I’m having a good crop this year and starting to collect drops from my Macs. Last year the crop was pitiful so I pruned hard and fertilized, now ready to reap the benefits. Probably start pressing in a few weeks
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My honey crisp tree has apples… The Haralson and state fair haven’t any…
Honey crisp are so tasty, I will be happy to not have to buy apples for eating from a store.
Sneezles61
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Did you have a good crop last year?
Yes… The Haralsons were very tart… More for pies and such… State fair apples had a pear like flavor to it…
This winter, the State Fair tree will lose an arm… A wye about 5’ up… One branch runs right into the honey crisp… I don’t want too, but it should be better for both trees…
Sneezles61
My trees are close but I try to keep the branches from touching other trees. A kind of social distancing for trees. Keeps disease from one a little less likely to infect the other
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Years ago when I planted them I wasn’t as knowing as I is now… 
…
I’ve room for more… My only problem is the 80’ tall trees all around us… Not as much sunshine but they and our garden thrive…
Sneezles61
I love my orchard. I’m planning another one. You plant an orchard for future generations
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My Honeycrisp only crops every 3 years. Fortunately it’s an on year. Last time in 2017 worms ate all of them. This year I sprayed like mad and they are looking great! Also have a few Sweet 16 apples but they are very small for some reason. All just eaters. I don’t know if I will juice any this year.
I have a Golden delicious that hasn’t produced in years and alot of the leaves fell off last season. I was going to give up on it and cut it down but was told to shock the heck out of it by really cutting it back. It’s also producing nicely this year
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I suspect Dave, you had a very dry early growing season such as us… Our honey crisps are quite small… Couple years ago, they’d gave a softball a run for its money…
Anyways… Deer eating the low hanging fruit… Crows eating the top of the crop… I do grab one everyday to eat… They are very close to mature…
Sneezles61
Actually we had a wet spring/early summer. Only now in late summer is it very dry weather. My Honeycrisps are still weeks away from ripeness. A couple have fallen off due to dog activity knocking them down, I bit into them and they are very tart and starchy yet. I imagine they could still double in size before full ripeness. THey are mostly green yet as well. My climate by Lake Michigan is very cold so the season is always “late” compared to everybody else. In 2014 or 2015 they were huge like softballs like you say. And boy were they tasty!
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… it’s been very windy… Lost some branches on the honey crisp tree… Well, we’ve fresh eating apples… Ready or not… There are a few more very droopy branches…
hhhhmmmm… I’ll blame it on the crows… Yeah, that’s it… Sitting way up there, eating a bite out of apples towards the top… Weighing them down until… CRACK!!! Down comes a branch… ggggrrrr…
Sneezles61
What’s everyone’s favorite apple or apple blend to make cider from? My cider guy is willing to press about anything I come up with. He is an apple nerd and grows many varieties including some very old ones.
I haven’t been able to source any and I’m laying out another orchard and wanted to try some old English heritage cider apples like pippens but haven’t tried them yet. I like to blend in some wild apples that gro around here that are tart. I’ve looked at some old maps of my neighborhood and see back in the 1800s there was orchard and mill here so I figured those would qualify as heritage
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My input… Try the K-1116 yeast… Very good apple flavor and smooth… Ale yeast is good… BUT…
Sneezles61
Will do!
apple season is here again and looks like a bumper crop this year. Been picken macs already. We had an early spring and no frost. Going to do Cidre de Glase this year
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We had apples on out Haralson last year… and the same again this year… what gives?
On a sad note, my honeycrisp died… I do have an espalier rescue still alive… next year if it comes back, I’ll have faith it took to its new home!
Sneezles61
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I just bit into a green Honeycrisp and it was already sweet and delicious, though still somewhat starchy (certainly not ripe yet). My Sweet 16 on the other hand, the apples are VERY tart and hard yet. All are small and need more time to get to size and full ripeness. But expecting a huge crop.
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i’ll start crushing macs tomorrow. I dont have a way to store them since there are so many. This season im going to try fermenting the different kinds seperately and blend when I bottle, anyone do this. I have bearing right now 4 types of apples plus 2 wild trees I use in a small amount not sure how to treat those
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