The Culinary History Of America’s Favorite Fruit: Apples
Botanically speaking, the Malus genus of trees hails from the Rosaceae family of rose bushes. They are popular with pollinators and aesthetically pleasing, particularly when covered in their signature white and pink springtime blossoms, but much more importantly they yield a fruit that is among the most widely beloved and cultivated across the globe: the apple (Malus Domestica).
Per Illinois University Extension, sour, inedible crab apples are the only kind of apples that are native to U.S. soil; the rest originated in Asia. The apple that spawned Malus Domestica and all of the delicious hybrids that have since followed, is known scientifically as Malus sieversii. It came from Kazakhstan and was identified by a Russian scientist named Nikolai Vavilov in 1929 (via BBC Travel), back when wild apple trees covered untamed forests and hybridized themselves without restriction. Historians believe the Silk Road trade, notes Smithsonian Magazine, is what brought Malus sieversii out of Kazakhstan and into the rest of the world.
To grow and care for an apple tree, you’ll need a modest amount of space, some cold weather, and a ton of sunshine. However, if you’d like yours to bear fruit, you’ll need one more thing: a second apple tree. That’s because apple trees can only produce fruit if they receive pollen from another variety of apple trees, as explained by the University of Minnesota Extension.
Apples arrive in America
Malus Domestica finally made its way to American shores towards the end of the 1500s in the hands and pockets of French Jesuits, says North Carolina Historic Sites. Not long after that, apples hitched a ride across the ocean with the Pilgrims in the early 17th century, landing in what would become Massachusetts. The trees did so well in their new environment that, by the mid-1600s, it is believed that most of Maryland was covered in orchards.
The majority of trees grown in early colonial orchards produced fruits that were too tart to eat. Spitters, as they were called, were instead crushed into apple cider, which fermented quickly. No one appeared bothered by the alcoholic properties of the hard cider that was consumed by everyone, including children. Soon authorities declared that every able-bodied person was required to clear and improve land to keep it, reports Smithsonian Magazine, and planting an orchard was an easy way to do so.
Unfortunately, this solution to one problem did nothing to solve another; the colonists needed to hydrate their families and feed them. But just as domestic apple trees needed to be imported to the New World, so did the honey bee.
A riddle from OK (I think OK is in Zone 7). My tomato plants (”reborn” after the hellish June-July-August heat wave broke) still haven’t produced any tomatoes, just a multitude of blossoms. It’s been a few weeks, but the blossoms don’t produce fruit, nor do they shrivel up and fall off the stems.
Anyone have any thoughts? Do I leave them be, or go ahead and pull them up? It’s almost like they’re in “suspended animation”.
CLICK ON THE PICTURE!
My garden and yard took quite a beating during the relentless 105 degree days (12 days in all). Felt like I was living in Phoenix and Florida combined (humidity was high too).
Glad it's over and not looking forward to the power bill for all the a/c I had to run.
A few plants liked the heat as long as they were watered.
These hibiscus, "C'est Bon":
And "Hawaiian Crush":
Cactus also enjoyed the heat:
Happy Gardening! And pray for rain.
It was another beautiful weather week here in Central Missouri. Mrs. Augie and I dragged the toy hauler down to Lucas Oil Speedway last Wednesday for the annual Hockett/McMillen memorial race. Had a great time. Only needed a hoody the first night. After that it was all shorts and a t-shirt.
Got home yesterday afternoon, unpacked/cleaned up the camper, and got a good start on re-packing for the annual pilgrimage to sunny Florida. We don’t drag the camper along on that deal so have to be a bit more conservative with what we put in the truck. It’s important to leave enough free space to load a few cases of Yuengling for the return trip.
After the packing business was done I checked out the victory garden. Okra is out of control. Tomatoes rotting on the vine. Peppers are out of control. Pole beans are well on their way to a bumper crop of shell beans. It’s hard to look at those loaded vines and not pick any beans, but I’ve got enough canned to supply a small army so there’s really no reason to pick more now.
The baby cabbages don’t seem to like the heat we’ve been having and just aren’t taking off like they should, so a fall crop is looking iffy at this point. The sweet corn on the other hand, is going like crazy. It was knee high when we left last Wednesday. Now it’s chest high. It’s too big to get the tiller between the rows so I top-dressed with urea this morning and put the sprinkler on it for a few minutes to help dissolve the fertilizer into the soil. I expect it will be in full tassle by the time we get back from the GoM.
Seeds went in the highly enriched sand Sept 13. We have Silver Queen, Peaches and Cream, and some seeds that just said "Corn" from a survival seed kit. The bed is 4' x 10' is with 3 3/4 rows. I have 57 seed pairs planted 7" apart. The picture below is week one from 9/13 to 9/20. There are still a couple of seed pairs in a shady spot that haven't popped out yet, but those are also the seeds labeled "Corn". I will cull seedlings soon. I'll keep you updated on Fall Corn in Florida.
Bonus: that Mexican Cabbage Palm trunk is a great trellis for maters.