Picking Apples In Mississippi

[OldCoot]

Many people think of apples as a cool weather crop but our ancestors grew apples most everywhere in our country. In the past, most farmsteads even in the south, had apple trees. At one time there was a huge diversity of varieties that could perform well in all sorts of environments... even in Mississippi. Most of those heritage varieties have gone away, replaced by those shiny, beautiful, flawless, chemical soaked things sold as apples in the stores today. Thankfully some wise folks have made it a mission to save these old varieties so that folk like me can order & keep the genetic lines going.

Apple trees don't reproduce true to form, say like open pollinated corn. If you plant the seed from a Golden Delicious, you won't get a Golden Delicious. Odds are you will get some inedible crabapple. Apple varieties are propagated via grafting. But when you plant seeds every so often, that seed produces a tree that bears big, lovely, flavorful apples and then every so often that new variety has characteristics that allows it to grow in that particular climate.

Yesterday I was picking apples mainly from an old variety, Winesap Virginia. Winesaps, of one form or another, have been in the US since the 1800s. It is the parent of many varieties, including my favorite... Arkansas Black. Not really what I'd call an eating variety, as I have other varieties with better taste, but is it firm, crisp, sweet & very juicy. I will use it for cider but now use for applesauce & apple butter... which we made yesterday.

Compared to an Arkansas Black. Easy to see how the Arkansas Black gets its name.

 

[Brent S]

All my apples were done 6 or 8 weeks ago. The only thing left for this season is pruning but I do that mid winter. That tree is loaded! I’m suprised they are this late in the season.

 

[OldCoot]

All my apples were done 6 or 8 weeks ago. The only thing left for this season is pruning but I do that mid winter. That tree is loaded! I’m suprised they are this late in the season.

Ha, you should have seen it a couple of weeks ago. At the point that picture was taken yesterday, I'd already taken 3-4 bushels from it.

I'm in north Mississippi, so I'd think my growing season is somewhat similar to yours. I prefer late variety apples over the ones that bear sooner. Besides the Winesaps, I just finished picking Enterprise & Kinnaird's Choice, so they are pretty late too. My Arkansas Black aren't ready quiet yet.

 

[OldCoot]

If anyone is interested, I get most of my trees now from David at Century Farm Orchards in North Carolina. They are a small family run business that has been in operation for around 100 years... thus the name. He is super nice & will gladly talk/email with you to help with selections & give advise.

http://www.centuryfarmorchards.com/descripts/osadescriptsapples.html

 

[Danil54grl]

Thanks for the link. I saw a few varieties that I am interested in.. . Blacktwig, William's Favorite, Stayman Winesap and Roxbury. Got a nice price too. I need them to be able to grow in clay soil which I saw one did and another said does good in poor soil so that sounds promising. . Now just to order, plant and make sure they don't get run over by hunny.

 

[OldCoot]

Thanks for the link. I saw a few varieties that I am interested in.. . Blacktwig, William's Favorite, Stayman Winesap and Roxbury. Got a nice price too. I need them to be able to grow in clay soil which I saw one did and another said does good in poor soil so that sounds promising. . Now just to order, plant and make sure they don't get run over by hunny.

Especially with clay soil, make sure to get MM 111 rootstock. It does well on clay, poorly drained soil plus does well in high temp areas. It can grow a large tree but I prefer that rootstock & simply prune the height each winter while doing normal pruning. From what I know, the rootstock has more to do with how a tree performs in any given soil, than does the actual apple variety. I prefer a vigorous rootstock that needs to be pruned over a dwarf rootstock. They are just healthier & produce strong trees. Pruning can control the size you prefer.

I can't stress how pleased I've been with growing Arkansas Black. Most varieties I've grown struggle with my hot, moist southern climate. If they don't get hit hard by fire blight in the spring, then the apples get ravaged by the summer rot diseases. Be careful reading the descriptions because, at least for me, they are rarely accurate... at least in my climate. Many varieties that claim to be disease resistant do horribly for me. I started with around 25 varieties and will soon be down to under 10. My Arkansas Black never gets hit by fire blight and almost never gets any of the summer rots. Good for me also are Redfree, Kinnaird's Choice, Enterprise, Winesap Virginia, Cauley and the incredibly ugly, incredibly tasty Ashmead Kernal seen below.

