Today in the orchard
This morning it was 49F at 6 AM. For a few hours, fall was in the air. I lit the fire in the cookstove and made a pot of Dudley Winter applesauce. With its Russian pedigree (it’s a Duchess seedling), it cooked up quickly into a frothy, tart sauce.
Dudley Winter was discovered, selected and introduced by the Dudley family in Aroostook County, ME 150 years ago. Although it’s been DNA profiled, the pollen parent is not yet known. “Dudley” was originally called North Star but was—at least officially—re-named to distinguish it from another North Star apple in Iowa. (It’s still often called North Star in northern Maine.) The new name itself is a bit of misnomer in central and southern Maine where it ripens in August and September—hardly a winter apple. For folks in Aroostook it keeps far better though it still probably shouldn’t be called “Winter.”
Lars Anderson, August 16, 2025
In the afternoon Cammy and I picked blueberries and blackberries. Blueberry season is winding down. The drought has done a number to the blackberries. They are mostly dry and small or just gone. On the brighter side, we’re now collecting Lars Anderson peaches off the ground every day. The fruit quality is excellent this year. In a day or two we’ll pick the rest of the fruit from the tree. It’s a pleasant surprise to be having such a good crop of peaches this summer—especially on the Lars Anderson tree after multiple nights of —20 F last winter.
