Harvesting Apples

Did you know apples are grown in all fifty states?  Did you know the pilgrims planted the first apple trees in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and the crabapple is the only apple native to North America?  Did you know apples were exported from America as early as 1768?  Did you know Pennsylvania produces only four per cent of those grown, Washington State is tops, with fifty-eight per cent?  Did you know the yearly, per capita apple consumption is twenty one pounds, compared with Europeans at forty-six?  Did you know apple picking season is under way?  Whether you are a backyard orchardist or will make a fun journey to pick your own, here is some information to help you pick quality apples.

In our region, some varieties, like the Yellow Transparent, ripen early, usually mid-July.  For the most part, the best selection starts around Labor Day through October.  It is important to know when a particular apple is generally ready to pick.  Most nursery catalogs and Extension guides can give you an idea, but yearly variations in weather, temperature, and sunlight make dates an estimate.  Mature fruit is different than ripe fruit.  Maturity means that the apple is finished developing.  Ripe means it is at its peak for flavor and texture.  We have all mistakenly bitten into a beautiful looking apple only to find it is green, hard, and sour.  For those who want to hold apples in storage, mature, but not fully ripe fruit is goal.  They will maintain their taste and texture better.  For eating, cooking, and baking, ripe fruit is best.  It is far from an exact science, but here are some tips to help guide your harvest:

Know the kind of apple.  Macintosh are ready earlier than a Red Delicious.  So be aware of the general harvest times.  Each variety of apple has specific characteristics, size, skin color, texture and taste.

Look at the skin color.  Immature apples are green.  If a specific apple by nature is mostly red, and still green, you know they aren’t ready.  Look at the ground color, which is the indented area by the stem.  The lighter yellow-green color, the chances are the apple is mature.  This does not work on all red apples.  Generally, and more so on later varieties, the seed coat will change to a dark brown.  Firm, but not hard flesh is another indicator of readiness.  There is a subjective test of taste.  When an apple is ready, there will be a pronounced fullness in flavor and sweetness.

Once an apple is ready, it still has to be picked and stored.  Most of all though, it has to be enjoyed.  For more information on picking and storing, the Penn State Master Gardeners in Lackawanna County have the publication packet “Harvesting Apples.”  Please contact us at 570-963-6842 or email: LackawannaMG@psu.edu and request a free copy.

Steve Ward
Master Gardener Coordinator
Penn State Extension - Lackawanna County

Pruning Peach Trees

The best time to prune peach trees is the middle of April. Pruning earlier, before bud swell, makes the tree susceptible to damage from the disease cystospora canker. A pruned peach tree is less susceptible to the disease brown rot. Brown rot is that brown fuzzy disease that grows on peach fruit as it ripens.

A peach tree should have 3 or 4 main limbs called scaffolds. The tree should have a bowl shaped appearance when pruning is complete. Prune annually to ensure uniform growth and fruit production. Always use sharp, clean pruners.

First, remove broken or diseased branches. Second, cut out vigorous upright shoots that developed on the inside of the main limbs. This is referred to as open center pruning. Finally, once the 3 or 4 main scaffolds have developed, allow secondary branches to develop off of the main scaffolds. Secondary branches should be spaced about 8” apart. Continue to keep upright shoots from developing on the inside of the scaffold limbs. As the tree matures, head back or cut off the ends of secondary branches to a side shoot so new fruiting wood is encouraged to develop. Remove all pruned wood and decayed fruit from around the tree.

For more information contact your local cooperative extension office. In Lackawanna County call 963-6842 and ask for the Garden Helpline or email LackawannaMG@psu.edu


John Esslinger, Extension Educator
Penn State Cooperative Extension
Penn State is committed to affirmative action, equal opportunity, and the diversity of its workforce.

Blueberries!

You’ve heard that blueberries are good for you, have you considered growing your own? It is not hard. Some of the varieties that have done well in our area are Patriot, Sunrise, Bluecrop, Bluejay, Chandler and Aurora. Blueberries are easy to grow if you do the proper soil preparation. Blueberries grow in soil with a pH of 4.5 to 5.0. It is advised to get a soil test a year before you plant. Adjust the soil pH a year before you plant. When planting, mix peat moss in with the soil (50/50 mixture) you are filling in around the plant. Place about 3” of mulch around each plant. Replenish the mulch each spring as needed. No fertilizer is needed the first year. Apply fertilizer each May starting the second year. Remove all blossoms the first year and half of the blossoms the second year. This allows the plant to establish itself.

When the plants are around 5 years old you will need to prune out the largest canes. A rule of thumb is to remove one large old cane for every 6 canes the plant contains. If the plant has 12 canes, prune out the two oldest. Prune in March or April.

Be prepared to protect the fruit from birds. Blueberries will turn blue before their flavor is fully developed. Be patient. Let the fruit fully ripen before harvest.

For more information contact your local cooperative extension office. In Lackawanna County call 963-6842 and ask for the Garden Helpline or email LackawannaMG@psu.edu



John Esslinger, Extension Educator
Penn State Cooperative Extension
Penn State is committed to affirmative action, equal opportunity, and the diversity of its workforce.

Pruning Fruit Trees

Late February and March are the best times to prune apple trees in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Prune peach trees in early April. Here are some basic rules that will help produce a healthy tree and quality apples.

•Remove all dead or diseased wood.
•Remove limbs that cross over and rub other limbs.
•Remove shoots that grow straight up.
•Remove low growing branches that will touch the ground when they bend with the weight of fruit.
•Reduce the density of the tree by removing shoots and branches at their base to open the tree up to allow sunlight and air movement in. The more light a branch gets the more fruit it will produce.
•Reduce the number of fruit spurs on spur type trees that have a history of setting too much fruit.
•Keep the top of the tree from overgrowing and overshadowing the lower branches. This can be accomplished by cutting the leader back to a smaller side shoot.

If you had fire blight in your tree last year, like I did, prune when the temperature is below 45 degrees to prevent spreading the blight. Remove the limb at least 8” below the infected area.

For more information contact your local cooperative extension office. In Lackawanna County call 963-6842 and ask for the Garden Helpline or email LackawannaMG@psu.edu


John Esslinger, Extension Educator
Penn State Cooperative Extension
Penn State is committed to affirmative action, equal opportunity, and the diversity of its workforce.

Vegetable Garden Update

Here are a few observations of what is happening in vegetable gardens this week.

• Harvest is finally in full swing, yeah!
• Late blight continues to spread to additional gardens. It is infecting more tomato plants than potato plants.
• Early blight and bacterial spot are abundant also.
• Downy Mildew has arrived. Downy will kill cucumbers and other vine crops.
• Powdery mildew is showing up on early planted summer squash. I expect to see it attack pumpkins and winter squash soon.
• Squash bugs are out in force on summer squash.
• You should have fall cole crops planted by now. You will need to check them for cabbage worms.
• You have time for a fall lettuce and spinach planting if you do it this week.
• If you have not harvested your onions, do it ASAP. Store them in a cool place.
• Be prepared to water. Because the soil has been wet all season, your plants do not have a deep root system so they are more susceptible to dry periods.
• Finally, keep the fruit picked. If fruit is allowed to stay on the plant beyond its usable stage, the plant will put energy into the old fruit and stop producing new fruit.

For more information contact your local cooperative extension office. In Lackawanna County call 963-6842 and ask for the Garden Helpline or email LackawannaMG@psu.edu

John Esslinger, Extension Educator
Penn State Cooperative Extension in Lackawanna County

So. What's happening in YOUR garden, be it vegetable, fruit or flower? We'd love to hear from you!