Here in the upper Midwest, cold hardy apple trees are quite common but require significant time and attention to thrive (i.e. fertilizer, spraying and pruning). The hardiest varietal options for our area include Honeygold, Lodi, Northern Spy and Zestar. Other varieties that do well in Zone 4 include Cortland, Empire, Gold and Red Delicious, Red Rome and Spartan. There is too much to learn to talk about in this article so I refer you to Mr. Google should you decide to grow apple trees.
The same friends that gifted us all the grapes also have numerous apple and pear trees. They have spent considerable time and attention on their established trees which has served them well yielding an ample harvest the past several years. The previous owner of the orchard didn’t leave a varietal guide so they aren’t quite sure what apple varieties they have but this year they had a bumper crop and as such, the last several weeks have been dedicated to apple processing. I made 14 quarts of spiced sliced apples, 14 pints of applesauce, 7 jars of cinnamon apple jelly and a lovely apple pie that was consumed rather quickly. I have some additional small juicy Honey Crisps I hope to get enough juice from for more apple jelly.
Yes, hardy varietal pear trees will grow and prosper in Zone 4 in the upper Midwest but they require proper planting, care and attention to provide a good yield which will most likely be every other year. To prosper, they need a compatible pollinating buddy which requires some research or a discussion with your area greenhouse folks. Given you need to plant at least two for proper pollinating, you will need considerable yard space as these trees can grow up to 40 feet tall. Historically, hardy pears in our region were more for canning than eating. New suggested eating and canning varietals for this area include: Early Gold, Golden Spice, Gourmet, Luscious, Parker, Patten, Summercrisp & Ure. They are fairly disease and insect resistant but require patience as they can take up to ten years to produce fruit.
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Along with a little help from my friends, I harvested seven trays of pears (about 200) on Sunday so the next several weeks will be dedicated to pears. Pears ripen sequentially so the ripest need to be picked first. The problem is they ripen from the inside out so which ones do you pick as none of them look ready? The secret is in the stem which gives way on the ripest pears. The trees were loaded and the pears still all very hard on the outside so, not being worried about bruising and to expedite the process, we just shook the tree a little to harvest the ripest ones. That worked well and I only got bonked on the head a few times. The processing may take a bit longer as they aren’t quite ripe and need more time for ripening off the tree. So far, I know I want to make spiced pears, pear butter, pear/raison/carrot chutney and pear jelly along with a pear dessert of some kind. Any and all additional suggestions would be greatly appreciated as I don’t think this will make a dent in the volume I brought home. Feel free to email me at annrogg1@gmail.com.
So on or around October 1st we will put a halt to the 2020 canning season and pack away the gear until next year. We are at 155 jars and counting which is well above my original 100 jar goal. I am sure we will be approaching 200 jars by the time the pears are processed. I know, it’s all a bit too much but I love doing it and we continue to give away half of the product and split the other half between our Flagstaff residence and the lake house. Now that we have figured out how to plan meals around what’s in the pantry, the shelves are almost empty by the end of August which is just in time for refilling before we head out for the season. In closing, go find some apples to eat, cook, can or freeze and everyone likes a good apple pie!