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cranky wrote:There is also a white apple in the plum thicket that produces even earlier but I will have to hack my way through 20+ feet of 10ft tall blackberries to get to it and I don't think I will be up to it this year.

Awe c'mon, Cranky. You know how to do this. Put on two pairs of Levi's, your best chain male, and the old football helmet, and dive in there like Br'er Rabbit. Your skin will heal up in a few weeks, pretty much.

Hacking through blackberries is a PNW sport. I'd be up for it to get at some apples when the time comes.

Its a damn noxious weed 10 1/2 months out of the year. Both the evergreen and himalayan blackberries are an invasive species from europe. Wild blackberries from the PNW are the holy grail for berry aficionados but hard to find and ever harder to get a worthy amount due to the very small size.

Thank you Jimbo.
My fruit trees are young, I bought the cherries, pears, plums and one fig as 75% off bare root trees 3 or 4 years ago so I expect every year they will get better. I also have a couple of 2 or 3 year old apple trees and one pear tree I grew from seeds. Last year I bought a 75% off red delicious just to use for grafting but so far haven't succeeded in a single graft. I also bought one that is half honey crisp and half something else I can't remember and a Hazen apple. The Hazen was a weird find because it shouldn't have come to the PNW. They were developed in N Dakota to withstand cold winters and hot summers but somehow it ended up here in the discount bin and I bought it. That is the only apple I allowed to bear this year because I want to taste the apples to see if I like them or if it will be a complete graft. It has so many apples on it I had to prop the branches up to prevent them from breaking. From what I've read this is a very hardy tree known for breaking it's branches with apples but remaining unfazed by it. I agree that you get the best yield from the apples. I got about 700 pounds last year but hope to do more this year. There is a white apple that is about to produce but once again it looks like I won't be able to get to it but the pink apple that starts dropping in about 2 or 3 more weeks is loaded. That signals the beginning of apple season which goes on until December and once again I failed to get a grinder and bigger press made so it looks like I will once again be trying to make due with my little press The long apple season here also overlaps almost all other fruit seasons too but in a few more weeks I will be coming home from the blueberry park with a couple buckets of apples as well as blueberries. Then the plums come ripe beginning with the Jeffersons around the end of this month. Last year my wife tried to make plum preserves from the Jefferson plums I found but they had a bitter taste from the skin which disintegrated when we tried to remove them. So she read on the interwb about plum butter, like apple butter but she didn't like that either so I took the plum butter and made Jefferson Plum butter dessert wine which was pretty good last time I racked it. I also made blueberry dessert wine which turned out good too but both have been in the jugs for almost a year so they need to get bottled soon. I like dessert wines but I have mostly moved on to the hard stuff and hope to do everything as brandy this year except for the wine I give out at Christmas.

skow69 wrote:

cranky wrote:There is also a white apple in the plum thicket that produces even earlier but I will have to hack my way through 20+ feet of 10ft tall blackberries to get to it and I don't think I will be up to it this year.

Awe c'mon, Cranky. You know how to do this. Put on two pairs of Levi's, your best chain male, and the old football helmet, and dive in there like Br'er Rabbit. Your skin will heal up in a few weeks, pretty much.

bearriver wrote:Hacking through blackberries is a PNW sport. I'd be up for it to get at some apples when the time comes.

Its a damn noxious weed 10 1/2 months out of the year. Both the evergreen and himalayan blackberries are an invasive species from europe. Wild blackberries from the PNW are the holy grail for berry aficionados but hard to find and ever harder to get a worthy amount due to the very small size.

I know I should go for it but I did that last year to get to my favorite apple and am going to have to again this year The blackberries blocking the white apple are at least 10 feet high and there are plenty of easier apples to get to.

skow69 wrote:Your skin will heal up in a few weeks, pretty much.

haha, reminds me of a fruit harvesting accident I had once..... Its a long story centered around a failed attempt at a new improved way to harvest apples. Ill spare you teh details, but here's the result of one stupid mistake.... And it healed up fine, I agree with Skow, strap on that football helmet and get to them white apples.

Maybe I'll grab my pruning shears and give it a try because the other thing back in that thicket is a bunch of plum trees which I want to get my hands on. Plums are about the second highest yield per pick for free fruit and knowing those plums are there and not being able to get to them drove me crazy last year.

Jimbo wrote:

skow69 wrote:Your skin will heal up in a few weeks, pretty much.

haha, reminds me of a fruit harvesting accident I had once..... Its a long story centered around a failed attempt at a new improved way to harvest apples. Ill spare you teh details, but here's the result of one stupid mistake.... And it healed up fine, I agree with Skow, strap on that football helmet and get to them white apples.

Ouch, that looks pretty nasty Jimbo

Y'all are making me desperate for some fruit trees! I think I know where some might be, going to check on them today. Also might have a line on a cherry supplier....
I did go out behind the shed yesterday and picked the mulberry tree clean. Not enough to ferment or distill, but enough for a couple quarts of pantydropper!

