Joe bites into a dark, crispy’ Black Oxford’, an antique apple variety that dates back to 1790 in Paris, Maine.

The ‘Knobby Russet’ or ‘Knobbed Russet’ hails from Sussex, England could be the planet’s ugliest apple, but this gnarly treasure presents a complex flavor that is hard to define. Nutty, fruity and crisp, it may not make the shelves at your local supermarket, but eaten fresh or pressed into cider, it is sublime.

My dad always called these Sheepnose apples (not incorrect, as many farmers did), but Black Gilliflower (or Red Gilliflower)  is a far better name, for this parent of the modern Red Delicious. It’s hard and elongated, with a crispy, flavorful flesh which sadly does not last long in storage, but it will make an epic pie!

Gnarly, russeted, knobby with warts, these aren’t always pretty apples, at least to the average consumer, but their names often hint at the magical experience inside – Pomme Grise, Blue Pearmain,Pitmaston Pineapple, Winter Banana — old apples deserve to be revisited for many reasons, not the least being hard cider! If you are a baker or pie maker, these apples may change how you feel about what apples you mother used, as she was often limited to what was available in the supermarket. Soft Cortland or Macoun apples can turn to pure mush at the site of a pie plate. Why not use the same apple that Benjamin Franklin used (Cox’s Orange Pippen or Roxbury Russet) next time? History in a slice of pie.

With over 3000 heirloom apple and pear varieties hiding in old orchards around North America, it’s our duty as plant people to seek out these forgotten fruits and re-introduce them into culture.

I am discovering even more history about apples in New England through my involvement with the Worcester County Horticultural Society, a society which was founded in 1840 and incorporated in 1842, mostly by industrialists and farmers who had close ties to apples. I’ve currently been obsessed with reading the proceedings of the WCHS meetings from the 19th century and their annual reports from the early archives which speak to the origins of many of these very apple varieties.

Ashmead’s Kernel – can you say’ hard ‘cider’? At nearly 300 years old (perhaps older), this relic from the 1700’s is noted for its distinctive pear-like flavor and russeted skin.

There seems to be no escaping historical cross-roads with apples, in my new role on the Board of Trustees at Tower Hill, for this is, indeed ‘apple country’, and most every bit of history with the ‘society’ it’s history, it’s very DNA has apples in it. The WCHS and Tower Hill Botanic Garden even maintains an important collection of old apple varieties at the botanic Garden in Boylson, MA, from which scion wood is shared with collectors (cuttings to graft with), each spring to those who are passionate about saving these living bits of our history.

Cox’s Orange Pippin is often listed as the favorite eating apple by many plant people who know about it’s charms. From around 1830 when this apple first appeared in literature in Buckinghamshire, England, it remains the classic English apple for both baking and hand eating – if one can find it!

 So why do we see so few antique or heirloom apples today? After all, one would think that with the current rise in popularity of heirloom-anything (apples, squash, flowers) that of all things, the common apple would rank right up there with a striped German or red Kale? The answer may be more about practicality than desire. Clearly, there is a market for interesting apples with a story and amazing taste, but the practical limiters might outweigh the benefits. Heirloom apples grow on trees, and not annual vines or plants which could be planted every year.

At Alyson’s Orchard in Walpole, New Hampshire, many heirloom apples are now being boxed for sale alongside other autumnal treats such as pumpkins and squashes.

They are not as resistant to the multitude of diseases and blights so common today with apples (fire blight, scab), and to be honest, most are really not that tasty, being more beautiful than yummy (truth-be-told, a new 20th Century Honeycrisp trumps most any old apple variety with the contemporary, everyday  palette of most consumers – yet, in much the same way they also prefer the flavor of news, super-sweet corn varieties, the real connoisseurs argue otherwise.

Blue Pearmain is old, but we are not sure how old. There is literature which lists it gin the Boston area in 1822 (Kendrick). Old-timers referred to it as a ‘keeper’ apple (as in “It’s a keepah.”), with apples lasting in a store room until March. An all-American variety, some trees still exist in upstate New York, and in New England.

Pitmaston Pineapple from around 1785 combines russeted texture with a flavor that can only be described as ‘honey and crispy  pineapple’. Insane,  right?  Or, maybe you just want a plain, ‘white-bready’ Mac?

I personally adore the look and story of most antique apples, and, I even enjoy the flavor and crispness of a Cox’s Orange Pippin or a Baldwin over most any hard, ‘modern’ apple, but to be fair, most of these old apples were not created or selected because of their delicious, out-of-hand eating potential, these russeted, bumpy or sometimes even ugly fruits had a more serious purpose – hard cider. And who could argue with that!

