Apple Articles
How do you like them apples?
Hobby orchards produce bushels of the original fruit
by Terence Moore | photos by Marcia Dilling
There are a number of hobby orchards in the Great Lakes Bay Region producing an outstanding variety of apples. Purchased fresh, the apples are as good or better than those imported from other states and countries.
Apples of our ancestors
It's a matter of personal taste when selecting the "original" fruit-from old-time varieties-for baking, cooking, or eating out of hand.
By Terence F. Moore | Photos by Marcia Dilling
Newer Apple Varieties worth using and cultivating
The best selling apples in the United States today are Red Delicious, Yellow Delicious, MacIntosh, and Jonathons, but these are slowly being replaced by newer varieties. Some of these new varieties originated as a chance sport on an existing tree, but some were genetically developed by various agricultural research stations around the world.
Read more: Newer Apple Varieties worth using and cultivating
Two Favorites
I ventured into growing apples without regard for a fundamental principle I follow in my day job as a health-care executive. I forgot that the cheapest and best money you can spend is in planning and studying what you are going to do before you act. Consequently, I planted the wrong varieties, the wrong rootstocks, with the wrong distance between trees, and made all the other mistakes a novice can make.
Producing your own apple trees can be rewarding
Planting an apple tree is a long-term investment and care must be given if it is to be productive.
To maximize your chances of success, consider the following: the type of root stock is almost as important as the type of apple variety that is selected. There are essentially three broad categories of root stocks that will determine the height of your trees: dwarf, semi dwarf, and standard.
