Gary and Maher planting hard cider specific apple trees
Tractor and auger for drilling the holes for trees
The saying goes, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, but
what it doesn't say is that those seeds will be completely different apple
trees. We are all similar but different from our parents no?
If you plant an apple seed it has all the genetic variation
of its forebears, meaning, the tree could be any combination of these genetics
and result in an apple quite unlike the tree it came from. To ensure the variety
of tree that we want, farmers use a technique called grafting. This is where
the scion (the desired bud wood) is cut and sealed onto a root stock. The scion
is the trees' mini me, a genetic copy that will grow into the same variety of
apple. The purpose of grafting this scion onto a different root stock (such as
Bud 9) serves two main purposes. Firstly, the root stock is often dwarfing,
which enables the spindle system of growing orchard trees close together.
Secondly, it often has improved disease resistance raising the bar for the
clones' successful establishment. So what's with the Johnny Appleseed folk
character? Why is he spreading seeds?
In Elementary school, I remembered some vague mention of
Johnny Appleseed. Looking back, the nursery-school version left out some
details. John Chapman born 1774, became an orchardist and nurseryman along the
Northeast; establishing apple trees that were used primarily for hard cider and
applejack (distilled apple ferment). Interestingly, orchards were one way to
mark land claims along the frontier at this time. Somewhat of a quirky
character, he was nomadic, religiously pious, but had wealth from his economic
business of establishing and selling hard cider orchards.[1]
The common apples we know today have been selectively bred
for sweetness, texture, and other qualities that appeal to consumers. Traditionally,
Crabapple trees and tart apples were more common. From the Middle Ages (dating
before this too), when lack of fresh clean water led to deaths from dysentery, people
drank hard (alcoholic) cider. Fermentation has always been a way for people to
survive through unfavorable seasons and scarcity. The preservation of food and
drink that enabled perseverance and social bonding became tradition in many
cultures. Britain, where tradition is staunch, still serves local hard cider at
every pub. My parents took a cider tour of Britain, because in their minds, when
they travel, they're still not off the clock. They wanted to get a business sense
of traditional hand-crafted cider. After meeting fellow hard cider farmers who
hosted and shared their knowledge they returned enthusiastic, repeating, "They're
our kind of people!"
The simplicity of cider ferment becomes more of a craft when
you want a replicable taste, smell, and quality to each brew. At home, you can
just add cider yeast and let your cider bubble. If it tastes right, then it's
right and if it's tastes off, then you might have cider vinegar. Here at the
farm, the planning has started. Gary and his crew planted new varieties of
apple trees that are hard cider specific, reaching back to the genetics of
Johnny Appleseed's time, such as, Cox Orange Pippin, Albaramaryle, Arkansas
Black, Newton Pippon, Harrison, Ashmeads Kernel, Yarlington Mill.
Some hard cider varieties we already grow because about half
of our customer base prefers the tart apples for eating and baking. Varieties
such as Gold Rush, Stayman, Winesap, and Crimson Crisp all make good hard
cider. Amy has been putting in weeks of paperwork and research to complete
every step that needs doing for a license to sell hard cider here at the farm.
And Gary has a couple of single vintage varieties brewing, as well as table
blends, spending days, weeks, months, perfecting and tweaking to create a
quality drink from tree to pint.
If you are interested in being the first to sample or learn
about when we launch our product there is a special email list that you can get
onto. Send a message with the subject HARD CIDER, with your interest to
manoffmarketgardens@gmail.com
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