Homer showed us his reference book for those fascinating knobbed Russets. It’s a difficult tree to grow well, and the fruit has been limited to only a few dozen, but he hopes to increase stock as the tree matures.

My sister in-law Toni, visiting us from Vancouver, WA picks out some’ Esopus Spitzenburg’ apples at Allyson’s Orchard in New Hampshire. These date from the late 1700’s. We’ll be using them for applesauce.

If you are looking for something different and perhaps, even a culinary adventure (as many of the old apples are also known as ‘cooking apples’, search on-line in your area for orchards that have then (you may have to call and ask, for more often than not, only the orchard manager knows, or cares, about these trees). At out favorite orchard (Alyson’s Orchard in Walpole, New Hampshire), we call Homer Dunn ( I know, right? As if a Hollywood script writer invented his character). Homer is not only knowledgeable and gnarly, as a seasoned, orchard manager must be, he is also passionate about his apples – he even shared some rarer varieties with us this time, I think excited that some people actually cared enough to ask about them.

Black Oxford  apples are so beautiful! They almost loom like plums

This Blue Pearmain is more colorful than some of the other fruit from the same tree.

At home, we laid all of our apples out on the dining table to study the differences. A few quinces were added to the mix along with some lady apples – when consumed fresh from the farm, they are surprisingly crisp and sweet.

Another russeted apple, Hudson Golden Gem isn’t that old after all, it was discovered in 1931 by the Hudson Wholesale Nurseries. It’s a good choice for organic gardeners since it is resistant to many common apple diseases and apple scab.

Joe packs a box of colorful, mixed heirloom apples to take home. We used tape on which we wrote the names on. We still picked a bushel of Honeycrisps!

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SOME SAY THIS VARIETY DATES BACK T0 THE EARLY 1800’s, OTHERS, SAY IT WAS DISCOVERED IN NEW HAMPSHIRE IN 1900, OR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA IN 1923, BUT THE BEST STORY DATES IT TO HUDSON’S WHOLESALE NURSERY IN OREGON IN 1831. BELLE DU BOSKOOP is a Dutch variety, introduced in 1856. A popular cooking apple, it contains two times the amount of vitamin C than Golden Delicious. Read on for more……… Famieuse, or Snow Apple is a soft apple, and is reported to be a parent of the Macintosh ( not the computer). This is a very old apple, and according to the web site Orange Pippin.com, it comes from Quebec, not France. In a summary of some information translated from “Le journal d’agriculture illustre” 1889, in QUEBEC Province.  From mid 1700 to 1850 Fameuse was the main grown tree and the fruits were exported to England in large quantities. For some reason, was a massive destruction of the Fameuse apple trees in Quebec Orchards in +/- 1860’s with the introductions of new varieties such as the Wealthy, the Baldwin, and other species from Russia.  A new disease in +/-1885  “Apple scab” or “Fusicladium dentrilicum” caused the end of the last commercial Fameuse orchards.

My mother was raised in New Jersey in the 1920’s, and my grandfather had a large Stayman Winesap tree behind the chicken coop. It was still there when he died at age 99 in 1988. Every autumn we would drive down and pick apples to make apple sauce with, since they were mostly ‘drops’, those apples that dropped off of the tree. Every Thanksgiving my mother would make pies and I would have to bring the through the woods to the neighbors along with a dozen eggs from our chickens. The tips would provide me with candy ( right, like I was going to eat apples at ten years old!).

Zabergau Reinette is a German apple, and it is large. This is clearly a storage apple, for an apple straight from the tree has flesh that is almost too hard to eat. This, like fine wine, must age in a cold, dry storage room in the dark. Best enjoyed apres ski during the longer  nights of winter as a baked apple ( with schnapps!).

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NOIR DE CARMES and VERT GRIMMPANT – RARE HEIRLOOMS FROM NINETEENTH C. FRANCE

TENDRAL VERDE TARDE MELON – A HARD, WINTER STORAGE MELON, THAT MAY NOT BE READY TO EAT UNTIL THANKSGIVING.

BOULE D’OR MELON, REPORTEDLY GROWN IN VILMORIN’S BOOK, THE VEGETABLE GARDEN IN 1885. NOW VERY RARE, THE PALE GREEN FLESH IS EXTREMELY SWEET. Now that I harvested ‘my melons’ my friends at work can stop teasing me about having to go home and “water my melons”.

