Growing Green
with Extension Educator Robin Trott

Apples

Apples have been number one on everyone's list this week. How and when to prune, what varieties to buy and, inevitably, what can I do about the WORMS!!!

If you haven't pruned already...TOO LATE!! Fruit trees should be prunedwhile dormant in February and March. Once they have broken dormancy, conditions are
right for disease and fungal infection to take hold.
UMN has developed many varieties that do very well here.
Bag those apples!!!

The most popular apple that UMN has developed is the Honeycrisp, but there are two new varieties that are worth a second look. The Zestar!, a sweet-tart apple ripens earlier than the Honeycrisp (late August - early September) and is a perfect start to the apple season. It keeps for 2-2 ½ months with refrigeration and is terrifically cold hardy. The Zestar! is excellent for fresh eating and cooking, and is somewhat resistant to fire blight.

The Snowsweet is the 24th variety introduced by UMN, and is a hybrid cross between the Sharon and the Connell Red. It has a sweet, almost buttery taste, and is slow to oxidize when its flesh is exposed to air. It has a fine, firm, crisp texture and is cold hardy to zone 4a. It ripens 2 weeks later than the Honecrisp, and is resistant to Apple Scab and Fire Blight. Storage Life for the Snowsweet is 1 ½-2 months refrigerated, and it is excellent for fresh eating, salads and sauces.

For more information about UMN apple varieties, log on to www.apples.umn.edu .

The apple bagging technique eliminates the need to continually spray apples to control apple maggot fly. Bagging apples takes a little work early in the season, but helps to ensure a healthy crop. To bag your apples, follow these easy steps:

Before bagging, gardeners should apply an insecticide for control of plum curculio and codling moth at the petal fall stage and again two weeks later.

When the fruit is ½"-3/4" diameter, clip all but 1 fruit per cluster.
Place a plastic sandwich bag around the remaining fruit and secure withtape, twist tie or zip lock. (Keep leaves out of the bag, as they will rot.)
Leave the bags on the apples until ready to harvest.
If done before July 1st, this method will protect your apples from apple maggot flylarvae infestation. One weekend of work in the early growing season eliminates theexpense and repeated application of fruit tree spray. Only bag those apples you want
to harvest and pick larger, high quality apples.

If you would like more information about bagging apples, please call me at 320-762-3890.

Until Next Time, Happy Gardening!

**********************************************************************

“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.” http://thinkexist.com/quotation/even_if_i_knew_that_tomorrow_the_world_would_go/150782

~Thomas Jefferson

Return to Robin Trott’s Garden Column Menu

Growing Green with Extension Educator Robin Trott

Apples

Growing Green
with Extension Educator Robin Trott