Ive been gathering up the blackberries around the house. Have 20 lbs of blueberries ordered from my local Kiwanis club. Will juice them and add to a good neutral for blueberry pie.

My pear trees have nothing this year, they were loaded last year. 17 of the 21 apple trees are fruiting again, even a few of the 3 year olds. I pulled out my cherry trees and replaced with apples. The birds always won that battle. All of mine are a good cider making vareity. I add 3 trees each year until im out of room.

I gather mine the easy way, jimbo. Gather the drops and crate them, put in the walk in freezer. Ehen season is almost over then I do the grab and shake method. Just dont look up.

wtfdskin wrote:Ive been gathering up the blackberries around the house. Have 20 lbs of blueberries ordered from my local Kiwanis club. Will juice them and add to a good neutral for blueberry pie.

My pear trees have nothing this year, they were loaded last year. 17 of the 21 apple trees are fruiting again, even a few of the 3 year olds. I pulled out my cherry trees and replaced with apples. The birds always won that battle. All of mine are a good cider making vareity. I add 3 trees each year until im out of room.

I gather mine the easy way, jimbo. Gather the drops and crate them, put in the walk in freezer. Ehen season is almost over then I do the grab and shake method. Just dont look up.

Blackberries aren't ripe here yet but they will be soon. The pear trees I pick didn't have anything last year but I'm hoping they do this year. My own pears and plums flowered too early before the bees woke up so it looks like I will get maybe 5 plums and no pears.

Last year I got my son to help me gather drops from one of the more prolific cider apple trees in the area. I had already picked everything within 20 ft of the ground so there was nothing left but to climb and shake the tree. we spread out tarps and I started climbing without telling him what I was doing. When he noticed me missing he started calling me saying "Dad, dad...where'd you go" I said "up here". That's when he made the mistake of saying "Up where?" and I shook the tree and sent a rain of apples down on him. I thought it was pretty funny but my wife didn't.

Its hard to holdback a chuckle when they bounce off the wifes head

Maybe I'll take the wife this year but she doesn't approve of me climbing trees.

Be careful with the drops cranky. The earth harbors all sorts of nasties that take up residence on fruit that sits on the ground. I rake the drops out of the way before I climb the trees and shake the branches empty. There's plenty hundreds of lbs in the trees without worrying about the 10 lbs of moldy rotten crap sittin on the ground. It's actually illegal to use drops in cider that is for sale, for good reason. But like anything its not black and white. If youre careful Im sure its fine, been done for generations.

Jimbo wrote:Be careful with the drops cranky. The earth harbors all sorts of nasties that take up residence on fruit that sits on the ground. I rake the drops out of the way before I climb the trees and shake the branches empty. There's plenty hundreds of lbs in the trees without worrying about the 10 lbs of moldy rotten crap sittin on the ground. It's actually illegal to use drops in cider that is for sale, for good reason. But like anything its not black and white. If youre careful Im sure its fine, been done for generations.

I know, I don't use drops that are there when I arrive only those I can shake down onto tarps. I was reading a calvados site where they said that for proper calvados you have to use drops, although shaking the tree is allowed. For the most part I use my home made picking pole and pick off the tree when I think they are close enough. Most of the trees I harvest from are surrounded by blackberries so it can be quite difficult to even get to anything on the ground anyway except at the blueberry park but tarps solve the problem pretty well there.

Calvados is about as interesting, and quirky, as the French people themselves. For Calvados the apples are ground into pulp, and then left in big bins for a couple days to start to oxidize and turn brown, before it is pressed and fermented. Its well know there is tons of apple flavor in the skins, back side of the skin technically, so it seems to make sense, in that regard. The oxidation part, not so sure. It does take on a darker flavor. Even some cherries I picked last night started to turn brown in teh bucket before I got to them and added them to the ferment today. They tasted 'darker' more, hell I dont know the right adjectives, oxidized, more flavor in a differnet way. Calvados sure is a fine drink, and the french rule the world on making hooch out of apples. So wtf, I started making apple brandy in 95 after visiting France and falling in love with their Calvados. And here we are. Still havent let the apples sit tho. Too many damn fruit flies get to making babies in the must. Aint nobody got time for that.

