Native Hunter 2023 Apples
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Native Hunter
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Today I noticed that a few of the fruits on Miller persimmon were starting to ripen. I tasted one of the dark orange ones, and it was indeed ripe.
This is about 25 days earlier than I remember the fruit ripening in past years. My best guess is that the drought we are in has hastened the ripening to some degree. Miller is a great early to mid season persimmon. It generally covers October well in my area.
This is about 25 days earlier than I remember the fruit ripening in past years. My best guess is that the drought we are in has hastened the ripening to some degree. Miller is a great early to mid season persimmon. It generally covers October well in my area.
Native Hunter
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Only a moderate size crop on 30-06 Crab. They seem a bit smaller this year, but they still have growing time. I have seen FB on this cultivar in past years but not severe. Looks pretty clean this year.
Native Hunter
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Deer Magnet persimmon still very green. Miller generally covers October well and Deer Magnet covers November well. Plus, I have lots of native persimmons. Some of them will drop through December and even longer.
Native Hunter
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Topworked a male persimmon to Prok two years ago. I have about 15 fruits this year. Still very green, and I really like the large size.
Native Hunter
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Miller Persimmon in a frost pocket where apples and pears mostly failed this year.
Native Hunter
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10-4 Lak. If I was going to plant any of those, I would plant one of the original Red Delicious that is known as Hawkeye. I've heard it is an excellent apple, and there are some nurseries that still sell it. Lot's of people don't realize it, but the Red Delicious apples that you buy in groceries come from "sports" off of the original variety. Over the years they have made the apple more beautiful in the eye of the beholder, but it was at the expense of changing the taste of the original variety.
Native Hunter
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Miller yesterday.
Native Hunter
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My first Prok persimmons. Looks like they will be October ripening for me. These are from a seedling Male I topworked to Prok two years ago.
Native Hunter
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I have an unusual persimmon story for you. Below is a tree that I have named The Blind Luck Persimmon.
This tree started out as a grafted tree, but in one of my not so smart moments, I backed over it with my truck. It broke off below the graft, and I was left with a rootstock stub. I sawed it off at the ground line and put the cage back up. My plan was to let it come back from the roots and topwork it in a few years.
It did indeed come back, but I quickly noticed that it started flowering early with female flowers. I then just let it grow to see what kind of fruit it would make without topworking. Bottom line is that it has ended up being one of the best young persimmon trees I have ever seen. It drops over a long period of time, the fruit is large, and the crops are heavy. This is the third year of bearing and it gets better each year. Yes, Blind Luck is nice.
This tree started out as a grafted tree, but in one of my not so smart moments, I backed over it with my truck. It broke off below the graft, and I was left with a rootstock stub. I sawed it off at the ground line and put the cage back up. My plan was to let it come back from the roots and topwork it in a few years.
It did indeed come back, but I quickly noticed that it started flowering early with female flowers. I then just let it grow to see what kind of fruit it would make without topworking. Bottom line is that it has ended up being one of the best young persimmon trees I have ever seen. It drops over a long period of time, the fruit is large, and the crops are heavy. This is the third year of bearing and it gets better each year. Yes, Blind Luck is nice.
Native Hunter
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I like the taste of Arkansas Black right off of the tree. I’ve read that they get even better in storage, so we will test that in December with the ones I have stored. This one on October 8 was tasty.
Blackberries aren’t just for spring. If you grow the right varieties you can also have fresh berries in the fall. New cultivars produce fruit on both the primocanes and floricanes. Pictures below taken on October 8.
Blackberries aren’t just for spring. If you grow the right varieties you can also have fresh berries in the fall. New cultivars produce fruit on both the primocanes and floricanes. Pictures below taken on October 8.
T-Max
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How do you store them? Do you have a root cellar? Cool corner in the basement? Microwave?
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Native Hunter
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How do you store them? Do you have a root cellar? Cool corner in the basement? Microwave?
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Microwave of course - lol you comedian.
Actually, I store apples in an extra fridge we keep in the basement. You can put them in a plastic storage bag, but don't zip the top closed. Apples will continue to produce a small amount of ethylene gas even when stored in a fridge, and you want that gas to escape into the fridge rather than stay enclosed in a bag. This is because that gas will cause the apples to rot. It would probably be best to not even put them in bags if you don't mind them rolling around everywhere.
You can store them in a cool basement too. Keep them in a cool dry place where they aren't touching each other. Some people also wrap each individual apple in newspaper when storing like this.
Keep in mind that some apples store much better than others. Arkansas Black is a great one for storage. I am also storing some Sundance for the first time this year, and it likewise has the reputation of being a good keeper in storage. Both of these should keep all winter easily. But even the varieties that don't store well should keep in the fridge for a few weeks.
Native Hunter
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I just use regular fridge temps and have good results. I don't grow Cosmic Crisp, but shown below is what I found. Those apples should do well in the fridge unless for some reason you aren't getting good air circulation and the ethylene gas is causing you a problem.
Regular fridge temps? Or do you go a little higher. Cosmic Crisp must be one that doesn’t store well. They don’t last in my fridge at all…
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"Whole, unwashed Cosmic Crisp apples will keep for several weeks when stored in the refrigerator’s crisper drawer. The apples will also keep in professional cold storage for up to one year." This is from: https://specialtyproduce.com/produce/Cosmic_Crisp_Apples_18554.php
"Cosmic Crisp® apples are best stored in your refrigerator to maintain freshness, flavor and texture. Stored properly, they will last longer than other varieties." This is from: https://cosmiccrisp.com/faq/
Keep in mind too that other fruits and vegetables also produce ethylene gas, so storing apples in close proximity to them can be an issue as well. Good luck.
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Native Hunter
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Apple crisp made out of Sundance. Heavenly…
I'm curious if it does so well because the ratio of below ground root mass to above ground tree is higher than normal, due to your "pruning".
Native Hunter
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I'm curious if it does so well because the ratio of below ground root mass to above ground tree is higher than normal, due to your "pruning".
You are a kind man to use the word "pruning."
That's a plausible theory, because we have all seen how the quality of the roots on trees we plant seem to make a lot of difference in how well the trees do in the early years. If that's the case here, everything should level out over time as the top catches up with the roots.
But, I will also say that persimmons as a whole just seem to be more reliable and less prone to fruiting problems than apples. I can't say that I've ever seen a female persimmon tree in good sunlight and good growing conditions that I would consider a bad producer. Some may be noticeably better than others, but none are bad. I certainly cannot say that about apples, because some varieties are so prone to diseases that they will never produce fruit in some areas of the country without spraying and special care.
With all that said, it will be interesting to watch this tree over the next few years. I noticed quite a bit of fruit still hanging on it a few weeks ago, and hopefully it will continue to do well - unless some dummy runs over it.........
