Reliable October Droppers

[Bowsnbucks]

Question for all - What are your most reliable apples that drop in October ?? Looking for info from all over as to the "least headache" apples or crabs that drop in archery season. I have a few more spots to fill when we pull some ornamental pears at camp that are worthless to deer. Many of the apples we have planted already haven't fruited yet or members have picked the few on certain trees. So I'm asking for any info you guys have on October droppers.

Thanks in advance.

 

[wooduck]

Cortland,, Bears heavy every year , fairly resistant to fungus , large apples that hang well till October in fact we still have some on the trees here now

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Wooduck - Any disease problems with Cortland ?? Do you spray for disease - or just bugs ??

 

[Natureboy]

Based on my experience, a few varieties come to mind, the first is Liberty it Starts dropping a few apples by mid October although most apples hang until November for me. It is precocious, a heavy annual bearer, very disease resistant. The second is Honeycrisp, it drops a little earlier than Liberty, most of the apples have fallen by early November however some will hang until December. I have found that Honeycrisp will display a slight biannual trait with heavy yields one year followed by a light crop the next. A third apple is Jonafree, a heavy annual bearer, disease resistant and usually drops most of its fruit from mid October thru November.
Other varieties that drop in October include Yellow Delicious and Spartan although neither of these are as disease resistant and both will be adversely affected by Scab if a proper spray regiment is not followed.

 

[CrazyEd]

Wooduck - Any disease problems with Cortland ?? Do you spray for disease - or just bugs ??

I have a cortland in my backyard on B.9. I only spray for Japanese beetles.

 

[Apple Junkie]

I have the same objective as you bows, so I’m taking notes on this thread too.

Right now, I have two varieties I swear by. The first is the Ida Red, which drops a steady supply of apples from mid-October to mid-November, after which the drop rate slows, but will still hold a good supply going through much of December. As a bonus, this Ida Red started producing much sooner than some other varieties I planted the same year - 3 to 4 yrs. (standard rootstock). The other proven winner in my book is the Arkansas Black. It drops steady through October and most of November. For whatever reason, the deer seem to check this tree first for drops. All the blacks have dropped by the third week of November. Both these trees get zero coddling and both do fine, although the Ida Red is by far the better eater for human consumption.

I have high hopes for two other varieties I added last year, a Florina and a Wikson crab. My understanding is the Florina is a vigorous tree that bears early and heavy, ripens in October, but hangs late. Similarly, the Wikson is vigorous, bears heavy crops annually and also bears early. These were planted last year, so only time will tell if they live up to their billings.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Apple Junkie - We have a Wickson at camp that will be in it's 3rd leaf this spring. We also have an Arkansas Black - 4th leaf this spring. Your reports sound good on those 2.

We have no Ida Red. I'm a big fan of it as an eater - it's my 2nd favorite apple to eat behind Goldrush. I read that Ida Red is kind of troublesome to grow as far as disease is concerned. I can't remember if bitter pit was the main problem or if it was scab. Do you have to fuss and spray for disease with the Ida Red ?? If not - I may order one and get it planted. We're cutting down / pulling a few trees at camp to make room for more apple and Chinese chestnut trees. Ida Red would be welcome if I don't have to baby it.

Natureboy - We have 5 Liberty trees at camp. Liberty has so many good points, we HAD to plant a few of those !!

Thanks for the input, guys. Keep 'em coming !! Can never have too much info. We all learn here.

 

[Apple Junkie]

Bows, I'm embarrassed to admit here that I do absolutely nothing as far as fertilization or pest management. I don’t look real hard, but I've never seen any noticeable evidence of scab. As for bitter pit, I’m not sure what I’d be looking for with that one. But the apples we see are large, clean skinned, with crisp clear flesh, again, with no help from me other than mowing and caging. From my experience, the Ida Red is a dependable and robust variety dropping right through the bow and gun seasons.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

^^^^ Thanks, A.J. My camp is probably only about 1 hour south of N.Y. border. ( Steuben ) I'll grab an Ida Red and plant it this spring. Can't benefit if I don't try one !!

 

[aerospacefarmer]

I still have enterprise, cripps pink, jonagold, wait almost all my apples would still be hanging even though mush due to a cold spell but this year is an exception. I think you need to add the weather into the still hanging equation. I still have freedom hanging so what does that tell you. I never harvested them this year. Even have liberty hanging but all because of the weather

 

[Apple Junkie]

I don't doubt weather has some bearing Aero. But oddly, up here (Steuben Cty) this Ida Red is the last man standing. Ark black, McGowan, Empire, and all the unknowns have dropped. December 2, and it's still drawing the ladies, which draws the boys. Agreed, they are mostly applesauce with skin on them, but the deer still gobble 'em up as soon as they hit the ground.