Well I sort of do. Mainly because of the slow tedious method I use. I usually pick apples after work. I stop long enough on my way home to pick a couple of buckets worth. Then throughout the week I bring a bucket of apples to work with me every day and clean and chop them when I take my lunch break because I don't have a proper grinder. Then I take them home and run them through the food processor and put the pulp in bags in the refrigerator until I have 3 gallons, which is the maximum my press holds. By the time I get to the pressing the pulp is often fairly oxidized which gives it a much darker appearance and I think richer taste. Sometimes I freeze the pulp for 24 Hr then thaw it for 2-3 days left covered in my big water bath caner to keep the fruit flies out., usually in the freezer bags then when it is finally thawed I press the pulp. The difference between the unfrozen oxidized juice and the post frozen yet still oxidized juice is amazing. I get at least an extra quart of juice after freezing and thawing than I do from just pressing but it is much lighter and less bold. Sometimes I press the pulp fresh then freeze, thaw and repress which also yields at least an extra quart of lighter juice. I'm thinking about trying to keep the unfrozen, oxidized juice separate from the post frozen juice and see if the final brandy has more flavor.

cranky wrote: I'm thinking about trying to keep the unfrozen, oxidized juice separate from the post frozen juice and see if the final brandy has more flavor.

Do it. Sounds like a damn fine experiment. Ive been wondering for years if my apple brandy would be better if I let the must sit like the French do.

I'm not sure why they do that. My limited understanding is that many acids, polysaccharides etc from the apple break down over time due to microbial action. It's like Brettanomyces eating away large sugars after so long.

We been having a skunk or skunks eating my blueberries. its has eaten all the berries that were close to the ground. Well,,,I've got some smelly can cat food inside the trap tonight.

Skunk in a live trap. Oh boy! Can't wait for the update on this one. l.l. ya think you can get somebody to video this?

Hope that trap is well away from those blueberries.
I got a half pint off my earlyblue yesterday. the others haven't turned yet. This coming winter I'm going to have to dig them up and plan on moving them to pots, right now I just pretty much use them as an indicator for when it's time to head over to the blueberry park.

Gotcha you blueberry stilln stinker

Really good timing garbage day, and the trucks run thru early, good thing it's going to be over 100 degree here today. By,by,stinker

likker liker wrote:Gotcha you blueberry stilln stinker

I got friends and family on the dry side, and I just moved from Loon Lake myself. Never had a skunk issue over here, but over there it seems like a constant battle. Gardens and growing fruit always brings them around. Buddy of mine set a kill trap under his house recently. After he killed a skunk with it, his house was unbearable for weeks. Think well over 100 degrees, and a very unhappy missus...

I give them a bath, once traped straight into a tote of water. Yah the water stinky but that goes away pretty quickly.

bearriver wrote:

likker liker wrote:Gotcha you blueberry stilln stinker

I got friends and family on the dry side, and I just moved from Loon Lake myself. Never had a skunk issue over here, but over there it seems like a constant battle. Gardens and growing fruit always brings them around. Buddy of mine set a kill trap under his house recently. After he killed a skunk with it, his house was unbearable for weeks. Think well over 100 degrees, and a very unhappy missus...

I've been to loon lake alot, my family lives at deer lake.
never had skunk out there, just in town rodents. That's okay I've won every battle so far.

cranky wrote: The difference between the unfrozen oxidized juice and the post frozen yet still oxidized juice is amazing. I get at least an extra quart of juice after freezing and thawing than I do from just pressing but it is much lighter and less bold.

I freeze my Apples whole until I have them all to press in a single day. I have noticed the same thing when they thaw they oxidize quickly, get real soft so grinding is easier and seem to yield more cider. I got 2 gal per bushel last year. Up a half gallon from previous years. Same trees.

I agree about the drops. Have to be careful. I gather mine daily once they start since the trees are in my back yard . No rotting stuff. Too many damn bees in them.

Last year the most I got out of a 5 gallon bucket of apples was 2 gallons of juice, the least was about 1.25 gallons. I am looking for a food processor or grinder that I can keep at work so I do all the work there and they can oxidize for a while before taking the pulp home to put in the press in the evening, after pressing I will plan on doing the freeze, thaw press routine and keep the juices separate for fermenting and see what the difference is in the final product.

cranky wrote:Last year the most I got out of a 5 gallon bucket of apples was 2 gallons of juice, the least was about 1.25 gallons. I am looking for a food processor or grinder that I can keep at work so I do all the work there and they can oxidize for a while before taking the pulp home to put in the press in the evening, after pressing I will plan on doing the freeze, thaw press routine and keep the juices separate for fermenting and see what the difference is in the final product.

I want to drive east to a U-pick, where they rent cider presses on site. Was going to do it last year but life got in the way.

It gets in my way a lot too. I still have more 4x4s, I was intending make a grinder and use my 12 ton jack for the press. I have a a 1/2 HP motor plus a couple of (I think) 24V electric wheel chair motors that could be used direct drive. I also bought a big SS turkey fryer strainer at goodwill. I'm not that far from having a decent press but finding that time is a real problem. I thought about buying a Harbor Freight wood chipper for the job but don't want to spend that much. I read on craigslist last year about an orchard that lets people use their grinder and press for free and there are some apple festivals in the summer that do the same. My biggest problem is the length of time I pick because the season is so long I only pick a couple buckets at a time so never have enough at any one time to justify renting equipment and my freezer is far too small. I only have room for 3-5 gallons at a time.