Where to buy early harvest apples

We will advise you on the best choices for the time of the great fall season and beyond. Holding its shape while baking through is important. Flavor is very important, of course. For eating out of hand there is no better way to decide which apple to take than to try a sample — every week. There are so many new varieties these days that you should not let an unfamiliar name keep you from trying it.

Apples are not necessarily helped or harmed by a light frost. If the apple is ready, it should be picked. Apples that freeze solid on the tree are a different story. Professional tree fruit growers have a few scientific tests at their disposal to help them decide when to pick apples.

Apple maturity can be tested in a laboratory for starch, firmness, soluble solids concentration, acidity, and background colour. For immediate consumer consumption, the presence of background color, starches in the range of 4. Growers who sell fresh apples at specialty markets are generally testing for flavour and colour, while growers who sell bulk apples for storage are more likely to test for starch or firmness.

Starch is tested by applying an iodine solution to the cut apple surface. The iodine turns the starch molecules a dark colour. The more starch that is observed, the less ripe the apple is.

See this article about apple maturity from PennState for a photo of what apples look like as they are tested for maturity using the starch-iodine test. To learn more about growing apples in general, check out this handy guide from North Carolina State University Extension. Also check out this article about how long it takes for apple trees in the average yard to start bearing fruit. Mary Jane is a home gardener who loves creating healthy, welcoming spaces indoors and out!

Lavender is a beautiful flowering plant known for its sweet floral fragrance. While there are many different types of lavender, English Lavender is the most fragrant of all. English Lavender Gardening can be a relaxing hobby, especially if you have the right tools for the job.

A bulb planter is one such garden tool that is worth having if you're planning on planting more than a handful Beneath each variety's description, you'll see that I've listed where you can order it. To keep the list uncluttered, I've used abbreviations. At the bottom of this post is a list of the sources I refer to, the codes I've used to identify them, and their websites. Introduced in , Akane is an excellent, sweet early apple. Like so many of the early varieties, it's not much of a keeper, but it's wonderful fresh, and dries nicely.

The fabulous website Orange Pippin is one of the best online resources for finding information about heritage apple varieties, and it describes American Summer Pearmain as an "excellent early eating apple, also good for cooking.

This is one of those varieties that has been known my many different monikers, including Sops of Wine, Sips n Wine, Bell's Favorite, and Hominy. It grows particularly well in the south, and while its exact origins are unclear it seems to be agreed that it's a fairly ancient English version that was used for both cider and fresh eating.

First described in , Bevan's favorite is an all-around winner. Known for its consistent good looks, fabulous flavor, and productivity, it's also categorized as juicy and crisp, but fine-grained. This one is definitely on my list for for adding to the home orchard!

Originating n North Carolina, sometime before , this apple is loved for both its cooking quality as well as eating fresh out of hand. One thing I liked about this variety is that it's supposed to do very well on a variety of soil types, and blooms a bit on the late side - which can be a benefit for ensuring a good crop in northern growing zones. It also bears over a period of several weeks, rather than all at once, like some early varieties. Dating to the mid's, Chanango Strawberry has an aromatic flavor profile that can be reminiscent of strawberries.

It's skin is on the tough side, but it's considered great for both fresh eating and cooking. Dating to the late 's, this apple was developed in Canada, and does great in the north. This is one of those cool varieties that has red veins running through the white flesh, which I always think is kind of beautiful. It's considered an outstanding sauce apple. Gala apples are a relative newcomer, developed in New Zealand in the 's. Now a grocery store staple, they're well-loved by almost everyone for their dense, fine-grained flesh with sweet, aromatic flavor.

Antother newcomer, Ginger Gold was developed in the s. For a golden apple, it's got both great fresh-eating flavor, but also resists browning more than many varieties. It's so popular and resilient that it makes a good commercial apple, and in the Virginia Extension Service is quoted as calling it "the best apple that we have evaluated that ripens before Gala".

I am nearly positive that the heavenly apple growing in our stone wall - the one that started my love affair with early apples - is a Gravenstein. This would make sense, since according to Fedco, Gravenstein was once the most popular summer apple in Maine. It's a very old apple of contested origin - I've read everything from Italy to Germany, Denmark, and Austria Probably the most famous of all summer apples and usually considered the best of all pie apples.

Greenish white with a slightly acid flavor profile. Greenish-yellow, blushed with red, it's a dry and very sweet apple that's great for both eating a cooking. One of the earliest of the early! This is the first apple that's commercially available at any of the heritage orchards near us, here in Maine.

Larger than the more commonly Yellow Transparent, these are larger, finer-grained, and keep better. Also frequently listed as "Liveland Raspberry" this variety originated in eastern Europe - both Lithuania and Russia are often listed as its birthplace. Fine-grained and juicy, with very white flesh, Lee Calhoun in his Old Southern Apples described it as so tender it's "almost like eating foam.

Mollie's Delicious is a newer cultivar, dating only back to the 's. Sheepnose ripens in August it has a pale lemmon yellow skin. It is a mild, subacid apple. It is an 's Virginia apple. Smokehouse ripens in September it has a red with green skin. It is an 's Pennsylvania apple. Spitzenberg ripens in it has a deep yellow with bright red striped skin. It is a slightly subacid apple. It is from New York before Stayman ripens in September it has a red skin. It is a mildly tart apple.

It is an Kansas apple. Stayman ripens in September through October it has a greenish-yellow mottled red and striped with Carmine skin. It is an aromatic subacid apple. It is a 's French apple. Sunday Sweet ripens in Winter it has a yellow skin. It is a very sweet apple. It is a mid 's Illinois apple.

Sweet Limbertwig ripens in September it has a yellow skin with dark red stripes. It is tender, juicy, and sweet apple.

It is an 's Tennessee apple. Sweet Paradise ripens in September it has a dull green or dull brownish-purple skin. It is an aromatic and sweet apple. It came from Pennsylvania in Sweet Winesap ripens in October to November and it has a yellow skin covered with bright red stripes.

It has a crisp, tender, and sweet flavor. It came from Pennsylvania in the 's. Sweeten ripens in June and has greenish yellow skin.

It is rich, pleasant sweet apple. It came from Pennsylvania, however, the date is unknown. Thin Skin ripens in September and October. It is an apple with a pleasing taste and it originated in South Carolina in Tolman Sweet ripens in late November early December.

The skin is yellowish-white and often has faint red blush. It is juicy and sweet. It originated in Massachusetts, however, the date is unknown.

VA Greening ripens in early October. The skin is green with an occasional red blush. Its flesh is yellow, coarse, and sweet.

The apple originated in Virginia in the 's. Victoria Limbertwig ripens in October. The skin is near purple with white dots. It has a rich, smooth flavor. The apple originated in the Cumberland Mountains. Virginia Beauty ripens in October. The skin is dark red. The apple originated in Virginia in about White Milan ripens late. The skin is light green with dots. It is a juicy, subacid apple. The apple originated in West Virginia before