My Apple Program

crabapples a month from harvest

We have 1 crabapple tree and 3 large apple trees. I use the crabapples to make jelly, juice for spiced cider, and applesauce. The crabapples ripen in October. We still have some crabapple juice and crabapple sauce in the freezer. The sauce is astringent, so I mix it with plain applesauce as I serve it. I'll use the last of the crabapple juice in a hot spiced apple cider some chilly day later this month. And we'll continue to eat the crabapple sauce both as sauce and baked into bar cookies and snack cakes for the next several weeks. I harvest about 10 pounds of crabapples each year and make about 4 quarts of juice and about 12 pints of sauce with those.

With the large apples, I have 1 early season, 1 mid-season, and 1 late season apple tree. I harvest anywhere from 30 to 70 pounds of the large apples each year.

one of two full produce drawers of early apples still to enjoy 

The early apples are red over green, crisp and sweet, and seem to miss the apple moths plus are mostly immune to apple scab. They make great fresh eating apples. They're also super productive. I begin harvesting these around the first of August. Early apples don't tend to keep as long as later apples. So these begin to go wrinkly in about 2 months after harvest, even stored in a refrigerator. We use the early apples for fresh eating (as is and in salads) throughout August and September. I also bake a few into pies, if we're in the mood. When these early apples become less appetizing due to aging, I slice them thin (1/4-inch) and dehydrate them to have as snacking dried apples in winter and spring.

just starting to harvest the russet apples

Right now I'm at the beginning of harvesting the mid-season apples. These are a russet apple, tan over green. They have a wonderful flavor, almost spicy. This tree is moderately productive. If in good condition they make excellent fresh eating apples, especially with a bit of cheese. And they're long-keepers, lasting until late January. The downside to these apples is they blossom and develop just as the apple moths are in the area (we don't spray) and they have some susceptibility to diseases. So as I harvest these, I inspect them thoroughly and separate the ones I believe are free of apple maggots and don't look to have scab or other issues from the ones that most definitely look to have issues. The good ones get put aside for eating when the red over green ones are gone (first of October-ish), and the poor ones are cut up and trimmed of really bad damage and made into applesauce. I made 8 quarts of applesauce over the weekend and have enough of these apples still on the tree to make another 6 to 8 quarts, for a total of 14 to 16 quarts of applesauce.

the cooking apples still have 2 or 3 weeks until ready to harvest

The late apples are green cooking apples. They're crisp, large, and tart. These ripen late in September to early October. They mostly avoid the apple moths and only have a small issue with apple scab. They're also good keeping apples, lasting until late January to early February in the fridge. The tree would be more productive if it was in a better spot in the yard. Still, we harvest about 10 pounds of green apples in a normal year. I use these in mid-winter to make baked apples.

I didn't mention that I also pick up any apples that have dropped early or knocked off the trees by critters and chop these up for the freezer. I use these frozen apple chunks in sauteed apples all winter, spring, and into early summer.

We try to use every apple. If apples get bruised, I cut off the bruises and chop the apples for the freezer. If apples have maggot trails, I cut the worst of the trails out and use the rest of the apple in sauce. If the apples begin to go soft and wrinkly, I slice thin and dehydrate them, after all the wrinkly-apple stage is simply the beginning of the natural dehydration process. If apples are astringent (like crabs), I process the apples in someway and blend with non-astringent apples, spice them (as in cider), or bake them as sauce in applesauce bars. And the good ones we use for fresh eating, pies, and baked apples.

What I'm saying is that we have apples from our 4 trees in some form year round, fresh, sauce, juice, dried, and frozen. And that's my "apple program" for my household.

I hope you all had a good weekend. Peace to you.