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I find lots of wild apples in the woods here, most of which are sour crabapples, mostly only good for cider, jelly, etc., but now and then I stumble across something like what I found today: large, delicious apples, at the site of an old apple orchard that's returned to the wild. It pays to wander the forests sometimes, these apples have a wonderful, spicy flavor to them. These have some interesting red stripes on a light background which go right through into the flesh. Keep your eyes open in the woods, an excellent, free, source of fruit might be around the next corner. No chemicals on these apples either. This isn't the first time I've found nice eating apples hidden among old orchards full of cider apples.
Very cool! Those look like a Jonathan to me though it is probably an antique variety. Guerilla gardening is in my plans for forested areas and glens where the cows do not wander. It is not unusal to find such trees, be they apple or pear, in my area, where old farmsteads used to be but where the old farmhomes and barns have been long torn down. I know where there is a pear tree that must be about 150 years old. It has to be about 40' tall and it would take about four people with arms outstreached straight and hands joined to encircle her trunk.
I'm definately curious about this variety. It tastes different than any I've had. I thought it could be Northern Spy when I first saw them, but they're not.
There was also a yellow apple of some sort nearby, but they're still not entirely ripe yet (still tough though it was like eating sugar, very sweet) so I'm waiting before I try to sort that one out. This was an apple orchard on a farm from about 230 years ago up to the first decade of the 20th century.
Lots of blackberries in the area too, and some wild grapes (but those grapes would need a lot of sugar or honey to be palatable). Wild strawberries show up early in the summer. Last month, I found beaked hazelnuts growing not a quarter mile from where that tree is, and the beechnuts fell from the trees recently. It's amazing what one finds in the wild. Most people never even think to eat a wild apple (there's an old wive's tale hereabouts that wild apples cause stomach aches, which they definately don't if picked from the tree and washed with water), only the blackberries and blueberries really get much attention. Until winter hits, the forests here are often better stocked than the local grocery store as far as fresh fruits and nuts go.
Finding and old apple orchard is incredible fun. I wish there were some to find in and around North Texas.
I found on in the 1960's along Route 1 in SE PA closer to Trenton NJ, There were a number of antique varieties and hidden in and overgrown forest with remains of some old stone buildings. THe forest that had grown up around the trees appeared to be about 50 or more years old.
Quite likely soldiers marched along this area during the Revolutionary War, since it was one of the original roads folling and Indian Footpath
Some were yellow and very large, I have never seen larger since, others were different colors and patterns. One of the things that amazed me is how long they had lived, a few had fallen over and had over two hundred rings in the trunks.
What also suprised me is just how few the worms were. May dad had planted some in the early 40's they were not taken care of in land we did not own but had access to the 70's and were just chock full of so many worms we had no interest in eating them. They only thing they were good for was the new owners feeding them to horses.
Here in Texas only a Peach tree is found from time to time and they tend not to live very long.
I found a more modern orchard on Forest Company Land in Wa state in the early 80's. I wondered if the really old apple trees in the NE were more durable and hardy?
Very cool! Those look like a Jonathan to me though it is probably an antique variety. Guerilla gardening is in my plans for forested areas and glens where the cows do not wander. It is not unusal to find such trees, be they apple or pear, in my area, where old farmsteads used to be but where the old farmhomes and barns have been long torn down. I know where there is a pear tree that must be about 150 years old. It has to be about 40' tall and it would take about four people with arms outstreached straight and hands joined to encircle her trunk.
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Finding and Apple Orchard
