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APPLES

The apple tree is easy to grow, deciduous, perennial tree that grows in all temperate areas. Many apples are grown to eat as fresh fruit, others for baking, and others for preservation.

There are more than 7,500 known cultivars of apples!

An apple tree may very well provide between 75 and perhaps more than 125 pounds of apples per year! Average price of fresh apples are $1.62 per pound.

Apple trees can grow from 10 to 30 feet tall and almost as wide. They are relatively fast-growing, but development is diminishing with age.

Apple trees may enjoy living for 100 years or more!

How To Grow Apples Overview

There are plenty of types of apples to grow at home. Evaluate your zone first and the number of cooling hours. Next, envision the area in which you have tolerant an apple tree. Next, decide whether you want to harvest the fruit and whether you plan the fruit to pick early, mid-season, or late. Select two apples out of the same pollination group to yield the best crop.

Find a planting site in full sunlight, shielded from the predominant winds or strong breezes.
Dig a hole half as deep and twice as large as the roots of the apple tree.
Use well-rotted compost or manure in the soil and apply a cup of all-purpose fertilizer to the bottom of the hole.
Place a stake in the tree before planting. Place the stake through the soil on the side of the hole at least 2 feet on the ground.
Place the tree in the hole. The soil mark on the trunk should match the height of the surrounding ground.
Cut the twine and burlap wrapped roots and then the branches.
Extend out the roots in all directions.
Re-fill the remaining hole with half the natural soil and half the aged manure or retail organic planting mixture; secure in the soil, ensuring that there are no air gaps between the roots.
Water in the soil and create a small soil reservoir all around the trunk to retain water at watering time.
Secure the tree with tree ties close to the stake.
After planting, deeply water a growing apple tree and fertilize with a high phosphorous liquid starter fertilizer.

Apple Nutrition Information

Sliced Raw Apple, 1 cup (125 grams)

Name	Amount	Unit

Water

94.1

Protein

0.286

Total lipid (fat)

0.187

Carbohydrate

15.2

Fiber, total dietary

2.64

Sugars

11.4

Vitamin C

5.06

Choline

3.74

Name	Amount	Unit

Calcium, Ca

6.6

Magnesium, Mg

5.5

Phosphorus, P

12.1

Potassium, K

118

Sodium, Na

1.1

Energy

57.2

kcal

Carotene, beta

29.7

µg

Zinc, Zn

0.044

Iron, Fe

0.132

source

Garden Vegetables & Fruits Plant Preferences Profile

Specific Plant Growing Requirements and Information

Common Name

Brussels Sprout

Plant Type

Tree

Sun Exposure

Full Sun

Time Till Harvest

Dwarf cultivars begin to bear fruit in one to three years.
Standard cultivars begin to fruit in five to ten years

Scientific Name

Malus domestica

Full Grown Size

6 to 15 Feet (Depends on variety of apple tree)

Soil Type

Fertile sandy soil or soil that contains clay. Apples grow best in a neutral soil pH of 6.0 to 7.0.

Hardiness Zones

Grows all temperate zones

Apple Trees Detailed Growing Information

Growing Apples From Seeds

Many apples quickly grow from seeds. Rather than for other perennial crops, though, apples must be propagated asexually by grafting to acquire the parent’s sweetness and other attractive properties. That is because seedling apples are an example of “strong heterozygotes,” in that they are radically different from their parents rather than inheriting genes from their ancestors to produce a new apple with maternal traits, maybe to cope with the many pests.

Triploid cultivars provide an external reproductive obstacle, as three sets of chromosomes can not be equally distributed through meiosis, resulting in uneven chromosome division (aneuploids). Although if a triploid plant can develop a seed (e.g., apples), it is uncommon, and seedlings never grow.

Ideal Soil for Apple Trees

Apples will grow well in loamy, well-drained soils, even though they thrive in more sandy soils or soils with some clay.

Apple trees will grow best in a neutral soil pH of 6.0 to 7.0.

Sunlight Preferences of Apple Trees

Apples are better grown in full sunlight. An apple tree placed in limited sunshine does not yield as many apples as an apple tree planted in full sun.

Pollination of Apple Trees

Apples are self-incompatible. They must be cross-pollinated to grow apples. During the growing season, apple growers sometimes use pollinators to deliver pollen. Honey Bees are the most widely used species. Orchard Mason Bees are also used as secondary pollinators in agricultural apple orchards. Bumblebee queens are often found in orchards, but typically not in large numbers to be significant pollinators.

Apple Tree Yields

Cultivars differ in yield and the overall size of the fruit, often though raised on the same rootstock. Some varieties, if left unpruned, develop very large, allowing them to produce more apples, but actually make harvesting more difficult.

Based on the tree density (number of trees planted per area), mature trees usually bear 90–440 lb (40–200 kg) of apples each year. At the same time, productivity can be close to zero in the hard years.

Trees grafted on dwarf rootstock produce around 20–180 lb (10–80 kg) of fruit each year.

How to Harvest Apples

Apples are picked using three-point ladders built to fit between the limbs.

Homemade apple crisp with homegrown apples

Print Recipe

Spicy Apple Crisp

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time1 hr

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: apple crisp, apple pie, baking apples, fall dessert, homegrown apples

Servings: 8 People

Author: Heidi

Ingredients

6 to 8 baking apples A crisp and tart variety that works best for baking, such as Granny Smith or Honeycrisp. Golden Delicious is another option.
1 cup flour
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
3/4 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 peel of one lemon
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Instructions

Peel, quarter and core baking apples.
Cut apple quarters into thin slices and place them in a bowl.
Blend nutmeg and cinnamon then sprinkle over apples.
Sprinkle with lemon rind.
Add lemon juice and toss to blend.
Arrange slices in a large baking dish.
Make the mixture of sugar, flour, and butter in a mixing bowl then put over apples, smoothing it over.
Place the dish in the oven.
If the dish is full, put a cookie sheet under the apple crisp to catch any boil over.
Bake at 370° for 60 minutes, until browned and apples are tender.

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