Messybun’s Small starts big dreams

messybun

True BYH Addict
Joined
May 4, 2019
Messages
550
Reaction score
1,174
Points
228
Hey, your apple harvest is about like mine this year.
From 7 trees we picked half of a 5 gallon bucket. They were all horse quality, which means I don't feed my horses beautiful apples, haha. There would have been more but the helpful cow moose and her two yearlings knocked a bunch off before they were ripe.

Yours are crabapples aren't they? I think they're supposed to be sour....

ACV making was on my radar this year. It'll have to happen next year I guess.
Oh no! Silly cows. Slacking trees aren’t they?
Unfortunately, no. It is a Gala apple tree. Or at least Gala is what we bought.
I actually make it from the peels and cores usually. Whenever I make apple sauce or apple butter I usually end up making a batch of acv from the scraps.
The way I’ve figured out how to do it easily is I take the peels and cores (I usually try to pick some of the seeds out because of cyanide) and place them in a clean mason jar. Cover with purified water (super important, especially because we have an insane amount of clorine) then add a capful of braggs apple cider vinegar with mother. Any mother laden acv should work, but braggs is a proven strain. I put a paper towel with a rubber band for the lid. If the apples float out use a rock or some weight to keep them under the liquid; if not it will ruin the vinegar. After the liquid gets brown and bubbly you can decide on how strong you want it. Keep in mind it is easier to dilute, so I’ve left it until there was a “rolling boil” and just diluted. After it is the strength you want strain the apples out and throw them away. Close jar and put in fridge to slow the bacteria down or it will keep getting stronger.
 

thistlebloom

Herd Master
Joined
Nov 18, 2019
Messages
2,037
Reaction score
7,612
Points
383
Location
Idaho panhandle 48th parallel
It is a Gala apple tree. Or at least Gala is what we bought.

Call me crazy but those look nothing like Gala, unless that is a 20 gallon glass bowl you're using. 🤣

I think you got a mislabeled tree. Kind of a bummer considering the time it takes to grow a tree to production age.
Thanks for the ACV tips. I really want to accomplish that with my apples next year.
Oh and it was a MOOSE cow and her offspring that vandalized our trees. Dang wildlife! ;)
 

misfitmorgan

Herd Master
Joined
Feb 26, 2016
Messages
3,726
Reaction score
6,995
Points
423
Location
Northern Lower Michigan
I have to agree I think you got a mislabeled tree.

Our apple trees did very well this year, Estimated yield is around a ton of apples but its hard to estimate since all the livestock eat them. From what we saw there was about a ton plus there is still probly a couple hundred pounds in the trees. Mind was from about 11 trees in the orchard. We have a few others and one very old variety of some kind that only produces every other year.

Hopefully everyones apples do better next year!
 

frustratedearthmother

Herd Master
Joined
May 7, 2013
Messages
7,972
Reaction score
14,368
Points
623
I've been interested in this apple conundrum and started looking around. Turns out that there are trees that produce "baby apples" and they come in several of the common apple varieties like Gala, Fuji, Granny Smith and more. Who knew? :idunno

 

misfitmorgan

Herd Master
Joined
Feb 26, 2016
Messages
3,726
Reaction score
6,995
Points
423
Location
Northern Lower Michigan
I've been interested in this apple conundrum and started looking around. Turns out that there are trees that produce "baby apples" and they come in several of the common apple varieties like Gala, Fuji, Granny Smith and more. Who knew? :idunno

That's crazy!
 

Baymule

Herd Master
Joined
Aug 22, 2010
Messages
33,089
Reaction score
98,639
Points
873
Location
East Texas
Why raise a mini apple? It must be nice to buy a place with an apple orchard on it. In Texas we get excited if we can get an apple tree to grow and bear fruit. There have some varieties developed for Texas heat......they send the seedlings to survival school to brave the elements. Heat, hot, scorcher, drought, rain, hurricanes, tornadoes, heat, lack of winter, 9 degrees at night 80 degrees by noon, more heat....... y'all get the picture.
 

messybun

True BYH Addict
Joined
May 4, 2019
Messages
550
Reaction score
1,174
Points
228
Why raise a mini apple? It must be nice to buy a place with an apple orchard on it. In Texas we get excited if we can get an apple tree to grow and bear fruit. There have some varieties developed for Texas heat......they send the seedlings to survival school to brave the elements. Heat, hot, scorcher, drought, rain, hurricanes, tornadoes, heat, lack of winter, 9 degrees at night 80 degrees by noon, more heat....... y'all get the picture.
Unfortunately I don’t get why you’d raise a mini apple either. We didn’t have fruit trees on property when we got here, so it has been about six years of waiting just to get tiny apples. Hopefully next year they’ll be bigger and sweeter.
Hey, but pecans tend to do really well out there, don’t they?
 

frustratedearthmother

Herd Master
Joined
May 7, 2013
Messages
7,972
Reaction score
14,368
Points
623
I have a feeling that some folks ended up with the mini apples accidentally. With the mini's having the same names as their larger cultivar cousins it would be a simple mistake to miss the word "mini" or think that it was in reference to tree size and not fruit size.
 
Top