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SWEET CHERRIES ARE A HOME CROP MANY SEEM TO AVOID BELIEVING THAT THEY ARE TOO DIFFICULT, ALTHOUGH NOT EASY, ONE CAN HARVEST A REASONABLE AMOUNT FOR JAMS AND PIE, IF YOU SIMPLY NET YOUR TREES TO KEEP BIRDS OFF, AND THEN SHADE THEM TO AVOID RAIN CRACKS.

Cherries just might be the most challenging yet most rewarding home fruit crop. But don’t expect those dark, black red cherries one gets from Washington State, most North American crops will be limited to sweet, red cherries, still large, but more flavorless until cooked. I adore cherries of all kinds, sour, sweet, pie cherries – the flavor reminds me of my mom when she would cook pies and jams from the sour cherries that grew in a small orchard in the field behind our home. We even had a yellow cherry that had died before I was born, but I remember the glass canning jars in the storeroom in the cellar with handwritten labels on them saying “yellow cherries” and I would always ask when we might try them. ( we never did, I think she was just saving them for a special event, and eventually they we’re thrown away). I still feel the desire to taste them. I think next spring I will plant some yellow cherries out back for this very reason.

June and Early July is cherry season in zones 6 – 3, and if you do not have any cherry trees on your property, you can go to a pick-your-own fruit farm ( just be sure to check if they have cherries, for the season is extremely short – 4 days at our local farm, Tougas Family Fruit Farm in Northboro, MA.

The biggest challenge to overcome with cherries is bird
damage, since losses can reach 100% even on home crops. Commercial growers take
all precautions, such as constructing elaborate structures of green netting
over their entire field. At home, one must cover their tree just after
pollination, since even unripe young fruit is far too tempting to many birds.

LAYING ON THE GROUND, IN THE DAMP GRASS, YOU CAN LOOK UP AND SEE THE LARGEST CHERRIES THAT SEEM TO COME RIGHT FROM THE BRANCH. ONE MUST LOOK FOR THE DARKEST RED, EVEN THOUGH THESE LOOK RIPE, THE BEST FLAVOR IS DEVELOPED IN THE BLACKEST CHERRIES, SO PICK ONE-BY-ONE, NOT IT CLUSTERS.

‘RAINIER’ IS A CLASSIC QUEEN ANNE WHITE CHERRY THAT HAS A MUCH HIGHER SUGAR CONTENT THAN MOST RED VARIETIES. IT IS SURPRISINGLY GROWABLE IN MANY NORTHERN HOME GARDENS. NOT A PERFECT AS STORE BOUGHT FRUIT, YOU CAN BE ASSURED THAT YOUR OWN FRUIT WILL BE MORE ORGANIC.

I grow three types of cherry, but only our sour cherry Montmorency gave us fruit – sour cherries that are more flavorful for juice, pies and jam. Tougas Farm had a few rows of very nicely grown cherries for jams , tarts and fresh eating, and a dwarf ‘White
Gold, a white fleshed Rainier-type which are yellow with a red blush that I missed the picking day for, so there were only a few drops left.

THE FOUR ROWS IN THE MIDDLE ARE RECIPE’S FROM THE BLUE CHAIR COOKBOOK, WHITE CHERRY AND PEACH JAM WITH VANILLA, AND CLASSIC RED CHERRY JAM.

For me, cherries are a bit nostalgic, the flavor of cooked cherries, of smashing the pits gently on a granite stone outside to remove the little almond  (cherry?) flavored kernals found in each seed that give the preserves and jam that classic bitter almond flavor that many of us associate with cherries that have been cooked the ‘proper way’. Less tedious recipes allow you to add some almond extract.

DO consider cherries, but also, consider the labor which you might find hard, or, if you are like us, you may find the care, rather fun.
1. Choose proper varieties for your area.
2. Be sure to plant a pollinator, since they are not self fertile
3. Net the trees just after fruit set to ensure that the fruit is not consumed by birds ( they WILL eat them)
4. Keep the trees well watered with a drip hose in dry weather.
5. Prune in winter, to keep branches in balance for good bud set. I advise getting a book of pruning fruit trees ( can’t advise you on one yet, I need to go research some for myself!).

A BOWL OF HOME GROWN CHERRIES ARE THE PRIDE OF ANY BACKYARD GARDENER.

Also: Some very helpful information for growing home cherries.

A. CHERRY PITTER’S – You will need  a Cherry Pitter – The Oxo brand pitter is great, but a few pits will still sneak by, and one-by-one can be tedious when you have a bushel of fruit, so be careful since you can and will get lazy over time. Pitting cherries is fun in the same sort of way the shucking peas is fun, I don’t know why! For more aggressive cherry pitters, try some of these at THE SAUSAGE MAKER.

