Apple Day 2016

[Mesquite]

Just thought folks might like to know know about Apple Day.

It's an annual national awareness event celebrating Apples and all the good things that come from apples.

The actual celebration day is 21st October this year but there's a series of events throughout the country most weekends in October at orchards and gardens where you can go try various apples, some of which aren't commercially available, buy produce and speak to experts about growing apples as well as have them hopefully identify any apple trees you might have in your garden.

To find an event just google Apple day and your home county and there's usually a site that lists all the events happening in your county. This is a list for Hertfordshire and the wife and I are planning on going to at least one each weekend in October

 

[spandit]

That link says 2015... Ah, but it's October 21st regardless of what day of the week. Will see if there's anything near us. Thanks

 

[Robson Valley]

Heritage apple (and other fruit) orchards are very important as repositories from genetics which can never be created again. Thanks for the Hertfordshire link.
I have some foggy memory of learning that the biggest and most diverse heritage apple orchards are in England.

 

[Janne]

Some lovely apple varieties in England. I miss those!
Egremont Russet was one of my favourites.

 

[Robson Valley]

Spartan, Red Delicious, Granny Smith, McIntosh and Golden Delicious.
Those are the varieties that I've liked all my life.
Some of those are hard to find in stores now,
they aren't the glamorous, trendy, gotta-have apples of this day and time.

About the only heritage fruit that I can get are varieties of tomatoes.
One guy up the valley plants maybe 50-100 each year of the 300+ seed stocks that he holds.

Some places, we got lucky and found an abandoned apple tree or two.
Suggestive of some attempt at homesteading?

If I had preserved some flowers and leaves, then got some ripe apples, is there any resource for identification, anywhere?

 

[Janne]

Flowers and leaves are not easy to determine the sirt from. What is you take a few ripe apples and go to an old peoples home?
Old people might remember the old varieties.