equally good for cooking and cider-making. We usually wait until after one or two light frosts to pick this very firm, tart variety, as it seems to increase sweetness. We usually see 10 bushels of Rome’s each year. Stored in our walk-in cooler, these should remain available throughout October. Our favorite recipe for apple pie includes a mix of Rome and Northern Spy apples, with a crumb top crust. pg. 2 (see http://www.orangepippin.com for excellent variety descriptions and photos. Manzanar Los Silvestres A conservation orchard Winter apples are some of the best. They generally store well and are firm and tart. Many late varieties even get better with storage – we save many them for our New Year’s Day celebrations. Our late varieties include Golden Russet (illustrated), Black Twig, Arkansas Black (illustrated), and Black Oxford. All these apples have very complex flavors that are equally good used for hard cider, cooking, and eating out of hand. These are worth waiting for and we keep a lot for home use. Finally, we will have an increasing number of “pure” cider apples this year. These are generally too sharp and/or bitter for eating – we call them “spitters” – great in a fermented beverage but not so good for pie. Most are of European ancestry, such as Muscat de Bernay, Muscat de Dieppe, Kingston Black, Michelin, Bulmer’s Norman, Dabinett, Brown’s Apple, Brown Snout, Geneva Crab, and Harry Masters Jersey. And several more whose names escape me. Our orchard is located at 21581 US Highway 84, about 3.5 miles west of Abiquiu (aka Los Silvestres). You can drop by anytime we are home, but it might be best to call ahead (505-685- 4871). We will be selling fruit at the Abiquiu Farmer’s Market, behind the Post Office, on Tuesdays. We may also have orchard tours and tastings, like during the Abiquiu Studio Tour – look for Gerald’s Apple Sign at our gate and stay tuned to the Abiquiu News. -Tim Seaman and Glenna Dean pg. 3 (see http://www.orangepippin.com for excellent variety descriptions and photos. .