It’s a rainbow tree. Wickson, golden russet and macoun apples (left to right) hang from the same tree at Farnum Hill Ciders, where workers grafted them for fun. “It’s a goofy thing we did for show,” says cidermaker Steve Wood. “It shows you can put as many varieties on a tree as you like.” /Photo by Brenda Bailey courtesy of Farnum Hill Ciders
1. The seeds of an apple don’t produce that kind of apple. That’s right – plant a Granny Smith, you don’t get a Granny Smith. You get a new genetic variety. Each and every time.
2. To get a particular variety of apple, a farmer grafts buds or shoots of the desired apples onto another tree.
3. You know an apple is ripe by its seeds. If they’re brown, tan or purple, the apple’s ready. If the seeds are white or ivory, it’s not.
4. Some of the best cider apples are some of the worst eating apples. Apples grown for cider fall into four categories: sweets (high sugar), sharps (high acids), bittersweet (high tannins and sugar) and bittersharp (high tannins and acid). These qualities mean they ferment well, but often make them too sour/too bitter/too astringent to eat.
Compiled from source interviews, www.ciderweekny.com
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Thanks for this info! I had to send this to my husband. Sometimes I’ll find folded up pieces of paper towel containing seeds for a peach tree or tomato plants or the latest, “our Macintosh tree,” that my Beloved plans to plant in the backyard. Little did he know, he wouldn’t get a single Mac if he’d planted those seeds this autumn…
Stacey, first, very very cute that he collects seeds. I was also very surprised by this. The exact phrase used by orchardists is that apples don’t “come true to seed.” It’s not like if you plant a McIntosh seed you’ll get a golden delicious, as far as I understand. But you will get something that is genetically different from the seed you planted. And that’s about as far as my understanding of biology goes.