After 5 years of waiting I finally have apples on my apple tree! The past few years I did have a handful of apples on the tree, but either the kids picked them off too early, the dog got to them and one year my husband even picked them all off. He thought they would be too heavy for the small tree. Boy oh boy was I grumbling when he did that. BUT..this year all the stars aligned and I had many many wonderful apples on my tree!
I didn’t spray anything on the tree at all because every time I went out and checked on the apples I didn’t see any worms or bugs. So these apples are all organic baby! I didn’t even think that was possible nowadays. But it worked for me this year anyways.
Oh and I wish I could tell you what kind of apples these are. I bought this apple tree at Costco when we first bought our house 5 years ago. Back then we didn’t have a backyard so I was buying stuff without thinking.
I wasn’t thinking about homesteading or being really choosy when it came to apples. I knew I just didn’t want Red Delicious or Golden Delicious. Those are my least favorites. Come on… you know what I am talking about. They are the worst apple type.
So anyways, the apples were ripe so it was time to gather my youngest to help me pick.
The kids were a bit nervous to pick the apples. There were wasps EVERYWHERE around the apples. Not kidding. I am tough when it comes to bees and wasps, but I was still a little cautious.
Check out that gorgeous apple!
The kids picked maybe 5-6 apples before retreating and screaming about wasps being too close. Sissies I tell ya.
So then I had to finish the rest of the picking myself. I had to brave the wasps. (Shudder)
I couldn’t believe that they had actually EATEN themselves some of the apples. This hole was not from a bird or chicken. This was started from the wasps themselves. They had started eating like maybe 7 or 8 apples on the tree and were everywhere as I was picking.
And while I braved the wasps to pick apples the kids started playing with my phone..and taking pictures.
I found this gem and knew it had to be shared.
Hey…that’s what she gets! Leaving her mom to fight off the wasps all alone.
So all in all I got about 30 lbs of apples from my baby tree. Not too shabby.
The question is what to do with them all. Applesauce? Pie filling? Freezer Apple Crisp?
What are you doing with apples this fall?
Genius!!! Thanks Sandy!
Any time I can get apples or other fruit that has been organically grown and NO SPRAYS I think I am in heaven. Apples are the most contaminated fruit in the USA. Boo!
One year our young peach tree was loaded with its first good crop. It was almost time to pick the fruit. We were so excited! We came home from Sunday AM service and not one peach was on the tree. The dog would not tell us what happened and he was not sick! The gate was locked. The peach mystery!
Looks like they might be Akane apples? crisp, white inside, sweet/tart flavorful. I would make a ton of apple crisp! Yum! Apple crisp for breakfast! Warm it up a little in the micro, add whipped cream/spray cream/ice-cream…whatever you got! Sounds so good.
Hum, I guess, maybe I’d dehydrate some too and then make some apple sauce. Good luck! If they are white flesh they will brown quickly…soak in lemon juice spiked water before putting them in a dehydrator…you probably already know that, but hey…it’s worth being said again.
I don’t know how I found your site. I think I was looking up buying something at Costco but your apple post intrigued me. We just bought a house and have a teeny yard but I want to semi-homestead (it’s really small). My dad thinks we should plant an apple tree but after reading about your wasps I’m having second thoughts. My daughter would run screaming for the hills and never venture into the backyard again. I had no idea wasps liked apples. But thank you for your post. Now I’m torn. Have to read more about this.
Don’t be afraid of the wasps. They are an indicator that the apples are ready to be picked. Once they are picked, the wasps are gone! I have noticed in our gardens that the wasps are actually doing me favors. They are eating aphids. If you see a nest ( like a paper wasp nest hanging in a tree) near a garden, they are actually setting up their house close to their food source. Ground bees (German hornets) are the ones to be afraid of!! Nasty!
These apples would be great for Waldorf salad. Use vanilla yogurt instead of mayonnaise if you’d like. Your tree will need some pruning of the suckers at the top each year to keep it in that small space. In the spring, hang a milk jug of one banana peel, cup of sugar and two cups of vinegar to a strong lower branch near the trunk to keep worms away in the future.
I made applesause (can use later for part of oil in recipes), froze some for pies and canned some for pies. You put everything but the flour and butter in the jars. Ive made 1 pie so far with the frozen and it was gone like a flash.
You can also use frozen or canned apples in crisps and cobblers. With ice cream, of course.
We had a terrible year for apples in our neck of the woods so I was at our local cider mill as soon as it opened. I store apples in my basement throughout the winter but I also make applesauce. Last year I found a really yummy recipe for Carmel Apple Jam and the great thing about it is you make applesauce first. So, if I can the applesauce, I’m halfway to the jam!
Definitely dehydrate apples. I dehydrate them year round for my dogs. The LOVE apples and I give them a ring for doing good things.One for them, one for me! Depending on what you have leftover you could even pass some out to friends for Christmas presents. I hand out baggies of apples all the time to my neighbors with dogs.
Cool idea Jill, dog treats! I love it.
I cut my apples up taking only the fuzzy black ends off. I put a whole bowl full of this covered by plastic wrap. A large food safe bowl full will take about 22 minutes on high in the microwave. Let this cool and then use a Folley Food Mill to make apple sauce…removing all the extra core and skin. I don’t use any water. My apple sauce is thick and sweet and has all the nice things that an apple can give. Not much waste. This is easy to either can or freeze.
We have so many apples each year that we spend some time dehydrating a lot of them. I use a mandoline to slice really thin. Just lay them on the trays and sprinkle with a little cinnamon sugar and let dry. They sometimes curl. Depends on the size of the apple. WE have one apple that has really white flesh with bright red skin. These dehydrated apples are beautiful and make great gifts.
I like to make and can lots of homemade apple sauce and apple butter when I get a windfall of apples. If I get enough, I am going to try and can some apple pie filling (I am trying to buy less junk food and make treats at home).
I recently did a post about making pear butter, but I make my apple butter the exact same way. Maybe you would like this post: http://anotherhatchettjob.wordpress.com/2014/09/02/a-perfect-pear-ing/
Congratulations on your apple tree. I want to plant some more, but need to find out what will do best in our area.
Yes, I think apple pie filling might be the way to go! It does sound really good!
I too have an apple tree of which I have no idea what type of apple is on it. They look like 3 different varieties… Oh well. All I know is they are delicious! I plan of canning applesauce (sugar free because they are so sweet), dehydrating some rings and of course apple pie filling for the freezer. YUM! ENJOY!
Exciting! You give me hope. We are on our second year with our new little tree. We were told to pinch off the buds in year one, so we did. We are excited to see what next year brings and fingers-crossed for a frost for them.
As for what *I* would do with lots of apples, if they weren’t inherently sweet on their own, I would do applesauce in the crock pot so it also makes my house smell delicious, and like Fall, for hours.
That is so fabulous!!! I like to go simple, so I would freeze applesauce or possibly make some apple fruit leather. Exciting!
Aweome! They look like cortland apples. My family and I just picked 50 lb of empire and courtland apples over the weekend to make applesauce, apple pie filling, apple butter and will dehydrate some to add to my homemade oatmeal packets for breakfast.