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Post by smsmith on Sept 23, 2020 18:44:33 GMT -6
If you have extra scion, I would like to try again the the spring. I think the old Smitty’s is better than the last one, but it was good to try it. Scions are never a problem on Smitty's. It tends to throw a lot of water sprouts. By the old Smitty's do you mean you ate one when I gave them to you, and then another later? Did the second lose crispness/firmness? Have you eaten the green(ish) wild apple I gave you? Most of those are still hanging on the tree.
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Post by Sandbur on Sept 23, 2020 19:07:18 GMT -6
If you have extra scion, I would like to try again the the spring. I think the old Smitty’s is better than the last one, but it was good to try it. Scions are never a problem on Smitty's. It tends to throw a lot of water sprouts. By the old Smitty's do you mean you ate one when I gave them to you, and then another later? Did the second lose crispness/firmness? Have you eaten the green(ish) wild apple I gave you? Most of those are still hanging on the tree. I preferred the original Smitty’s. That second apple I ate about a week later. Interesting and a chewy skin that I kind of like to chaw on. I would like scion from the first tree you found a few yeArs ago.
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Post by smsmith on Sept 23, 2020 19:15:16 GMT -6
Scions are never a problem on Smitty's. It tends to throw a lot of water sprouts. By the old Smitty's do you mean you ate one when I gave them to you, and then another later? Did the second lose crispness/firmness? Have you eaten the green(ish) wild apple I gave you? Most of those are still hanging on the tree. I preferred the original Smitty’s. That second apple I ate about a week later. Interesting and a chewy skin that I kind of like to chaw on. I would like scion from the first tree you found a few yeArs ago. Gotcha. Yes, the second wild apple (greenish) is less flavorful I'd say. More sweet than tart though. I'm interested to see how long they hang and if the flavor changes the longer they hang. I haven't named the new tree yet.
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Post by smsmith on Oct 15, 2020 9:46:03 GMT -6
Picked and ate one of the new green/yellow wild apples. They've seen a number of hard frosts now. The flavors are definitely more complex, the skin less tough, and are still crunchy. I think this is an apple worth propagating.
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Post by smsmith on Oct 23, 2020 10:35:19 GMT -6
Just pulled one of the new green/yellow apples out of the crisper. Been in there at least 2 weeks, maybe 3. Very crispy, white, juicy flesh with a definite pear flavor. My wife also tasted a prominent pear flavor. It would be a great addition to cider. I'm trying to name this tree now. I'm leaning towards Grosbeak Greening I picked the last of my new wild apples and some Northwest Greenings. Wild apple on right
Average sized NW Greening on right, wild apple on left
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Post by smsmith on Oct 24, 2020 9:09:53 GMT -6
My refractometer came yesterday. I tested a very ripe Smitty's and I got a reading of 18 brix. I really have no idea if the thing is accurate or not. Not sure I believe that reading. I'll mess around with some other fruit and see what happens.
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Post by smsmith on Oct 26, 2020 10:43:52 GMT -6
Just tested a Grosbeak Greening on the refractometer. 14 brix
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Post by benmnwi on Oct 26, 2020 12:30:47 GMT -6
Does that brix reading say these are good for cider? I'm not familiar with that test, but I've seen it mentioned before.
My Smitty's seedling grafts did well and I could see myself getting into cider at some point.
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Post by smsmith on Oct 26, 2020 12:36:57 GMT -6
Does that brix reading say these are good for cider? I'm not familiar with that test, but I've seen it mentioned before. My Smitty's seedling grafts did well and I could see myself getting into cider at some point. I'm just starting to figure this shit out. My understanding is that the higher the brix, the better your cider and/or hard cider. Sugars ferment in hard cider, therefore the higher the brix the higher the alcohol content. Fully ripe Smitty's certainly taste to me like they'd make one heck of a good sweet cider. The second wild apple (Grosbeak Greening) would be a good addition to cider, but it's not as complex in flavor as the Smitty's (to my palate anyway). Therefore, the final product wouldn't be as "full bodied". Average brix readings - www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/19/151.91
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Post by benmnwi on Oct 26, 2020 12:44:00 GMT -6
I just did a 30 second google search and the highly touted Franklin Apple had a brix reading of 17.5-19 listed, so you might be on to something! You need a marketing push and maybe you can some royalty checks rolling in.