B. REFLECTIVE TARPS – A reflective waterproof tarp over the fruit as it matures to avoid rain cracks is the newst method used by both by commerical growers, and now some savvy home growers too. This is a great article to read, and then  you can plan ahead and order both safe bird netting ( netting that is NOT black, so that the birds can see it and not get caught in it) and some reflective tarps for the very top, to keep hail, and excess rain from damaging your grop.. This is a new way of growing cherries, and you will see the commercial growers do this. Rain cracks happen after heavy rains just before harvest, and your entire harvest can be ruined in one day. Sounds like alot of work, and it is, but it really only takes a few hours to set the net up in the spring, and you are done.

When picking, plan on what you want to make with your cherries beforehand, since pitted cherries will spoil in a few hours, they will turn brown and smell like an apple core within two hours after being pitted.

Cherries are worth growing, and a value if you consider the
cost of fresh cherries at local farms or in the market.  If you live in an area where cherries
really thrive, such as upstate New York, Michigan or northern California,
Oregon or Washington, Cherry culture should be a snap, but even in New England,
Ohio, Pennsylvania and Kansas, Cherries can be a productive and fun crop to
grow.

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SEASONAL LOCAL VARIETIES OF STRAWBERRIES ARE READY TO PICK. EVEN WITH DAMAGE FROM THE RAIN, HAIL AND MICE, THESE TENDER, FRAGRANT AND SWEET VARIETIES ARE FAR BETTER THAN ANY COMMERICIAL BRAND FOUND IN A PLASTIC CLAMSHELL.

NATIVE STRAWBERRIES ARE DIFFERENT THAN STORE BOUGHT VARIETIES, WHICH ARE BRED TO BE RESISTANT TO BRUISES, AND CAN HANDLE LONG SHIPPING WELL. LOCAL BERRIES ARE EXTREMELY FRAGILE, BUT OH SO MUCH MORE FLAVORFUL.

 I can’t help but to associate June with strawberries. For this is the month for the world’s most popular berry. It doesn’t matter if you are in Germany, Switzerland, Seattle, Tokyo or New York – this month is THE season. You may prefer those Driscoll branded varieties, that are bred to retail intense flavor but even they don’t compare to the intense fragrance of garden-grown sweet strawberries. Many people don’e realize that that there are nearly a hundred varieties of strawberries, and like tomatoes, those found in markets are bred for color, shelflife and firmness. Garden varieties are extremely tender, and bruise too easily, but their flavor is incredible. Intensely strayberry-ish,  juicy and sweet, full of rainwater and sunshine.

AT THIS TIME OF YEAR, BERRIES HAVE SO MUCH WATER IN THEM, THAT JUST SUGAR IS ADDED. BOIL UNTIL FOAM BEGINS TO FORM. THE ENTIRE KITCHEN WILL SMELL LIKE A CANDY FACTORY!

PREPARE IN SMALL BATCHES USING NO MORE THAN 4 LBS OF FRUIT AT A TIME. NEVER LET THE TEMPERATURE OF THE PRESERVES RISE HIGHER THAN 220 DEG. F, OR IT WILL SET TOO TIGHTLY. (I LEARNED THE HARD WAY!).

 I have many fond memories of picking strawberries with my parents. We grew a few rows in the gardens, and the rest were picked a local farms which my mom would freeze for later use, or to make jam with. If you remember back in December, I decided that this year I would start making jams and jellies again, as well as pickles. I miss the smells in the kitchen, and the entire process. It’s a little funny to think that I have about 20 years experience as being an apprentice to my mother as she made pickles, james and jellies in many, many flavors, from currant to sour cherry, and wild concord grapes. Each fruit marks a season for me, with its scent, flavor or the entire process of picking them.

STERILIZED WECK JARS  FROM GERMANY ARE READY FOR FILLING. I STERILIZE THEM IN THE OVEN. WECK JARS ARE BEAUTIFULY DESIGNED, BUT PROBLEMATIC FOR MORE MORE SERIOUS CANNING, SUCH AS FOR BEANS, MUSHROOMS, MEATS, BUT FOR ANYTHING REQUIRING A HOT WATER BATH OR FOR PICKES, JAMS AND JELLIES, THEY MAKE THE RESULTING PRODUCT LOOK SO MUCH NICER. THERE IS NO JAR MORE ATTRACTIVE THAN A WECK, I THINK.