 

[DrHenley]

Those look great OldCoot! We've been wanting to plant some apple trees on our farm in the Mississippi Delta. The big difference between the lower Delta and North Mississippi climatewise is that it gets a lot cooler at night in North Mississippi. And of course the Delta has "Delta Gumbo" for dirt which is almost impenetrable to water.

 

[OldCoot]

Those look great OldCoot! We've been wanting to plant some apple trees on our farm in the Mississippi Delta. The big difference between the lower Delta and North Mississippi climatewise is that it gets a lot cooler at night in North Mississippi. And of course the Delta has "Delta Gumbo" for dirt which is almost impenetrable to water.

With such soil, you might need to amend the soil with some sand & organic matter. I add organic matter to the soil for every tree I plant. My soil is plenty sandy. Just be prepared to dig an extra big hole when planting and use MM 111 rootstock.

They have apple varieties that do well further south than me. Some folks grow them in Los Angeles & Vegas. This link might interest you.
http://www.kuffelcreek.com/applenursery.htm

For what it is worth, IMO apples are a great item for preppers. Obviously not something you get going overnight but given space & time, they can provide a huge amount of food, nutrition & calories. Also makes a great barter item. And for those needing some alcohol to drink after a crisis, cider is easy to make.

 

[Maverick]

Good post, I like the link.

Cool weather growing, fyi
Here in Washington, not known for warm weather but these apples grow here and you can get the non chemicalized ones; Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Gala, Fuji, Granny Smith, Braeburn, Honeycrisp, Cripps Pink and Cameo

 

[Danil54grl]

Especially with clay soil, make sure to get MM 111 rootstock. It does well on clay, poorly drained soil plus does well in high temp areas. It can grow a large tree but I prefer that rootstock & simply prune the height each winter while doing normal pruning. From what I know, the rootstock has more to do with how a tree performs in any given soil, than does the actual apple variety. I prefer a vigorous rootstock that needs to be pruned over a dwarf rootstock. They are just healthier & produce strong trees. Pruning can control the size you prefer.

I can't stress how pleased I've been with growing Arkansas Black. Most varieties I've grown struggle with my hot, moist southern climate. If they don't get hit hard by fire blight in the spring, then the apples get ravaged by the summer rot diseases. Be careful reading the descriptions because, at least for me, they are rarely accurate... at least in my climate. Many varieties that claim to be disease resistant do horribly for me. I started with around 25 varieties and will soon be down to under 10. My Arkansas Black never gets hit by fire blight and almost never gets any of the summer rots. Good for me also are Redfree, Kinnaird's Choice, Enterprise, Winesap Virginia, Cauley and the incredibly ugly, incredibly tasty Ashmead Kernal seen below.

So basically your saying it's a gamble on which variety will do well. That sounds about right just like any other plant you grow in the garden. Gotta find which one does best in your own area. I have yet to see any apples grown in my area. Not to say there isn't any, just not very common. I may go do some asking around down at the feed store next time I go to see what they have heard about first. We have the typical hot humid weather here being only 30 miles or so from the Gulf, but with gumbo mud. The good thing is once something gets well established the lower roots stay moist. The bad side is the top dries out quickly when we don't have rain for a few weeks. I'm looking for both a good eating apple and then a good cooking apple.

 

[OldCoot]

So basically your saying it's a gamble on which variety will do well. That sounds about right just like any other plant you grow in the garden. Gotta find which one does best in your own area. I have yet to see any apples grown in my area. Not to say there isn't any, just not very common. I may go do some asking around down at the feed store next time I go to see what they have heard about first. We have the typical hot humid weather here being only 30 miles or so from the Gulf, but with gumbo mud. The good thing is once something gets well established the lower roots stay moist. The bad side is the top dries out quickly when we don't have rain for a few weeks. I'm looking for both a good eating apple and then a good cooking apple.

Yep. Best thing one can do is see if anyone is growing them local to you. Otherwise search for info from local universities, such as this link. It has a map showing which varieties do best in given areas of Texas.
https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/homefruit/apple/apple.html

 

[Maverick]

When I had the property in Kanab Utah, it get warm being on the Arizona border be we had 10 Fuji Red trees, these can stand the heat, the ground there was a sand/clay (when wet), they only grow 12 feet but produce a lot of apples, they can produce while in the planter like a 6 gallon bucket, it's a very sweet apple not overly suitable for cooking but they do make an excellent cobbler.