Fruit Grower’s Journal

I put a bag of Honeycrisp apples on the counter just before Christmas and just finished eating the last one – it was still crisp and delicious.  Most apples though will not maintain that just picked flavor and crispness very long if kept at room temperature.  Keeping apples cold – very cold – is the key to keeping them fresh. Apples you purchase from a local farm stand will likely last at least several weeks in the home refrigerator, but will soften quickly if kept at room temperature.  If I had stored those Honeycrisp in the icebox they would have been great to eat even a couple of months after I brought them home.

Mutsu is another apple that stores really well.  Like Honeycrisp it will keep in the home refrigerator for several months.  It grows well in southern counties, but ripens too late and lacks the hardiness needed for northern parts of the state.

A nice crop of Mutsu apples in a New Hampshire Orchard.  Photo: W.Lord

Of course, there are many other varieties that will store well, most ripening in October in New Hampshire.  Red and Golden Delicious, the scab free variety Liberty, and older varieties like Baldwin and Northern Spy all have their fans.  And always, the key is to get them cold and keep them cold.

Pruning is the next big orchard task, just not quite yet.  While temperatures have been uniformly cold for some time now and it is surely safe to prune mature trees, I like to delay pruning until March if possible. Of course, if I have a lot to get done, I have no choice but to get going now; however, I save the younger trees for last.  I will list upcoming pruning demonstrations – you may want to join in the fun as I subdue a tree or two.

Bill Lord, January 7, 2010