May Update

Fri, 09 May 2008 17:16:24 GMT

Happy spring everyone! The past few months have been very busy for us. Not only did we prune the entire orchard, but also we recently planted new trees. Because we are always on the lookout for new and exciting types of apples (as well as traditional varieties that we don't have yet), most of these plantings represent varieties that are new for us. Here is a brief description of many of them:

Sansa: A Gala x Akane cross developed in Japan. Excellent dessert apple with good keeping quality. Ripens one week before Gala.
Wolf River: A traditional apple and a perennial favorite for pies. Very large in size.
Smokehouse: An old time apple welcomed in every home and a favorite for pies and sauces. Planted by the Amish of Pennsylvania for storage late into winter.

We also planted some top rated English cider apples that we will be using to make specialty ciders:

Foxwelp: Sharp tasting and one of the most famous English cider apples.
Kingston Black: A bitter-sharp apple. One of the best English single varietal ciders.
Harrys Masters' Jersey: A bitter-sweet apple that makes very good quality cider.

We took a number of pictures while we were pruning and planting. You can see them on our special spring 2008 update page. On our homepage you can also see a photo of the newest member of the Maine-ly Apples family, Jonas.