IT TAKES ABOUT AN HOUR FOR THIS PECTIN-FREE RECIPE TO REDUCE. ONLY 3 INGREDIENTS, BERRIES, LEMON JUICE AND CANE SUGAR. THE TRICK, IS TO USE THE RIGHT POT, SUCH AS THE WIDE COPPER CONFITURE PAN FROM MAUVIEL.  THE WIDE SURFACE ALLOWS FOR A FAST REDUCTION. IT’S A BIT OF AN INVESTMENT, BUT A NICE ADDITION FOR ANY KITCHEN.

FRESH STRAWBERRY JAM IS SUMMER IN A JAR, WHEN EATEN IN THE MIDDLE OF WINTER

Why not take your family and pick some strawberries or blueberries at a local farm this year.  Enjoy your Saturday or Sunday making some fresh Jam ( I suggest that you get the the Blue Chair Jam Cookbook by Rachel Saunders, it’s just about the best jam cookbook I have ever read, besides being a beautiful addition to any library). Get the proper equipment, since there is really no room for experimenting or taking corners when it comes to home processing or jam making, but the results are incredible, and with a good jar of White Cherry Peach Jam going for around $14. at your local Whole Foods, why not make some yourself at less than half the price!

NEXT WEEK, IT’S CHERRY SEASON!!!

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Petit Gris de Rennes Melons planted in a mesh bag in the greenhouse. These will have to be thinned to three or four vines per bag. I plan on allowing the vines to wander over the mesh shelving (once the succulent collection is moved outdoors!).

This is about using wasted space (OK, and it’s a little about growing tasty garden-fresh melons!). When I was a kid, I used to exhibit vegetables and flowers at the local Horticultural society summer exhibitions, and I can remember an elderly couple who at the time, seemed to grow every dry bean and giant onion variety, winning all of the ribbons. One year they exhibited a large table of melons – all sorts, and watermelons in every color, pink, lime, golden yellow, red, all cut in half with pretty back specs of seeds, presented on white, rectangular exhibition plates. My mouth would water, and I dreamed of someday growing my own rainbow of fruit flavors. Maybe it was my inner Brony coming out, but I never forgot that amazing display of melons. One day at an awards banquet, I told them about how I admired their entries. The woman told me that they grew their melons in an old wooden greenhouse, and that they sowed the seeds after their tomato plants and geraniums were all planted. “the vine grew all over the benches, and they never had to weed!” she said, “they just took care of themselves because the rain would fall in through the broken glass”.

I don’t know why I have waited so long to try this.

My greenhouse is full many collections of plants, but most are either summer dormant, or they are ornamental potted plants, or trees and shrubs grown in large tubs, that are dragged outdoors for the summer. What I am left with is a greenhouse that is about 80% empty space, every square foot unused. It is hot, dry, and basically, unused until late summer when I start the bulb cycle growing again. So I began thinking….what if I grew something that was a little more practical ( and sustainable) than tender rare orchids or summer-blooming gesneriads that have fuzzy leaves that hate the rain? After all, ten years ago, this entire side of the property was a high-producing vegetable garden, all of which has been reduced down to 6 raised beds. I miss the volumes of fresh vegetables, and the 60 foot rows of beans, ( I don’t miss weeding them, however!).

The answer, I think, is to use space wisely, and the greenhouse is a place where I can plant crops that might enjoy the extra summer heat ( it can reach 100 – 110 degrees F. on a typical day without the fans on. So I am going to try melons, bottle gourds and some Japanese cucumbers. A few years ago a squirrel chewed a hole in an old birdhouse gourds that I had storred under a bench for the summer, and the vine grew into a giant with at least 6 large gourds on it, so I think they can handle the heat. I will need to pollinate the flowers since I feel that most of our bees will not make it in through the roof vents, but it’s worth trying.

This is not a new idea, for in a rare book that I purchased a month ago about month-by-month gardening which was written in 1806, the author speaks about the many greenhouse melons that he was growing in his glasshouse, which was in Philadelphia. In the 1800’s. most greenhouses in America were used for what they called ‘Pine Apples’, and for table grapes, cucumbers and melons. I was so surprised to have read this, for the greenhouse was still a new invention. Surely, I, in the year 2011 more than 200 years later, should be able to manage this!

I ordered 10 extra large fiber mesh gro bags, a few bales of soiless professional potting mix, and ten packets of heirloom melons. The heirloom varieties include the fancy market melons one sees in the south of France in the summer markets, the striped orange-fleshed Noir de Carmes, and Petit Gris de Rennes, another French variety from the 1800’s. A few modern varieties sounded interesting, a mini watermelon with yellow and pinkish flesh named Sorbet Swirl, and some bottle gourds. A few varieties of Galia melons that are popular in Europe and the Middle East, and  a classic Chanterais.

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