Crab apples vs. regular apples....

[aerospacefarmer]

My Kerrs were done in mid October but to be honest I was shaking the tree a lot to give the deer something to eat but was surprised how long they hung on the tree. I probably still gave a few apples hanging now on the Kerr. My go to now at this point for the deer will be the goldrush. Almost none are dropping at this point relative to the number on the tree. Two of those are in the orchard I hunt for gun season

 

[Bowsnbucks]

We have some kind of yellow-ish green apple tree still holding a batch of apples as of Dec. 1st. We don't know what it is, but it's a good eater. Very firm and fairly sweet with a touch of tart, and juicy. Guys at camp don't know who planted it and it wasn't tagged. It's about 15 - 18 years old and is about 16 ft. tall. it's dropped a pile of apples so far, but there's still a load left on the tree. It would be a good choice for grafting !!! Just don't know WHAT it is.

 

[sandbur]

We have some kind of yellow-ish green apple tree still holding a batch of apples as of Dec. 1st. We don't know what it is, but it's a good eater. Very firm and fairly sweet with a touch of tart, and juicy. Guys at camp don't know who planted it and it wasn't tagged. It's about 15 - 18 years old and is about 16 ft. tall. it's dropped a pile of apples so far, but there's still a load left on the tree. It would be a good choice for grafting !!! Just don't know WHAT it is.

Northwest greening would be my guess.

 

[CrazyEd]

My Kerrs were done in mid October but to be honest I was shaking the tree a lot to give the deer something to eat but was surprised how long they hung on the tree. I probably still gave a few apples hanging now on the Kerr. My go to now at this point for the deer will be the goldrush. Almost none are dropping at this point relative to the number on the tree. Two of those are in the orchard I hunt for gun season

Over by my place I had Goldrush, Honeycrisp, Honeygold, and Kerr still hanging on 11/21.

What else is still hanging by you aero?? Liberty or Enterprise still going or are they all long gone?

 

[NY_Terrence]

My trees are young, but I had Enterprise, Honeygold and Goldrush hanging on Thanksgiving. Hanging late is great, but I also had a wild tree that dropped steadily from Sept 1 to Nov 7 and deer seemed to prefer it over others on the ground. Anyone know which other varieties see to drop over a long period?

 

[Bowsnbucks]

I think Chestnut crabapple does that. Maybe Sandbur or Aero can comment on those. I know both of those guys grow them.

The greenish apple I mentioned above in post # 23 drops over an extended period ...... I just don't know what it is. It still has apples on it now. It started dropping in October.

 

[sandbur]

My chestnut crabs drop over 4-5 weeks of time. Plant one on a gentle north slope and it will hang a bit later in the fall. In most years from Sept.1 until the first week of October.

There are still a couple of apples on them, but not enough to amount to much.

 

[aerospacefarmer]

Over by my place I had Goldrush, Honeycrisp, Honeygold, and Kerr still hanging on 11/21.

What else is still hanging by you aero?? Liberty or Enterprise still going or are they all long gone?

I have goldrush, pink lady and some sort of Jonagold. The deer still loving them lol

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Aero - I see some Pink Ladies in the stores here. Are they a sweeter apple or on the tart side ?? I'm always a little spooky of buying " store " apples since I tried a store-bought Braeburn apple. Many people say Braeburn is a really good eater - the store Braeburn was terrible - not much flavor. Maybe their flavor suffers in storage ??

 

[Turkey Creek]

Aero - I see some Pink Ladies in the stores here. Are they a sweeter apple or on the tart side ?? I'm always a little spooky of buying " store " apples since I tried a store-bought Braeburn apple. Many people say Braeburn is a really good eater - the store Braeburn was terrible - not much flavor. Maybe their flavor suffers in storage ??

I call them sweet /tart. They have a dense, crisp flesh. My personal favorite eating apple. For some reason our local HyVee hasnt had them in stock for a couple weeks, I have had to go with Honey Crisp... Over priced and not as good IMO. Just like any grocery store apple the quality can vary from week to week.

 

[sandbur]

Some of those Honeycrisps are grown in the wrong climate.

I suspect that happens with other "store" apples.

 

[Rally1148]

Some of those Honeycrisps are grown in the wrong climate.

I suspect that happens with other "store" apples.

Whenever I buy apples that aren't from a local orchard or a farmers market, I always buy Michigan apples...i.e. those that say they are from Michigan. Or at least since I've been looking into growing apples for deer and myself. This is the exact reason why.


On another note, I've never had a bad pink lady from the stores. Easily one of the better local store apples from November through spring.

 

[aerospacefarmer]

Sweet tart but they really did not ripen this year They needed a few more weeks

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Gonna have to try some Pink Ladies now that you guys are sounding positive about them. Call me a sucker for good apples !!

 

[aerospacefarmer]

I had one on my way to deer stand today and it was great even with sub freezing temps

 

[Bowsnbucks]

I bought a couple Pink Ladies at the store last evening. You guys were spot on !! Sweet and tart at the same time. They're hard, crispy and juicy. It's a great apple. My wife liked it too - she's a fan of tart apples.

 

[aerospacefarmer]

Ed I forgot to mention that my Scarlett O'Haras are still hanging also with few drops. These apples ripen is September. Would be a good gin season deer Apple

 

[Bowsnbucks]

An update on those yellowish-green apples at camp ....... There are still plenty of them hanging on the tree as of 12-13-15. The ones that were covering the ground - untouched - during the height of the acorn drop, are now cleaned up. The tree drops a few apples periodically day to day. Probably between 200 - 250 apples left on the tree.

 

[greyphase]

Hey Bowsnbucks I'm always looking for scion from late hanging apples so if your up at camp in Jan or Feb keep me in mind.

Thanks
Rick

 

[chickenlittle]

I noticed a house about a mile down the road has a medium size tree in the back yard that is loaded with yellow apples. Maybe a Goldrush? There were a dozen drops on the ground a couple days ago but they were cleaned up when I went by yesterday. I often see deer in the alfalfa field behind there. I guess I'll have to stop by sometime and ask about the tree to find out the variety and ask for scions if it is not a Goldrush. I have 3 Goldrush started at my parents farm in hopes that they will be productive for PA's flintlock season that runs for 2-3 weeks after Christmas.