Lets get carried away with fruity goodness

[cob]

I couldn't take the truck to work. If I have the truck I can park under the tree and pick from the back of the truck and could have gotten more but I couldn't do that with the escape so I could only pick what I could reach from the ground.

cranky I find it hard to believe that you don't have a picking pole in every rig you own.

[ShineonCrazyDiamond]

... a total of 58 gallons of juice. I keep thinking "with another hour of picking and a few more hours.."

With that at 5:05 Pacific daylight time on July 25th 2018 I officially announce the end of Cranky's apple season.

....

[cranky]

The really bad thing is on my way home from work I have secretly been driving by a house with 2 apple trees loaded with huge red apples hoping to catch the owner outside so I can ask if I can pick a couple buckets of them

[cranky]

cranky I find it hard to believe that you don't have a picking pole in every rig you own.

I don't, Mrs Cranky gets very...um... for lack of a better word...cranky about them, especially when I've told her I am not going to be picking any more apples. She doesn't notice anything in my truck, One time I had 5 buckets of apples back there for a week without her noticing She's never even ridden in it. I generally keep the picker and some buckets back there at all times just in case I stumble across something worth picking.

[cranky]

Just got back from taking Mrs Cranky out to dinner. On the way home she suggested we take a detour to look for some strawberry trees. We found some too, a bunch of them at the edge of a parking lot behind a store. There were very few ripe berries but there were tons of unripe ones. I think our general plan is to stop by whenever we are in the area and see how many ripe ones we can find.

[cranky]

Today on my way home from work I stopped and picked an entire gallon of arbutus fruit. This gives us a gallon and a half so far. Mrs Cranky thinks it might be enough to try a batch of jelly, I'm not sure but I'm willing to find out. I also had to run some errands and somehow found myself at that apple tree I mentioned the other day with an apple picker in my hand I only picked 30 apples, my guess is they run about 130 to a bucket and there is probably a bucket worth on the tree which isn't enough to do much with but I may try something anyway.

On another note, yesterday when I drove by those 2 trees I have been eyeballing the owner was out front loading stuff into his pickup. I stopped and was about to get out to ask if I could pick some apples but had second thoughts and didn't. I'm kind of disappointed in myself over that but I really don't have time to spend picking and processing another 300 pounds of apples, or even 50 pounds for that matter, not to mention I'm out of fermenting space.

[cranky]

Liar...

Well as much as I have tried not to pick any more apples I just couldn't help myself Yesterday I was left unsupervised long enough to pick the tree next to the Vista Bella. I picked 90 more apples off it which brought the total from that tree up to 120 apples which is right at a bucket full. I really don't know what I'm going to do with them, maybe pie filling, maybe press just so I have a new record, or just leave them to rot in the garage for the next 6 months, I don't really know, I really need at least 2 buckets full to bother with the press but I was looking at the turkey fryer basket I bought a couple years ago thinking I could probably fab up a top plate without too much difficulty or expense. That would let me press smaller quantities like one or two buckets full a lot more easily.

once I was properly supervised I took Mrs Cranky by the 2 trees I have been watching. I'm beginning to think one of the trees is an Arkansas Black, the apples are round with that rich dark red color the Blacks get. My wife thinks she has never seen a black apple, she's wrong but I drove her by to show her them anyway and she was impressed enough that she may not be pissed if I do get to pick them. She actually wants me to graft a tree that's half Russian White and half Arkansas Black so it is a black and whit tree The only problem with that is Whites are an early apples and blacks are late but that doesn't seem to bother her.

[cranky]

I put the apples I picked yesterday into a bucket so I could take a picture for you guys

They are actually a little bigger than I thought running 110 to a bucket which is pretty good. I'm wondering if I got on the other side of the fence where the business is if I could get another 100 to fill that second bucket. I know the business doesn't care as long as I ask before going back there so I may stop in and do just that.

Also, today I drove by the black apple tree to take a picture
this is the tree

and here is a small close up section of that picture so you can see how many apples there are.

They are actually getting to the point of breaking branches.

[MichiganCornhusker]

They are actually getting to the point of braking branches.

Get your truck n buckets and save that tree!

[cranky]

They are actually getting to the point of braking branches.

Get your truck n buckets and save that tree!

Gotta get permission first. I actually blew that chance the other day but hopefully I will get another.

[distiller_dresden]

Hey Cranky, looking at the black apple tree - do you ever trim/prune the trees that you'd be able (with permission, or if nobody 'owns' them) so that they will produce better/healthier next season and basically set them up since nobody is caring for them? Somebody needs to prune that tree with those long topper limbs. Apple trees get spidery looking and produce better (know you know this) when they're trimmed of 'excess' or spindly branches.