I really like cider and hopefully I'll be able to make some from my trees in the future. It would be pretty cool if your wild variety turned out to be a winner with cider.
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Post by smsmith on Oct 26, 2020 12:52:49 GMT -6
I just did a 30 second google search and the highly touted Franklin Apple had a brix reading of 17.5-19 listed, so you might be on to something! You need a marketing push and maybe you can some royalty checks rolling in. I really like cider and hopefully I'll be able to make some from my trees in the future. It would be pretty cool if your wild variety turned out to be a winner with cider. I've bitched about others (like Bill Mayo) who patent varieties or otherwise make it difficult or impossible to propagate trees (club apples). I'd just get a kick out of knowing that the tree has been propagated and is growing in lots of different places. The Smitty's I tested was very ripe, so that may have impacted the reading. I will continue to test some more and see what kind of readings I get. No matter what the brix readings may be, every Smitty's we've eaten here has been pretty similar in flavor/texture/juice level. I can safely say they'll be really good in cider either as a single varietal or as part of a blend (I think blends are the best).
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Post by benmnwi on Oct 26, 2020 13:01:07 GMT -6
There are some Smitty's Seedlings growing in Olmsted County MN as well as Rusk County WI, so your trees are spreading. They seemed to have above average growth compared to others I grafted this year.
How are they with regard to insect and disease pressure?
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Post by smsmith on Oct 26, 2020 13:12:48 GMT -6
There are some Smitty's Seedlings growing in Olmsted County MN as well as Rusk County WI, so your trees are spreading. They seemed to have above average growth compared to others I grafted this year. How are they with regard to insect and disease pressure? I haven't noticed any apple scab on the leaves or fruit. The leaves get a few CAR spots most years, but it's not had any impact on the fruit. No evidence of fireblight, but the tree does have some sunscauld. Not surprising since it's located on a slight hill that faces SW. Insect pressure is about average I suppose. I sprayed captan/Imidan 4 times this year and had plenty of clean fruit. There would have been a lot more fruit if the coons didn't get into the tree in August/September. The tree does have bi-annual tendencies. I haven't tried thinning fruit to attempt to even out crops, so I don't know if that would work or not. Even in off years it produces some fruit (just not a lot). Fruit size does vary quite a bit. The smallest fruit may be right around 1.75" across and the largest pushing 2.75". One guy I sent scions to in KY asked me if the tree was a natural semi-dwarf. He noticed something about how closely the leaf nodes are located. He's in his late 60s/early 70s I think and has been growing fruit trees a long time. He knows plenty of stuff that I do not. I'm guessing the tree is maybe 15-18 years old, and it's not huge but it is a good sized tree...maybe 15' high. I think it will be more of a "spreader" than a "tall grower".
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Post by Sandbur on Oct 26, 2020 15:04:51 GMT -6
Does that brix reading say these are good for cider? I'm not familiar with that test, but I've seen it mentioned before. My Smitty's seedling grafts did well and I could see myself getting into cider at some point. I'm just starting to figure this shit out. My understanding is that the higher the brix, the better your cider and/or hard cider. Sugars ferment in hard cider, therefore the higher the brix the higher the alcohol content. Fully ripe Smitty's certainly taste to me like they'd make one heck of a good sweet cider. The second wild apple (Grosbeak Greening) would be a good addition to cider, but it's not as complex in flavor as the Smitty's (to my palate anyway). Therefore, the final product wouldn't be as "full bodied". Average brix readings - www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/19/151.91Interesting that crabapple is higher than apple on the link. What is the procedure to run brix?
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Post by Sandbur on Oct 26, 2020 15:07:13 GMT -6
I just did a 30 second google search and the highly touted Franklin Apple had a brix reading of 17.5-19 listed, so you might be on to something! You need a marketing push and maybe you can some royalty checks rolling in. I really like cider and hopefully I'll be able to make some from my trees in the future. It would be pretty cool if your wild variety turned out to be a winner with cider. If you want to make the drive, come up next fall when I am pressing.
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