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GENERAL GARDENING

6 Tips For Growing Organic Apples At Home

If you love organic apples, and if you live on the East Coast, you sure have noticed that most of these organic apples come from faraway Washington state, or some another country. This is because higher humidity levels and more insects and pests in the east of Mississippi make it harder to prevent diseases when people are growing organic apples. An expert from the Rodale Institue, Jim Travis, PhD, professor of plant pathology at the Pennsylvania State University says that by picking the right trees and maintaining them, we can grow organic apples in our backyards or even in the easternmost states.Travis says that this part of the country may one day be the best place to grow apples in. 

“We live in a lush environment with beneficial insects  and organisms that could help us grow organic apples here even better,” he says. “Someday, it may actually shift, and the East Coast may be the best place for organic.” 

One of Travis’s students is currently working to develop a beneficial bacteria and fungi solution that will attack apple scap.

But even without these advancements, there are steps you can take to grow delicious, organic apples in your backyard, without spraying your trees.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT TREE

If you’re ready to plant a single tree or start a small orchard in your backyard,  make sure you plant a dwarfing rootstock so you don’t wind up with an unmanageable 40-foot tree. For a tree that will grow 6 to 7 feet tall, look for B-9 or M-9 on the label; M-26 indicates the tree will grow to about 12 feet; and M-7 could reach 15 feet.

Plant trees that naturally resist disease include: Crimson Crisp and Crimson Topaz (good for fresh-apple eating), Gold Rush (good for baking pies and drying), and Enterprise (good for baking). “They are naturally selected in breeding process, and you get a percentage of good apples, no matter what you do,” says Travis.

Plant Soon—Or Wait Until Spring

Look to plant your tree in October or hold off until next April or May. It is important to avoid chemical fertilizers, and instead spread about an inch or less of compost in a three- or four-foot radius around the tree in the spring. If you’re planting this fall, put a metal cage around the tree so rabbits won’t come near it and eat it.

Prune Precisely

“Keep the trees pruned so you get sunlight throughout the interior of the tree. It helps keep the tree dry,” explains Don Jantzi, a veteran organic orchard manager at the Rodale Institute. “After rainfall, the more sunlight, the more quickly it dries out. Good air drainage means less fungus growth throughout the tree.”

January and February are the best months to prune apple trees; just don’t ever prune in the fall. You should first remove the broken and dead branches and then move on to remove any branch that is crossing and rubbing on another one. “You want as many branches as possible growing horizontally, rather than upward,” says Jantzi.

Be Patient

It takes 3 years to get fruit production, but to maximize your tree’s apple output later, pull all fruit and flowers off the tree the first two years. Even when your tree is in full production mode, in midsummer, yank off apples that look blemished or look like they’re home to worms. Keeping 6 to 8 inches of space between each piece of fruit is key to reducing disease when you’re growing organic apples.

Meet For Fruit Talk

“There are new varieties coming out all the time, making it fun,” says Jantzi. “Small groups meet and share experiences and tips. It helps everyone. Latch onto a backyard fruit-growers group in your area. Now’s the time to gather, share ideas, and learn.”

Don’t Look For False Perfection

“An apple with a few scars on the outside still makes a good pie and a good sauce. A perfect fruit is really the problem. Learn to deal with a few blemishes. Cut out worms and discard,” says Travis.

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