[cranky]

Hey Cranky, looking at the black apple tree - do you ever trim/prune the trees that you'd be able (with permission, or if nobody 'owns' them) so that they will produce better/healthier next season and basically set them up since nobody is caring for them? Somebody needs to prune that tree with those long topper limbs. Apple trees get spidery looking and produce better (know you know this) when they're trimmed of 'excess' or spindly branches.

I don't prune other people's trees, that's pretty much up to them. I know some of them should be pruned but I just don't have it in me at the time of year you need to prune them and don't want blamed if something goes wrong. I have enough trouble bringing myself to prune my own trees, mt banana plum desperately needs pruned but often it takes 2 seasons after pruning to get good production and I've seen lots of trees that had gone wild producing just fine without pruning. That said, that black really is growing rather badly and really does need pruned. Most of the stuff on public land doesn't seem to suffer too badly from needing regular pruning, maybe because they were well trained and pruned long before they went free range.

[cranky]

Today I picked my one remaining Seckel pear

It may not look it but that is an absolutely HUGE Seckel, I was at a store a couple weeks ago that had Seckels and they were the size of ping pong balls, this one is close to the size of a regular pear.

[cranky]

Today I stopped by the tree next to the Vista Bella and picked what was left on the outside of the fence. I got another half bucket of them which should be enough to run through the chopper and press. This should get me real close to that 75 gallons for the year without having to pick the blacks. My wife is actually wanting me to pick at least some of the blacks so she can taste them so if I can get permission to pick I have her blessing

[cranky]

I believe Youtube videos works again so I thought I might show you guys how my stuff works

[Expat]

What a beast that chopper is! Thanks for sharing the vid.

[cranky]

What a beast that chopper is! Thanks for sharing the vid.

It really is One thing about it, it works better with a lot of apples in at once because the apples tend to weigh each other down so the blades get better bites. We did a test right up to the point of clogging and it is possible to bog it down and jam it but it took a whole lot to do it. I have some minor improvements I still want to do, like a guard around the shaft and a larger hopper but I'm in no hurry to get to those.

[Jimbo]

Cranks youre gettin so damn good at smashin apples you must have a helluva store of brandy aging up gracefully. Thats a FINE lookin machine there!

[distiller_dresden]

Cranks youre gettin so damn good at smashin apples you must have a helluva store of brandy aging up gracefully. Thats a FINE lookin machine there!

THIS man, I want to try Cranky's aging brandy he's got sittin' in a barrel so SO badly. Cranky has got to be the apple cider/brandy freaking master as into it as he is; you KNOW he makes some fine ass apple brandy.

[cranky]

Cranks youre gettin so damn good at smashin apples you must have a helluva store of brandy aging up gracefully. Thats a FINE lookin machine there!

Hi Jimbo, haven't seen you around lately How are your apples doing this year? Here the apple trees went absolutely crazy this year. Funny thing I was just sitting here thinking about you, not because of apples or your birthday (Happy Birthday by the way), but because of a couple of guitars I was looking at an auction I'm going to this weekend I'm pretty sure one is a vintage Kalamazoo produced 12 string Epiphone, another looks like a vintage Guild and a Washburn that I haven't narrowed down yet. They are acoustic but I hear tell you can play anything with a string.

But I'm getting off subject

The chopper has really evolved into quite an efficient machine, my biggest problem now is finding time to pick, I could have done 3 times as much this year if I had the house finished

You just inspired me to go try a sample of the brandy I have in the barrel. I was going to send out some samples but I haven't been very happy with it... well actually one day I will be happy, the next not so much. Today it is pretty nice, The pear aroma is pretty pronounced with just a hint of the pear flavor. I do think it could use a stick or two of fresh oak in the barrel for a bit. I was hoping to be able to send out samples at Christmas but I'm thinking if I go ahead and add the oak sticks I will probably need to wait another 6 months.

[cranky]

Cranky has got to be the apple cider/brandy freaking master as into it as he is; you KNOW he makes some fine ass apple brandy.

I think Jimbo and NZChris are probably way better at it than I am.

[NZChris]

The apple ferments I do are so tasty as young bubbly apple wine that bugger all of it has made it to the still. I don't see that changing any time soon.

[cranky]

The apple ferments I do are so tasty as young bubbly apple wine that bugger all of it has made it to the still. I don't see that changing any time soon.

I guess that means Jimbo is the only one way better than me

Only kidding, I'm sure there are plenty of people better than me

[cranky]

A little while ago I was looking something up and stumbled across these Washington apple fun facts

25% of an apple’s volume is air. That’s why it floats!
On average, Washington state grows 125 million boxes of apples per year. At 40 lbs per box, that’s 2.5 million TONS of apples!
There are about 175,000 acres of apple orchards in Washington State.
It takes the energy from 50 apple tree leaves to produce one apple.
Washington Apple growers produce 6 out of every 10 apples consumed in the United States.
At room temperature, apples ripen or soften 10 times faster than if they were refrigerated.
The science of growing apples is called “pomology.”
Washington Apples are exported to 60 different countries around the world.
Archaeologists have found evidence that humans have been enjoying apples for more than 8,500 years!
Apples contain no artificial colors or flavors.
There are more than 7,500 different varieties of apples grown around the world. You’ll find only a handful of them at your local supermarket.
Apples are fat free and sodium free.
There are seven principal varieties of apples grown in Washington.
Apples contain natural sugars called fructose.
The average apple contains 5 seeds.
Apples are picked by hand, not by any machinery.
Apples are harvested in Washington state each year between August and November. Advanced storage technologies mean that they’re fresh and available year-round.
A medium-sized apple contains 5 grams of fiber, 20% the daily recommended allowance!

10 – 12 billion apples are harvested in Washington State each year. Each Washington apple is picked by hand. There are no harvest machines to pick apples.
If you put all of the Washington State apples picked in a year side-by-side, they would circle the earth 29 times.
About 2,500 known varieties of apples are grown in the United States. More than 7,500 are grown worldwide.
Last year, the average U.S. consumer ate 19 pounds of fresh apples.
Apples are the largest agricultural product grown in Washington State.
Apples originated in Kazakhstan and were carried east by traders on the Silk Road.
The only apple native to North America is the crabapple.
Apple seeds are like people; you will never get the exact same type of apple from a planted seed.
The Red Delicious apple began life as a chance seedling on an Iowa farm. A chance seedling is a viable apple variety that grows from a seed.

[cranky]

A few minutes ago my wife and I shared the Seckel I picked the other day. It was a good thing too because this pear was a bit past that 6 minutes when they are perfect to eat. Another day and we would have lost it. I have to say they are very nice pears, not the sweetest but very pear! flavor, creamy texture and a very nice little snack.

[distiller_dresden]

Cranky, got a bone to pick with you, bud.

I was on vacation in northern Michigan last week, around Traverse City, and I kept seeing rogue apple trees on nobody's property (you know what I mean) and growing apples. 5x I was pulled over on the side of the road in blowing freezing rain pulling apples from trees in knee high grass. After 25lbs, and they're rolling around in the car, we saw at a gas station 'deer' apples, which are windfalls, in 15-20lb bags for $6. We bought 2 bags. I found someone to press them for $40 before I left Traverse, and got 3 gallons (the little undergrown ones I had been picking didn't have as much juice). I got home Saturday and yesterday I bought 12 cans of aj concentrate, then added those to my 3 gallons fresh unpasteurized cider, along with a gallon of blueberry brandy backset, and it's bubbling away today on 1122 yeast. Smell is amazing and the taste is so apple blueberry I can't wait to cook this stuff.

The press guy was worried about consumption of the juiced ground apples, I told him not to worry, the cider would be fermented and boiled before anyone consumed any of it lol.

[Oldvine Zin]

HaHa Dresden and dammit cranky for getting us excited for our once a year fruit season!

So you spent a couple hours picking apples in the freezing rain, spent $12 for deer apples, and $4o to press them. So not counting your time the juice came out to $17ish a gal, it's hard to put a monetary value on what we do to make the best we can in this hobby. Ol Gooseeye was giving me shit for spending $8ish a gal, hard to put a price on homemade quality.

Good luck
OVZ

[Bushman]

[quote="Oldvine Zin] hard to put a price on homemade quality.
OVZ[/quote]
I spend about $100 a pound for the salmon I catch.

[Oldvine Zin]

[quote="Oldvine Zin] hard to put a price on homemade quality.
OVZ

I spend about $100 a pound for the salmon I catch.[/quote][/quote]
But it's the best salmon and you had fun catching them

OVZ

[cranky]

People do say my enthusiasm is contagious

I have fun doing it and that's hard to put a price on.

I have a little more enthusiasm to share.

Yesterday I got a text that amounted to "Hey, you want my plum tree? I'm having it taken out to build a guest house." I figured he was having it cut down and figured I could use the wood for aging so I replied, "I would like the trunk unless your going to dig it up roots and all"

He then sent me this picture

So I told my wife I was going to be late because I needed to run up and pick up this plum tree. She wan't all that happy about it but was OK with it and my truck really needed a good run down the highway at high speed to clear out the carbon that has built up over the past year and a half since I've seen this tree.

When I got there I realized the tree had grown considerably since I last saw it but it wasn't too heavy and 2 of us easily fit it into the back of my truck. I then tied it down and headed home.

When I got home I got a half barrel I'd been using for compost and stuck it in it as a temporary place to put it. A while back one of my bosses mentioned that he wanted a fruit tree so I offered it to him. If he doesn't want it later this winter I'm going to prune it down to 8ft or so and plant it in my back yard. It's mature enough that if it lives through all this it will be producing a nice amount of Italian plums in another year and a half